Managing a Multinational Team: Lessons from Project GLOBE Paul J. Hanges University of Maryland.

Managing a Multinational Team: Lessons from Project GLOBE

Paul J. HangesUniversity of Maryland

GLOBE Project

Robert J. House1991Objectives of project• Are there any universal aspects of

leadership?• Explore relationships between societal

culture, organizational culture and organizational leadership.

• Develop quantitative and qualitative description of the cultures studied

SOCIETALCULTURE

ORGANIZATIONALCULTURE AND

PRACTICES

LEADERATTRIBUTES

AND BEHAVIOR

CULTURALLY ENDORSEDIMPLICIT LEADERSHIP

THEORY (CLT)

LEADERACCEPTANCE AND

EFFECTIVENESS

1992 House worked with Paul Koopman, Henk Thiery, Celeste Wilderome, & Phillip Podsakoff

1993Mike Agar, Paul Hanges, Tony Ruiz-Quintanilla Initial Funding from Dwight D. Eisenhower Leadership Education Program of the Department of Education.

October of 1993 Researchers from 28 countries were participating in the project.• Collected Quantitative Data• Collected Qualitative Data• Wrote country specific interpretations of

cultures• Interpreted results of quantitative data

relevant to their culture• Ensured the accuracy of the

questionnaire translations• Contributed their insights to project

PHASE 1: SCALE DEVELOPMENTAND VALIDATION

Item Generation Q-Sort

Item Evaluation

Reports

Calgary Meeting & New itemsPILOT

STUDY 1(20)

TranslationBack-translation

PHASE 2PILOT

STUDY 2(23)

TranslationBack-translation

GLOBE Research Project

Bob House (Principal Investigator)GLOBE Coordinating Team

Paul J. Hanges, Marcus W. Dickson, S. Antonio Ruiz-Quintanilla, Michael Agar

Over 170 CCIsIkhlas A. Abdalla, Sami Al Ali Adday, Adebowale Akande, Bolanle, Elizabeth Akande, Staffan Akerblom, Moudi Al-Houmoud, Eden Alvarez-Backus, Victor Alvarez-Ramos, Carlos Altschul, Carlos Andujar-Rojas, Maria Eugenia Arias, Ahmed Sakr Ashour, Giuseppe Audia, Gyula Bakacsi, Helena Bendova, Domenico Bodega, Muzaffer Bodur, Lize Booysen, Hamid Bouchikhi, Dimitris Bourantas, Nakiye Boyacigiller, Klas Brenk, Felix C. Brodbeck, Sandy Chau, Chieh-Chen Chang, Young-Chul Chang, Frenda Cheung, Jagdeep S. Chhokar, Peter Cosgriff, Ali Dastmalchian, Columbia de Bustamente, David L. Dean, Jose Augusto Dela Coleta, Marilia Ferreira Dela Coleta, Deanne N. Den Hartog, Peter Dorfman, Christopher Earley, Mahmoud Abed Elaziz El-Gamal, Miriam Erez, Mark Fearing, Richard H. G. Field, Michael Frese, Reginald Garters, Mikhail V. Gratchev, Frans Mardi Hartanto, Peggy Sue Heath, Ingalill Holmberg, Marina Holzer, Jon P. Howell, John C. Ickis, Zakaria Ismail, Maddy Janssens, Slawomir Jarmuz, Mansour Javidan, Bao Je-Ming, Gregory Jeregian, Jorge Correia Jesuino, Ji Li, Bao Jiming, Hayat E. Kabasakal, Jeffrey C. Kennedy, Paul L. Koopman, Edvard Konrad, Leena Lahti-Kotilainen, Huseyin Leblebici, Francisco Leguizamon, Martin Lindell, Jean Lobell, Jerzy Maczynski, Norma Mansour, Miguel E. Martinez-Lugo, Cecilia McMillen, Nabil M. Morsi, Jeremiah O'Connell, Enrique Ogliastri, Athan Papalexandris, Nancy Papalexandris, Maria Marta Preziosa, Boris Rakitski, Gerhard Reber, Nicoli Rogouski, Amir Rozen, Argio Sabadin, Carmen Santana Melgoza, Daniel Alan Sauers, Camilla Sigfrids, Mirrian Sjofjan, Erna Szabo, Gregory Teal, Henk Thierry, Jeff Thomas, Anne Tsui, Marius van Wyk, Marie Vondrysova, Jürgen Weibler, Celeste P. M. Wilderom, Hong Wu, Rolf Wunderer, Jean-Marc Xuereb, Nik Rahimah Nik Yacob, Rachid Zeffane.

