2.7 Summary

Virtual teams are likely to be intercultural teams. For this reason we have dedicated this unit to examining culture and interculturality. In fact, with our definition of culture, which includes the idea of a multitude of cultural affiliations, we could even say that all teams are intercultural to a certain extent. We have attempted to capture the fluid nature of culture and the growing interconnectedness we face every day, which exposes us to a wide range of differing lifeworlds. This expanded concept of culture formed the basis of our understanding in this unit.

Taking the expanded concept of culture a step further, a distinction can be made between a structural and a processual perspective, also referred to as a closed and an open concept. While the closed perspective only considers the binary choice of either/or, the open perspective allows for both/and thinking. Through our ‘zooming’ tool we can move between these perspectives. This can be important in order to understand our team members and in this way we will find it easier to develop a working environment characterized by normality, plausibility and routinised actions.

The basis for an open perspective of culture is the understanding that we are all members of a multitude of collectives and therefore have relationships with a wide range of people. This can be visualized as a network. Considering the fact that people are members of various collectives enables us to explore commonalities as well as differences among team members, which we might not have realized from a structural ‘zoomed-out’ perspective. Dealing with intercultural situations in this way gives us the best chance of developing a team culture characterized by familiar and routinized actions as well as a feeling of togetherness and belonging.

Even after a tentative working ‘team culture’ has been created, it is quite possible that the initial feelings of unfamiliarity can surface once more. This happens when memberships of collectives are activated, thus exposing team members to unfamiliar behavioral patterns. This requires team members to explore the new behavior with transparency but without judgment, understand and readjust. This is possible because, as we have seen, cultures are dynamic and boundaries are fluid.

Understanding culture from a structural and processual perspective and the many ‘in-betweens’ along this continuum is a good basis for developing a working culture based on familiarity and routinized action that is embraced by all team members. Being aware of this constant fluctuation between interculturality and culturalisation helps to ensure that the team culture created is one that enables all team members to flourish.