Chapter 8: Global Collaboration

Question 1

What does the “fly zone” exercise teach us

Answer 1

It teaches us how to manage people in an organization

With many talented individuals working virtually and geographically dispersed on an independent task

Question 2

What do the examples of Mars Climate Order and French Trains too wide to fit in station reach us?

Answer 2

That simple miscommunication can result in huge error and become very costly

eg. Spacecraft that was suppose to be fired into orbit eventually was lost in space cost over 125 million

Question 3

So how to collaborate effectively in a global world (CMBUVE)

Answer 3

1. Coordinate and divide Labour early on
2. Make sure everyone is on the same ruler
3. Be mindful of cultural differences
4. Understand downside of different communication channels
5. Verify your assumptions
6. Embrace task conflict

Question 4

How to increase coordination and planning?

Answer 4

The use of Gersick’s punctuated equilibrium model which plots performance against project timeline

we often see a midpoint crisis during the halfway point of the project.

By coordinating and planning we can move the midpoint crisis to the start and increase performance

Question 5

What is the Impact of coordination and labor division on performance?

Answer 5

Division of labour

In a study of MBA students, a majority of groups reported engaging in division of labor activities (segmentation of work) SAVED 2.4MIN

Coordination of activities
However, only a minority of groups reported engaging in coordination activities (include creating a common language, clarify communication practices) SAVED 3.8 MIN

Conclusion: Groupps spend too little time focussing on coordination activities and too much time on the task at hand

Question 6

So how to best coordinate

Answer 6

Can be done by creating team contract (formal) coordination meeting (less formal)

• Set out clear rules for engagement in new teams

Include goals, responsibilities, team interaction rules, managing motivation

Question 7

Why isit important to make sure everyone is on the same page/ruler

Answer 7

1. When standards are implicit and unclear to others

this can lead to conflict especially when people perceive that contribution standards have been violated

Question 8

What is an appropriate email response time

Answer 8

Consulting:
Quick : 30min
Normal : 2 hours
Unacceptable : 24 hours

Academia:
Quick 24 Hours
Normal: 2 Days
Unacceptable: 1 week

Conclusion: in different fields, what is considered unacceptable could be considered normal/quick, need to clarify beforehand to avoid misunderstandings

Question 9

Where do countries rank among average hours worked

Answer 9

1. Mexico 2255
   35 Germany 1363

more atas European countries (France Netherlands norway denmark) all rank lower

Question 10

Paid vaccation and holidays where do countries rank?

Answer 10

Among OECD nations, Singapore does not offer many paid vacation (approximated 9 days of paid holidays and 10 days of paid vacation)

Important that these things are noted

Question 11

What are some of the major cultural differences that matter for
managing people? (CPLDS)

Answer 11

1. COmmunicating:
   - Low context vs High context
2. Persuading
   - Concept first vs application first
3. Leading
   - Egalitarian vs Hierarchical
4. Disagreeing
   Confrontational vs avoid confrontation
5. Scheduling
   Linear Time vs Flexible TIme

Question 12

Differences between Low Context Communication and High Context Communication

Answer 12

Low:

• Commuication is precise clear
• Message understood at face value
• Repetition is appreciated

Countries who have low context communication: (UAC)

US, Australia Canada

High:
- Communication sophisticated, nuanced

• Messages need to read between the lines
• Meaning is often implied and not plainly expressed

Countries who have high context communication: (JKI)

Japan Kora Indonesia

Question 13

Differences between Concept first culture and Application first culture

Answer 13

Concept first culture:

• People develop theory first then present facts
• Build argument then move to conclusion
• Conceptual principles underly each situation are valued

Countries who have Concept first culture: (IFRS)

Italy France Russia Spain

Application First Culture:
- Start with statement then back it up

• Start with summary or bullet points
• Theoretical discussions avoided

Countries who have Application first culture: (UJC)

US japan Canada

Question 14

How to present in different cultures (Persuading)

Answer 14

Concept first (Russia, Spain)

1. Explain underlying reason before coming to conclusion
2. Justify and develop assumptions
3. Leave time for conceptual debate
4. Provide reasons for why something works

Application first (US Japan)

1. Straight to point
2. Use concrete examples tools
3. Spend less time on building concept
4. Need less time for conceptual debate
5. Provide practical examples

