Student Collaboration in Internationally Diverse Teams. Management

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Final Essay: Student Collaboration in Internationally Diverse Teams
Globalization that continues to be witnessed in the 21st century has significantly opened up the world and transformed it into one big village. The concept has not only fostered increased business engagement between people from different countries and the growth and development of multinational corporations but also learning. Globalization has allowed and facilitated migration and movement of students from developing and developed nations into developed regions such as the US in search of quality education. Over the recent past, the US has been a popular destination for foreign students. It is common to find classrooms and lecture halls in the different colleges in the region being highly multicultural. While culturally diverse teams are not only expected to be more productive but also creative because of the abundance of more ideas and judgment, they can also be characterized by conflicts and persistent misunderstandings that hamper overall learning in the classrooms. As such, it is imperative that the teachers and learning facilitators find ways to assist their students collaborate better in internationally diverse teams. This report seeks to examine one exercise, assignment and project that can assist in that regard and highlight how at least one of them can be applied in an on online class.
GHRM Exercise Proposal
Objectives
* To have increased interactions between the domestic and international students.
* To allow the students acknowledge and appreciate the different cultures in the classroom.
* To allow the students see beyond their cultural and ethnic differences.
Exercise
It is undoubted that it be can be quite a daunting task to get students from different countries and ethnicities to work together since they harbor different values and beliefs. As such, one exercise that teachers and learning facilitators can incorporate is to have pairings of students from different cultures and countries and have the members share and celebrate unique facts and information they learnt about each other in the course of that period.
* In a classroom of 20 students there can be about 4 groups made of 5 members.
* The students will be encouraged and given the liberty to form the groups but they must ensure that 60% of the members are foreign students and 40% domestic students.
* Each group will select a spokesperson who will represent the members every Friday during the “How well do you know your members forum”.
* The “How well do you know your members forum” will basically be a platform that allow the spokespersons to share unique facts and information that celebrate or identify each member of the group.
* There is no limit to what members can share but it is highly encouraged to identify facts that are not only entertaining but also memorable. For instance, the members can come dressed in the traditional attires of the different individuals in the group and the spokesperson will be tasked with explaining to the rest the symbolism of such dressings.
* Group members are encouraged to be open with one another and share information that is ordinarily not on the internet.
* Group members can meet after class or create chatting forums online to get up to speed with exercise. Students who interact frequently are inclined and likely to learn more about each other.
Additional Questions
What would be required of Students? The exercises are supposed to help the members to learn and appreciate the unique facts and information about the cultures and beliefs of their colleagues in the group. Students are required to be inquisitive and seek to identify what the other members in the group celebrate about their cultures and ethnicities. They should seek first-hand information on facts they already or perceive to know about the cultures of members in their groups.
How should the tasks be assessed (graded)? The exercise will run for 5 weeks and will account for 10% of the final grade. Groups will strive to achieve 2% maximum grade weekly. Spokesperson from each group will share in the classroom every Friday on some of the distinct facts they learnt about one another in the course of that week. Groups that come up with unique and creative ways of sharing the cultures of the members will be assessed and graded better than those who merely state facts. For instance, a group that comes in dressed in the traditional attires of the members will receive a high grade compared to another that has only documented the information. Based on the above information, the former will receive the maximum grade of 2% for that week while the latter 1% of lower depending on the information they stated.
 How much time would it involve for students? This exercise is supposed to encourage students to interact as much as possible even after school hours. As such, there is no allocated time for each student.
How much time do you project the grading to take per student? The results for the presentations done every Friday will be given on Mondays.
GHRM Assignment Proposal
Objective
* To allow the students highlight their personal barriers to effective collaboration between domestic and foreign stude...