Harnessing the synergy or potential for high performance that is present in a
multicultural team can lead to more creative approaches to problem solving and
decision making (Marquardt and Horvath 2001), and this in turn means that we
need to refine our understanding of the factors and processes that contribute to creating
synergy and making the team effective. The remaining sections of this chapter
introduce the basic ideas and a conceptual framework to define and contextualize
the theory and practice of multicultural teams. The additional chapters offer comprehensive
explanations, ideas, and suggestions for both understanding and working
effectively with multicultural teams.