Cultural adaptation as the challenge in international teams Cover Image

Adaptacja kulturowa jako wyzwanie w zespołach międzynarodowych
Cultural adaptation as the challenge in international teams

Author(s): Beata Krawczyk-Bryłka, Dominika Fijałkowska
Subject(s): Business Economy / Management, International relations/trade, Culture and social structure , Socio-Economic Research
Published by: Społeczna Akademia Nauk
Keywords: cultural diversity; intercultural teams; cultural adaptation; on-boarding process

Summary/Abstract: Challenges linked to multicultural working environment have commonly referred to managerial positions in the organization, due to managers’ migrations and close cooperation with branches in different countries. Yet the evolution of international businesses has begun to involve ordinary employees, as the movement of labour is an ongoing trend currently. As a result employees become members of multicultural teams that face the similar problems as the management that need to adjust their working style to international situation, such as cultural shock. Having that in mind, main point of focus for the leaders should be the process of preparing team members for working in the circumstances of cultural diversity. The aim of this article is to emphasize the new perspective of cultural adaptation of employees cooperating within the multicultural teams and to develop recommendations for the activities to be applied by team leaders, which would prepare those employees to their working situation. Deliberations on this matter rely on research made within the group of 50 employees of international corporations based in Tri-City district, Poland, that focused on identification of tools that might be found useful in the process of cultural adaptation and confrontating current organizational acitivity with employees’ needs.

  • Issue Year: 16/2015
  • Issue No: 3.3
  • Page Range: 7-18
  • Page Count: 12
  • Language: Polish