AFRICA

THE MANAGEMENT IMPLICATION OF ETHNICITY AND RACE IN SOUTH AFRICA

Nowadays South Africa is characterized by the existence of cultural diversity among its population due to this we can ask ourselves about ¿is it possible that employee diversity affect management at the workplace?. This question was developed in the text by Adèle Thomas and Mike Bendixen.

At first they explained that South Africa changed to be an economy really controlled by white English people to be controlled since 1998 by black consortia. This change modify the way of management in the South Asian companies due to they became to make inclusions of people from the multiplicity of ethnic groups in the country.

They concluded that management in South Africa has exactly the same way as British and American systems. According to the text, Ethnicity is defined as the distinction between groups of people based on their race, religion and language (Usunier, 1996), thus they figured out that each organization no matter if there is cultural diversity among employees, it has to set some rules in order to take control over the situation, adopting this as kind of organizational culture that involves everybody.

Finally they concluded that this study suggest ‘employee diversity at the workplace should not adversely affect management performance’.

1. What is Ubuntu? How was it applied to support the merging process of the two companies? (3 examples)

UBUNTU

Ubuntu is important in order to understand the culture, values, norms, and beliefs held by the largest segment of the population, the Africans. ‘Ubuntu can give competitive advantage to companies that incorporate its principles and practices’ Mangaliso, Mzamo. 2003. Building competitive advantage from Ubuntu.

According to the African Bank Miners Credit – Case Study it say the Ubuntu’s definition ‘Ubuntu is premised on the philosophy that one finds one’s own humanity in helping others to find theirs’.

¿How can you use Ubuntu at the workplace?

• Preeminence of the collective: That means there is a huge importance to the extended family added to the clan and the village.


• Kinship ties: they promote their relatives to trust them, in order to create a committed and harmonized environment.


• Legitimacy of authority: it means treating others as members of your family.


• Language: they worth silence, listening to the context are really important in order to establish relationships.


• Ubuntu ceremonies: those are quite important; they like to sponsor events to promote the group for example.


• Interaction: it is value by workers of the company.


• Faith: Christianity it is the dominant faith; and Isangoma it is the mediator to the creator.


• Honesty: this shows a positive impact on the entire company.


• Decision making: it is a circular process where people are entire to participate. Consensus process is very valued.


• Time: each member of ethnic group has different conception about time.


• Productivity and efficiency: there are two concepts:
  1. Optimize: it is better than maximize. It is to think about what it would happen in the future.
  2. Maximize: the way to use something as fast as you can.


• Change: it occurs when employees feel part of the company as a family.


• Age and seniority: promotional policies and some benefits according to the age.

For African employees, the in person communication is an important feature in order to solve problems. Attending to someone in person is an indication that you respect and care for them.

‘Ubuntu can be defined as humaneness, a pervasive spirit of caring and community, harmony and hospitality, respect and responsiveness, that individuals and groups display for one another’ Mangaliso, Mzamo. Building competitive advantage from Ubuntu.

Ubuntu philosophy was used as part of the organizational culture for both companies according to the case irrespective of which ethnic group they belonged to.

• Tom Miles who leaded the idea to achieve Investors in People (IIP) recognition said that they adopted the Ubuntu philosophy to serve as the foundation for their ongoing commitment creating a working environment that is beneficial to the company and the employee.

• Drums: African Miners Credit has used drums as part of Ubuntu philosophy every employee has been given a drum; they were unified by moving to the same rhythm, it is like a symbol of communication and loyalty.

• Ubuntu booklets: in order to change management processes and the achievement of the IIP standard at African Miners Credit. Every employee was given one of the company’s booklets which explain the ubuntu culture and the contribution of employees towards the succeed campaign.
  
  


• The tale of the bird and the badger was used to explain the concept of growth as a representation of the commitment of working together.
  
