ABSTRACT
Industry trends as well as a changing military environment are increasingly creating situations where individuals from two or more national cultures must interdependently and adaptively work together toward a common and valued goal (i.e., as a member of a multicultural work team). In terms of industry, Adler (1997) argued that over 10,000 American companies engage in business overseas. Similarly, in the military, cross-cultural forces are becoming increasingly common. Some have argued that mission-specific task forces composed of military personnel from different services and nations are becoming the norm (Meadows, 1995). Additionally, the role of the U.S. military is changing from a traditional war-fighting role to one in which stability and support operations require soldiers to work with (and among) different cultures (e.g., civilian populations, North Atlantic Treaty Organization teams).
