MGT 651Virtual Teams.docx

MGT 651Virtual Teams.docx

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MGT651VirtualTeams

TheEvolutionofVirtualTeams

ChrisVance

Management651,Section1

Dr.Martin

April22,2004

Virtualteamsarebecomingmoreimportanttoorganizations.Itisnowrarethatindividualcompaniescarryoutprojectscompletelybythemselves（Lipnack&Stamps,2002）.Byemployingvirtualteams,companiescandothingsthatareimpossiblewithintheprevailingmodelofside-by-side,nine-to-fivework（Lipnack&Stamps,2002）.MITprofessorTomAllenhasbeenresearchingthecommunicationradius（Lipnack&Stamps,2002）.Hesuggeststhatpeoplewhoworkmorethan50feetapart,rarelycommunicatewitheachothereveniftheyareinthesameoffice（Lipnack&Stamps,2002）.Thissuggestsproblemswithinthetypicalbureaucraticorganization.Sincevirtualteamsovercomethiscommunicationobstacle,theywillbecomemoreimportantinthefutureasglobalizationofmarketstakesplace.

Benefitsofvirtualteamsencompassmuchmorethancommunicationissues;theysolvemanycomplexmanagerialproblems.Oneobviousbenefitiscostsavings.Minimizingtravelcosts,eliminatingofficespace,andreducingproductcostsareafewkeywaysinwhichanorganizationcanreducecosts.Virtualteamsalsoallowgreaterdiversitywithinanorganization.Peoplewhobringvariousexperience,expertise,educationallevelsandculturecanenhanceacompaniesoverallproductivity.Inaddition,acompanymayimprovecustomerservice,increaseaccesstoinformation,fostermoreaccuratecommunicationandsavetimesotheycancompeteonagloballevel.

LipnackandStamps（2002）saidvirtualteamsareconsideredtobehumanitiesfourthgreatsocioeconomictechnologicalthreshold.Teamshavebeeninplacesincethenomadicera.Thefirstinformationbasedcultureswerehuntersandgathers.Theyworkedinsmallgroupstoaccomplishtheirdailytasksinordertosurvive.Theseconderaiscalledtheagriculturalera.Familysizeincreasedaspopulationgrewlarger.Thethirderaistheindustrialage.Thisgavebirthtobureaucracy.Factoriesreplacedfarmsastheeconomicengine.Thisagespawnedthenewdigitalcivilization.Thefourtheraistheinformationage.Theworld’seconomiesareinformationbased,electronicallyconnectedandgloballyinterdependent.Theinformationagebroughtusnetworkswhicharethefoundationofvirtualteams.

Therearethousandsofpeopleworkstogethereffectivelyviavirtualteamworldwide.Therearemoreandmoreusersjoinedinvirtualteam.Also,newapplicationsarewidelyspreadeveryday.Behnke（2001）presentedinhispaperCompetitiveIntelligenceReviewthatvirtualteamsusuallyachievetheirmultidirectionalgoalbyusingthiskindoftooltoexecuteajobsuccessfullysuchasemail,emailnewsletters,mailinglistsorlistservs,onlineconferencingandbulletinboards,chat,instantmessaging,internetbroadcasts,andcrossoverwithnon-internetmediaetc.Followingsectionwillintroducesomeapplicationexamplesincommonusepresent.

Cascio（2000）illustratedthatvirtualcoworkermaybenotatthesamelocationinhisarticle“AcademyofManagementExecutive”.Therefore,itisveryimportantof“preparationandreworkofseminars”.Tothehighqualityoftheproject,teammembersneedtoprovidetheefficientandadequatepreparationandreworkofseminars.

Externalserviceprovidersarehelpfultosuccessfulprojecttoday.LipnackandStamps（1999）illustratedthe“controlofexternalserviceproviders”intheirarticle“Strategy&Leadership”.Itmentionsthattheteamneedsmoreplanningandcontrollingifthereisexternalserviceprovidersjoinin.

Boudreau,Loch,Robey,andStraub（1998）studied“virtualteams”anddescribedtheirorganizationalstandpointofvirtualteamsinAcademyofManagementExecutive.Aneffectiveprojectmanagementplaysanimportantroleinthevirtualteam.Aprojectplanningandexecutioncanbesubdividedintoseveralpartsasworkpackages.Teammemberscangettheassignmentsandcheckthecurrentstatus.Thenupdatetheircurrentworkprogressandworkinghours.Also,coworkerscanexchangefilestohelpfinishingproject.

Duarte（1999）illustratedtherelationshipbetweentraditionalworkandnewwayofwork—VirtualTeaminhisbookMasteringvirtualteams:

Strategies,tools,andtechniquesthatsucceed.Hementionedthattheso-called"homeoffice",iswidelyusedbyorganizationsandtheirmembers.Thevirtualteammemberneedsaccesstodates,importantfilesandaddressesifheorsheisathome.Forcompanies,whichwanttomakethisdataavailabletocoworkersworkingfromhome,VirtualteamprovideformemberstotransfertheofficeorganizationviaInternet.Thuscoworkerscanshareorworktheirdatafromanywhereintheworld.

