Answer 1:
Virtual team may be described by the group of individuals who do not belong to the same cultural background. The members of the team should have indispensable skills and work collectively for the common purpose and individual performance goals and share an understanding of their working to be remained mutually accountable. So in short the virtual teams concurrently work together while they are apart physically.
Characteristics:
1. Managerial Support: The first feature of virtual teams is managerial support, the members of the virtual team work for the expansion of societal relationships at workplace and exhibit collaboration.
2. Efficient HR Practices: Effective HR policies are essential, since they have to resolve the conflicts productively between cross cultural individuals and have to engage, in persistent conversations, and have to plan all management programs.
3. Well- designed Teams: virtual teams should be structured with clarity so that they thrive in inter-reliant work relationships.
4. Communication Skills: Most importantly, good virtual workers should demonstrate strong communication skills, even the ability it facilitates instant feedback. They should get to understand emotional intelligence as well.
5. Strong Team Leaders: For designing the effective virtual teams, the members should have the quality of strong leadership. Since most of the time they don’t interact face-to-face, and consequently, so they should be equipped with leadership skills so that they can build trust and affinity among members.
Haute innovation teams focus on the speedy transfer of innovation of technology and material due to intense market pressure. Since now organization operate globally so all the information should be transmitted very fast so that the quality of the product or service will be same in all over the world. Therefore the basic need of both the teams are similar.
Answer 2:
As globalization has fostered the business practices a wide scope on the other hand has made these practices more complicated. So , Virtual teams are utilized by organizations to reduce travelling , transfer of the employees , other accommodation exp. , and extra business costs.
Organizations with virtual teams aid to construct a global image in the international market and outsource operations, or help those people who demonstrate their reluctance for the journey or reposition from their own home locations.
Virtual teams give challenge to the precepts of traditional teams by the means of communication. Today’s business requires speedy information so Instead of exercising face-to-face information exchange, their information is conveyed via technologically advanced systems.
Answer 3:
Sometimes operations of the organizations are dependent to a great extent on the chronological or integrated work, mostly in case of manufacturing. In such organizations individual’s work depends on another individual’s action like a sports team. It requires an ongoing huge conversation in real time; in this case virtual teams are less effective. Every member should make effort to work independently and highly self- reliant and motivated then these teams may be called the strong result oriented teams.
Since, there is no immediate supervision and measurement of the performance of the employees, unless they demonstrate remarkable achievement. Poor Communication skills may be another constraint for virtual teams. The team requires more clear, constructive and positive communication because one member to another is at a great distance. Sometimes, communication gap or non viability of the member may create confusion of performance standards and explicit goals. They might be assumed and misunderstand that what exactly is being expected from each other.
Virtual teams are confronting the biggest challenge is i.e. building the feeling of trust between the embers of the team. It influences the motivation level of the employees. (Virtual team benefits and challenges, 2005)
Answer 4:
Answer 5:
A large number of network technologies may be used by the virtual teams such as LAN, Internet, WAN, extranets), in easier terminology, email, Video conferencing, telephonic talk, virtual meetings, is the fastest way of communication. Nowadays, Video conferencing technique is being used extensively and in product designing, it may be fruitful also. With proper communication, there will be less delay in replies and conflicts due to cultural variations. Proper communication may resolve the issues at initial stages, which evade the organization from the situation of breakdown.
Answer 6:
Effective virtual teams face the various barriers such as lack of empathy and miscommunication among the team members, unresolved disputes, different holidays make the expert person unavailable at the time of urgent need and lack of technology. In this case study, team members worked tremendously, but they did not get recognition by the company and due to strict and pessimistic managerial style by Bob, the team is not motivated, Bob should appreciate his team members for their constant performance.
Reference
Virtual team benefits and challenges, 2005, Retrieved from http://www.time-management-guide.com/virtual-team.html
