Student guide to transnational teamwork
Overall, the Student Guide is a set of guidelines and tips for effective teamwork in a multicultural environment.
This guide is a compilation of suggestions and notes provided by the teachers of English who became familiar with the material during the training events, as well as the students who participated in the pilot course and used the material created for the EntreSTEAM project. To make the guide user-friendly, written guidelines as well as videos produced by the participants and teachers are incorporated.
The main purpose of this Student Guide is to facilitate transnational cooperation in teams while working on the module. If you familiarize yourself with the content of the guide before the course starts, you will enhance your learning experience while working on the module. However, you can always return to the guide to seek advice later. Indeed, it can be used as a reference during the course if you encounter difficulties. The Student Guide may also be useful for those of you who need help deciding if the course is suitable for you.
The aims of this Student Guide are:
to encourage you to take the course and explain how you can benefit
to motivate you to commit to your team and explain why it’s necessary
to provide you with guidelines for international cooperation in teams
to increase your cultural awareness
to help you achieve effective teamwork in transnational groups
to give you guidelines on how to address tutors if you need their support
Contents
Motto
In this section, you will find the rules for teamwork which students from three European universities produced when they worked closely in international teams on the project.
Their hands-on experience of team collaboration resulted in numerous insightful observations. You can take advantage of their work and apply the guidelines when you form your teams.
Additionally, you will be encouraged to think of a motto for your team. Bearing in mind that the motto should be a short phrase encapsulating your group’s motivation, intentions and beliefs, you might come up with your own slogan for the forthcoming cooperation.
For example, the traditional Olympic motto is “Citius, Altius, Fortius”, which is Latin for "Faster, Higher, Stronger". However, in 2021, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) added the word "together" to the motto so that; it now reads "Citius, Altius, Fortius – Communiter", which is Latin for "Faster, Higher, Stronger – Together".
Interestingly, according to Alex Langer, an Italian activist and politician, this Olympic motto symbolizes the competitive way of life that has been driving us for centuries. Instead of this, perhaps we should follow the opposite maxim ‘lentius, profundus, suavius’ (slower, deeper, milder), as Alex Langer suggested.
A motto for your team
Download this handout to come up with a motto for your team.
Rulebook
Look at the guidelines for teamwork created by students after doing this course and study the tips they have given.
Teamwork Tips
Teamwork: “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts”- this phrase first coined by the philosopher Aristotle suggests that people can do more working together than alone. This clearly evokes the idea of teamwork.
Definition:
How is teamwork defined? According to the Cambridge Dictionary, teamwork is a situation in which a group of people work well together, or as cooperation between those who are working together on a task.
With this in mind, this section of the Student Guide is designed to help you work efficiently as a team and succeed in completing your project well and on time.
Watch the video Teamwork makes dreamwork
Knowing yourself before joining a team
Before you begin working with students from other countries, you may want to consider what you can bring to the team. Think about your strengths and which might be beneficial for teamwork. On the other hand, being prepared for difficulties also involves knowing your weaknesses. Once you know what you may not be able to do so well, you can turn this knowledge to your advantage: do not undertake tasks that involve abilities you are not completely sure you have. It’s worth challenging yourself, but only up to a point.
“Undertake something that is difficult; it will do you good. Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow.” (often contributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson, but it was most likely said by Professor Ronald E. Osborne of the University of Indianapolis).
If you wish to give it a little more thought, watch this video on different personality traits.
Teachers' quotes
This document includes a series of motivational quotes and advice from English teachers from different European universities. Think about them when you start your transnational teamwork. Download Teachers’ Quotes
Tips for transnational cooperation - teachers' perspective
Watch the video on teachers’ perspectives.
A brief summary of the video’s content:
This video, prepared by a group of academic teachers of English from Poland, stresses the importance of becoming familiar with your team members’ cultures in order to create a good working environment. It also emphasizes the need to set common goals. In addition, the teachers say how valuable it is to be a good team member who is respectful and understanding, and who contributes to team efforts. The teachers also remind you of practical issues such as remembering time zones when arranging meetings and setting rules for cooperation. They also point out that such teamwork can be really fun as you meet people from different cultures. Finally, the teachers ask you to remember that in such an environment, English becomes your tool of communication but it does not have to be perfect. As long as you can communicate with each other, your language skills are good enough. You are doing the course module to gain fluency, you don’t have to speak flawlessly. Remember that making mistakes is a natural part of the learning process.
Students' interviews
Finnish, Polish and Spanish students reflect on the transnational course in which they participated. Based on their teamwork experience, they give some tips for successful collaboration. This is what they say:
Plan ahead, set rules, and share responsibilities.
Be friendly and patient. Don’t be afraid to present your ideas.
Cultural specificity is a valuable asset to transnational collaboration, but it may also adversely influence effective communication.
Remember to give accurate and thorough feedback on completion of the course.
Be responsible but also have a lot of fun!
“SLOWER, DEEPER, MILDER - TOGETHER”
“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.”
Cultural Tips
There are many definitions of culture. For the purpose of transnational cooperation, most useful is the one that says that ‘culture’ is the habits, traditions, and beliefs of a country, society, or group of people (according to Cambridge Dictionary - https://dictionary.cambridge.org/). Since the cultural differences in a team may cause some misunderstandings or disruption, the Student Guide is here to help you tackle any possible problems and maintain a good team atmosphere.
