Answer to Question 1
Answer: 1. How big should my team be? Create teams of three to five people, which are typically more productive than larger ones. Research in teamwork has shown that as teams grow larger, individuals contribute less effort. Appoint an odd number of people to eliminate the possibility of a 50/50 split if the team votes on a decision. Break into subteams to complete different parts of the project if you need more people on a team to complete a more complex project.
2. What are the skills needed to complete this team project effectively? Identify the work that needs to be done and the skills necessary for doing it. For example, if your project involves market research, identify who has experience conducting surveys.
3. Who has the time and resources to contribute effectively to the team project? Ask colleagues with area expertise to join the team or to recommend a substitute. You may have someone in mind, but if that person is too busy to do a good job on your team, get a personal recommendation for an alternative.
4. Who may be most interested in this topic (and therefore motivated to participate)? Consider prior experience and professional development. You may know someone who has worked on the topic before, or you might consider a new employee who you know is eager to learn about the topic.
5. Who is easy to work with? Consider interpersonal skills as well as project-specific skills. To do their project well, team members need more than just skills and knowledge. They also need to know how to work with others and be able to identify, confront, and resolve issues as they arise.
Answer to Question 2
Answer: Power distance is the term Hofstede developed to describe how cultures perceive inequality and authority. In cultures with high power distance, organizations are formal and hierarchical, with a clear separation between superiors and subordinates. People are granted respect based on their position alone. In high-power-distance cultures, people typically expect to conduct business with others of equal rank. To send a junior executive to meet with a CEO would be considered an insult to the CEO.
By contrast, cultures with low power distance believe in social equality and therefore have a more relaxed attitude about title and status. Seniority and age alone do not earn someone respect. Younger workers expect to be taken seriously and respected for the quality of their work despite their lower status. In low-power-distance cultures, people progress to a first-name basis much more quickly than in high-power-distance cultures.
Although there is often a correlation between power distance and context, this is not always the case. For example, French culture is relatively low context and direct. However, the French have more respect for formality and authority than people from other low-context cultures, such as Canadians.
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