The Creation of Virtual Teams: A Case Study

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

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

The essence of this article is noting the fact that virtual teams are only going to be effective when technology is involved. When virtual teams first started, there wasn’t much effective meeting technology available, but now there

Virtual Teams consisted of contractors, and consultants that worked on the many residential, industrial, and commercial projects that Concert was engaged in. We also formed outside teams to help with our IT/Accounting, and various in house software upgrades.

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.

The research seeks to provide understanding and contribute to the existing literature by exploring the impact of virtual teams within a health insurance organization. Virtual teams differ from traditional hierarchal structures in that virtual teams often operate with increased autonomy and less supervision. New technologies in communication, such as advancements in information sharing and communication via digital platforms, have allowed for increased utilization of virtual teams (Gilson, Maynard, Young, Vartiainen, & Hakonen, 2015). However, this has also created a need to reexamine how traditional leadership styles should be evaluated in regard to virtual teams. The following research aims to explore how leadership styles impact a virtual team structure, with the goal of making a recommendation on what

In contemporary society, in order to cater to the increasing demands of change and the pressure of globalization, a large sum of information communication technologies (ICT) have been invented and utilized. The appearance and utilization of virtual teams increased dramatically due to the innovation of technological advancements including videoconferencing and email. The use of technological communication advancements enables virtual teams to span geographical, temporal, and organizational boundaries, and makes organizations become more efficient, and smarter than ever. As a vital and common tool for enterprises and organizations to enlarge their profitability, virtual teams acquire skillful, talented members to satisfy the goals of organizations

As a virtual team we are facing additional difficulties. According to Dyer, Dyer & Dyer special difficulties presented by virtual teams

Managing remote employees is a growing challenge for many of today’s leaders. It is not just about managing employees at satellite offices; it is also managing telecommuters who work a certain number of days from their home offices. A manager needs to understand the complexities of managing a virtual team and communicating across the boundaries of time zones, organizations and cultures. Good communication practices as well as building personal relationships are both key to working with remote employees. As Pauleen (2003) states, “Effective communications is a key to successful virtual teams, and one of the keys to effective communications is how well team members are able to build and maintain their personal relationships.” (p. 229). Video conferencing works well and provides a company’s employees with a visual link that serves to backfill for the lack of face-to-face communications that employees would have if they were collocated.

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

This manual is intended as a reference for projects managers managing projects in a virtual team environment. Our company is moving towards a virtual organization setup. Current project managers who operate in traditional project management environment setup should be trained in aspects related to managing projects planned for execution in virtual environments. Projects that operate in a virtual team environment face

Technological advancements have allowed for interrelations and increased interconnectedness that can now be used by the masses making it possible to work from most places in the world and for teams to be dispersed all over the globe. Virtual connections allow people seek beyond the conventional desk job for opportunities where their skills can be utilized in both professional and creative environments. When it comes to virtual teams, although flexibility is created, how does one manage this flexibility and the autonomy given to individuals who have to work together on a team?

from conventional bface-to-faceQ teams. While extreme cases of virtual teams can be imagined in which

Remote workers or virtual teams are people who are employed from around the world; this allows companies to employ people with special skills that are able to work on projects (Mihhailova, 2009). Lancaster Advertising is a company from Lewisville Texas. This company is one of the many that are using remote workers instead of full-time employees. It is debatable that there are benefits to having remote workers instead of full time employees. However the case study also points out that more flexibility leads to the effect of people thinking, “Time is Money” and not being able to have time away from their work. With this in mind companies need to find a way to organise virtual teams

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).