In the previous session you learned that team members occupy different social and functional roles. In addition, you gained insights into which particular roles you might flourish when working in a team. Whichever roles these are, each and every person is key in supporting the team, mitigating differences and creating mutuality. How this can be achieved is the focus of this unit.
Task: Which teams perform best?
Let's start with a question: Which teams do you believe will perform better, those which are diverse or those which are homogeneous?
Take three minutes to note down your answer in your learning journal.
Having completed this task, click on the following link to find out how Henry W. Lane, who majored in organisational behaviour, and Martha Maznevski, who completed her PhD with research on multicultural teams, have answered this question in their book on "Organisational Behaviour".
Show / hide sample answer
Lane and Maznevski argue that the question is complex and the answer depends on a variety of factors, such as the definition of diversity and performance employed. They say that by nature, people with a diverse background are able to contribute different perspectives, and if the team's task is one which is structured and routinized, these may not be called for. However, if the team's objective is to develop a strategy for market entry or other innovative processes, different perspectives are likely to generate solutions which are more appropriate and effective.
According to Lane and Maznevski, the main question, however, is how the full potential of a diverse team can be leveraged. They emphasise that this requires skilful management of interactions within the team so that diversity can be harnessed in a way which generates new and better ways of doing business.
Considering our definition of culture, we might say that a completely homogenous virtual team does not really exist because our team members will naturally display differences, such as different levels and areas of knowledge, different educational and professional backgrounds, different ages and self-identities. Therefore, it is important for every team to explore their differences and commonalities and use these for the benefit of the team. The aim of this session is thus to introduce you to the so called MBI approach. In this endeavour you will use identity profiles to support the mapping process as a first step towards mitigating differences.
Download: Learning journal for session 5
Zuletzt geändert: Montag, 23. Juni 2025, 00:06