3: Writing Collaboratively

Culture and Collaboration

For more about multicultural issues, see “Communicating Across Cultures” in Ch. 4.

Most collaborative teams in industry and in the classroom include people from other cultures. The challenge for all team members is to understand the ways in which cultural differences can affect team behavior. People from other cultures

might find it difficult to assert themselves in collaborative teams
might be unwilling to respond with a definite “no”
might be reluctant to admit when they are confused or to ask for clarification
might avoid criticizing others
might avoid initiating new tasks or performing creatively

Even the most benign gesture of friendship on the part of a U.S. student can cause confusion. If a U.S. student casually asks a Japanese student about her major and the courses she is taking, the Japanese student might find the question too personal—yet she might consider it perfectly appropriate to talk about her family and her religious beliefs (Lustig & Koester, 2012). Therefore, you should remain open to encounters with people from other cultures without jumping to conclusions about what their actions might or might not mean.