Question 15

Differences between Egalitarian Leadership and Hierarchical Leadership

Answer 15

EL:

1. Distance between boss and subordiinate is low
2. Boss= facilitator among equals
3. flat organisational structure
4. Communication skip hierarchical lines

COuntries which follow EL:
(DNS)

Denmark Netherland Sweeden

HL:

1. Ideal distance btw boss and subordinate is high
2. Boss= strong director
3. Hierarchical are fixed and steep
4. Communication follow set hierarchical lines

COuntries which follow HL:
(JKN)

Japan Korea Nigeria

Question 16

Is Egalitarian Leadership always a good thing

Answer 16

No not always!

Eg. Holocracy at Zappos

where zappos introduced holocracy in 2013, objective was for no more hierarchical structure
everybody became their own boss

NEGATIVE RESULT:

Many employees left company citing ambiguity and loss of control

Conclusion: Employees in US needed a bit of structure

Question 17

Differences between Confrontational and Non-Confrontational

Answer 17

Confrontational:

Disagreement and debate is positive for the team

Open confrontation appropriate and will not hurt team spirit or relationship

Countries that adopt confrontationally:
- (IFGN)

Israel France Germany Netherlands

Avoid Confrontation:
-Disagreement and debate is negative for the team

-Open confrontation inappropriate and will break group harmony and impact relationship

COuntries that prefer no confrontation (IJT)

Indonesia Japan Thailand

Note: Singapore is in the middle for this

Question 18

Noting Differences in behaviour (Japan US Brazil)

Answer 18

Number of Nos, Silent periods and Touching (Non Handshakes)

Brazil often very disagreeing, rarely quiet and have most number of touching

Question 19

Differences between Linear Time and Flexible Time (Scheduling)

Answer 19

LT:

Projects in sequential fashion

Focus on deadlines and schedule, interruptions not accepted

Emphasis on promptness and good organization over flexibility

Countries that follow LT:
(GSJSD)

Germany Switzerland Japan Sweeden Denmark

Note: Singapore and US lean more to LT side

FT:

• projects approached in fluid fashion
• dealing with many things concurrently, interruptions accepted
• Focus on adaptability valued over organization

Countries that follow FT:
(CINS)

China India Saudi Arabia Nigeria

Question 20

Combining all 5 factors together, what is an effective way to be mindful

Answer 20

Create your own culture map

Map out your own preferences vs what your counterpart prefer

For you to be aware of

Question 21

What are pros and cons of text based communication

Pros: (CNMAC)
Cons: (MLDR)

Answer 21

pros:

conveinient 
no presence of reciepient 
multiple recipients
attach file
can use evidence of receipt

cons: 
Meaning gets lost 
lack of body language 
Difficult to communicate 
Reply takes time

Question 22

What does illusion of transparency gotta do with this?

Answer 22

example showed how when trying to communicate series of statements which contain feelings of anger sadness

Senders tend to overestimate how accurately receivers understand their message

Question 23

What communication channel to use? (TRG)

Answer 23

Depends on TASK, RELATIONSHIP, GROUP CHARACTERISTICS

Task features:
Urgent/Complex

Optimal Channel Selection:
Video>Phone>IM>email

Note: when simple channel does not really matter

Relationship:
Cooperative does not matter
Neutral/negative: Video>Phone>IM>email

In flyzone example, we see that those who did site visit benefited by making fewer errors and having more budget (despite cost of visit)

Question 24

Why isit important to embrace task conflict?

Answer 24

1. we see that often diversity fosters conflict

- when people differ in value diversity, may decrease satisfaction, intent to remain

Question 25

2. Can Conflict can be actually good for teams

Answer 25

DEpends on the conflict type

Task conflict:
Disagreement among members on content of decisions, difference in viewpoints, and discussing pros and cons of opinions

Have a positive effect on performance

Relationship conflict:
Perception of incompatibility includes tension and animosity

Negative effect on performance

Status conflict:
dispute over people relative status positions in hierarchy

Negative effect on performance

Question 26

Are there examples of how conflict can lead to better performance

Answer 26

Eg. First class, dissecting personality beneficial even if wrong!

Embrace task conflict minimize relationship and status conflict

Dissenting personality beneficial even if wrong!