Conflicts in Intercultural Teams and the Role of the Team Leader

Seminar paper from the year 2016 in the subject Business economics - Corporate communication, grade: 2,0, University of applied sciences, Bremen, language: English, abstract: This term paper aims to point out where the challenges of intercultural teams lie and how these can be met accordingly. The problem is going to be approached by using the management’s perspective. Firstly, there will be explained how culture can be defined. Next to that, possible cultural differences will be explained by making use of Hofstede´s Five Cultural Dimensions. Through this there shall be outlined where potential fields of conflict can lie between different cultures. Hereafter, the term paper is going to point out, where the benefits of an intercultural team lie, in order to generate a better understanding of the necessity to develop appropriate management competencies. Next to that, potential fields of conflict will be explained that exist in an intercultural team and that ought to be prevented. Therefore the critical success factors of an intercultural team will be outlined with special focus on the role of the team leader of an intercultural team. Due to globalisation companies nowadays find themselves in an international working environment. This is the fact considering business relationships with external partners, but the internationalization can also be found within the companies. The working environment is not only characterized though a higher complexity but also through international and intercultural teams. On the one hand, this circumstance holds many potentials from which a company can benefit. On the other hand, it can also be challenging though, as management can also be confronted with problems arising from a clash of cultures in multinational teams. The potential for conflict can lie in the different understandings of morals and values, but also in communication problems. In order to meet these challenges, intercultural competencies have become an important skill for team leaders in companies that operate internationally.