After reading the journal article “We want a team player: A formative cross-cultural investigation in the United States, China, and South Korea” (Park, Lee, Westerman, & Guan, 2019) with the GRIP lab, Dominique, Ruoxi, and Alston discuss their thoughts on the paper.

In this article, the researchers found that people who belong to different cultural groups may consider a team player’s responsibilities differently. For example, U.S Americans and Chinese participants were shown to prefer a balance between task and social roles, whereas Korean participants were shown to prioritize tasks over social roles. A reason for this, as attributed by the authors, is that different cultures may emphasize tasks and social roles differently (Park et al., 2019).

Ruoxi thinks the implications of this study could be furthered by follow-up studies on the effect that heterogeneous perception of team player’s responsibilities might have on multicultural teams. Since many companies, and even school projects, incorporate peer reviews in evaluating individual teammate member’s contribution, the result of this study might have practical implications on how to conduct these peer reviews in multicultural teams. For instance, Ruoxi wonders if a multicultural team receives vague instructions on how to evaluate teammates, diversity within the team might decrease over time as members who hold different standards of performance receive an unfavorable evaluation from the majority of the team. Ruoxi recognizes that this hypothesis might be a long shot from the current study as many other factors, such as whether people contribute to teamwork in accordance with their own conception of a good teammate or the groups’ expectations, need to be tested. Nonetheless, her general hope is to see future studies complement the current research with more data on the relationship between cultural identity and group dynamics, backed by specific behaviors of the people studied in supplement to the interviews.

Alston is skeptical about the findings because he thinks it is problematic for the authors to overgeneralize the populations of people who are involved. People in the United States, Korea, and China are most likely all very different in the way they interact with their teams. Therefore, he thinks that it is quite unfair to attribute a certain characteristic to a whole group of people. Not only can overgeneralization result in the formation of stereotypes of individuals, but it can also deter people from branching out and trying new ways to work with their teams.

Dominique agrees with Alston that the authors did overgeneralize about the way each culture typically views “team player” performance. She thinks it would be interesting to expand this study, and see how diverse teams should interact with each other.  With increased globalization and the increased use of virtual meetings, it is likely that more work teams will become more diverse and have people from different backgrounds and different cultures. If the study is true in their assumption that some cultures view the term “team player” in different ways than understanding that impact could benefit many work teams.

As for the implications of the study, we agree that this article reinforces the importance of having more diverse teams. From our experiences, we saw that groups work best when individual team members have different leadership styles. For example, if everyone in the group wants to constantly lead the discussion, they might clash in an argument. Therefore, if the results of the article were to be more credible, it would imply that we should encourage more diverse teams even more heavily.

Winny, a returning Research Assistant, and Carina, a new Research Assistant joining the GRIP Lab this semester, offer their perspectives on these unprecedented times, and how new online formats may influence what virtual teamwork looks like.

How does virtual team differ from in-person group work? Does the lack of physical presence and interaction affect online teamwork attitudes and teammates' perceptions of each other?  Can virtual teamwork actually be more efficient than in-person meet-up? Six months into the pandemic, we are, and probably many others, are suffering from Zoom fatigue. Without a vaccine, online collaboration is going to continue for the foreseeable future, but it may be here to stay even after the pandemic. Many companies, especially in the tech industry, are thinking of allowing their employees to continue working from home after the pandemic. Remote work and online collaboration may be the future of work. These new collaborations will inevitably lead to new environmental stressors. Without a shared physical space, people’s access to resources will be variable and unequal.

With the end of the pandemic nowhere in sight, all of us are forced to adjust to this new normal. With little physical intimacy and few facial and body language cues, remote work can lead to fatigue, boredom and a lack of focus. To maximize student engagement, more and more professors are adopting a discussion-based approach -- incorporating music, polls as well as shortening their lectures to give more time to students to discuss amongst themselves. At an individual level, to reduce Zoom fatigue, we should always leave time between video meetings to stretch, walk around, and have a drink. To enhance productivity at the team level, we will probably need to take a more active stance and be even more attentive to each other’s needs so no one feels left out of the conversation. There is no perfect solution, and we have to be adaptable as we go.

​We are living through a historical time that brings tremendous suffering but also unique learning opportunities. Luckily, what we had and will personally experience will provide rich details and insights into both the strengths and weaknesses of virtual teamwork. On a positive note, Zoom meetings may actually promote more group diversity. The randomization of Zoom breakout rooms eliminates the formation of in-groups and provides an open space allowing people of different personalities and backgrounds to mingle.

Welcome to the Group and Interpersonal Communication Lab (GRIPLab) blog!  We are excited to expand our lab’s effort by merging current knowledge in the field with outreach. We will post ideas and tips on managing groups and group projects.  These posts are based on what we’ve learned from our own data and experiences, and from reading literature relevant to teamwork from a wide variety of fields. You will read our thoughts about topics ranging from group identity and environmental sustainability, to gender identity and teamwork in virtual environments, to college student group projects, and many more!  We hope faculty and students alike will benefit from reading some of our insights, and that you will find some useful information to help you in whatever group situations you encounter.
 
Did you know that the average Cornell student has a class group project every semester, and will have been involved in 9 different group experiences by the time of graduation? Our first blog post will feature a debate by Deanika Lontoc-Preuss and Julian Robison on the (de)merits of group projects. Stay tuned!