Cooperation still risks failure though. In order to avoid negative developments, an intercultural team must be created with great care.
Tasks and rules must be defined at the beginning in accordance with the make-up of the team, if adequate foundations are to be laid for fruitful cooperation. For tasks where it is necessary to improvise, the Brazilian colleagues can use their strengths.
In addition to the measures taken at the commencement of a project, bi-national teams require monitoring right through to the later stages of the project. Frequent informal contact is particularly appreciated by the Brazilian team members. Regular milestone reviews should also be held, in which team members provide information about the current status of their activities. It is important that everyone is asked directly to report from their particular perspective. While this may feel a little unusual at first, and for Brazilian colleagues in particular, once a little experience has been gained it is quickly understood how best to make use of the information channel. In addition to disseminating details of the actual state of affairs at the time, thanks to these meetings it is also possible to learn a great deal about the prevailing climate in the team.
Markus Hasenfratz
Gerardo Müller Albán
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