This paper aims to measure the kinds of challenges faced by multicultural studentgroups and the influence of culture (individualism and collectivism) on student'sperception of importance on each of the challenges discovered. A 19-item questionnairewas completed by students (N = 234) from different faculties including natural andsocial sciences at Linnaeus University, students were from 47 countries. Challenges inmulticultural groups were measured using a Likert scale (from 1 to 5) that assessedmember participation, communication, group processes and group member compositionand analysed by exploratory factor analysis. To examine the differences in perception ofimportance of the challenges discovered between individualists and collectivists basedon Hofstede's culture framework, t-tests and Mann-Whitney test were conducted. Theresults suggested three main kinds of challenges: culture related challenges, genericgroup work challenges and membership resemblance. Membership resemblance was theonly kind of challenge that significantly differed between individualists and collectivists.Further discussions explaining the results and implementation of this study werepresented.

The theory of liberal multiculturalism is based on a normative concept of liberalism leading to the implication of recognized cultural minority rights. However, there is no clear depiction of how liberal multiculturalism responds to the case of different cultural groups placing claims over one same excludable resource. In this thesis I analyze if there are any viable solutions to the uncertainties of conflicting cultural group claims within liberal multiculturalism. I use the practical case of Kven and Sami land claims to illustrate the consequences of the theory. Finding that legitimate claims to rights cannot be simply retracted, I provide two solutions involving sharing the resource in question. Both solutions resonate differently with the definition of culture and principles of liberal multiculturalism. The solutions involve cultural ownership. As we will see, this comes with certain infringements on the concept of the liberal self. I find that there is no unequivocal solution to the dilemmas described, however, I argue that collective ownership is the solution most consistent with liberal multiculturalism.

Magistro darbo objektas - sprendimų priėmimas multikultūrinėje grupėje. Darbo tikslas - nustatyti kokią įtaką kultūriniai skirtumai gali daryti sprendimų priėmimui multikultūrinėje grupėje. Darbo uždaviniai: 1) teoriniame lygmenyje įvertinti svarbiausią mokslinę literatūrą, susijusią su individualiu sprendimų priėmimu skirtingose kultūrose; 2) įvertinti svarbiausius mokslo darbus apie sprendimų priėmimą atskirų kultūrų grupėse, juose pateikiamus sprendimų priėmimo būdus, metodus ir modelius; 3) išanalizuoti ir įvertinti mokslo darbus, kuriuose koncentruojamasi ties įvairiais sprendimų priėmimo multikultūrinėje grupėje aspektais teoriniame lygmenyje; 4) remiantis tiriamųjų interviu analize, nustatyti ar ir kokios probleminės temos išryškėja bendrų sprendimų priėmimo multikultūrinėje grupėje proceso metu; 5) remiantis teorine mokslinės literatūros analize, nustatyti kokie kultūriškai sąlygoti veiksniai galėjo daryti neigiamą poveikį sprendimų priėmimui multikultūrinėje grupėje. Taikant apibendrinamosios abstrakcijos metodą mokslo darbų, kuriuose koncentruojamasi ties sprendimų priėmimo ir kultūrinių skirtumų tarpusavio ryšiu, analizei prieita prie išvados, kad kultūriniai skirtumai gali būti traktuojami kaip veiksniai, darantys įtaką individualaus ir grupinio sprendimų priėmimo procesui. Pastebėta, kad kultūriškai sąlygoti veiksniai gali turėti poveikį individo problemos suvokimui, pirmenybės teikimui kompensaciniams ar nekompensaciniams sprendimo procesams, sprendimo... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Originality / value. Multicultural teams and work groups which are responsible for major decisions are growing in number and have substantial contribution to increasing global economic integration and the extent of international cooperation. Despite the fact that the literature of social psychology is rich in information about the process of decision-making and its components, and the influence of cultural differences on international communication and cooperation is analyzed from different angles and in detail in a number of scientific works related with international communication, still little attention has been paid to problems that arise during the process of decision making in a multicultural group due to cultural differences. Therefore the research, focused on the impact of cultural differences on the decision-making in ethnically heterogeneous group, is relevant for both practical and research related aspects. Research object – subjective experience of research participants in the process of decision-making in a multicultural group. Research purpose – identify the problems encountered in the decision-making process in a multicultural group. Research objectives: 1) to determine whether and identify what kind of problem-oriented themes emerge in the process of decision-making in a multicultural group on the grounds of thematic analysis of interview data; 2) based on a theoretical analysis of scientific literature, to determine what cultural factors might cause a... [to full text]

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