Clint Williams- Cohort 54

Case: A MIR KISS?

The facts of the case as we know it are that a highly competent team was put
together to research the dynamics of long-term isolation in space. This team
comprised of 7 persons, three international members all from different countries
and four Russian members. The research was conducted in Moscow Russia and
administrated by the IBMP Agency in Russia. One of the international members a
French-Canadian was the only female on the team. The team initially got along well
within the confined space until New Years eve when a social event got out of hand.
Two of the Russians got into a brawl and another Russian, the commander held on
to the only female and kissed her without permission. The incidents were
subsequently reported and the Agency took no action, saying that it was part of the
experiment. This; later led to one of the international members leaving and the
Russian team members working space was isolated from the rest of the team.
The events of this case interrelates organizational and team processes with
individual behaviour, organizational culture and team dynamics, together with
emotions, attitudes and stress in the workplace.
Some of the key issues in the case
Interpersonal relationships: dealing with emotions attitudes and stress.
The weak foundation of interpersonal relationships within the team was a result
differing values and beliefs. In analysis of the event on New years eve, the brawl may
have created an atmosphere of mayhem. The introduction of alcohol and its
inhibition abilities may have contributed to the series of event, but more
importantly the influence on emotions from the environment can explain the
opportunity taken by the Russian to kiss the female. Therefore the lack of emotional
intelligence also contributed to the occurrences. Stress contributed to the females
outrage and her views on the Agencys inactions on the issue. The resignation of one
of the team members can also be as a result of stress.
A clash of cultures
The team involved in the experiment all originated from different places each
influenced differently than the other The dominant culture of country and
citizenship played an important role in how team members perceived each other,
and how their differing values and beliefs allowed for varying perspectives on the
incidents that occurred. One identifiable issue was the brawl that occurred between
the Russians may have seemed rather normal to the Russians but was a major
concern for the other team members. This relates to the issue of the kiss and the
differences in reaction by the international members and their Russian
counterparts.

Team dynamics
This cross-cultural team had a major challenge of overcoming team problems and
dealing with conflict and its resolutions. Communication amoungst members were
functional and a dedicated effort to communicate was seen where, none of the
members had English as their native language and still managed to overcome the
language barrier.
2. The problem statement.
The failure to deal with conflict.
Solution
Within any team, whether formal or informal, conflict resides. In this case,
conflicting perceptions and values is clear, reference is made to the statement In
the west, some kinds of kissing are regarded as sexual harassment. In our culture, its
nothing. Despite its validity, this may explains why the Russian may have felt as
though it was ok to kiss the female and why the female thought of it differently.
The Agency view that the matter was part of the experiment and should have been
dealt with internally was partially correct. They adopted and avoidance style to
conflict resolution. An experiment of this nature involving this length of
confinement would have obviously resulted in conflicts and issues, however,
contingencies for serious conflicts should have been implemented to preserve the
relationship and futility of the team. The Agency should have recognized this as a
serious conflict, one that should have been dealt with by a third party in the swiftest
urgency. Understanding the fragility of the team members cohesion and the impact
of varying cultures
This leads to my justification; It would have been reasonable to conclude that sexual
harassment should have been a major concern amongst a cross-cultural team with
one female member, and should have been expressed by means of a policy
document or instructions of some sought on creation of the team. As such a more
Yielding approach to resolve the conflict may have been appropriate where the
concern for the parties involved in the conflict are more important than self interest.
The Understanding of culture plays and important role in planning team
construction and it should never be overlooked or undervalued as it underpins the
core of team and organizational effectiveness.