Jarvenpaa,Knoll,andLeidner（1998）studiedglobalvirtualteamsintheirpaperJournalofManagementInformationSystems.Itillustratedtheprecisetasksharingandcoordinationhelpstomakethesmallerexpenseforindividualandtofinishworkinthesametime.Networksandvirtualenterprisescanhelptocollectinformation,discussproject,andexchangefiles.

Coutu（1998）studied“trustinvirtualteams”andorganizationandpublishedtheirresultsinQuality.Itmentions“releasemanagement”thatproductmanagerplanandadministertheirrenewalstopic-referredinso-calledreleasesinordertointroducetheinnovationsatfixeddates.Virtualteamsupportsthisprocedureprofessionally.Youcancarryoutacompletereleaseadministrationwiththeprojectmanagementmodules.Yourcoworkerscanenterimprovementsuggestionsatanytime.Allsuggestionscanbeevaluatedandprioritized.Coworkersandpersonsinchargecanbeassigned.Allassignedworkersupdatetheprogressoftherespectiveworkpackagethemselves.Thusallresourcescanbeusedpurposefullyandwithahigheffectiveness.

Haywood（1998）presentedsomeexamplesofapplicationofvirtualteamsinhisbookManagingVirtualTeams:

practicaltechniquesforhigh-technologyprojectmanagers.Itmentionedtheconnectionofcustomersandsuppliersthatvirtualteamprovidescoworkerstheplatformtocontactortradeforthecooperationwithcustomersandsupplierseasierandmoreeffectively.

Thevarioustypesofvirtualteamscanbefoundinmanycorporationsaroundtheworld.Studiesofvirtualteamshavebeenpublishedinavarietyofjournals,andtheseprovideinsightintohowcorporationscreatetheirvirtualteamsandwhatpurposetheseteamsaretoserve.Thefollowingcasesillustratethemanybenefitsorganizationsreceivedbyimplementingvirtualteams.

Buckenmyer,Eom,andStough（2000）studied“virtualcorporations”andteamworkandpublishedtheirresultsinIndustrialManagementandDataSystems.Therearemany“virtualcorporations”includingNokia,Nike,Reebok,IntersolveGroup,andApple.SunMicrosystemshasimplementedmanysuccessfulvirtualteamsthroughouttheirhistory.Afewoftheseteamsincludedthe“SunExpress'CustomerOrderCycleTeam,”“SunService'sLiveCallTransferTeam,”“SunService'sTwoDayCustomerQualityIndexTeam,”and“ReliabilityManagementSystem（RMS）Team.”WhenSunwasfacingqualityproblems,theyformedavirtualteamcomposedofFedEx,Motorola,andXeroxCEOs（Lipnack&Stamps,1999,p.17）.Sunalsoformedvirtualteamsconsistingoftheirownemployeesfromaroundtheworld;eachteamwasledbyan“executivesponsor.”Theteams’goalwasto“investigatethetop32customerdissatisfiers,”andtheirteamworkprovedsuccessfulindoingso.

LipnackandStamps（1999）studied“virtualteams”and“networkedorganizations.”andtheirgoalofsolvingorganizationalproblems.TheresultsoftheirstudywerepublishedinStrategy&Leadership.OneareaofdiscussionfocusedontheEsquire,Men’sHealth,andRollingStone,threecompetingmagazinesthatnevercommunicatewithoneanother.WhentheyformedavirtualteamtocompeteagainstSportsIllustratedinproducingaHaggarad,theyprovedtobeverysuccessful;theirproposalwonoverSportsIllustrated’s.

LipnackandStamps（1999）alsopresentedanexampleofvirtualteamsatAT&T.WhenAT&TspunoffNCR,virtualteamswereusedtoachievethedesiredturnaround;NCRevenusedavirtualteamwhencompletingitsWorldMarkproject.ThevirtualteammembersofNCRwereconnectedvia“theWormHole,”whichwasthetechnologicalsystemthatallowedtheteamtocommunicate.BetweenNCRlocations,teammembershadaudio,video,anddataconnectionsattheirdiscretion.Threescreenswereusedateachlocationtorespectivelydisplaytheotherteammembers,physical/papermaterials,andremotecomputeroutput.Byusingthistechnology,theteamwasabletodevelopanewNCRcomputerinonly11months.Theyweresuccessfulformanyreasonsincludingtheirmutualunderstandingofthegoal,“commonworkprocesses,”andexcellentcommunicationamongmembers.

Cascio（2000）illustratedthatvirtualworkplacesarebecomingmorecommonamongbusinessestoday.HisarticleintheAcademyofManagementExecutivefocusedontheadvantagesanddisadvantagesofvirtualworkplaces.CascioillustratedtheadvantagesviavirtualteamexamplesfromIBM,Hewlett-Packard,AndersenConsulting,JohnBrownEngineers&ConstructorsLtd.,andGeorgia.IBMcaneliminateofficespaceduesinceteammembersdonotneedtobelocatedinthesamebuilding.Interestingly,theyhavealsobeenabletoincreaseproductivityby15to40%.OtheradvantagesincludedHewlett-Packard’sincreasedprofits,AndersenConsulting’simprovedcustomerservice,JohnBrownEngineersandConsultants’improvedaccesstoworldwidemarkets,andGeorgiaPower’sresourceconsumptionduetothelesseramountoftravelrequiredformeetings.

Mironov（1996）sharedhispersonalexperienceswithvirtualteamsina“LetterstotheEditor”sectionoftheHarv