Wk2: Mini Lit Review Cur topics

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BUILDING THE RIGHT CULTURE FOR THE REMOTE TEAM IN AMAZON

COMPANY IN UNITED STATES.

Trae Clavo

Doctor of Business Administration (Candidate)

Current Topics in Leadership and Management (Bus-8010-X007)

Dr. Robert Roller

Sept 11, 2022

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Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………….2

Objectives………………………………………………………………….3.0

Research problem………………………………………………………….3.1

LITERATURE REVIEW……………………………………………………4.0

Organizational Adaptation Theory……………………………………………4.1

The Transactional Theory…………………………………………………….4.2

Analysis……………………………………………………………………….5

Methodology………………………………………………………………….6

Research Design……………………………………………………………….6.1

Target Population……………………………………………………………….6.2

Demographic Analysis………………………………………………………….6.3

Limitations………………………………………………………………………8

Conclusion………………………………………………………………………9

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BUILDING THE RIGHT CULTURE FOR THE REMOTE TEAM IN AMAZON

COMPANY IN UNITED STATES.

Introduction

The ability to work remotely, from anywhere in the world, is a potential boom for

businesses. It can help them recruit and retain employees and lower their costs by giving them

access to skilled workers who might otherwise price out of their markets. However, when

companies opt for remote work as their only option, they may find a workforce that does not

coordinate well due to differences in location or time zone. To build the right culture for remote

teams, the use of virtual workspaces can create a better work experience for everyone involved.

Objectives

This study investigates whether the right culture can be built remotely.

The specific purposes of this research are:

1. To determine what factors influence whether a remote team can build the right culture

for their organization.

2. To determine what factors influence whether a remote team can build the right culture

for their organization.

3. To determine how those factors affect the ability of the remote team to build the right

culture for their organization.

Research Problem

The main problem with this is that remote work requires communication between teams

across long distances, which means people need to be able to communicate frequently and quickly

(Davenport, 2013). If those conversations are happening over Slack or email instead of face-to-face

meetings and phone calls, then it is unlikely that team members will understand each other well

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enough to get things done effectively (Aleong, 2022). It can lead to less-than-ideal productivity

levels from both ends of the spectrum: employees are not getting anything done because they are

too busy trying to figure out how everything works together, or expensive meetings which are not

productive.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Organizational Adaptation Theory

It explains how organizations adapt to change. It was developed by Peter Senge in 2020

and has been used to describe how companies respond to technological advances, market changes,

and other factors influencing their success. The theory suggests that organizations should behave in

a way that allows them to function effectively in their current environment (Aleong, 2022). One of

the main ideas behind this theory is that organizations need to be able to change on their own

without having to be directed by a central authority (Aleong, 2022). It means that employees will

be able to learn new skills as needed, but they will not be forced into new roles if they do not want

to do them. It can be challenging for remote teams because they may have different goals than

those of their co-workers who are located closer together geographically. For example, one team

member may want more autonomy while another wants more structure in their workday, which

may not match how remote teams operate at all times (due to time zones) (Dyer Jr, 2019). In

particular, it says that companies must build the right culture for their remote teams to succeed.

The theory suggests that companies have three possible approaches when building the right

culture for remote teams:

-They can try to mimic the entire organization, which will usually end up unsuccessful due

to communication issues between departments.

-They can create a hybrid approach by hiring members from both local and remote teams.

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-They can use an entirely remote team with no overlap between local and remote

employees.

An example would be Amazon which has embraced a culture in which employees are

encouraged individually and collectively by members of management who understand that great

ideas come from all levels within an organization, including those working directly at the senior

management level.

The Transactional Theory

Psychologists Murray Bowen and his colleagues developed the theory of human behavior

theory. The theory states that people behave in a certain way according to their relationship with

others and that their behavior depends on their relationship with others (Haefner, 2014). It also

asserts that there are different types of relationships between individuals, including power

relationships between superiors and subordinates as well as intimate relationships between peers.

According to the transactional theory, three main factors affect people's behavior:

expectations, perceptions, and consequences (Kreamer, 2021). These three factors combine to

create a person's motivation for behaving in a certain way or another. Other essential factors are

power distance, uncertainty avoidance, and commitment to the relationship. These factors work

together to create a good culture for remote teams (Newman, 2020). Power distance refers to the

extent to which individuals in an organization accept their relationships are unequal due to the

distribution of power. It can be measured by asking participants about the amount of respect they

have for their co-workers or friends at work. Low levels of power distance are associated with high

levels of trust between employees because they know that there is equality between them; high

levels of power distance indicate low levels of confidence because employees feel less respected

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by their co-workers or friends. Uncertainty avoidance refers to how much an individual fears

ambiguity or uncertainty in their life.

Empirical Review

According to the Cox model, which has five stages, the article will be confined to the first

three in accordance with our research: (1) Coping responses are the first stage of the model and are

focused on the implications of the different coping responses, whether they are merely perceived or

actual responses as displayed by the people. (2) Feedback occurs at every stage and influences the

outcome of every stage. (3) Knowledge has become a currency of the world today, defining

national prosperity, and huge factors are pushing an increase in public demand for virtual

workspace services (Bailey et al., 2010).

