Working in International Teams Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Working in International Teams - Essay Example Organizations can freely conduct their business in any part of the world. The usual nine-to-five day jobs have seemingly been dissolved into modern time frames where business activities are conducted across a span of varying time zones around the world (Devine, 2002). Colleagues in an organization can be working from different parts of the world in different time zones to accomplish the same objectives for the organization unlike before where colleagues had to be in one open room (Devine, 2002). This has led to new dynamics of work in modern and contemporary organizations. Another impact of globalization on businesses is the reliance on teamwork rather that individual performance in accomplishing organizational objectives. The contemporary organizational challenges demand a team approach in order to gather a wide range of views, skills and experiences and use them effectively to meet and tackle emerging issues (Devine, 2002). A team can be defined as a group of individuals working to gether collaboratively to accomplish a common purpose. The team is held together by the shared objectives, a common purpose and identity of each team member. Teams in organizations are formed to work on various projects that help the organization advance towards meeting its visions. Globalization has also led to the emergence of a new landscape in business operations. In the new business framework, technical brilliance alone is no longer enough for one to be successful in today’s international marketplace (Devine, 2002). Organizations today require their employees at all levels of the organization to comfortably interact freely with people from other cultures. Organizations require individuals to communicate and interact through a more global lens in order to give the organizations a competitive edge on the international scene. With most organizations opening up to the international market, there is a great demand for initiating projects that meet the international needs and demands of consumers. These international projects can be very rewarding to both organizations and their employees, but they are very challenging. Most organizations therefore rely on international teams to manage tasks that are of an international nature. Belonging to a team makes an individual feel being part of something much wider than themselves, and when the team is highly diversified with international culture, the team members feel part of the wider international community. The challenge of building and managing international teams has become evident over the years for managers and leaders in various professional fields. Team members also encounter challenges in working with each other to achieve a common objective and purpose given the wide differences that exist among them in terms of age, skills, experience, gender, race, ethnicity and most importantly culturally diverse opinions (Wheelan, 2010). Team members are under pressure to perform effectively with appropriate prof essional behavior in the context of the international business environment. Team members are required to work in multicultural teams posing very many challenges to the individual members and team leaders. The highly diversified multicultural environment comes with a lot of challenges ranging from communication difficulties to varying opinions based on one’s cultural background (Wheelan, 2010). Analysis and Thesis Statement Working in international teams is both a challenging and a rewarding endeavor. International teams are made up of individuals from various parts of the world who may either come to work together from the same location or may opt to work from the different parts where they are located. Different places around the world have different cultures which often impact on