Virtual Teams : A Threat Of Globalization Of Business Essay

During the last decade, organizations have been working more with technology making it their master. Technology is not only about new equipment; it is mostly about new ideas and techniques used. Virtual team is a new approach used today. Virtual groups or teams have been used from parent to keep contact with teacher to corporations to create new international business relationships. How far can virtual team be more efficient than face to face relationships? Society incorporates this method to different activities not only at work, so virtual team seems more beneficial these days. If we are going to incorporate virtual teams to our system, we have to know its advantages and disadvantages, and how it can affect our organization.

| 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

Next, compare and contrast the communication methods used to manage a virtual team as opposed to a face-to-face team. Also, discuss the challenges of communication often faced with each type of team.

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.

First, it is very challenging to build trust within virtual teams. It is very hard for you to trust people who you do not know well or those whom you have not observed working over time. Secondly, in virtual teams, it is difficult to obtain group-process gains (positive synergy) that many times accompany face-to-face communication. Process losses (negative synergy) are more likely. It is difficult to create team synergy and to overcome the absence of informal, interactive learning. Thirdly, there is a feeling of isolation and detachment associated with the virtual teamwork. There is no physical interaction which is associated with verbal and non-verbal ques and thus, there is absence of social interaction with supervisors and coworkers. Virtual team members may be less productive and satisfied than their counterparts working face-to-face due to feeling of isolation and detachment. Fourthly, it is tricky to balance technical and interpersonal skills among the virtual members. There is a challenge for a virtual teal leader to recruit, select and retain team members who have a good balance of technical and

As a 69-year-old company, Lowe’s has a well-established organizational culture that long pre-dates the concept of virtual teams. As such, the company still has embedded in its culture certain concepts that impede its ability to be truly effective in the virtual team collaboration space. One such concept is the idea that decisions are made in meetings and not by individuals or through ad-hoc consensus. This notion generates obstacles to fast and effective decision-making, since it requires the coming together of global workers in a single meeting. That by itself creates logistical challenges due to time differences. Lowe’s can benefit from encouraging and supporting decision-making practices that utilize the knowledge and experience of

In today's competitive world, companies are gradually vacating their cubicles and enter into the virtual workforce to increase work efficiency, reduce cost and resolve organizational problems (Ahmed & Ebrahim, 2009). Nowadays, companies are investing a bulk amount of money on virtual teams to enhance their performance since it has become an indispensable prerequisite for companies to stay in competitive in the era of globalization (Ahmed & Ebrahim, 2009). Virtual teams consist of members from different cultural backgrounds who work in various organizations with different set of standards and members of the virtual teams have the least probability to meet in person

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

Hastings, R. (December 3, 2008). Set Ground Rules for Virtual Team Communications. SHRM Online. Retrieved August 8, 2011 from http://www.shrm.org .

Five ways the new Google Docs help increase efficiency for virtual teams. Due to progress in information communication technologies, knowledge workers are given flexibility in the way they work, such as telework or home office, while building a high-performing virtual team is especially important to companies in high-tech industry (Merdzhanovska, 2016; Robbins, Judge, Millett, & Boyle, 2013). Browne et’ al. (2016) argued that the key drivers of a virtual team’s project progress are effective collaboration and communication, which include establishing a detailed project plan and a reliable communication method for each team member.

On the technological front, building trust, sharing experiences and managing conflicts may be difficult with virtual teams. Differences in time zones and lack of face-to-face interactions may also pose a challenge.

In recent times with the advent of globalization and open markets there has been a significant rise in the number of Multi-National Companies. The reasons why companies are going global are to access and expand their market, to access resources, to access new talent pool, et al. This enables to the companies to create greater value to their shareholders and compete effectively. As companies expand and build their workforce around the world, more often than not team members are in different geographies. This new reality has made it inevitable to have virtual teams in many organization. On the other end of the spectrum, with the rise is advanced internet enabled technologies many firms, especially is the Silicon Valley, are

As technology is advancing, more tools have emerged in the workplaces to increase the productivity and efficiency of the corporate. Large corporate nowadays has unemployed larger ratio of human capital to decrease cost and most importantly, increase the efficiency because of automation of technology. Arguments on regard to this has been going on and off constantly and people all have a common question in mind, if the efficiency really means what it supposed to be? Of all the technologies we are utilized currently, virtual meeting platform plays a crucial role. The use of virtual meeting platform has significantly shorten the time employees spend on client’s site, decreased travel expense and enable the employee to discuss with client at the convenience of their home or office. However, bottom lines are not proving to increase significantly as expected due to lack of personal contact (trust) value, learning value and group synergy gain value.