Virtual Teams Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Virtual Teams - Essay Example And within this culture it is necessary for each individual to take his won developmental path, which is actually the core of the functioning of virtual organizations. Virtual Teams have become an integral part of many organizations because of all increase in corporate restructuring, competition, and globalization. A virtual team is also defined as one that conducts its work almost entirely through electronic technology. Virtual team members, who are normally isolated both geologically and organizationally, hardly ever meet face to face while relying on technology for task-related communication (Matthews-Joy & Gladstone, 2000). Because communication is often seen as the most important factor in coordinating work among team members, effective communication is vital for virtual teams. However, "in virtual teams, separated by geographical distance, the process of developing a shared understanding is more challenging" (Ancona & Caldwell, 1992). In particular, such teams must address three challenges to accomplish their goals. The first challenge is compensating for the lack of face-to-face interaction. When meeting in person, team members can depend upon voice levels, smiles, and raised eyebrows to determine whether they are being understood; however, virtual teams do not have these nonverbal cues and can fail without communication strategies to manage the lack of face-to-face communication or silence. Because research continues to support the findings of Mehrabian that communication is predominately nonverbal, virtual team members lack one of the primary elements for generating shared understanding. Even in the best videoconferencing, facial expressions can be difficult to pick up if the transmission is poor, if someone is off camera, or when the mute button is pressed. Therefore, it is essential for individuals who are about to become part of a virtual teaming experience to be sensitized to the importance of this barrier and how it may be addressed. Second Challenge A second communication challenge for virtual teams is building relationships. Successful teams are founded on a relationship of trust, and relationships are easier to build face to face. Virtual teams are confronted with the challenge of establishing trusting working relationships through technological interaction alone. Virtual team leaders need to pay close attention to the first interactions team members have with each other to support the creation of positive interpersonal relationships. People who are being prepared for participation in virtual teams need to be taught methods of increasing the likelihood of getting off on the right foot with each other. Third Challenge A third challenge is accessing and leveraging the unique knowledge of each member to successfully achieve the team's goal. While a team is working on a project, usually the project is like a puzzle, and each team member is responsible to work on an assigned piece of the project. The team must develop a system for sharing information so that nothing relevant to solving the problem is lost. What some team members may consider the most insignificant piece of information may prove to be critical to the final solution. Whereas