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Name: ​Rohan Gupta

Section: ​11:30

Diversity and how it can affect a group’s performance

Last semester, I participated in a hackathon and learned how diversity in a group can have many

facets: It can lend to creativity but can also bring down the morale of individuals in a group.

Our team was formed at the event itself when 5 of us got together and discussed some ideas. We

all came from different backgrounds and perceived things in different ways, which led to more

creative ideas for our product. Despite our lingual differences, we communicated well as a

group. Yet, we were only be able to make small talk with someone from a different culture.

Mary and Sean were both international students from China and would sometimes talk in

Chinese between themselves during our group meetings. The other two members of the group

were both American, and this behavior gave them a sense of alienation. As an international

student myself, I could understand how Sean and Mary felt more comfortable talking to each

other than with someone from a different culture, but the other group members considered it

rude.

Our tensions began escalating when the alienation was reciprocated by the other members. As

we were preparing the pitch, Sean told the group that he wanted to talk about the specifications

that he had developed. However, the other group members were against this as they knew he was

a slow speaker and felt that there wouldn’t be enough time for his part. They told Sean that the

product specifications were not necessary and that he didn’t need to talk about them, but if a
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question about it came up, he we could answer that.

After the incident, I noticed that sean had become really quiet and had stopped contributing to

group discussions. He would only talk to Mary sometimes and worked separately. The incident

may have led him to feel like the group was stepping on his contribution. Even though the group

did not intend to exclude Sean, we were doing so by arching over his freedom.

Later, while calculating our target budget and profits, we ran into an issue related to the cost of

implementing the product’s specifications. Sean had the most expertise there but said that he

wasn’t sure because he hadn’t done any research. Due to a lack of confidence now, he would

avoid direct communication with the group. The group couldn’t even blame him for not doing

research since his speaking part was removed. We hoped that there wouldn’t be any questions

about the cost of specifications.

However, during the actual pitch, the judges seemed to be interested in the specifications that

Sean had developed and asked questions about its implementation costs. Luckily, Sean did know

the answer and tried to whisper it to the group but everyone just looked at him, expecting him to

give an answer to the judges. When he realised, he pulled out his notebook to read out the cost

information but as he was about to speak, the judges reminded us that we were on a time limit

and one of the group members instantly took charge and gave an answer that wouldn’t have

justified Sean’s explanation.

After the pitch, I realised that the diverse nature of our group came with its advantages and

disadvantages. Communication was key to our success but stereotyping and discrimination were

hurting the morale of some members, disintegrating our team spirit. Teams that are less similar

may experience more conflict and take more time to reach a solution, but are also able to
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generate more creative solutions. In such a situation, only if all members showed direct respect

to each other, being open about and not defined by who they are, then the team may perform at a

creative level. Communication is an important factor for diverse teams and affects individual

behaviors in group. Culture shocks must to be understood with positive feelings so that they

create harmony rather than causing conflict.

With this hackathon experience, I was able to see the different sides of diversity in groups: how

in some situations it can enhance creativity and efficiency, but in other situations it can be an

obstacle to overcome.