By: Nabira Adnan

The prevalence of e-communication and virtual meeting platforms has aided in creating a more globalized economy in the United States. These tools can facilitate efficient communication  between international branches within a company and with other businesses. These international networks result in people from diverse backgrounds collaborating together.  Aside from the opportunity for a greater allocation of resources and a larger consumer market, other advantages of conducting international business lies within the creation of multicultural teams. Multicultural teams allow for the pooling of expertise, ideas, resources and social networks to complete a goal (Dibble & Gibson, 2013). However, a drawback of multicultural teams is that conflict may arise when people with differing cultures work together. While there has been a growing body of research focussing on multicultural teams and international business relations, there is scarce research focussing specifically on the Middle Eastern region’s work culture and their international collaboration efforts (Grossman et al., 2021). Despite this, the Middle East, a region with a collectivist work culture, has been able to work with the United States on projects that have resulted in stronger political ties, medical breakthroughs, and humanitarian aid (Grossman et al., 2021). The positive outcomes that have resulted from this international relationship prove that it is vital to learn about challenges that may arise due to differences in Middle Eastern and American work values. Understanding the causes of conflict can lead to the development of potential solutions on how to manage collaborations between the Middle East and America, which can result in more effective teamwork. 

Both Middle Eastern and American cultures understand that in general, collaboration is associated with challenges and difficulties (Grossman et al., 2021). To overcome these challenges, it is crucial to be aware of the differences between each culture. Before delving into the specific values for each region, it is important to note that Middle Eastern values that affect collaboration and teamwork are mostly collectivist in nature, while the United States has a more individualistic work culture (Grossman et al., 2021). Other factors that influence collaboration are power distance and uncertainty avoidance. Power distance is defined as “the extent to which less powerful members of organizations and institutions accept and expect power is distributed unequally” (Grossman et al., 2021; Hofstede, 1991). When collaborating, low power distance cultures, such as the United States, tend to be less formal when expressing task-related opinions with people of varying power. On the other hand, high power distance cultures, such as the Middle East, have formal etiquettes when interacting with people in power (Grossman et al., 2021 ). Contrary to America, the Middle East scores high in uncertainty avoidance. This means that countries in this region try to combat highly ambiguous situations (which are often associated with the adaptive nature of collaboration) by strictly following rules and guidelines (Grossman et al., 2021). These contrasting factors provide an explanation for the polar differences between each culture found in a study by Grossman and colleagues (2021). The researchers utilize Bedwell et. al’s (2012) core elements of collaboration as a foundation to compare and contrast the beliefs Middle Eastern countries and the United States have on collaboration. It is concluded that, due to factors such as past economic blunders, high power distance, and high uncertainty avoidance, the Middle East places higher importance on interactions and personal characteristics, extrinsic rewards, and equal distribution of resources when it comes to collaboration (Grossman et al., 2021). On the other hand, the American work culture tends to focus on task orientation, prefer individual achievement and recognition, and emphasize equity when it comes to distribution of resources (Grossman et al., 2021). 

Heterogeneous teams and groups are recognized as being less successful when it comes to teamwork (Dibble & Gibson, 2013). This can be particularly evident for collaboration between America and the Middle East if members within the multicultural group refuse to learn about and accommodate for each other’s work culture. Remaining ignorant about each other’s work values will cause individuals from each culture to have different expectations of what collaboration entails (Salazar & Salas, 2013).  This can lead to  issues with time management, interactions between team members, and the overall output of the group (Salazar & Salas, 2013). Additionally, ethnocentric views of one’s work culture and forcing one’s values upon others can result in many negative outcomes. This is exemplified in a study where HR and diversity managers forced their western management systems in their company’s branches in the Middle Eastern and North African regions, which resulted in employee dissatisfaction (Hennekam et al., 2017). However, the largest issue concerning multicultural teams, especially with regard to the Middle East, is the communication barrier. Language barriers result in a multitude of problems including knowledge gaps for important information, difficulties in sharing ideas, and misinterpretation (Dibble & Gibson, 2013; Salazar & Salas, 2013)

