vviewpoints
DOI: 10.1145/1924421.1924431
Emerging markets
managing Global IT Teams:
considering cultural dynamics
Successful global IT team managers combine general distributed
team management skills enhanced with cultural sensitivity.
WoRKInG wITh A glob- ally distributed IT team can offer sub- stantial benefits— sometimes it is the
only way to address certain tasks—but
it also presents challenges. Many studies have addressed how to work well
in these situations: notably, Nunamaker and colleagues present nine
principles for virtual teamwork7 (see
Table 1). Although this advice is likely
to be helpful in general, in our view it
insufficiently addresses differences
in managing teams involving IT staff
from different cultures.
using a Cultural Lens
Applying a cultural lens to Table 1, we
can see several areas where this gen-
erally applicable advice needs further
refinement to account for variations
in cultural orientation.a These adapta-
tions include:
a We follow Hofstede’s5 broadly used cultural
dimensions throughout this column. Readers
are directed to this book for a full treatment of
this topic.
˲ ˲ Reward structures. In general there
is significant variance in what individuals regard as a positive reward. We expect these differences to be even more
pronounced when cultural differences
are accounted for. For example, in an
individualistic culture like the U.S. a
corner office may be viewed as a great
incentive and reward, whereas prestige or leadership title may be more
valued in collectivist cultures as found
in Asia. Through wide-ranging studies of IT employees, Couger2, 3 and col-
Global it team
dynamics will vary
based on the degree
to which group
membership is
voluntary.
leagues frequently found differences
in motivators between workers in different countries. In lower-wage countries, issues with compensation are
weighted much more heavily, while
issues with challenge and promotion
are more heavily valued by IT staff in
higher-wage countries.
˲ ˲ Be more explicit. This admonition may come easily to people of a
low-context culture such as Australia
where individuals tend to speak bluntly without elaboration. But it may take
away some richness from those more
comfortable in a high-context culture
such as the Middle East. Perhaps, in
spite of cultural issues, explicit communication is a necessary ingredient
for successful globally distributed IT
teams. If so, distributed team members in high context countries may
be hard pressed to use the systems in
the manner intended. In order to win
contracts and successfully complete
projects, individuals in such (often
developing) countries may simply
need to conform to norms that are
not preferred. This suggests the need
for designers to consider creation of