MondayJun 14 at 2:43pm
Manage Discussion EntryThe importance, as well as the uniqueness, of virtual team dynamics has never been more of a hot topic than in 2020, as teams of individuals were forced to pivot from in-person interaction to virtual interaction to accommodate for the Covid-19 pandemic. The definition for virtual teams can vary from those who never meet face to face or those who communicate at some point virtually, but for the purposes of understanding virtual team dynamics, virtual teams are any teams that use technology for the majority of their communication (Geber, 1995).
Not only have recent historical events precipitated the need to work from home and form strong virtual teams, but research shows that working from home increases productivity as much as the equivalent of one full day of work (Bloom, 2013), necessitating savvy businesses to find effective ways to harness virtual work and team dynamics, particularly in multinational virtual teams (MNVT).
In Framing the Effects of Multinational Cultural Diversity on Virtual Team Processes (Han &Beyerlein, 2016), factors that affect the process and performance of culturally and nationally diverse teams that work virtually are identified through a systematic review of the literature and indicate that there is a dependence between four socioemotional and four task process factors. The task processes that influence virtual teams include task communication, coordination of activities, establishing expectations, and knowledge sharing. The socioemotional process factors include overcoming biases, building relationships, developing trust, and intercultural learning. Taken together, these eight factors must be understood and considered as a part of the effective MNVT and will be best addressed by assuring that leadership understands these constructs and provides specific training for virtual teams (Han & Beyerlein, 2016).
This research is applicable to global teams in a way that does not impact domestic teams because the factors of overcoming biases and intercultural learning must be considered. In a MNVT, the must be special consideration for how cultural differences impact teamwork and then the same lessons must be applied to virtual work. This need will continue to need to be addressed as teams become more multicultural, but there may be more fluency for employees in the future as they have practice and experience with working on multicultural virtual teams and have interactions with other cultures that allow them to challenge and change biases and experience intercultural learning.
References:
Bloom, N., Liang, J., Roberts, J., & Ying, Z. J. (2013). Does Working from Home Work? Evidence from a Chinese Experiment. doi:10.3386/w18871
Geber, B. (1995). Virtual teams. Training. 32(4) 36-42.
Han, S. J., & Beyerlein, M. (2016). Framing the Effects of Multinational Cultural Diversity on Virtual Team Processes.Small Group Research,47(4), 351–383. https://doi.org/10.1177/1046496416653480
Maznevski, M. L., & Chudoba, K. M. (2000). Bridging Space Over Time: Global Virtual Team Dynamics and Effectiveness.Organization Science,11(5), 473–492.
2:43pmJun 17 at 2:43pm
Manage Discussion EntryHello Marcus,
You are right to emphasize technology's role in virtual teams. There would be no virtual teams without technology. Virtual teams, even global teams, met via conference calls in past years. There are many ways to conduct virtual teams now, and the technology is getting more and more sophisticated.
It is fun to imagine the types of technology we will have in the future for team management. My far flung family uses Facebook's Portal to meet. I am not a Facebook fan and my family members left Facebook years ago. But this Portal makes us feel like we are all in the same room. And this is just the beginning. What do you think might be possible in the future?
Kathryn