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Managing Transnational Teams

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Managing transnational teams
Cultural heterogeneity within a team: A value or burden?

Bachelor Thesis Organization & Strategy, 2009-2010
Name : Grace Bronmans
Anr : 588850
Supervisor : Miranda Stienstra
E-mail : gracebronmans@gmail.com
Date : 11-06-2010
Nr. of words : 7967

Management summary
Globalization has become an important aspect in business the last decennia. Companies’ competitive position is challenged by a globalizing market, and globalization is a natural development for growing companies to sustain their competitive position. When a firm enters the global market, management faces the challenge to work with transnational teams. International project teams are where most of the boundary spanning works in international enterprise goes on, making them a key factor in organizational success and an important catalyst for individual and organizational development. However, little is known about the management strategies on motivation of diversity, and existing information is scattered. Motivation is a key driver of performance, therefore it is important for management to know how they can influence motivation of transnational teams. This thesis will provide an overview of the effect of culture on the motivational strategy of management on transnational team motivation. This will be guided by the following research questions:
RQ 1: How is management related to team motivation?
RQ 2: What is the influence of team members’ cultural background on team motivation?
RQ 3: How is the relation between motivational strategy of management and team motivation moderated by culture?
Different motivational theories are discussed. The most applicable motivational theory with respect to management motivational strategy is the goal-setting

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