  


• The elephant: that symbolized the employees’ commitment in the workplace as huge as an elephant can be. ‘Employees were told that just like the elephant, everyone has potential, and through training and hard work…’

NOTE:

See the next video that shows the promotional work and commitment to adopt Ubuntu philosophy on future business to achieve success:
Ubuntu: South Africa 2010 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNZ4KsihQPQ


References

- Mangaliso, Mzamo. 2003. Building competitive advantage from Ubuntu. In Thomas, David Clinton, editor, Readings and cases in International Management: A cross-cultural perspective.
- African Bank Miners Credit – Case Study
-Thomas, Adèle & Mike. Bendixen. 2000. The Management Implications of Ethnicity in South Africa. Journal of International Business Studies, 31(3): 507-31.
http://www.ubuntuafrica.net/Images_home%20page/africa_map.gif

SOUTH ASIA

• Afghanistan
• Pakistan
• India
• Maldives
• Sri Lanka
• Nepal
• Bangladesh
• Bhutan
  
  MAIN FEATURES

• With a population of some 1.4 billion, South Asia is home to half the world´s poverty.


• The region has often faced conflicts and political instability, such as the conflict between Pakistan and India.


• This region has been distinguished by its achievements in the fields of education; industry; health care; information technology and services; international trade; business enterprises; and outsourcing services.


• Even though, South Asia faces some issues that difficult the total harmony and development of the area; religious extremism, high levels of corruption, disagreements on political boundaries, and inequitable distribution of wealth.


• The most spoken language is Hindi. Nowadays with the globalization, English has been dominated certain areas from South Asia such as India, especially as a medium of advanced education.


• The most dominant religions in South Asia are Hinduism, Buddhism and followers of Islam.
  

source:worldbank.org website

According to the previous table we can notice that India has the largest amount of population between members of South Asia adding to this India had the highest rate of GDP by 2009 of $1.243 billion, it means India has been growing really fast in the last two decades that represents an important development for the region. India’s current economic growth is approximately 7% annually. Also it is considered one of the most attractive markets for outsourcing in products and services from other countries.

SOME IMPORTANT FACTS IN INDIA

• India promises itself to be the world-wide power in 2025


• Indian economy is closely joined to western economies (acquisitions and a variety of franchises).


• There is a friendly relationship between the government and the overseas companies that improve the political stability.


• A large population can speak English and the labor force is really cheap.


• It is considered the global powerhouse of generic drugs because India has achieved a great progress in science, technology and a range of manufactured medicines.


• Urban and rural areas in India have been growing faster than before due to the skilled workers becoming one of the richest states with high levels of income.


• India with the aim of The World Bank for providing credits to SMEs (Small and Medium enterprises) has promised an economic growth and job creation.


• India has been facing the growth of cities and towns creating adequate infrastructure in order to improve transport, communications, and water and to use more efficiently the land.

CASTE SYSTEM IN INDIA

Caste: is a closed group whose members are restricted in their choice of occupation and degree of social participation. Marriage outside the caste is prohibited. Social status is determined by the caste of one's birth and may only rarely be transcended.
Nowadays the caste system continues to be influential in organizations due to the choice in the charge that you can get or even the social status in the society is determined by caste system.

DIVISION OF HINDU SOCIETY

• BRAHMANS: the priestly and learned class
• KSHATRIYAS: the warriors and rulers
• VAISYAS: farmers and merchants
• SUDRAS: peasants and laborers

These divisions refer to the undifferentiated social classes. It is hierarchically organized; those are rigidly differentiated by rituals and beliefs.

DEVELOPMENT OF ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES IN INDIA

• IT (Information Technology) outsourcing
• R&D
• Biotechnology
• Design
• Development centers of software
• Knowledge-based products and services
• Manufacturing

NOTE OF INTEREST:

International Journal of Indian Culture and Business Management (IJICBM), it is a journal that covers details about new developments in Indian culture and their implications on business.

It is a forum tool mainly for foreign people that want to update every day about Indian market in terms of opportunity and threats in order to get an exchange of new developments in Indian business environment, and the implications of culture and political landscape on business enterprise.
For more information visit the website where you can find more details about it: http://www.acclaimsubscriptions.com/international/catalog/viewItem/?prdid=565116&redir=1

Case study analysis: “HR Challenges at Computer Age Management Services (P) Ltd.”
Vijaya, T.G., D`Netto, Brian and España, Juan. 2007. “HR Challenges at Computer Age Management Services (P) Ltd.” The Management Case Study Journal 7 (2): 41-51.

Question:

1. What do you think are the reasons behind the fast-growth outsourcing industry in India?
Reasons behind the fast-growth outsourcing industry in India:
According to the case “HR Challenges at Computer Age Management Services (P) Ltd.” The Management Case Study Journal 7 (2): 41-51.

The author says in the abstract that: ‘India is one of the significant players in the global outsourcing industry, especially in the area of software development’.

