Multicultural effects in global virtual team: communication challanges

Abstract: Numerous studies have revealed about challenges which affect collaboration
in global teams: these challenges could be geographical, cultural and
language challenges. Global team represent a team that may be
geographically dispersed in different regions: they can be classified as
being ‘typically cultural heterogeneous’. This reveals that there will be
differences between how they communicate, the way they function and work as
a global team. This master thesis ‘’Multicultural effects in a Global
Virtual Team’’ is based on the communication challenges encountered in a
multicultural global virtual team. Global virtual team (GVT) could be
described as different project team who are geographically dispersed, which
possess different culture and orientation but are brought together to
collaborate through technology such as virtual communication system. The
fact remains that there would be some elements of challenges since they are
culturally different: example is poor communication which negatively affect
collaboration in a global virtual team and thus affects the success their
project in its entirety.
Hence, the objective of this master thesis is to investigate and identify
barriers that affect communication in multi-cultural global virtual team:
also the missing links between the technology and the participants. In
addition to the objective, the goal of this thesis will be to generate an
idea or concept that will positively support collaboration among global
virtual team. The delimitation of this thesis will be limited to (i) the
challenges global virtual team faces during collaborating via virtual
communication systems and (ii) the challenges based on interaction &
communication mode in global virtual teams. The three research questions
were adopted for this thesis thus: (i) ‘what are the effects of multi-
culture in a global virtual team’, (ii) ‘what technologies are in use’ and
(iii) ‘what technology or concept will work to support the communication
among global virtual team’.
In realizing the objective and goals of this thesis: interviews were
conducted with two project leaders from two different companies in Nigeria,
these interviews were to aid in identifying communication related problems
among GVT. At the end, ‘’problem of accent’’ was identified as a
communication barrier in a global virtual team. In conclusion, two ideas
were generated at the end of this thesis but were further merged together
to develop a concept that can be used in reducing or eliminating the
communication problem of accent identified in this thesis: hence the
concepts will be used to support communication among global virtual team.