Conflict can certainly arise with work cultures that seem to be on opposite ends of a continuum. However, the development of solutions to bridge the gap between both cultures can result in quality teamwork in multicultural teams. Based on the challenges previously mentioned, it is of utmost importance that members within the collaboration effort are offered training and resources required to break down the communication barrier, such as high quality translators (Salazar & Salas, 2013). Once team members have the ability to properly understand each other, teamwork and overcoming conflict will become less of an issue. This is because effective communication of expectations for collaboration and team goals allows team members to discuss and find a common ground, preventing setbacks caused by miscommunication (Dibble & Gibson, 2013; Grossman et al., 2021).

The following paragraph summarizes management practices Grossman and colleagues (2021) offer to Americans to accommodate Middle Eastern views on collaboration.These multicultural teams should focus on fostering interpersonal relationships within teams. While this is a foundational value in Middle Eastern culture, placing a higher importance on interpersonal relationships can foster better teamwork for Americans, as they tend to focus more on individual recognition and tasks. It is also important that American employees learn about the Middle Eastern behaviors and attitudes that are influenced by their religion to ensure that they do not accidently disrespect their new collaborators. Because both cultures value intrinsic rewards, these motivators should still be offered. However, more extrinsic rewards and recognition should be rewarded to the team. Finally, due to both cultures having opposing views on how resources should be allocated to team members, it suggested that equity or equality should be utilized depending on circumstances that should be discussed between team members before-hand.  

When conflict does arise in these multicultural teams, effective communication can now allow these team members to work together to try to resolve the conflict. The resolving strategy used for collaboration problems involves negotiations with internal and external stakeholders and working together (Dibble & Gibson, 2013). A study conducted by Dibble and Gibson (2013) concluded that the resolving strategy of adjustment is much more effective than other strategies such as retreating. The retreating strategy can be associated with avoidance, which would most likely be utilized for Middle Eastern and American collaborations if members are unable to communicate and understand each other’s cultures (Dibble & Gibson, 2013). Rather than ignoring the problem at hand, the collaboration members have a higher chance of developing a creative solution due to their diverse backgrounds (Salazar & Salas, 2013). Thus, the resolving strategy is to be encouraged in multicultural teams.

The solutions provided can be applied to other multicultural collaborations, as well as American teamwork research. Implementing collective ideals in our individualistic work culture offers the opportunity to enhance team work, such as creating better connections between team members and strengthening team identification (Grossman et al., 2021). All of the recommended solutions involve some degree of effective communication. Thus, ensuring that Middle Eastern employees and American employees have the ability to share their thoughts and ideas should be the top priority for managing collaborations between these two regions. The current positive outcomes that have resulted from the Middle East and America working together and the scarce research about management methods for the collaboration between the two regions should encourage researchers to explore this subject more. By doing so, the Middle East and America can continue to work together to  invent solutions to global problems and establish a stronger relationship between each other.

 Works Cited

Dibble, R., & Gibson, C. (2013). Collaboration for the common good: An examination of challenges and adjustment processes in multicultural collaborations. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 34(6), 764–790. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.1872

Grossman, R., Campo, M. S., Feitosa, J., & Salas, E. (2021). Cross-cultural Perspectives on collaboration: Differences between the Middle East and the United States. Journal of Business Research, 129, 2–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.02.031

Hennekam, S., Tahssain-Gay, L., & Syed, J. (2017). Contextualising Diversity Management in the Middle East and North Africa: A relational perspective. Human Resource Management Journal, 27(3), 459–476. https://doi.org/10.1111/1748-8583.12150

Salazar, M., & Salas, E. (2013). Reflections of cross-cultural collaboration science. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 34(6), 910–917. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.1881