| Abstract [eng] |
Originality / value. Multicultural teams and work groups which are responsible for major decisions are growing in number and have substantial contribution to increasing global economic integration and the extent of international cooperation. Despite the fact that the literature of social psychology is rich in information about the process of decision-making and its components, and the influence of cultural differences on international communication and cooperation is analyzed from different angles and in detail in a number of scientific works related with international communication, still little attention has been paid to problems that arise during the process of decision making in a multicultural group due to cultural differences. Therefore the research, focused on the impact of cultural differences on the decision-making in ethnically heterogeneous group, is relevant for both practical and research related aspects. Research object – subjective experience of research participants in the process of decision-making in a multicultural group. Research purpose – identify the problems encountered in the decision-making process in a multicultural group. Research objectives: 1) to determine whether and identify what kind of problem-oriented themes emerge in the process of decision-making in a multicultural group on the grounds of thematic analysis of interview data; 2) based on a theoretical analysis of scientific literature, to determine what cultural factors might cause a negative impact on the decision-making process in a multicultural group. Research methodology: the following methods have been selected in order to achieve research objectives and the target: 1) an observation of the simulation game oriented to a group decision-making; 2) individual semi-structured interviews and 3) thematic analysis of interview data. Findings. Thematic analysis revealed that three relevant themes might be distinguished which have emerged during the process of decision-making in a multicultural group: 1) orientation to the group and relationship, 2) social integration and 3) group work organization. The theoretical analysis of scientific literature contributed to identifying cultural differences – different orientation to individualism-collectivism, power distance, uncertainty avoidance, compensatory or noncompensatory decision processes - which might have had an impact on the themes emerged. |
