Page 117 - Effective group discussion theory and practice by Adams, Katherine H. Brilhart, John K. Galanes, Gloria J

100 Chapter 4

Additional challenges occur when team members are both diverse and distrib-
uted. A review of studies looking at distributed multinational groups, including virtual
teams, suggests that developing a safe climate and trust, over time, can overcome dif-
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ficulties with culture and distribution. This review supports the idea of conceiving
of culture as being multifaceted and that cultural differences can cause misinterpreta-
tions of messages. A recent review of nationally and culturally diverse virtual teams by
Han and Beyerlein has organized the many cultural diversity factors affecting team
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performance into an understandable framework. These scholars described four
task-related factors (task-related communicating, coordinating, establishing expecta-
tions, and knowledge sharing) that successful groups must learn to do. In addition,
four socio-emotional factors (overcoming biases, building relationships, developing
trust, and intercultural learning) must also be mastered for a group to succeed well.
Distance may create challenges but does not automatically hurt team processes
because members find creative ways to make personal connections via computer-
mediated communication, as Walther noted.

Challenges for Co- Cultural Group Members
Our previous discussion of race, sex, age, and social class is intended to encourage you
to think about your own behavior and be sensitive to ethnocentric behavior that may
cause problems in a group. Orbe suggests that members of co- cultures that are not part
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of the dominant culture too often become marginalized in groups and organizations.
If they want their views represented, they must expend energy thinking about how their
communication affects and is received by members of the dominant culture. There are
a number of strategies they use, but they may experience difficulty in being heard.
Kirchmeyer found that minority members of groups are often the lowest contrib-
utors. Two plausible explanations for this are that minorities may lack a sense of
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belonging to the group and that, although they may be skilled in communication
within their own culture, they may lack the skills to communicate effectively in groups
composed primarily of whites. Because minority status affected contribution levels,
Kirchmeyer cautions that multicultural groups may not be using the multiple perspec-
tives of all their members in the final products. This view is supported by Teboul’s
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study of minority hires in organizations. He notes that minority new hires encounter
more setbacks in becoming truly part of their organizations, experience more rela-
tional isolation, and learn that certain relational doors are closed to them. This rep-
resents a significant loss to all of us. Whether we are black or white, young or old,
middle class or poor, Protestant or Jewish, urban or rural, we must begin to recognize
that differences are just that— differences!
In the film The Color of Fear, eight men of different races discuss their personal
experiences with racism. Communication scholar Tadasu Imahori, who is Japanese
American, discusses his reaction to watching the European American in the film deny
that racism is a problem in this country. He observes that he can easily relate with
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the other men who had experienced racism but were unable to convince the white
man of the validity of their experiences. This illustrates a main point we want to con-
vey in this chapter: It is imperative in small groups to invite and acknowledge the

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