A Sociometric Analysis for the Creation of an Integrated Multicultural Work Team (Published)
This research applied the sociometric theory to develop methodologies focused to enhance the performance and integration of multicultural work teams, as part of one the authors’ master dissertation. Sociometric tests were administered in a purposive sample of N=26 students from twelve countries, in four different scenarios: (i) work team, (ii) leadership, (iii) trip (leisure time) and (iv) personal problem. Two additional questions were asked about: (v) how they felt when they answered the survey and (vi) which question(s) was/were difficult to answer and why. The focus on these two questions was to understand the emotional state of the respondents when they answered the survey and related this emotional state to the Sociometric Theory. The results were organized on sociometric matrices, through MS Excel. Data were analyzed for each scenario presented. Furthermore, the software Kumu was used as a tool to further analyze the connections between the people in the selected group using three metrics: (a) size, (b) degree centrality and (c) indegree. Also Kumu was used to draw the sociometric maps. Finally, a methodology on how studying relationships inside companies, to design teams and to identify the best work team based on the interrelationship between the people as well as the lack of communication among the team members, project team or inside the company as a whole. Discussion and future research recommendations complete the present work.
Keywords: Network, Sociometry, multicultural and teamwork, social interaction