AlbaniaArgentina AustriaAustraliaBoliviaBrazilCanadaChinaColombiaCosta RicaDenmarkEcuadorEl SalvadorEnglandEgyptFinland FranceGermany (East & West)Georgia

Phase 2 CountriesGreeceGuatemalaHong KongHungaryIndiaIndonesiaIranIrelandIsraelItalyJapanKazakhstanKuwaitMalaysiaMexicoMoroccoNetherlandsNew ZealandNamibiaNigeria

PhilippinesPoland PortugalQatarRussiaSingaporeSlovenia SpainSouth AfricaSouth KoreaSwedenSwitzerlandTaiwanThailandTurkey VenezuelaUSAZambiaZimbabwe

Description: Value Based - Charismatic

DynamicMotive ArouserExcellence OrientedConfidence BuilderTeam BuilderMotivationalDecisiveEncouragingPositiveForesight

Universal Leadership Attributes

9

Description: Reliable/Trustworthy

CoordinatorDependableTrustworthyIntelligentJustHonest

Description: Management Competence

Win-win Problem SolverAdministratively SkilledPlans AheadInformedEffective BargainerCommunicative

10

LOWEST RATED LEADER ATTRIBUTES

Description

LonerIrritableAsocialNon-explicitEgocentricRuthlessDictatorialNon-cooperative

11

Findings

Societal Levelof Analysis

OrganizationalLevel of Analysis

Cultural Orientation Values

Power DistanceUncertainty Avoidance

In-Group Collectivism

Performance Orientation

+

-



Culturally EndorsedLeadership Theory

Self-Protective Leadership

Self-Centered Status Conscious Conflict Inducer Face Saver Procedured

12



Cultural Orientation Values

Gender Egalitarianism

In-Group Collectivism

Performance Orientation

Humane Orientation

Future Orientation

(No negatively-relateddimensions for this Leadership style)

+

-



Charismatic / Value-Based Leadership

Visionary Inspirational Self-Sacrificial High Integrity Decivise Performance Oriented

Culturally EndorsedLeadership Theory

13

Products

House, Hanges, Dorfman, Javidan & Gupta (2004)Chokkar, Brodbeck & House (2006)Over 200 papers, books chapters and academic presentationsSIOP’s 2004 M. Scott Myers Award Phase 3 consisting of CEO & TMT in 26 different countries

Challenges

Long-term nature of the projectDynamic size of the teamLarge membership size of the teamVirtual nature of communicationsCultural differences of participantsIntermittent funding

Challenges

Long-term commitment & patience from CCIsFor many, GLOBE became the major academic research project for a decade

How to sustain motivation for the long haul?Keeping everyone motivated & on track was a daunting taskMisunderstandings • of authorship (frequently) & rewards for prior work• Which team members would participate in future

phases

Long-Term Nature of the GLOBE Project

Choose team members wiselySimilar to the humorous saying, “one should choose their parents wisely” Quiz, if you choose academics, what level academic is optimum?

Develop a social contract at the beginning of the project

Make it as specific as possible while maintaining some workable flexibilityUnfortunately, although the social contract was explicitly discussed, written down & agreed upon, throughout GLOBE’s life cycle, the social contract’s concepts had different meanings to GLOBE participants

Recommendations


Document tangible evidence of progress & share it with the entire membership of the organization

Schedule a major intervention, e.g., the release of some data results (correlation tables of major variables) to the CCIs or hold an event ( intra-GLOBE conference in Philadelphia in 1997)

Build in success milestones such as conference presentations and fun group activities

e.g., pub gatherings and elaborate dinners

Find a volunteer (with proven organization skills) who will assiduously handle numerous time consuming, inherently dull tasks related to potential publication efforts


Recommendations

Challenges

1993: CCIs from 28 countriesPilot Study 1: 20 countriesAugust 1994: CCIs from 43 countries1997: Over 170 CCIs from 62 countriesOrganizational structure of the project changed to handle the growing number of CCIsProblems

Timelines for new countries & collaborators were out of sync with more tenured membersWhen to stop admitting new countries & collaborators with new data vs. staying on publication schedule

Dynamic Size of GLOBE Team

Recommendations

Determine what additional skills or capabilities are needed on the team prior to inviting new members to join

e.g., statistical experts Determine in advance the windows of time when new members can join the team