• India has been recognized by the last years, and has one of the most qualified labor force additionally it is really cheap.
  
• Indian workers become from simple tasks to those that imply increased complexity processes.


• One of the most important aspects and make India be an attractive destiny to contract by outsourcing is the fact that large population can speak English.


• Since 1991 India has transformed it into one of the fastest growing economies around the world ‘Over the past decade the outsourcing industry in India has grown rapidly’.


• 'Most Indian employees in the Business Process Outsourcing industry are college educated, ambitious 20-somethings who are lured to the job by attractive starting salaries (Fittipaldi, 2004)’.
  

References:

• World bank website: http://www.worldbank.org.in/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/SOUTHASIAEXT/INDIAEXTN/0,,contentMDK:20195738~menuPK:295591~pagePK:141137~piPK:141127~theSitePK:295584,00.html


• Agarwal, Sanjeev, Thomas E DeCarlo, Shyam B. Vyas, & Source: 1999. Leadership Behavior and Organizational Commitment: A Comparative Study of American and Indian Salespersons. Journal of International Business Studies, 30(4): 727-43.


• http://www.inderscience.com/browse/index.php?journalCODE=ijicbm


• Vijaya, T.G., D`Netto, Brian and España, Juan. 2007. “HR Challenges at Computer Age Management Services (P) Ltd.” The Management Case Study Journal 7 (2): 41-51.


• http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/society/A0857200.html


• http://www.acclaimsubscriptions.com/international/catalog/viewItem/?prdid=565116&redir=1


• http://images.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://farm1.static.flickr.com/202/480750256_8ecb9b190a.jpg%3Fv%3D0&imgrefurl=http://www.flickr.com/photos/gunnargeir/480750256/&usg=__L8pcv9_cnobRzOGPmY3DIdZ9y-Q=&h=424&w=500&sz=165&hl=es&start=4&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=XyxxoWJay9GGFM:&tbnh=110&tbnw=130&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dsouth%2Basian%2Bmonuments%26um%3D1%26hl%3Des%26sa%3DN%26rlz%3D1R2ADBF_es%26ndsp%3D20%26tbs%3Disch:1
  
  
  
  

CHINA

China is defined as a socialist country with a market economy

CULTURAL BACKGROUND

· Wariness of foreigners (Chinese people only trust in their families)
· Confucian culture (education, moral, and relationships)
· Pictographic Language
· Agricultural activities (farming)

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CHINESE CULTURE:

· Collectivist
· Hierarchical
· Relationship oriented
· Holistic

CHINESE COMPANIES

The Chinese organizations are working following eight important elements:

1. Guanxi (Personal Connections): Chinese place a premium on individuals' social capital within their group of friends, relatives, and close associates.

2. Zhongjian Ren (The Intermediary): In the United States, people tend to trust others. In China, suspicion and distrust characterize all meetings with strangers.

3. Renji Hexie (Interpersonal Harmony): Importance of harmonious relations between business partners.

4. Shehui Dengji (Social Status): Casualness does not play well in a country where the Confucian values of obedience and deference to one's superiors remain strong.

5. Zhengti Guannian (Holistic Thinking) : The Chinese think in term of the whole while Americans think sequentially and individualistically.

6. Jiejian (Thrift): Save their money, a practice known as jiejian. Chinese negotiators will pad their offers with more room to maneuver than most Americans are used to, and they expect both sides to make concessions on price.

7. Mianzi ("Face" or Social Capital): In Chinese business culture, a person's reputation and social standing rest on saving face.

8. Chiku Nailao (Endurance, Relentlessness): The Chinese are famous for their work ethic. They prize relentless hard work.

CONFUCIAN GENTLEMAN
They were to:

— Cultivate themselves morally
— Show filial piety and loyalty where these are due
— Cultivate humanity, or benevolence
— Behaves on the basis of mutual trust and benefit and seeks cooperation and win-win solutions. He/she associates business with guanxi, friendship and trust

BEHIND CHINESE ORGANIZATIONS:

· Corruption: It is a deeply-rooted custom
· Energy shortcuts: there is a lack of capacity in energy resource
· Internal Robbery: Stealing ideas, designs and products from other organizations
· Labor instability: It is difficult to find qualified personnel

Question:

¿What is the relevance of Guanxi and the existence of Chinese business networks as supporting factors to the internationalization process of Chinese companies?

