Virtual Teaming
From ElateWiki
Virtual teams relate to distributed individuals who work together towards a common work objective. These teams have sprung up as products of the new networked economy. The multi-disciplinary teams draw on talents of individuals from all around the world in part because the funded research and course development work requires different ranges of talents.
S. Jarvenpaa and D. Leider wrote: “A virtual team is an evolutionary form of a network organization enabled by advances in information and communication technology. The concept of virtual implies permeable interfaces and boundaries; project teams that rapidly form, reorganize, and dissolve when the needs of a dynamic marketplace change, and individuals with differing competencies who are located across time, space and cultures.”
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What is a Virtual Team?
A virtual team often includes multiple work sites, with members ranging from dyads (pairs) to multiple members. Some members may be remote, and others may be co-located. Often, virtual teams are multi-organizational. They may be cross-cultural. They may be cross-functional, with different members with different skill sets. They may be dynamic--coalescing around a particular product or goal and then dispersing. Others are persistent teams that exist over time. High tech computer mediated communications (CMC) is used to help the group members organize their work and to communicate. These technologies are also used to help people bond.
Why Have Virtual Teams Become Popular?
Organizations hope that virtual teams may save on costs--because of a lower (often) need for physical infrastructure; environmental benefits from less commuting, and increased access to rare expertise. Such teams may also be more responsive within tight timeframes.
Some disadvantages to virtual teams may be a lower sense of creativity and challenges with supervision. There may be lower individual commitment to the team. Others found role overload and ambiguity as problems, along with "social loafing".
Helpful Practices
Defining a virtual team's overall objectives early on is important, along with defining individual roles and shared responsibilities. The team also needs to define clear quality standards for the digital contents. The team also needs to decide the technologies used, the technological standards and the file types (as relevant). The team needs a clear workflow and decision-making junctures flow. (See Developing a Course Design Stylebook.)
Virtual teams go through four different stages of creation: idea generation, development, finalization and closure, and evaluation (Nemiro, 2004).
Types of Computer Mediated Communications / Collaborative Technologies
The high tech used for communications and work exchanges include the following: 3D immersive spaces, synchronous webinar software, learning / course management systems, listservs, email, teleconferencing tools, and others).
These technologies often capture the electronic trails of various messages and interactions.
Some of the more robust technologies support live and asynchronous collaborations for creativity.
Characteristics Needed for Virtual Team Leaders
Virtual team leaders need to master their social presence with the various technologies. They need an open attitude to different personalities and ideas, and a results-oriented management style. They have to be available often for long hours of the day, depending on how geographically dispersed the team members are. They need to be able to exchange ideas without criticism. They need to capture resources and distributed them where needed.
See Also
References
Nemiro, Jill E. (2004). Creativity in virtual teams: Key components for success. San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons, Pfeiffer.