Shared cognition in intercultural teams: collaborating without understanding each other

IF 1.6 Q3 MANAGEMENT Team Performance Management Pub Date : 2020-04-13 DOI:10.1108/tpm-06-2019-0051
Frode Heldal, E. Sjøvold, Kenneth Stålsett
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引用次数: 3

Abstract

Severe misunderstandings have been proved to cause significant delays and financial overruns in large engineering projects with teams consisting of people from Western and Asian cultures. The purpose of this study was to determine if differences in shared cognition may explain some of the crucial misunderstandings in intercultural production teams.,The study has used systematizing the person–group relationship (SPGR) survey methodology, supported by interviews, to study mental models in six South Korean teams that also includes Norwegian engineers (52 individuals). In so doing, the study uses the theoretical framework of Healey et al. (2015), where X-mental representations involve actions that are automated and subconscious and C-mental representations involve actions that are verbalized reasonings and conscious. People may share mental models on the X-level without sharing on the C-level, depicting a situation where teams are coordinated without understanding why (surface discordance).,The findings of the study are that people with different cultural backgrounds in an intercultural team may learn to adapt to each other when the context is standardized, without necessarily understanding underlying meanings and intentions behind actions (surface discordance). This may create a perception about team members not needing to explicate opinions (sharing at the C-level). This in turn may create challenges in anomalous situations, where deliberate sharing of C-mental models is required to find new solutions and/or admit errors so that they may be adjusted. The findings indicate that the non-sharing of explicated reasonings (C-mental models) between Norwegians and Koreans contributed in sharing C-mental models, despite having an implicit agreement on how to perform standard tasks (sharing X-mental models).,The study is limited to Norwegians and Koreans working in production teams. Future studies could benefit from more cultures and/or different team contexts. The authors’ believe that the findings may also concern other standardized environments and corroborate previous perspectives on intercultural teams needing to both train (develop similar X-mental representations) and reflect together (develop similar C-mental representations).,Based on our findings we suggest the using of cross-cultural training at a deeper level than previously suggested, training in both social interaction patterns as well as verbalizing logical reasoning together. This entails reaching a shared and joint understanding of not only actions but also values, feelings and teamwork functions. This can be enabled by group conversations and training in dynamic team patterns. Important is, however, that standardized contexts may dampen the perception of the need to do both.,The study contributes to current research on intercultural teams by focusing on a dual-mode perspective on shared cognition, relating these to contextual factors. In this, the authors’ answer the call in previous research for more information on contextual matters and a focus on interaction in intercultural teams. The study also shows how the differences between X-mental and C-mental shared mental models play out in a practical setting.
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跨文化团队中的共同认知:在不相互理解的情况下合作
事实证明,在由来自西方和亚洲文化的人组成的大型工程项目中,严重的误解会导致重大的延误和财务超支。本研究的目的是确定共享认知的差异是否可以解释跨文化生产团队中一些关键的误解。该研究采用了系统化的个人-群体关系(SPGR)调查方法,并辅以访谈,对包括挪威工程师在内的6个韩国团队(52人)的心理模型进行了研究。在此过程中,该研究使用了Healey等人(2015)的理论框架,其中x -心理表征涉及自动和潜意识的行为,c -心理表征涉及言语推理和有意识的行为。人们可能在x层次上共享心智模型,而不在c层次上共享,描述团队在不理解原因(表面不一致)的情况下进行协调。研究发现,跨文化团队中具有不同文化背景的人可能会在语境标准化时学会相互适应,而不一定理解行为背后的潜在含义和意图(表面不一致)。这可能会产生一种团队成员不需要解释意见(在c级分享)的感觉。反过来,这可能会在异常情况下产生挑战,在这种情况下,需要有意识地共享c -心智模型,以找到新的解决方案和/或承认错误,以便进行调整。研究结果表明,尽管挪威人和韩国人在如何执行标准任务(共享x -心智模型)上有隐含的共识,但他们之间不共享明确的推理(c -心智模型)有助于共享c -心智模型。该研究仅限于在生产队工作的挪威人和韩国人。未来的研究可以从更多的文化和/或不同的团队背景中受益。作者认为,这些发现也可能与其他标准化环境有关,并证实了先前关于跨文化团队既需要训练(发展类似的x心理表征)又需要共同反思(发展类似的c心理表征)的观点。根据我们的研究结果,我们建议在比之前建议的更深层次上使用跨文化培训,在社会互动模式和语言逻辑推理方面进行培训。这不仅需要在行动上,还需要在价值观、情感和团队功能上达成共同的理解。这可以通过小组对话和动态团队模式的培训来实现。然而,重要的是,标准化的环境可能会削弱对两者都需要的认识。该研究通过关注共享认知的双模式视角,并将其与情境因素联系起来,为当前跨文化团队的研究做出了贡献。在这方面,作者回应了先前研究中关于上下文问题的更多信息和对跨文化团队互动的关注的呼吁。该研究还显示了x -心智和c -心智共享心智模式之间的差异在实际环境中是如何发挥作用的。
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来源期刊
CiteScore
3.40
自引率
29.40%
发文量
28
期刊介绍: This international journal contributes to the successful implementation and development of work teams and team-based organizations by providing a forum for sharing experience and learning to stimulate thought and transfer of ideas. It seeks to bridge the gap between research and practice by publishing articles where the claims are evidence-based and the conclusions have practical value. Effective teams form the heart of every successful organization. But team management is one of the hardest challenges faced by managers.
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