Nowadays Chinese organizations have become more globalized, due to contemporary strategies used to internationalize such as strategic alliances, Joint ventures all franchises all of them with Western countries, that is the reason Guanxi’s relevance is not much high to help internationalization process of these companies.

Nevertheless, the Guanxi system has been used as a business strategy in the implementation of internationalization by MNCs and HRM in Taiwan.

Guanxi meaning according to the text “Is Guanxi still working, while Chinese MNCs go global? it means “a friendship with unlimited exchange of favors”, it says that the Chinese culture is described as a culture based on the harmony on personal relations. They matter close relationships; it means they worries about the other’s stability.

References:

Chen, I Chun Lisa and Easterby-Smith Mark. 2008. “Is Guanxi still working, while Chinese MNCs go global? The case of Taiwanese MNCs in the UK”. Human Systems Management 27: 131-142.

East Asia

• China
• Hong Kong
• Japan
• Macau
• Mongolia
• North Korea
• South Korea
• Taiwan

IMPORTANT FACTS:

RELIGION: the most important religions practiced by East Asian people are Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, and Shinto.

KOREA BEFORE THE 60’S:

} Liberation from Japanese rule – 1945
} Creation of government – 1948
} Korean War - 1950
} Agricultural economy
} Low GDP per capita, even less than Mozambique or Senegal

KOREAN VISION:

} Accelerated growth in economy
} Improvement of products quality
} Change from a poor country to an industrialized one
} Changes in the labor market: qualified jobs
} Increasing international market share

JAPANESE VS KOREANS

• There are shared characteristics between the Japanese and Koreans
• Cultural factors differentiating Chaebol from Keiretsu:
– Layoffs
– Authoritarian
– Family owned


THE CHAEBOLS

It is a state-lead economic model. The big Winners are: Samsung, Hyundai, LG, Kia, and Daewoo. These big companies are recognized worldly by their high revenues from exports.

The Chaebols are large conglomerate family of controlled firms in South Korea. These companies have strong ties with government agencies, and also they have privileges access to credits with the government banks.

CHAEBOLS BENEFITS

} Scale Industrial conglomerates
} High impact in economic growth
} Access to new technologies
} Improvement on processes quality
} Great power holders

Question:

List the main similarities and differences of Japanese and Korean management styles.

JAPANESE VS KOREAN MANAGEMENT STYLE

· A wider set of cultural norms in each society is a powerful force for differentiation across borders.

JAPANESE AND KOREAN MANAGEMENT STYLE SIMILARITIES

· Both develop management styles based on finding a model in developed countries.
· Both belong to common cultural heritage: Confucianism and Buddhism.
· Sometimes Koreans look like Japanese more than Korean. Marketing – Korean- corporate brand.

References:

Lee, Jangho, Thomas W. Roehl, & Soonkyoo Choe. 2000. What Makes Management Style Similar and Distinct Across Borders? Growth, Experience and Culture in Korean and Japanese Firms. Journal of International Business Studies, 31(4): 631-52.

EXPATRIATE ASSIGNMENTS AND OVERSEAS EXPERIENCES

EXPATRIATE DEFINITION

It means someone who goes abroad temporarily and is hired by a multinational company, in order to work successfully achieving the overseas needs like looking for expanding its customers and consequently its recognition in foreign countries.

BEING EXPATRIATE REQUIRES:

· Ability to work and live successfully in a foreign environment
· Open minded person
·Knowledge of company’s marketing strategy, mission and vision
· Capability to make international affairs

EXPECTED OUTCOMES BEING EXPATRIATE:

· Organizational learning
· Improvement on organizational strategy
· Transfer of new skills and knowledge
· Completion of the job assignment

MAIN ISSUES

Even though, being expatriate may have some many issues, which do not allow the achievement of the assignments because of, most of them have familiar ties that do not let them leave thinking about their assignments only.

Expatriate has expectation to go back because he misses his family or even because he is not ready to be opened to change. Another issue is that it represents a high cost for the company or maybe there is a high cost of failure.

THREE ACTORS IN THE OVERSEAS EXPERIENCE:

1. INDIVIDUALS: the individuals have their own interests being expatriated rather than the company has. They look for powerlessness, good corporate citizen, and career development.

