How does having members of different cultures on a team affect the team’s performance?

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Respond to at least two of your classmates. Participate in the discussion by asking a question, providing a statement of clarification, providing a point of view with a rationale, challenging an aspect of the discussion, or indicating a relationship between two or more lines of reasoning in the discussion. Complete your participation for this assignment by the end of week.

Discussion Question 2


With a society that is so diverse in its own nature, issues pertaining to cultural diversity are bound to occur in the process of team management and leadership. Using the South University Online Library or the Internet, research about cultural diversity. Based on your research and understanding, answer the following questions:

  • How does having members of different cultures on a team affect the team’s performance?
  • How would you incorporate a person from a culture of your choice into your team, keeping in mind communication differences within your and the chosen culture?

Reply to my peers

Peer 1

Having members of different cultures can improve the team’s performance by introducing new perspectives and improving patient care. According to the textbook and the IOM, one skill that allows teams to cooperate effectively is when team members learn about each other’s backgrounds, values, and expertise (Murray, 2017). With a diverse team, members will have a wide range of backgrounds. Understanding each other’s backgrounds improves the group’s cultural competence and strengthens relationships within the group. Having various cultural backgrounds also improves the group’s problem-solving skills, as there are more perspectives and viewpoints to work with. Patient care also improves with better cultural competence because patients are at less risk of falling victim to unequal care due to disparities and stereotyping.

If I were to incorporate a person from a culture different from mine, for example, someone of Hispanic descent, I would first assess their nursing expertise and background and highlight any skills that would be useful for the team. For example, a team member who speaks Spanish would be particularly useful for communicating with Spanish-speaking patients. Ultimately, I would be sure to incorporate them into the team like any member while keeping in mind any cultural traits that would benefit the team’s performance.

References

Murray, E. (2017). Nursing Leadership and Management for Patient Safety and Quality Care. Philadelphia, PA: F. A. Davis. ISBN: 9780803630215

Peer 2

A health system’s commitment to delivering culturally competent care is essential in creating a culture of respect for patients, clinicians and administrative staff (Kumra et al., 2020). Cultural diversity is an essential aspect in a team especially when much focus is on utilizing the strengths of each culture to achieve a team’s set goals.  Unfortunately, there are situations when the cultural differences lead to the isolation of team members, often making it hard for the team to achieve the desired outcome (Kälin, 2017).  When a team is composed of members from different ethnicities, nationalities, and gender backgrounds, there will be diverse solutions to organizational problems that may hinder the team members from performing joint tasks.

Incorporating an individual from a different culture into the team requires acknowledging and respecting cultural differences, getting insight into the strengths of the culture, and how they can be utilized within the team (Cochran et al., 2017). By focusing on the strengths of the culture it will allow for positive facets to be incorporated into the team.  As a team, we would focus on making sure that every team member felt comfortable with each other which would help build team trust.

References:

Cochran, D., Saleem, S., Khowaja-Punjwani, S., & Lantos, J. D. (2017). Cross-cultural differences in communication about a dying child. Pediatrics, 140(5), e20170690.

Kälin, W. (2017). Troubled communication: Cross-cultural misunderstandings in the asylum-hearing. In International Refugee Law (pp. 175-186). Routledge.

Kumra, T., Hsu, Y. J., Cheng, T. L., Marsteller, J. A., McGuire, M., & Cooper, L. A. (2020). The association between organizational cultural competence and teamwork climate in a network of primary care practices. Health care management review, 45(2), 106–116. https://doi.org/10.1097/HMR.0000000000000205