In the framework of the “Management Game” subcourse, the first trials with internationally composed teams took place last academic year. A number of Flemish and Chinese students accepted the challenge and formed virtual international shoe companies. This article presents the experiences of Frederik Bonroy, Liesbeth Boon, Michiel Boons, Li Chan, Liu Chao and Huang Liying.
Frederik Bonroy, Liesbeth Boon, Michiel Boons, Li Chan, Liu Chao and Huang Liying. Together they set up a virtual company. (Foto: Filip Van Loock)
We asked whether they found it interesting and enriching to take part in this learning experience in a mixed Chinese-Flemish team, and their answer was a resounding yes. They found it instructive to experience how people with different cultural backgrounds have different perspectives on things. Different backgrounds are also conducive to different opinions, which one learns to place and appreciate in their proper contexts. They experienced these differences not only in areas that involved the execution of their assignment but also in areas that involved issues at a more personal level. The Flemish students were surprised by the store the Chinese students set by zodiac signs and were amazed that they still remembered the zodiac sign of each of the group members long after their collaboration. The Chinese students, for their part, were surprised about the importance that the Flemish students attached to eating together with the family.
They often talked about these differences with each other and both sides learned from this exchange that what may seem obvious in one’s own culture is not necessarily so in the other culture. The election week of the Industria student union set a nice stage for learning from differences. The Chinese students did not quite understand what it was all about and why it was that they were suddenly being treated to all kinds of food and drink. Their Flemish colleagues explained it all to them in great detail after which the Chinese students could appreciate it even more for what it was. Differences in nightlife culture also surfaced. For the Chinese people, karaoke is the favorite pastime, while the Flemings prefer going out to a café together for a good beer.
Common language
There were more deep conversations, often resulting from a comment or event. And of course, the students were also curious about each other’s language and both groups learned some rudimentary words that they still remember.
We also wanted to know whether a ‘mixed team’ faced problems that the other non-mixed teams did not. This did appear to be the case. It was established that when, in the framework of the game, a decision needed to be made under pressure of time, the Flemish students spontaneously started to confer with each other in Dutch.
Fortunately, they were quickly made aware of this by their Chinese colleagues, who were indeed interested in knowing what the conversation was about. One of the reasons for this, besides the stress of a deadline, was that the Flemings did not always master the English jargon because they had learned the basic management terms in Dutch. Yet everyone considered the use of English as a common language to be an asset. Anyone in the group who was had previously been afraid to express him/herself in English in a group lost that fear permanently. This was true for both the Chinese and the Flemish students. Through the game, they were obliged to make do with English, even amongst fellow native speakers. This is different from when you are together in the same room or lecture hall following an English course. You may very well take the course with Flemish and Chinese students, but not necessarily engage in conversation with each other. Everyone sticks first and foremost to his or her own circle of direct acquaintances. Furthermore, there is no immediate need to speak to each other.
Positive experience
Finally, we asked the students for advice on how to support or improve cooperation in the mixed teams. Their recommendations are mainly practical in nature: making sure there is a good glossary of basic English terminology as well as a list of abbreviations of the jargon that must be used during the game. All forms and sheets should also be made available in English.
This little group seized with both hands the opportunity they were given and made it into a positive experience for each of the group members. The other’s culture has now become a bit less strange and unfamiliar. Working together with fellow students in the context of a group assignment is not easy to begin with because of the differences in temperament, insight, experience and effort. Working together in an internationally composed team adds the additional layer of difficulty of different languages and cultures. In the business community of this globalizing world, however, this is becoming the standard. GROUP T’s international dimension provides the students with a laboratory in which to experiment with these differences every day but also to discover the similarities that lie hidden beneath the differences. And isn’t one of these similarities the desire to make this world a better one?
Jan Jaspers
What is a Management Game?
The Management Game subcourse forms part of the Management 2 course for students of the 2nd Industrial Sciences Bachelor. The purpose of this game is to give students insight into the way in which the different functional domains of a company fit together and how they influence each other.
Concretely, every group of four or five students sets up a virtual company, a shoe factory. Every group enters into competition with five other teams. Each team, from their vision and mission, makes choices for each functional domain of the company: strategy, finances, marketing, production and human resources. Via a computer simulation they get feedback about their results which are a consequence of the choices they made and they get the opportunity to adjust their choices.
The game is played during five four-hour sessions. During the last session, each team or company presents its results, the strategy they followed, the difficulties they faced and how they see the future.