Managing a Global Virtual Team

Virtual teams have emerged to mitigate the challenges of managing teams that are distributed across different regions, and are a sustainable component of global business. A project manager managing a virtual team would have to integrate communication strategies, project management techniques including human and social processes in order to support the team, (Kimball, 1997). The author is a project manager assigned to lead a virtual team of 300 volunteers located across the globe to develop recommendations for regulating carbon emissions in the world. As indicated Kimball (1997), this kind of a virtual team usually supports people working in the same professional field and most of the

We often get bewildered while talking about freelancing, virtual or remote team. Before digging into deeper discussion let’s understand the basic difference between them. The Virtual team consists of people with different areas of expertise who work for a certain task and solve a specific problem. They are liable to report to their own management team.

Virtual- teams that are separated by location, so they work together remotely using the internet and technology. The way that a team would need this would be if for example if a group needed to go to London and they had some of their members working in Wolverhampton then they would need to use the internet and things such as face time, skype etc.

| Employees in geographically dispersed locations can work together in virtual teams using video, e-mail, and the Internet.

Part of being a manager for a company is managing teams. These teams can be created for many different reasons and can have various goals put upon them. Companies want managers that are capable of constructing teams that can effectively meet goals and set standards. The four types of work teams most commonly found in organizations are: problem-solving, self-managed, cross-functional, and virtual. In completing the simulation for this course, I will use cross-functional work teams as a foundation for my investigation of effective team management.

These groups rely on technology to communicate with one another and to accomplish the tasks allocated by the organization. One benefit of a virtual team is that they use technology and this can help increase efficiency and productivity of the members. The virtual teams also assist in the development of intellectual capital. The composition of the virtual groups helps improve quality as well as the outcome. The other benefit is the efficiency of communication. Some of the challenges include the distance between the members. The significant distance may dilute leadership, weaken human relations as well as amplify dysfunction. Virtual teams are hard to manage especially when it comes to goal setting, task distribution, coordination and member motivation. Virtual organizations rely on trust that the other members will fulfill their roles since it is not possible to monitor them closely (Hoppe, 2011). The virtual teams may face some internet challenges such as slow internet or disconnection. This problem can be handled through the use of alternative methods of communication such as mobile phones. While making a virtual team, the team members should address all challenges which may hinder communication by coming up with all possible substitutes of means of communication. These organizations rely heavily on the internet for video conferencing and sending emails. However, when the internet fails, they

Virtual Team on the other hand is a group of people working across time, space, and organizational boundaries which communication links are strengthened by the internet. It should be noted that virtual teams can also mean individuals spread across different cultures and languages. (“Virtual Team - Origin, Definition and its Scope,” 2016). More so, this team of geographically dispersed professionals working together as a unit despite distance are committed to achieving a single objective, holding one another mutually accountable.

Virtual teams are also referred to as far-flung teams, which are teams that are tasked towards meeting a particular goal yet they are located in very different geographical location and are not able to meet on regular basis to carry out the task. This distance between the members of the group is a big challenge that has to be overcome in order for the group to reach their goal.

A virtual team is the network of diverse individuals in multiple locations working in this evolving economy. Challenges the team faces include isolation feeling, lack of trust, unclear goals, direction and priorities, and lack of engagement all due to no face-to-face contact. Therefore, Associates may leave the company through attrition. In the Marketplace simulation our team will make effort to have face-to-face meetings. We will focus on input from each team member and ensure everyone feels they are contributing to the team.

Hertel, Guido, Susanne Geister, and Udo Konradt. 2005. “Managing virtual teams: A review of current empirical research.” Human Resource Management Review 15 (1): 69-95. doi: 10.1016/j.hrmr.2005.01.002.

Globalisation has led to many changes in the international marketing and global advertising industry. Many international companies have projects spanning a variety of nationalities, involving great geographical distances and a range of time zones. In this scenario, companies are forced to make virtual teams - which are comprised of members who are located in more than one physical location (Peters and Manz, 2007). This virtual team trait has fostered extensive use of a variety of forms of computer-mediated communication that enable geographically dispersed members to coordinate their individual effort and inputs (Attaran, 2002). In addition, commitment to a virtual team goal may be further complicated by the single or coherent line of

Are you currently working with a virtual team whose members are located in more than ten countries across the world? If yes, then you know how challenging it can be to manage the team. Sometimes it is impossible for you to understand what the employees are doing and that can cause anxiety and discomfort to any small business owner. You might have also noticed that remote employees have fluctuating work efficacy. They perform excellently during particular periods and at other times deliver low quality work. What's more, virtual employees can quit their job suddenly leaving you frustrated for not being able to properly engage them on why they are leaving especially if the quitting team is the most

The first major challenge is communication. Team members from entirely different cultures are required to communicate to get the work done. Within the team, there are many communication preferences such as using E-mails, Instant Messaging, Skype, Video Conferencing, and discussion boards. My job as a leader is to consider each member’s strengths, weaknesses, and that some of them have never experienced being in a virtual team. That is, I will evaluate each communication preference and choose one way to ensure effective and efficient work. In my opinion, using E-mails or Instant Messaging can be difficult in cross-cultural communication because there are no visual cues to help people avoid misunderstanding and build trust. Although Internet

A team comprised of international components presents an interesting challenge in regards to management. Various problems can potentially arise in regards to organizing the team, developing rules that govern the team and assigning tasks. One method in which to mitigate all of the above mentioned rules is by setting performance standards for the entire team to adhere (Alexander, 2000). One such standard involves the use of a balanced scorecard. A balanced scorecard allows each individual irrespective of their position within the team to have a core set of standards in which to abide by. These standards will also include the job function and the roles of each member with the job function. The scorecard provides an ideal medium in which to judge performance as well. By viewing the scorecard management can easily pinpoint areas of opportunity and improvement (Blair 2010).

Virtual teams are teams that work using the internet to communicate, using Skype for example. They are never in the same room to discuss issues.