New team members should join during transition phases of the project

Develop a discussion strategy and organizational structure for decisions regarding team membership

e.g., a single decision maker versus a committee Develop some simple documentation of the project’s history, major decisions, and future deadlines

Though we did not do this for the GLOBE project, it would have helped

Dynamic Size of GLOBE Team

Challenges

Good NewsOnce recruitment began, GLOBE had dozens of CCIsColleagues were invited to joinNumber of researchers in each nation often grew as CCIs were added depending on the needs of each country’s research project

Large Size of the GLOBE Team

Bad NewsEnormous difficulty keeping track of who was• On the team• Actively participating• Recently put on the team

– By nature of politics in a country or favors granted

Prevented team members from having face-to-face meetings or conference calls• Eventually had 2 conferences; allowed more

direct communication & interaction among CCIs

Large Size of the GLOBE TeamChallenges

Challenges

Communication problems were some of the most common complaints from virtual teamsLanguage

Official language: EnglishMost GLOBE CCIs were not native English speakers

Detailed discussions about proper translation of even the most central concepts in the project

Partially due to different languages having no direct, one-to-one English translation of critical words such as “leader” or “leadership”

Virtual Nature of Team Communications

Recommendations

Before the project begins, train team members about virtual communication

Train new team members as they join

Encourage effective communicationDevelop a common understanding by using a common language• Commonly used terms should be defined,

discussed, clarified & completely understood by all participants

Virtual Nature of Team Communications

Institute a mechanism by which any team member can receive immediate attention

Similar to the “stop the train” emergency lever

Ensure that all team members have access to a common

Word processing programEmail

Virtual Nature of Team CommunicationsRecommendations

Challenges

GLOBE was a microcosm of the phenomena we were studyingIssues surrounding

TimeDeadlines• Missed deadlines. Cultural differences created

confusion; e.g., how much time had to pass before a deadline was missed?

Cultural Differences of GLOBE Participants

Scientific MethodsQuantitative versus Qualitative MethodologyHow should we analyze data across cultures? • Factor analysis? Confirmatory Factor

Analysis?

To what extent is data exploration an acceptable thing to do?

Challenges


Philosophy of Science

Should we share data with others? When? For free? How?

Authorship and Co-authorship

Relativism versus Logical Positivism

Challenges


Recommendations

Be aware of practical implications related to cultural differences.

Power Distance & Uncertainty Avoidance can be cultural traps.• High PD cultures will expect deference due

to status differences.• Cultures varying in UA will find team

differences on deadlines, organizational structure, & stress levels


Continually remind team members (at least once a year) about their particular or peculiar cultural differences

Give other team members a word in one culture that is difficult to translate in your culture (e.g., “leadership”)

Keep a good sense of humor

Cultural Differences of GLOBE ParticipantsRecommendations

Challenges

$500,000 in national grantsNumerous problems with on-again, off-again funding

Equity & fairness issuesDecisions made regarding financial help for less socio-economic developed countries in contrast to first-world countries

Financial constraints limited face-to-face meetings with CCIsMain burden of writing grant proposal was left to the Principal Investigator (Bob House)

Shouldered the main burden of obtaining funds to keep the project progressing

Limited Funds for GLOBE

Recommendations

Decide up front who will be responsible for obtaining funds initially & who will carry on the obligationRelentlessly seek additional funding

Universities, government, private foundations

Select a committee within the project whose function is to obtain funds

Limited Funds for GLOBE

Recommendations from GLOBE Teams’ Journey

Four general issues for research before typical recommendations are accepted as gospel


Is it necessary for the multinational team to initially meet face-to-face?

Relationship building is thought to be a keyOr is it more important to meet deadlines?

Does each team member need the same depth of information?

Sending all information to all participants with expectations that they approve all decision would be confusing & time-wasting

Continued


Do the goals & incentives of the team members need perfect alignment?At the completion of a long-term project, is it reasonable to expect that a “hybrid culture” emerges from the multiple individual cultures brought into the project?

By the end of GLOBE’s Phase 2, the Western-oriented culture still dominated the project. No evidence that a hybrid GLOBE culture emerged

Continued

ConclusionsDespite all the challenges, GLOBE was successful

Participants were please or satisfied with• their involvement (73%)• the excellence of the project (87%)• the scope of the project (98%)

But not with• Meeting research deadlines• Timeliness of publications

And there was some dissension with the decision-making process

Phase 3 data collection has been completedWe are currently analyzing the data

Managing a Multinational Team: Lessons from Project GLOBE Paul J. Hanges University of Maryland.

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