If we want to go from divergent to transparent within our globally dispersed teams, we can help team members find a way to understand and talk about cultural differences. One widely recognized model is Geer Hofstede’s model of cultural dimensions. Using such a model can help us understand the differences in thinking, feeling, and acting of people around the globe. This model examines layers of practices and values commonly found in a culture. The theory is that cultures can be broadly identified by observing the degree to which members of that culture prefer a certain state of affairs. Each of these preferences fall along a continuum, with the understanding that culture is learned, not innate.
Based on research conducted in more than seventy countries over a forty-year span, this work examines what drives people apart—even when cooperation seems to be in everyone’s interest. The model examines how national cultures differ in the areas of acceptance of unequal power, extent to which people identify with a group, focus on time horizon, gratification of basic and natural human drives, assertiveness versus modesty, and tolerance for ambiguity.
Of course, models such as this only supply some general guidance to consider. It cannot be assumed that team members exactly represent their “cultures.” Team members must possess not only the ability to recognize cultural differences, they must also be able to develop methods to understand and work with others from different cultures.
Cultural tuning is a useful framework for providing a broad approach for dealing with cultural differences. Three rules can be applied:
- Holistic rule: diverse people should consider the norms of all participants
- Synergistic rule: all cultural groups must work together to overcome difficulties and strengthen relationships
- Learning rule: we learn from each interaction, and cultural knowledge only provides some guidelines
(From, The Essentials of Teamworking: International Perspectives, edited by Michael A. West, Dean Tjosvold, Ken G. Smith)