Requisite variety and intercultural teams: to what extent is Ashby's law useful ?

Requisite variety and intercultural teams: To what extent is Ashby's law useful? The “Law of Requisite Variety” (LRV) is frequently evoked to explain the design, functioning and performance of intercultural teams. But to what extent does the law really enhance understanding in this particular field? The authors consider that LRV has rarely been questioned in-depth in management studies. The paper briefly details LRV in the cybernetics context before “translating” it to social systems, organizations and intercultural teams. Using a qualitative case-study method, the case of an intercultural team is analysed and questioned from the perspective of LRV. The results show that LRV superficially fits the composition of this team, but is unable to explain the human and social dynamics that evolve during the work process.law of requisite variety; requisite variety; intercultural teams ; complexity ; diversity; systems; case study

La compétence interculturelle est-elle acquise grâce à l'expérience internationale ?

International audienceLes compétences interculturelles sont difficiles à évaluer, et les facteurs permettant de les développer, mal connus. Cette étude opérationnalise une conceptualisation multidimensionnelle de la compétence interculturelle, incluant traits de personnalité et connaissances. Une enquête auprès de 443 personnes de 27 pays, et à l’expérience internationale très variable, montre que les personnes ayant le plus d’expériences internationales sont aussi celles dont les compétences interculturelles sont les plus élevées. Mais l’impact de l’expérience internationale sur la compétence interculturelle atteint seulement 5%. L’expérience internationale ne peut donc pas être utilisée comme « proxy » pour la compétence interculturelle. Les résultats révèlent également l’existence d’effets de seuil liés aux voyages à l’étranger

"Estrangeirismo" and flexibility: intercultural learning in Brazilian MNCs

How do Multinational Companies (MNC) learn to adapt to foreign markets and cultural differences ? We examine seven qualitative case studies of Brazilian MNCs which show that international experience and intercultural interaction, supported by geocentric international human resource strategies, are key factors in the organizational development of intercultural competence. Brazil appears to be a particularly interesting case, as certain characteristics of Brazilian culture, such as “estrangeirismo” and flexibility, seem to foster the development of intercultural competence.Comment les entreprises multinationales apprennent-elles à s’adapter aux marchés étrangers et aux différences culturelles ? Sept études de cas qualitatives d’entreprises multinationales brésiliennes montrent que l’expérience internationale et l’interaction interculturelle, renforcées par des stratégies internationales de ressources humaines géocentriques, sont des facteurs clés du développement de compétences interculturelles organisationnelles. Le contexte du Brésil apparaît comme particulièrement intéressant, car certaines spécificités de la culture brésilienne, comme l’ « estrangeirismo » et la flexibilité, semblent accélérer le développement de compétences interculturelles.¿Cómo aprenden las empresas multinacionales a adaptarse a los mercados extranjeros y a las diferencias culturales ? Siete estudios de caso cualitativos de empresas multinacionales brasileñas enseñan que la experiencia internacional y la interacción intercultural, fortalecidas por estrategias internacionales de recursos humanos geocéntricas, son los factores clave del desarrollo de habilidades interculturales organizacionales. El contexto de Brasil aparece como especialmente interesante, pues ciertas especifidades de la cultura brasileña, como el « estrangeirismo » y la flexibilidad, parecen acelerar el desarrollo de habilidades interculturales

Intercultural Learning in Global Teams

International audienc

La compétence interculturelle : état de l'art et perspectives

L’importance de la compétence interculturelle dans les affaires internationales est largement reconnue, mais il n’existe pas de commun accord quant à la définition du concept et à son évaluation. Cet article tente de dresser l’état de l’art sur ces questions. L’analyse des travaux existants permet de proposer une conception de la compétence interculturelle englobant un volet spécifique à certaines cultures ainsi qu’un volet « général ». L’auteur réalise également une synthèse des modes d’évaluation de la compétence interculturelle, place ceux-ci dans un contexte d’analyse plus large, celui de l’évaluation des compétences en général, et montre leurs points forts et limites.The important role of intercultural competence in international business is greatly acknowledged, but there is no agreement on the definition of the concept, and its evaluation. This paper provides a state of the art on these questions. The analysis of existing research leads to the conception of intercultural competence as comprehending culture-specific and general aspects. The author also proposes a synthesis of the ways to evaluate intercultural competence. Those are discussed within the framework of the evaluation of competences in general, and their strengths and weaknesses are outlined.La relevancia de la competencia intercultural en los negocios internacionales está ampliamente reconocida, pero no existe ningún acuerdo común respecto a la definición del concepto y a su evaluación. Este artículo intenta dibujar el estado de la cuestión sobre estos temas. El análisis de los trabajos existentes permite proponer una concepción de la competencia intercultural que abarque una parte específica a algunas culturas así como una parte « general ». El autor opera también una síntesis de los modos de evaluación de la competencia intercultural, los coloca en un contexto de análisis más amplio, el de la evaluación de las competencias en general, y enseña sus puntos fuertes y límites

" Not all multilingual teams are created equal " : Conceptualizing Language Diversity Management

International audienceLanguage diversity is an inherent aspect of international work, and multinational companies have been described as multilingual communities by definition. Recent research has made progress in demonstrating the ways in which language diversity can affect teams and organizations by significantly influencing communication and knowledge-sharing, group dynamics, and power relations, all pointing to the necessity of organizations taking a strategic approach to language management. However, current research does not tell us much about which team language management practices are most effective for specific team configurations and organizational contexts. The aim of this paper is to contribute to fill this knowledge gap through a review of literature in order to build a conceptual model which lays groundwork for studying the connections between a multilingual team’s characteristics, the processes by which the team overcomes or deals with language barriers, and the team’s performance. Language diversity can be compared with other kinds of diversity, differences among individuals which can play a role in organizational outcomes. We first examine the concept of language diversity and language management through the lens of diversity literature. Teams can differ significantly in terms of their purpose, their composition, ways they interact, the duration of their collaboration, the institutional context in which they are embedded, and language management practices are to be adjusted to these team characteristics. As a secondary contribution of this paper, we propose the notion of team language configuration that is to say, the number of native and “foreign” languages present and the team members’ proficiency and experience in using them. The team language configuration is one aspect of the team’s characteristics to which a company’s approach to language management ought to be adjusted. Anchored in diversity theory as well as in research on multicultural teams and in the growing body of work on language diversity in international management, this article then proposes a conceptual model. We aimed at developing a model that, when followed up with empirical studies will lead us to better understand: 1) whether certain language management practices are best suited to particular types of teams, in particular institutional contexts 2) how it is that that some teams handle language diversity more effectively and with a greater degree of satisfaction than others. This knowledge is important if research is to support team leaders and organizations in effective management of multilingual teams