EM752-6 - Ministry in Culturally Diverse Teams

  • 0 Standard Tuition Fee
  • 6
    Credit Points
  • 0.1875 EFT 
  • 8
    AQF level
  • evangelism missiolUnit Discipline

Learning outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, students will

A. Know and understand

  • Key characteristics, group dynamics and models of culturally diverse teams
  • Biblical perspectives on multicultural groups and processes
  • Foundations of team health and team building 

B. Be able to

  • Analyse the impact of culture on the functioning of culturally diverse teams and their leaders
  • Evaluate team health with respect to the team’s task and members’ roles and relationships
  • Create a set of principles for managing conflict in culturally diverse teams

C. Be in a position to

  • Create contexts that support healthy multicultural relationships
  • Apply a team building approach to specific culturally diverse teams

Content

  1. Definitions of team, critical evaluation of different models and types of teams, stages of team development and group dynamics in each stage, key elements of effective teams, and developing guidelines for determining the significance of each of these for culturally diverse teams.
  2. The impact of culture on the selection and functioning of team leader(s), on intercultural communication, on decision-making, and on team development. Approaches to selecting and developing appropriate leaders for culturally diverse teams.
  3. Biblical perspectives relating to aspects of culturally diverse Christian community, doing ministry as a group, unity and diversity in the body of Christ, collaborative leadership, and culturally diverse teams.
  4. Sources of conflict in culturally diverse teams. Alternative approaches to managing conflict in teams, especially intercultural conflict. Ways in which conflict is handled by people from different cultural backgrounds. Biblical perspectives on handling conflict, and implications for culturally diverse teams.
  5. Approaches to and tools for building and supporting teams and developing and applying a set of principles to evaluate the usefulness and appropriateness of these tools to culturally diverse teams. 
  6. Biblical, sociological, and anthropological perspectives on leadership of culturally diverse groups. Principles for developing an integrated framework for leading culturally diverse teams.

Set Readings

Prescribed

Hibbert, E., and Hibbert, R., Leading Multicultural Teams (Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library, 2014).

 

Recommended

Belbin, M., Management Teams: Why they Succeed or Fail (Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann, 2010).

Gudykunst, W., Bridging Differences: Effective Intergroup Communication. (Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, 2012).

Halverson, C., and Tirmizi, A., Effective Multicultural Teams: Theory and practice. (New York: Springer, 2008)

Hofstede, G., Hofstede, G.J., and Minkov, M., Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2010).

Elmer, D., Cross-Cultural Conflict: Building Relationships for Effective Ministry (Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 1994).

Jones, G., and Jones, R., Teamwork: How to Build Relationships (London: Scripture Union, 2003)

Katzenbach, J., and Smith, D., The Wisdom of Teams: Creating the High-Performance Organization (Boston, MA: Harvard Business Review Press, 2015).

Lencioni, P., The Five Dysfunctions of a Team (San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2006).

Linder, J., Working in Multicultural Teams: A Biblical and Practical Guide for Team Leaders and Members (Sydney: Hudson Press, 2017).

Lingenfelter, S., and Mayers, M. Ministering Cross-Culturally: An Incarnational Model for Personal Relationships (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2003).

Lingenfelter, S., Leading Cross-Culturally: Covenant Relationships for Effective Christian Leadership (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2008).

Meyer, E., The Culture Map: Breaking through the Invisible Boundaries of Global Business (New York: PublicAffairs, 2014).

Plueddemann, J., Leading across Cultures: Effective Ministry and Mission in the Global Church (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2009).

Roembke, L., Building Credible Multicultural Teams (Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library, 2000).