2. COMPANY: The company`s interests are dedicated to develop short-term objectives and new competencies to bring home.


3. INDUSTRY: Its interests are focused on building industry and national expertise. It is looking for transference of cross-cultural skills.

THE EXPATRIATE TRANSITION PROCESS

The person who will send to other country committed with the company`s assignments is going to overtake a process which would change his or her life. He or she has to adjust the foreign country’s culture to his culture avoiding a failure occasioned to the cultural crash.

THE EXPATRIATE SELECTION

Before choosing an expatriate of the multinational company is important to consider:
· Make sure to do an appropriate selection criteria
· The person’s preparation on it
· Career planning- succession plan

Then the selection would be easy:

• Criteria:
  — Technical skills and knowledge
  — Cross cultural awareness + interpersonal skills

• Success factors:
  — Job factors
  — Relational dimensions (cultural empathy, flexibility=
  — Motivational state
  — Family situation

• Preparation:
  — Language skills
  — Technical knowledge and skills
  — Cross-cultural training
  
  
  
  Question:
  
  Explain one of the causes for expatriate assignment failure and provide 3 recommendations to address it.
  


• REASONS FOR EXPATRIATE FAILURE:
• Inability of spouse to adjust
• Difficulties with new environment
• Personal or emotional problems
• Other familiar problems
• Lack of technical skills

• According to these reasons for failure the recommendations are involve to:
• Hire people with international traveling experience
• To make an excellent selection process
• To offer good compensation plans (living, transportation, and education for children)
  
  
• References:
  Inkson, Kerr et al. 1999. Expatriate assignments and overseas experiences – contrasting models of international human resource development. Journal of World Business. 34: 351-368.
  

MIGRANT WORKERS

‘Voluntary and involuntary movement of people from one place to another’, those people work as migrants in the country that is not their country home. Sometimes they work illegally without formal documents when as desperate way they move trying to find better opportunities to live, such as good income that can afford their needs.

Canada, The United States, England and Spain are examples to this situation. Most of the people that migrate to those destinies are looking better conditions, the most common reasons are:

· Expatriates business people
· Better levels of income
· Better conditions to live for their family
· Looking for peace

They decide to choose those destinies for many reasons additionally because those countries have a high economic level and are known as developed countries, which is the main reason. Migrant workers are the result of economic crisis in the third worlds, it means, undeveloped countries, so many people have decided to look for a better future in big cities.

As a consequence each country has a set of laws or treatments for those people that work as migrants, avoiding to use discrimination on it, even though, native people are not aware of this situation, in some cases they are xenophobic not allowing them since using public transportation to enter into a company. In the case that they were allowed there are other people that do not let they were treated as normal persons.

Nowadays we see on TV many aggressions that native people make to migrants in the subway in Spain for example, that is the same case for companies in those countries, because as soon as they know that the person is from an undeveloped country an the worker is migrant, they hire them as hard workers, like cleaners for example. This kind of jobs is which a native person is not available to make, because of the big effort that he has to do for less payment. As a consequence we see that there is a limited opportunities to work for a migrant worker with less benefits rather than native people.

THE MOST LUCRATIVE JOBS AMONG MIGRANTS ARE:

· Electricians
· Cleaners
· Drivers
· Cashiers
· Constructors
· Waitress

ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION

The controls and laws that governments of those developed countries are based on not allowing people enter to their countries so; they select who can access and who do not like Visa system.

Otherwise, when visa is not given to a person, he or she tries the illegal way. They cross the borders illegally in the worst situation leaving their health at risk of death. Many illegal immigrants suffer hypothermia in the mountains and dehydration in the deserts. Most of these borders are guarded by police officers who control the illegal pass.

¿WHY DO PEOPLE MIGRATE?

· Social and economic exclusion
· The attraction generated by the developed countries
· The need of these countries of counting with migration
· The internal armed conflicts
· Natural disasters

Question:

1. ¿Do you think the Points System in Canada is meant to protect the country’s sovereignty? Or ¿is it just a deliberated form of discrimination? ¿Why?

“Points system” was implemented in 1967, in Canada, which highlights the immigrant’s skills. With this system Canada make a selection on the immigrants that have special skills and economic level in order to keep up the volume of its immigration.

