According to Alden, for example, in an article on UPS's expansion, "Over the past 40 years the number of multinational corporations in the world's fourteen richest countries has gone from 7,000 to 24,000. (6-7). Moreover, as Alden observes, while many companies have marketed internationally for years, more and more companies are looking to enter the arena of global competition. .

             However, according to Wilbur (2005), in terms of global workplace (or any team or group) performance or behavior, in and of itself, mere diversity of a workforce, or group, team, or other entity within that workforce, is non-conclusive. .

             Specifically, as Wilbur states:.

             HP [High Performance] teams are built with . . . complementary skills. . . . a .

             Blend and balance of social styles . . . technical skills, problem solving skills, .

             and political savvy. . . . They treat differences with respect realizing the survival .

             value in versatility, . . .develop mutual accountability that builds respect, .

             commitment. High performance teams blow away barriers and boundaries.

             Typical demographic and/or cultural diversity increasingly found within global conglomerates or other entities like Worldwide Telecommunications, Inc. and others, may contribute to or detract greatly from performance, depending on specific aspects of diversity; management communications, actions, and philosophies, and various other factors. Optimal workplace performance itself, on the part of any group or team, whatever its internal composition, generally springs from commitment, shared values, and pursuit of a common goal (Knight, Pearce, Smith, Olian , Sims , Smith & Flood, 1999; Jackson, 2003;Wilbur, 2005). Demographic characteristics and/or cultural diversity may contribute to or detract from high-performance teams, but these characteristics alone will not determine performance. They may, however, influence it, in combination with other factors, such as shared or common goals; shared values; group commitment and support, and group synergy (Jackson, 2003; Wilbur, 2005).