The Lewis Model
One way of looking at cultural differences was developed by leading cross-cultural specialist Richard D. Lewis and is known as The Lewis Model. It presents cultural diversity in a single diagram and provides guidance on how to interact successfully with people from different cultures. Lewis divides all the world's cultures into three categories: linear-active, multi-active and reactive. The division is based not on nationality or religion, but on behavior. These three clearly distinct cultural groups form a triangle known as the Lewis model.
The diagram below shows Lewis’s visual representation of linear-active, multi-active and reactive variations among major national cultures. The model is based on his decades-long observations and thousands of assessments of cultural profiles.
The Lewis Model assesses different cultures in terms of how they belong in these three categories:
Linear-Active: task-oriented, highly-organized planners, who prefer getting things done, one task at a time in a planned sequence. Arguments are made with logic, rules are to be followed.
Multi-Active: emotional, loquacious and impulsive people who see family, feelings and relationships ahead of following an agenda. They are comfortable doing many things at the same time.
Reactive: polite, attentive listeners, who rarely initiate action or discussion, but instead react to it and form their own opinion. Harmony and avoiding embarrassment to themselves or others is core.
The reason why the Lewis model is popular is its practicality; once you recognize the three main cultural groups, it is possible to understand most of the world's cultures and communicate effectively within them.
In the following video, the author of the model, Richard Lewis, explains it briefly:
Watch the video Richard Lewis: The Lewis Model
Embrace Diversity
A diverse group can be seen as a blessing or a curse. In fact, for the most part, diverse teams are beneficial because they improve engagement and spark creativity. In this short video, the EntreSteam teachers from Spain and Finland talk about embracing diversity. There is no need to be afraid of different behaviors, styles and reactions. All you have to do is be aware of those differences and open up to diversity.
Watch teacher’s discuss embracing diversity.
Embrace diversity and expect different reactions and behaviours.
Ways to overcome cultural diversity
Download handout on overcoming problems rising from cultural diversity.
In this section you will gain some knowledge about the cultural differences that you may encounter while working in transnational teams. People of different cultures see the world in other ways, yet we often act as though people worldwide behave and think just as we do. This leads to problems such as misunderstandings, misinterpretations, poor decision-making, and ineffectiveness. This can also hinder social, political and business cooperation. The solution is Cultural Intelligence, which basically consists of an awareness of different cultures and the skills to overcome difficulties in transnational situations.
Working across cultures: students' perspective
Three international students of Management Engineering at Poznan University of Technology give their perspectives on transnational collaboration. They address three questions:
What are the most important issues while working across cultures?
What can be done to make transnational teamwork more effective and friendly?
What are the DOs and DON’Ts of transnational teams?
Watch students discuss working across cultures
Emailing in Academia
Remember that your English teachers are there to support you throughout the whole course. While working on the module, you may wish to write to one of the teachers not only from your university, but also from your groupmates’ universities, since the teachers may work according to a rota arrangement for the purpose of the course. In this case, it is important to learn how to address teachers from different schools/universities as it may differ depending on the country. Therefore, don’t take this for granted - check how teachers are addressed in a particular organisation/university. Below, you will find some guidelines about emailing etiquette along with examples of regional differences. Listen to this voiced presentation to learn some basics about writing an email to your academic teacher.
Watch video on how to begin an email
Emailing academic staff in different countries
Below you will find a video with a brief explanation given by a professor from an American university explaining how to address academic teachers in the United States.
Watch Joanna Kepka Fernandez PhD, University of Nevada, USA, on addressing academic teachers.
How to write appropriate emails
In this video, you will find a lot of useful tips on how to write emails to academic staff appropriately. There are many examples of phrases and sentences you can use in your emails to sound polite.
Watch Students, please write appropriate emails.
Email etiquette in academia
Writing etiquette in academia calls for formality and should follow the conventions of written English. For some useful rules, download the handout Find out more about email etiquette in academia.
Bibliography
Bartlett, C.A., Ghoshal, S. 2002. Managing Across Borders: The Transnational Solution. Harvard Business School Press.
Brealey, N. 2004. Cultural Intelligence: A Guide to Working with People from Other Culture. Brooks Peterson Publishing.
Lewis, R.D. 2018. When Cultures Collide: Leading Across Cultures. John Murray Press. 4th edition.
Livermore, D. 2010. Leading with Cultural Intelligence: The New Secret to Success. AMACOM.
Solomon, C. M., Schell, M.S. 2009. Managing across cultures. Tata McGraw-Hill Education.
GROUPTHINK. Why to avoid it for a better performance
Anyone who has worked closely with people in a team has, at least at some point, experienced doubts, but instead of expressing their fears or misgivings, has remained silent, assuming that the group must know best. This psychological phenomenon has a name – GROUPTHINK. It is always a threat to teamwork and leads to poor decisions since we are then blind to potential negative outcomes or other, better solutions.
In this section, you will find out more about groupthink and why you should voice your opinions and encourage team members to share information and ideas.
Download handout on avoiding groupthink.
Practical teachers' tips for working in international groups
This video, prepared by two academic teachers of English from Poland, has some practical tips on working remotely in transnational teams. It focuses on language as a means of communication, time zones, the importance of being open-minded and committed to your team, as well as setting your own rules for the group.
The Lewis Model (https://www.crossculture.com/the-lewis-model-dimensions-of-behaviour/)