The Nuances and Management of Multinational Design Teams – a Sino and Occidental Comparison

Abstract

A number of designers of different nationality and design backgrounds were interviewed about their experiences working in teams made up mostly of designers of either a Sino or occidental background. The aim was to identify key issues that are at play with the management of multinational design teams and how they can best be managed for greater success. Key findings included evidence that background (cultural, national and economic) can affect how a designer approached problems and works. This is especially so with regards to framing and goal analysis. This in turn can affect how successful a designer can be when they are working in a team with designers from another background, who operate differently. Designers with a low level attitude toward design and a lower level of emotional intelligence tend to be less able to work in such teams. However, the chance of success can be increased with the introduction of information technology tools to increase shared cognition and situational awareness. Further, through the use of constraints on design practice via standardisation, differences can cause fewer real issues. Finally, while it was found that background did affect design skill and practice, the evidence also suggests that this is not permanent.

A Systematized Literature Review of the Characteristics of Team Mental Models in Engineering Design Contexts

“…They explained that the process of developing TMMs can be influenced by a misunderstanding of team members' roles and responsibilities, a reduced time for a design project, and a long process until the project team gets organizational approval. Furthermore, examining a multinational engineering group, Waal, Newing, and Steele (2014) identified different nationalities, cultures, and languages as major barriers for developing TMMs in the heterogeneous teams. Table 4 summarizes the inhibiting factors in the process of developing TMMs.…”

“…Bittner and Leimeister (2014) determined that the use of a software system, MindMerger, enabled each member to document and compare their understandings of a specific task with others to develop TMMs by integrating different understandings in the system. Also, Waal et al (2014) showed that information technology communication systems can be necessary for distributed design teams to develop TMMs. Furthermore, Cash, Dekoninck, and Ahmed-Kristensen (2017) explained that in team communication, the process of questioning and giving feedback increases sharedness of TMMs substantially.…”