MULTICULTURAL GROUPS - THEIR PERFORMANCE AND REACTIONS WITH CONSTRUCTIVE CONFLICT

This study examined the effects of constructive conflict on decision-making groups that were culturally diverse. In a laboratory exercise, 45 four-person groups recorded their recommendations and assumptions regarding a business problem, and afterward members individually completed a questionnaire on the experience. Ethnic minorities contributed considerably less to decisions than nonminorities did. However, with increasing use of constructive conflict, groups made more valid and more important assumptions, and the performance and reactions of ethnic minorities improved at rates either the same as or greater than those of nonminorities. To North American managers, who face growing ethnic diversity in the workplace, the practices of constructive conflict offer a promising approach to group decision making.