Perspektywy Kultury (Mar 2023)
Social Competences and Their Development in Culturally Diverse Teams – the Results of In-depth Group Interviews
Abstract
Social competences in the workplace have been of interest to researchers for years. They are among the key competences for lifelong learning and relate to all types of behaviour that enable individuals to participate and cooperate effectively – both socially and professionally – in various environments (European Parliament, 2006). Employees’ social competences play a vital role in the workplace as they influence relationships within teams. These relationships affect team effectiveness, thus are particularly significant in culturally diverse work environments. In the theoretical part of the article, the author explains the term “social competences,” describes their elements, and discusses their role in the effective functioning of multicultural teams. In the empirical part, she presents the methodology of her study, the results obtained, and the conclusions derived from them. The study described in the article (two in-depth group interviews) was conducted in 2022, and its participants were managers of different nationalities who work in multinational companies and have been managing culturally diverse teams for a minimum of three years. The Author assumed the preliminary nature of the study and intends to continue it in the future within the area analysed in the article. Based on the review of the literature and the results of her study, the author has demonstrated a vital role played by employees’ social competences in culturally diverse workplaces. In the opinion of the managers who participated in the study, the most important social competences include verbal and non-verbal communication, social intelligence, and building positive interpersonal relations. As far as the most effective ways of developing these competences in members of multicultural teams are concerned, they listed individual trainings, workshops, and coaching.
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