MBA - Proposal (Virtual Teams)

8/10/2019 MBA - Proposal (Virtual Teams)

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MBA - Proposal

Thesis Proposal

The Complexities of Managing a Virtual Team: The Added Layers andConsiderations Required in Comparison to Managing a Classical One.

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MBA - Proposal

Objective

This dissertation will investigate the daily Management of Virtual Teams and the addedcomplexities attached to that task in comparison to the classical model of “Classical”Formal Teams.

Virtual teams allow work to be completed across time, space and geographicalboundaries, there are true advantages for organisations to be using these type ofstructures. However, the management of those Virtual Teams is not as easy and canrepresent challenges for the management and team members in question incomparison to the classical conservative model.

The objectives is to compare and contrast from a management perspective the twomodels by looking into:

• Management Style or styles rein order to achieve Team Goals

• Costs of running those Teams• Teamwork and the Communications used• Effect of Localisation, Geography and Local Culture

• Achievement of Goals and Overall Productivity

These finding will allow to draw conclusions, present guidelines and recommendationsto improve Organisational Change for those considering moving from one model toanother.

Introduction

The internet changed it all. Communications these days is so much easier than it waseven 20 years ago, and yes the advent of the internet and the leaps and boundstechnology has gone though in last decade has opened up new ways to work. ThoughOrganisations have worked with their “International” locations for years, the teams,classically, have always been grouped together in one location.

Today’s technologies allow for an individual team to have members spread across theglobe covering multiple timezones, cultures and geographical boundaries. This meansthat the Classical team model must work on the same schedule, which implies thateveryone must be at the same location at the same time. Due to the fact that virtual

teams engage communication technologies, team members are no longer restricted toone physical location. They can use communication tools to work together over longdistances. With industry leaders such as Skype, msn messenger and other onlinecommunications tools, constant communications is easy and virtually free. The adventof the virtual team has allowed many team members to work together despite the factthat they may have never met each other in person. In some cases, the members of thevirtual teams may have no idea how the other members of the team look, though videocalls are very easily set up through Skype of Google Hangout (Google, 2013).

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MBA - Proposal

In contrast, formal team members actually thrive on the ability to see and work witheach other in person. Another powerful aspect of the virtual team is the enormousamount of money which is saved through its implementation. For instance, with a virtualteam, there is no reason to worry about parking space, since the members of the teamhave no reason to park in one location.

The costs of travel are also dramatically reduced. In the past, it was common for certainemployees to spend weeks traveling on business from one location to another. Whilephysical travel is still necessary today, and will not phase out anytime soon, the adventof virtual teams has made it less necessary, and this naturally leads to lower costs forthe organisations which implement them.

In some ways, virtual teams have made the necessity for physical travel obsolete, atleast when it comes to business purposes. For example, instead of paying a worker toget on a plane and fly to Shanghai for a meeting, it is much more efficient, faster, and

cost effective to simply hold a video conference.

However, with all those added benefits, the proper management of a virtual team is verydifferent that being an classical manager present and located physically with the team atall times. Hirschy (2011) references Malhotra, Majchrzak, and Rosen (2007) who havelisted six leadership practices to overcome the unique challenges associated with virtualteam leadership. Some of the practices are:

• Ensuring that the diversity in the in team is appreciated, leveraged and understood.

• Monitor team progress through available technology.

• Ensuring all individuals actively participate

In addition, the challenges faced by managers could be grouped into these categories:

• Building Trust

• Building a team by overcoming “Feelings of Isolation”

• Maximising Gains and minimising losses of processes

• Balancing Technical and Communication skills amongst the team

• Assessment of Performance

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MBA - Proposal

All of these challenges as well and the new technological advances make it consider allpossible management styles and the adaptation of known skills and styles to make for agood base of managing a virtual team.

Research Question(s)

• Definition and Analysis of virtual teams and determination of all the factors that enterinto account under that label

• Current research on leadership in journals and published textbooks

• Point by point comparison between virtual and formal teams in their defining elements

• Application of Leadership (Management) of virtual teams in terms of success andproductivity as determined by the management style required for such a role.

• Best practices and recommendation of the best style suited for Organisational types.

Method of Approach

This comparative and analysis will be conducted by the study of the currently availableliterature and by making the determination and recommendation based on publishedrecommendation as well as my individual one based on experience.

References

Here is a small sample of the collected research references found addressing thesubject of the proposal:

Berg, R 2012, 'The Anonymity Factor in Making Multicultural Teams Work: Virtual andReal Teams',

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Business Communication Quarterly, 75, 4, pp. 404-424, Business SourcePremier, EBSCOhost, viewed 2 October 2013.

Berry, GR 2011, 'Enhancing Effectiveness on Virtual Teams',#

Journal Of BusinessCommunication, 48, 2, pp. 186-206, Business Source Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 5October 2013.

Chyng-Yang, J 2013, 'FACILITATING TRUST IN VIRTUAL TEAMS: THE ROLE OF

AWARENESS',#

Advances In Competitiveness Research, 21, 1/2, pp. 61-77, BusinessSource Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 3 October 2013.

Goh, S, & Wasko, M 2012, 'The Effects of Leader-Member Exchange on MemberPerformance in Virtual World Teams',#Journal Of The Association For InformationSystems, 13, 10, pp. 861-885, Business Source Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 10October 2013.

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MBA - Proposal

Google Corporation (2013). Google Apps for Business. [ONLINE] Available at: http:// www.google.com/enterprise/apps/business/landing/plus/features.html. [Last Accessed 1November 2013].

Hirschy, M 2011, 'Virtual Team Leadership: A Case Study in Christian Higher

Education',#

Christian Higher Education, 10, 2, pp. 97-111, Academic Search Complete,EBSCOhost, viewed 11 August 2013.

Hoch, J, & Kozlowski, S 2012, 'Leading Virtual Teams: Hierarchical Leadership,Structural Supports, and Shared Team Leadership',

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Journal Of Applied Psychology,PsycARTICLES, EBSCOhost, viewed 11 August 2013.

Mysirlaki, S, & Paraskeva, F 2012, 'Leadership in MMOGs: A Field of Research onVirtual Teams',

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Electronic Journal Of E-Learning, 10, 2, pp. 223-234, EducationResearch Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 12 August 2013.

RUGGIERI, S 2009, 'LEADERSHIP IN VIRTUAL TEAMS: A COMPARISON OFTRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL LEADERS',#Social Behavior &Personality: An International Journal, 37, 8, pp. 1017-1021, SPORTDiscus with FullText, EBSCOhost, viewed 1 August 2013.

Saonee, S, Manju, A, Suprateek, S, & Kirkeby, S 2011, 'The Role of Communication andTrust in Global Virtual Teams: A Social Network Perspective',#Journal Of ManagementInformation Systems, 28, 1, pp. 273-309, Business Source Premier, EBSCOhost,viewed 5 October 2013.

Shuffler, M, Wiese, C, Salas, E, & Burke, C 2010, 'Leading One Another Across Time

and Space: Exploring Shared Leadership Functions in Virtual Teams',#

Revista DePsicologia Del Trabajo Y De Las Organizaciones, 26, 1, pp. 3-17, Academic SearchComplete, EBSCOhost, viewed 11 August 2013.

Tuffley, DD 2012, 'Optimising virtual team leadership in Global SoftwareDevelopment',

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IET Software, 6, 3, pp. 176-184, Academic Search Complete,EBSCOhost, viewed 21 August 2013.

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MBA - Proposal (Virtual Teams)