Team Dynamics Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Team Dynamics - Assignment Example However, it could also cost the organization due to high turnover, communication breakdowns and interpersonal conflicts. These differences determine work attitude and ultimately the success of the organization. This study examines two theories that explain how this cultural diversity presents challenges to managers. It also entails the ways in which managers can overcome the differences and instead use it to grow the organization. The integrated threat theory emphasizes on feelings of fear or threat as the leading reason why managers face challenges when working in a diverse environment. Feelings of threat or fear are closely linked to communication breakdown in an organization. According to this theory, feelings of threats are caused by four conditions including prior conflict history, knowledge gap or ignorance, status and contact. Intergroup conflict history is the main cause of conflicts in a culturally diverse working environment. Past intergroup conflicts present a backdrop on how two groups will interact today. The more stretched and damaging the past conflict is the more negative perceived prejudices and threats attitudes will exist between the two interacting groups (Guilherme, MeÃŒ ndez, & Glaser 2010). Secondly, ignorance or intergroup knowledge gap refers to how little people know about each other or how much they think they know about another group based on stereotypes. As a result, a hostile moment leads one group to perceive the other group as a threat. Thirdly, the type and frequency of contact between two culturally different groups contributes to feelings of trust or mistrust, security or insecurity and familiarity or unfamiliarity. If they exhibit a personalized and positive the contact, they will see beyond their differences. However, if contact is at surface level and negative, then negative prejudices and stereotypes will be used to justify the situation (Guilherme, MeÃŒ ndez, & Glaser 2010). Fourth,