X-Culture: Taking the Lead

Guest Blogger: Michael Volanti, Nathan M. Bisk College of Business student and ROTC Cadet

Last spring semester, I recall sitting in my Financial Management class and overhearing a student talking about his frustration with his X-Culture team members.  He continued to complain about the lack of communication and the stress of being the only member capable of meeting the projects deadlines.  The conversation peeked my interest and I asked what course this project was for?  He stated it was for International Business, and explained reasons for the X-Culture project.  I laughed and joked with him about the infuriating issue, however thought the class sounded like an exciting opportunity.

I enrolled in International Business excited to begin the X-Culture Project, and enthusiastic to interact with college students from around the world.  I immediately contacted all my team members via email with my background information and suggestions to effectively communicate.  My diverse group has members from the Netherlands, India, New Zealand, Colombia, Brazil, and Malaysia.  The first assignment for the team was to create a charter, which would serve as a foundation for future projects.  The group experienced a shaky start.  I was unable to get any feedback from the most of the team and ended up writing the entire charter.

Moving forward, our team needs to learn to collaborate and communicate.  There are so many different social media platforms such as Whatsapp, Facebook, Dropbox, GoogleDocs, Skype, and email.  I have noticed through working on the Team Charter that each member is still not using the platform in which the group initially agreed upon.  My team has a lot of work to do in order to overcome our current hurdles.  I received an Army Scholarship to complete my MBA, prior to that I was a deployed active duty soldier. This project will benefit my ability to communicate, manage effectively, be more considerate, and learn to be more patient when dealing with groups.