Effective Multicultural Teams: Theory and Practice

Theory and Practice of Multicultural Teams (TPMT) will help students understand the most current theory and practice perspectives relevant to multicultural teams, and apply these theories as team members and/or managers, facilitators and leaders. It is designed for classroom use in management and organizational behavior courses where students at the graduate and certificate level are developing skills to work in teams. It is intended to be a core text but may be used as a supplemental text as well. TPMT is unique in that it utilizes a tri-lens approach: cultural differences, social identity, and individual personality differences. The initial four chapters written by the co-editors provide a comprehensive and integrative overview of the importance of multicultural teamwork theory and practice, current trends, a conceptual framework for team effectiveness, approaches to understanding the impact of culture, social identity and personality on teamwork, and the developmental stages of teams. The remaining chapters written by others focus on major team processes: group dynamics, leadership, communication, conflict, and problem solving/decision making. The examples and ideas are global, inclusive of all sectors, and relate to virtual and face-to-face teams. Each of the chapters contains relevant competencies, and assessments.