Design An Optimal Five-member Student Group. Communications & Media

If you had to design an optimal five-member student group, what mix of personality, cultural values, and abilities would you want members of the group to possess? Would you want members to be similar or dissimilar on these characteristics? Why? If your group consisted of members who were dissimilar, how would you handle any communication and coordination issues that may arise? Are there any risks associated with being too similar?

Photo Courtesy of Nexen
Nexen, a wholly owned subsidiary of CNOOC Limited, is a Calgary-based energy company responsibly developing energy resources in the U.K. North Sea, offshore West Africa, the United States, and western Canada. It has three principal businesses: conventional oil and gas, oil sands, and shale gas/oil.1
One of the challenges facing a truly global company is managing the diverse range of issues, interests, and ' backgrounds of employees and contractors in a way that promotes a strong, unified workplace culture. Closer

to home, another challenge is maintaining a North American workforce at a time when chronic skill shortages 1 exist in many key technical areas, which include legions of retiring baby boomers. These challenges have 1 changed the playing field for many North American oil and gas companies.
Winning the “war for talent" requires attracting the attention of a shrinking pool of qualified job seekers who have many options. Why are people attracted to Nexen? For starters, the company has earned a reputation within the industry of finding the best and brightest talent. It aggressively seeks out individuals with the technical skills, knowledge, and abilities needed to be successful in their work roles. To be hired, individuals have to show they have personal qualities that fit a workplace culture that puts high value on safety, collaboration, innovation, and striving to exceed expectations.*
! One of Nexen’s signature human resources initiatives is its New Graduate Rotation Program, a development 1 I opportunity offered to new and recent graduates across a range of disciplines, including engineering, geology, I geophysics, human resources, finance, and accounting. These young professionals spend their first three years I learning on the job by rotating through different areas of the business and working on high-profile projects. A mentor is assigned each graduate to provide coaching and feedback. The program is just one part of Nexen’s 1 commitment to providing every employee with a rewarding career. The company also offers internships and 1 summer student positions for young talent. Once hired, employees take an active role in mapping out a plan 1 for their own career growth and development, supported by top-quality tools and resources. In addition, 1 Nexen provides generous tuition subsidies for employment-related courses and subsidies for professional I accreditations. For managers at every level, opportunities are targeted at enhancing leadership capabilities I through intensive training programs.
As important as the traditional recruiting sources are for the company (e.g., colleges and universities), Nexen has been able to meet its staffing goals by attracting job seekers from locations around the world and from non-traditional sources. A growing and underutilized source of talent is the Aboriginal communities in which Nexen operates. Several strategic initiatives are under way to attract qualified Aboriginal applicants. Information sessions are offered at Aboriginal career centres, and in career and recruitment fairs at spostsecondary institutions.
What have initiatives like these accomplished? In addition to being an employer of choice, Nexen is now recognized as one of the best employers in the country!3

Nexen realize« that a diverse workforce, in terms of demographic (e.g., age, gender, ethnic origin) and individual characteristics (e.g., personality, cultural values, abilities), offers great opportunity for creativity, innovation, higher-quality problem solving, and relationship building within a global community. Harnessing the talents of a diverse workforce is much harder than it sounds. Consider the following. If it is easy to get along with people who are similar to you, imagine what it would be like to work closely with people who view the world differently from you? Everyday activities, such as communicating, coordinating with team members, and resolving conflicts, can all become more challenging within diverse workforces.
Earlier in the chapter-opening profile we learned that Nexen is a very successful company, in part because it has been able to harness the talents of many different kinds of people. We learned that the company puts particular emphasis on the notion of fit to the work role and with the organization’s culture. We learned that the company works hard to ensure that new hires from different backgrounds experience welcoming and engaging work environments. An example of this is the cultural-awareness training that the company puts on to foster tolerance and appreciation of its Aboriginal employees.
4.1 Let’s consider what “fitting in” means when you are different from others in the organization. Does it matter if those differences are demographic in nature (e.g., age, gender, ethnic origin) or if the differences are based on the individual characteristics discussed in this chapter (personality, cultural values, abilities)? Explain.
4.2 In addition to having the ability to perform their specific technical duties at Nexen, what personality characteristics and cultural values do you think a person would need to have to function effectively within a culturally diverse, team-based work environment?
4.3 Of the individual qualities covered in the chapter, which ones are more amenable to change through training and development experiences? Which ones tend to be “hard wired” and stable fixtures of a person’s character?
4.4 If you had to design an optimal five-member student group, what mix of personality, cultural values, and abilities would you want members of the group to possess? Would you want members to be similar or dissimilar on these characteristics? Why? If your group consisted of members who were dissimilar, how would you handle any communication and coordination issues that may arise? Are there any risks associated with being too similar?
Sources: Nexen website, www(dot)nexencnoocltd(dot)com/en, retrieved December 27,2014; J.R.W. Joplin and C.S. Daus, “Challenges of Leading a Diverse Workforce,” Academy of Management Executive 11(3) (1997), pp. 32-47; G. »Robinson and K. Dechant, “Building a Business Case for Diversity,” Academy of Management Executive 11(3) (1997), pp. 21-31.