Importance of Business

Within the realms of international business there is a major difference between each

businessperson’s attitudes towards daily functions and activities within a team or a group.

This is primarily due to the culture and social class background that an individual has

been accustomed to during their life and as a result of each person’s unique behaviour the

team or group that he or she belongs will have an altered productivity rate depending on

the whether the behaviour is deemed as valuable. Schein (1985) described culture as: ‘a

pattern of basic assumptions invented by a given group as it learns to cope with its

problems of external adaptation and internal integration that has worked well enough to

be considered valid.. and to be taught to new members as the correct way to perceive,

think and feel in relation to those problems’ (pg. 6)

According to Evans et al (2002) view cross-boundary teams as the basic unit of the

global economy and argue that strategic decisions in global organisations are complex.

They say that the best way to achieve sound decisions is often through a transnational

team of managers and specialists whose talents have been carefully blended.’’ The view

held here implies that the selection of individuals from different countries to form one

team can ultimately be more effective as a unit than that of a homogeneous team. Since

these individuals have been selected as specialists of a particular area in business and a

sense of belonging should automatically recognised by each of the team members.

In some circumstances however, a power struggle remains unbalanced and there

continues to be a cross-cultural conflict between team members. In the Harvard Business

Review (2006) (Brett. J, Befhar K. and Kern M.C), there were four major factors that

forecasted the success of a multicultural team. The language used whilst conducting

business is a constraint on many individuals who do not use...