Trust is an important element in cross-cultural teams, especially in virtual teams. A virtual team’s organization, function and ultimately, its productivity is dependant on the level of trust between its members and leadership. Adjunct to trust is conflict management and the primary vehicle to both is effective communication.

Because global virtual teams are dispersed, misunderstandings related to cultural dimensions and language are more prominent than in local teams. Studies show that when people work more than 50 feet apart, they have less than 10 percent likelihood of collaborating more than one a week. 1 Infrequent communication contributes to lack of understanding and reduced information sharing that can reduce conflicts.

Variables related to trust in virtual teams include team size, degree of dispersion, duration of team life, team organization (hierarchical, flat or mixed), impact of time zone difference, richness of communication and frequency of face to face meetings. 2

In a traditional a team’s performance is reached when the level of trust is achieved. 3

In a global team, additional factors affect performance. 4

Inclusiveness is a valid concern for virtual teams in building trust and avoiding conflict. Omissions, be they accidental or intentional, in including members in emails, conferences or other communication methods can lead to individual member’s lack of trust in the teams’ cohesion. Adding to the problem, because of the lack of face to face contextual cues, are assumptions of behaviors. For example, the concept of “fundamental attribution error” is the tendency for people to assume personal reasons for behaviors rather than situation reasons. “Members of distributed teams tend to attribute the causes of communication and coordination problems more to the personality of the team members than to the technologies they used or other situational factors.”5

Conflicts arise in global virtual teams due to linguistic, national and other broader cultural dimensions. Speakers of shared languages, in a mixed language team, who speak to each other in their shared language and not including the other team members, create issues of mistrust and non-inclusiveness. Ethnocentrism, prejudice and stereotyping are nationalistic diversity issues that instill mistrust and conflict. Broader issues, such as individualism vs. collectivism, age, gender and racism are contributors to team conflict.6

Recommendations to enhance trust and conflict resolution in virtual teams: 5,6

Trust:

Encourage face to face meetings.

Encourage prompt email responses.

Encourage seeking information and clarify whenever needed.

Provide cultural awareness training.

Encourage prompt communications.

Conflict Management:

Define clear roles and responsibilities early on.

Establish a conflict resolution process.

Establish channels for escalation.

Establish expectations for accountability, decision making, responsiveness,

deadlines and feedback.

Agree on standard practices.

Cultural differences have proven to be beneficial for productivity in companies dealing with globalization. However, the path to production in diverse groups of people can have numerous challenges. A team’s production is highly dependant on the trust its members share. When trust emerges within a group it becomes empowered, motivated and is more committed to its performance goals. 7

Reference

  1. Monalisa, Mitali, et al. 2008, Managing Global Design Teams, Research, Technology, Management, Industrial Research Institute, Inc.
  2. Monalisa, Mitali, et al. 2008, Managing Global Design Teams, Research, Technology, Management, Industrial Research Institute, Inc.
  3. Monalisa, Mitali, et al. 2008, Managing Global Design Teams, Research, Technology, Management, Industrial Research Institute, Inc.
  4. Stark-Meyerring, D and Andrews, D. 2006, Building a Shared Virtual Learning Culture, Business Communication Quarterly.
  5. Monalisa, Mitali, et al. 2008, Managing Global Design Teams, Research, Technology, Management, Industrial Research Institute, Inc.
  6. Symons, J. and Stenzel, C., Virtually borderless: an examination of culture in virtual teaming, Journal of General Management, Vol. 32 No. 3, 2007.
  7. Harvey, G. and Griffith, D., The Role of Globalization, Time, Acceleration, and Virtual Global Teams in Fostering Successful Global Product Launches, The Journal of Product Innovation Management, 2007.