In this context, Canada uses this mechanism to protect the country’s sovereignty. The reason that they give is because of the need of skilled people that contribute to Canada’s economy. ‘Canada may once again become a destination of choice for the skilled and educated workers of these societies as they seek to relocate’



References:

1. Verbeeten, David. 2007. The Past and Future of Immigration to Canada. Journal of International Migration & Integration, 8(1): 1-10.

MANAGING DIVERSITY

Diversity can be explained in a variety of scenarios for this case in the workplace. Managerial staff must contemplate such diversity as an opportunity. There are many aspects to take into account that may have differences or similarities in the people that belong to the diversity in a workplace. These are:

• Age


• Parental status


• Personality


• National origin


• Field of work


• Race


• Gender


• Sexual Orientation


• Religion


• Education


• Thinking style


• Socioeconomic status


• Job classification

Diversity is everywhere, there is diversity in:

• Workforce Diversity (Development, Recruitment)


• Workplace diversity (Organizational insights, Work integration)


• Marketplace diversity (Suppliers, franchises, customers)


• Managing Cultural Diversity
  
  In order to manage cultural diversity is really important to consider at first:


• Organizational Culture


• Human Resource


• Women’s career involment


• Heterogeneity


• Mind-sets


• Cultural Differences


• Educational programs

BENEFITS MANAGING DIVERSITY

Also, managing diversity has some benefits that help to understand why it is important for the organization.

· Higher creativity in decision-making: as a result of diversity, there are diverse ideas and opinions that may help to take a good decision making.
· Better understanding and serving of customers: Creation of products that is appealing to a broader customer base. Those products are innovative in order to satisfy customer needs.
· More satisfied workforce: the workforce is no longer discriminated. Employees that feel that they are discriminated are less committed and motivated.

· Higher stock prices: Investor’s perception about management practices like affordable prices.
Lawsuits: companies that announce settlements for discrimination lawsuits.

· Higher company performance: there is a positive relation between the members mostly for racial diversity and firm performance.

· HRM efficiency


· Decision making, problem-solving, creativity and innovation

· Cross cultural capabilities

· New products/services and marketing strategies



CHALLENGES MANAGING DIVERSITY:


ž Tendency to be attracted by those who are similar
ž Faultlines: It is an attribute that divides the group (organization) into subgroups:
— By age, gender, experience
ž Reduce the cohesion of the team
ž Norms need to be established.
ž The presence of stereotypes: those stereotypes can lead to unfair decision making, which is used to make about particular individuals.
ž Example:
— Women are relationship oriented
— Men are more assertive
— Result: the male candidate is hired for a managing position because he is supposed to be more assertive.




Question:
1.¿Is diversity management at IBM a source of competitive advantage? ¿why?

IBM is one of the fifty companies that are committed to diversity. In this case, the loyal function of those businesses plays an important role to diversity which is a tool for organizational culture which represents a source of competitive advantage. Increasing a diverse workforce and affairs with a diverse set of stakeholders provides firms a competitive advantage, which means low cost with a strong commitment.

2. ¿Do you think the IBM case reflects a strong organisational commitment to diversity? ¿why?

According to the document “The business case for commitment to diversity”, IBM case represented a large contribution giving a commitment to the issue of diversity. The commitment was in 1995 when the ‘CEO Louis Gerstner formed eight executive-level task forces which focused on attracting members of different minority groups, keeping them engaged, and retaining them’.

Bonus question:

¿Do you consider managing diversity a key success factor in the performance of virtual teams?

Conference: Virtual Teams and International Business
Dr. Eoin Higgins PhD

It was explained the definition of Virtual Teams at first: ‘groups of people working together’. Those teams do not have a communication face to face at all; they make use of technology as a way to get a good contact between them. These teams are from different locations each location has different resources, which means each member of a team has to cross boundaries as a challenge.
As an interesting aspect that is related to the subject, he mentioned about multiculturalism in virtual teams which means that each member of the team has to know the other´s culture at first before to get a commitment. It is better than do not know anything about the partner who you are going to have a connection with in business for a long time. Managing diversity is totally connected to virtual teams for all the reasons given before. As a conclusion managing diversity is an important tool factor to the performance, even to the commitment that manager’s staff must take into account for virtual team’s mission.



References:
1. Slater, Stanley F., Weigand, Robert A., Zweilein, Thomas J., 2008. “The business case for commitment to diversity”. Business Horizons 51: 201-209.
2. Conference: Virtual Teams and International Business by Dr. Eoin Higgins PhD