Conflicts in the work of teams are inevitable since

Conflicts in the work of teams are inevitable since team members will undoubtedly find themselves in contradiction over the nature of work and ways it can be done in the best possible way. In teams involving members with culturally diverse backgrounds, the challenge of conflict management will be even greater.These people will rely on â€Å"different conflict norms, different conflict styles, and different conflict rhythms† (Ting-Toomey, 1999). Therefore, the training program for cross-cultural supervisors has to involve issues related to cross-cultural management and its relationship to conflicts. The consideration of the following two cases can be a useful guide to managing cross-cultural conflict in organizational teamwork.Situation 1This situation arose in a team that included a Chinese, three Americans, and an Indian employee. The five worked pretty comfortably together until a certain point. However, it was soon found out that one of the Americans regularly involved in p reparing reports for the Chinese man was not happy with his obligations. It turned out that the Chinese man expected him to do more than was accepted in other departments in preparation of similar reports.The Chinese naturally relied on the American to do it because they were friends. However, Jon (the American employee) was soon tired of doing extra work for someone without getting recognition for the project. At first he tried to be nice, but soon rebelled, which resulted in a nasty scene between the two.In this case, the conflict was the result of both cultural and personal differences. Both were unprepared to handle similar situations and perhaps uncertain of their exact responsibilities in the project.The Chinese employee, coming from a highly collectivist culture, expected friends to help even if it meant serious effort investment on his side. The American, on his part, was bound by the cultural notion that one has to be nice and helpful in professional surroundings. The typic al response of an open US business culture would be to vent unwillingness right away. Jon, because of his personal character, did not share his feelings only to rebel later on.In this case, the team leader solved the problem in a ‘global’ way. He realized that part of the problem was the loose definition of boundaries between employees’ respective responsibilities, which caused confusion. So, all five team members took time to sort out their duties in an effective way.The team leader also proposed a strategy for handling conflict, suggesting that issues be brought up immediately and discussed in the open. To stress this effort, he proposed to organize a team get-together every Friday night where he encouraged employees to confront each other with problematic issues in a friendly atmosphere. This communication strategy seems effective as long as employees are enthusiastic about the initiative.Situation 2The second situation involved a Native American employee in a team supervised by a Western European manager. The problems started right from the time when the team was put together. The Native American employee, aged 32, came from an impoverished reservation background, and learned his computing skills after moving to the city at the age of 23. Being naturally smart, he soon became an expert in his field.However, he had a distinct problem with time management: never submitted reports on time, tended to complete assignments in a haphazard manner, and in general worked in the â€Å"fits and starts† mode. This served him well in an IT company where he was previously employed. However, the new project manager of mixed Dutch-German origin was not at all pleased with the new employee.The source of the conflict was a distinctly different understanding of time by European and Native American culture (LeBaron, 2003). Time was less important in the understanding of the Native American employee. It was a continuum involving past and present and s tretching into the future, rather than the dominant present with its strict deadlines and pressures. Another contributing factor was the European manager’s lack of intercultural experience.He had hardly ever worked abroad before the assignment and certainly never dealt with indigenous cultures. Added to the ethnic culture clash was the conflict of cultures supported by different industries. IT companies are known for their relaxed employee attitudes, while manufacturing to which the IT specialist transferred is less relaxed.