Virtual Teams Defined ETM5110/MSIS5600 Managing Virtual Project Teams

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Virtual Teams Defined ETM5110/MSIS5600Managing
Virtual Project Teams

• Nicholas C. Romano, Jr., Ph.D.
• Nicholas-Romano_at_mstm.okstate.eduPaul E.
  Rossler, Ph.D., P.E.
• prossle_at_okstate.edu

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Overview

• What is a virtual team? How does a virtual team
  differ from traditional teams?
• What types of virtual teams are there?
• Are virtual teams all that new?
• What driving forces have led to the rise of
  virtual teams?
• What do current trends in the use of virtual
  teams suggest?

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Virtual teams are

• Groups of people who work interdependently with
  shared purpose
• Across space, time, and organizational boundaries
• Using technology to communicate and collaborate

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DC
NY
DC
Boston
LA
LA
SF
Paris
PIT
HK
SYD
NY
ATL
LON
DC
SF
CHI
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A framework for thinking about teams and virtual
teams
Place
Same
Different
Same
Time
Different
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Virtual teams can differ along a number of
dimensions

• Stability of membership (Stable, Fluid)
• Clarity of team boundaries (Unclear, Clear)
• Timeframe in which to operate (Immediate, Long
  Term)
• Regularity of activity (Regular, Infrequent)

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• Type or nature of task
• (Routine, Non-routine)
• Decision making authority (None, Full)
• Complexity
• Organizational (Single, Multiple)
• Cultural
• Temporal (Single Time Zone, Multiple)

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Example comparison of two types of virtual team
Project or Product Team Action Team
Stability of Membership Fluid Stable/Fluid
Team Boundaries Clear Unclear
Timeframe Longer-term Immediate
Regularity Frequent Infrequent
Task Non-routine Non-routine
Decision Authority High Moderate
Complexity High Moderate
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Virtual team management in the context of a
management system
Idea organization, prioritization, consensus,
contribution and progress
Virtual Team Leader, Members
Technology Structure Process Facilitation
Collaborative decisions and actions
Ideas Information Performance Progress
Project Problem Task
(Based on Kurstedts Management System Model)
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An increasing number of people are participating
on virtual teams

• Downsizing/Rightsizing
• Flattening, Re-engineering
• Telecommuting
• Improvements in communication technology
• Increased Competition
• Globalization
• 9/11

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Some recent statistics

• Two-thirds of Fortune 500 companies employ
  telecommuters
• 19 million people worked from their home in 2001
• The Gartner Group estimated that by 2002 over 100
  million people worldwide will be working outside
  traditional offices

Kirkman, B. L., et al. 2002. Five challenges to
virtual team success Lessons from Sabre, Inc.
Academy of Management Executive, 16(3) 67-79.
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Tomorrows fragmented, geographically dispersed
workplace is increasingly becoming a space, not
a place, for many
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The Information Age

• Manage routine transactions (50s-60s)
• Integrated business operations (70s)
• Enterprise-wide communication (80s)
• Collaborative technology (90s)
• Ubiquitous computing 2000-???
• Manage and leverage intellectual
  capital

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A shift is taking place with respect to the
critical resource
Revolutionary Age Critical Resource Limiting Factor
Agricultural Physical capital Manpower, horsepower
Industrial Financial capital Purchasing power
Information Intellectual capital Attention
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Intellectual Bandwidth (IB)

• The ability of an organization to bring
  intellectual capital to bear when addressing a
  particular issue.
• A function of the success with which an
  organization deploys and uses Knowledge
  Management Systems and Collaborative Technology

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4 Levels of Collaboration Capability
High
Level 4 Collaborative Work Concerted Team Effort

Level 3 Coordinated Work Coordinated Individual
Efforts
Degree of Collaborative Effort
Level 2 Communication Work Unstructured
Information Sharing
Level 1 Cumulative Work Uncoordinated
Individual Efforts
Low
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Level 1 Cumulative Work

• Individual, uncoordinated effort toward team goal
• Team productivity is simple sum of individual
  performances
• Individualized Processes - Start to Finish
• Office Applications
• MSWord Group Editing
• Multiple Spreadsheet Sections
• PowerPoint Presentation Passing

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Level 2 Communications Work

• Unstructured information sharing
• Ad hoc process
• Information sharing applications
• Lotus NOTES Discussions
• Net Meeting
• Video Teleconferencing
• Application Sharing (Proshare)
• Chat, News Groups

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Level 3 Coordinated Work

• Coordinated efforts and processes
• Coordination, sharing, and hand-offs
• Coordination applications
• Workflow applications
• Adding structure to NOTES
• Coordinator

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Level 4 Collaborative Work

• All team members work a process simultaneously to
  achieve the team goal
• Repeatable customized process
• Attention dynamics
• Collaborative applications
• GroupSystems Online
• Facilitate.COM
• Meetingworks

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Ideal Teamwork

• Two to hundreds of people
• Complex issues addressed
• Everyone
• Contributes equally
• Perceives everything from multiple perspectives
• Focuses attention on critical Issues
• Takes ownership of the solution

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Ideal Teamwork

• All knowledge at everyones fingertips
• Design customized repeatable processes
• Accomplish goals and produce products

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Summary

• Virtual teams conduct their work primarily
  through technology
• Virtual is often a matter of degree rather than
  absolutes
• Leveraging intellectual capital requires
  effective knowledge management systems and
  collaborative technology
• Attention has become a limiting and important
  factor
• Collaboration, as opposed to simply sharing
  information , is the real goal and challenge