The Global Diversity Desk Reference: Managing an International Workforce

4.3. CHALLENGES SURROUNDING NATIONAL CULTURE

Once one has a clear understanding of the impact of national culture on team behavior, the next step is to see how to be more adaptive and accommodate a wider range of cultural preferences, seeing that other ways of behaving also have validity. Malcolm Higgs,^[] in an article designed to help teams overcome lack of performance or cohesion due to cultural differences, refers to the importance of building and managing cross-cultural awareness. The Difficulties with and Tips for Taking Advantage of Cultural Preferences chart beginning on page 198 presents opposite ends of each spectrum. Many national preferences are not as absolute as indicated in the chart. People can be asked to choose where they primarily ...