01 · THE SCENARIO
THE SETUP
Our fictional employer, Coca-Cola, has just opened its first office in Bosnia. Team Bosnia's job: prepare U.S. colleagues to work effectively with their new remote coworkers.
THE FORMAT
A 15-minute persuasive presentation, built entirely as a virtual team, covering cultural dimensions, etiquette, trust-building, and recommendations.
TEAM BOSNIA · ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES
ASHLEE · LEAD FACILITATOR
Meetings & submissions
JONATHAN · RESEARCH COORDINATOR
Research & interviews
OBRIAN · VISUAL AID LEAD
Slide design
NZINGA · COMM. STRATEGY LEAD
Audience analysis
SAFIUL · AGENDAS/MINUTES
Meeting documentation
ANDY · SCRIPT LEAD
Description script
02 · CULTURAL DIMENSIONS ANALYSIS
We narrowed Hofstede's framework to the three dimensions most likely to cause real friction for a U.S. manager working with Bosnian colleagues remotely.
HIGH
POWER DISTANCE
Respect for authority runs deep, decisions flow from leadership down, and titles carry real weight.
COLLECTIVIST
INDIVIDUALISM VS. COLLECTIVISM
Team harmony and loyalty outweigh individual credit; public disagreement is generally avoided.
HIGH-CONTEXT
COMMUNICATION STYLE
Tone, relationships, and silence carry as much meaning as the words themselves.
03 · COMMUNICATION STYLES & ETIQUETTE
The core risk we flagged for U.S. managers: mistaking a quieter, more measured communication style for disengagement.
| AREA | AMERICAN EMPLOYEES | BOSNIAN COLLEAGUES |
|---|---|---|
| Speaking Up | Open, immediate feedback in meetings. | Words considered carefully before speaking. |
| Silence | Often read as disengagement. | Reflects respect and careful thought, not disinterest. |
| Decision-Making | Can move quickly within a project team. | Relationships come first; experienced colleagues are consulted. |
04 · PROFESSIONAL INTERVIEW
The assignment required a personal interview to ground our research beyond textbooks and articles.
SAMIR DELIC
Head of Sales, Delta Electronics EMEA · Personal Interview
RESPECT & HIERARCHY
Age-based respect is procedural: in meetings, the oldest employee speaks first, and input flows down by age.
THE MISREAD RISK
Quiet input can look like disengagement to a U.S. manager, but it's often the opposite: commitment shows up as effort, not vocal participation.
HIS ADVICE
Be patient, give people time, and let personal connection form first. Professional communication gets much easier after that.
05 · RECOMMENDATIONS FOR U.S. COLLEAGUES
We synthesized the research and interview into three concrete actions U.S. employees could take starting day one.
BUILD AWARENESS
Cultural awareness training before collaboration begins, with active listening over constant verbal participation.
PAIR FOR PARTNERSHIP
Pair U.S. and Bosnian employees on projects, and flex leadership style to fit.
FOSTER INCLUSION
Create a workplace where everyone feels comfortable contributing, on their own terms.
06 · TEAM DYNAMICS ANALYSIS
The course also required a written analysis of how our own virtual team functioned.
TEAM CHARTER
Kept meetings regular and timelines clear, but role enforcement was inconsistent, and attendance wasn't always punctual.
BUILDING TRUST
Getting to know each other personally, a live group chat for updates, and everyone reliably delivering their piece.
Toughest moment: finding a meeting time that worked for the whole team with our professor. We simply asked, and learned not everyone needed to attend. Next time, we'd plan options further ahead and poll availability early.
07 · REFLECTION
WHAT I LEARNED
As Lead Facilitator, I coordinated six people across different schedules toward one deadline. The biggest lesson wasn't about Bosnia, it was about virtual team management: a charter only works if its roles get enforced, and the fastest way to unstick a scheduling deadlock is to just ask. On the cultural side, the interview with Samir Delic reframed the project: quiet, measured input is often a sign of more commitment, not less, an insight that only comes from talking to someone who's lived it.