Virtual teams are an excellent way for organizations to accomplish organizational tasks

efficiently. However, one of the virtual teams' most significant challenges is the lack of effective

communication. According to Chartfied et al. (2014), companies have attempted to address this

challenge by creating virtual teams whose members communicate via instant messaging or video

conferencing apps. Unfortunately, studies have shown that these approaches do not always lead to

increased productivity or effectiveness in the workplace. For a team to be effective, it must have

strong communication between its members. In an ideal situation, each member would be able to

speak with every other member, and they would all be able to hear each other as well. This kind of

communication could make the team more productive and make it easier for them to collaborate

effectively on projects together.

General Trends That Can Be Seen In The Literature

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First, it is essential to recognize that there are no universal best practices when managing a

remote team. Each organization has unique challenges and opportunities that must be addressed to

maximize productivity and satisfaction among its members (Reese, 2020).

A remote team can be successful if it is part of a larger organization with established

processes and procedures to support its work. Several factors should be considered when building a

remote team, including how well employees are, what kind of technology they use at home, how

comfortable they are with the technology, whether there are any legal issues regarding their

employment status, and what kind of resources (such as training) are available to them.

Employees living far away or working from home must communicate effectively with their

managers. Better software has been developed, such as Slack and Microsoft Teams to give

accessibility to remote employees who require forms of training compared to those who work from

an office or onsite location.

Finally, there are gaps in the research on this topic. Some companies argue that it should

not matter where someone works; others say that remote workers will have different cultural norms

than those who work together in one place all day, every single day of their lives. There are hardly

any studies comparing what happens when people are together with each other for long periods of

time in contrast to if they work remotely.

Analysis

Building the right culture for remote teams is critical in today's business world. Keeping the

team connected is imperative and ensures top quality results and collaboration between the team

and their needs. This paper will discuss the importance of building a remote-friendly culture and

how it can be done. One of the most critical aspects of building a remote-friendly culture is having

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clear expectations and goals for a team. To make sure that it helps in responsibilities (Turner,

2022). It helps build trust among all employees, which is vital when working remotely.

Another important factor is communication; it is crucial that everyone feels like they have

access to information about projects, deadlines, etcetera, so there are no miscommunications or

misunderstandings about what needs to be done or when things need to happen (Aleong, 2022). It

ensures everyone has clarity around their tasks and responsibilities so they can work together

effectively without confusion or stress.

The article "How to build the right culture for remote teams" applies to the current issue

because it discusses how to build a culture that will benefit remote employees (Haefner, 2014). The

author's premise is that remote employees need to be able to feel connected with their colleagues,

but that this can be difficult if they are too far removed from them. For remote employees to feel

connected, the author recommends establishing daily check-ins by phone or video conference with

their co-workers located in different locations. Heffner (2014) suggests that managers make sure

that team members in different locations share specific values, such as communication and

flexibility. As remote teams are becoming a more common practice in the workplace, it is essential

to look at how they can be successful.

To find out how remote teams can be successful, we first need to understand what makes

the team successful:

-Having clear goals for the team's work.

-Having effective leadership.

-Having a positive culture.

-Ensuring that members feel valued and supported.

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The first factor is reasonably easy to understand and apply clear goals that help our team

members reach their targets in case of any idea what those targets are or how they will get there. It

is also essential that our team members know where to take a stand concerning goals; if they are

not sure what success looks like, they might not be able to appreciate when a goal is reached

(Reese, 2020). The following two factors are also pretty simple: having effective leadership and

having a positive culture can make or break a team's success or failure (Turner, 2022). Therefore,

led by example, and need people on a team who will support each other through thick and thin.

Methodology:

This article used a qualitative methodology when discussing sources: interviews with

people who have worked remotely and read other articles about small companies and cultures. It

also includes personal experiences while working remotely.

Research Design:

The research design of the study was a cross-sectional design. A cross-sectional design is

one in which the sample is randomly selected from among a population rather than a sample drawn

from a larger population. In this case, we wanted to conduct an online survey, and survey results

were collected from employees who work remotely for different companies. The sample size for

this study was 700 respondents.

Target Population:

The target population included managers and employees at five organizations who were

currently or previously employed as remote workers. The demographic analysis was conducted by

collecting data from these organizations' employee database systems and social media platforms,

including LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. The job descriptions for all positions within

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these organizations were also reviewed for any indication of remote working arrangements.

Employees were selected for this study based on their employment status at one of the five target

organizations. The participants were asked to complete an online survey about their experience

being remote workers in one of these companies.

Demographic Analysis:

We analyzed our data using descriptive statistics such as frequencies, percentages, means,

standard deviations, and medians. The sample consisted of 700 individuals, so we could accurately

analyze our data using descriptive statistics such as frequencies.

Limitations:

The limitations of this article include the fact that it does not provide any evidence or data

supporting its claims; there are no references provided either which could be used to verify claims

if they were true (which they might not be), and there is no mention of what happens when teams

are not part of an organization's culture but instead come together spontaneously without any clear

set of guidelines established beforehand.

Conclusion:

This paper concludes that building the right culture for remote teams involves identifying

strengths and weaknesses, defining success, and managing the team. A company's culture is the

most crucial factor in determining how well it performs (Kreamer, 2021). It means that everyone

understands their role in the organization so that if something changes, there are no

misunderstandings about who is doing what (Davenport, 2013). Remote teams can succeed, but

they need the right culture and leadership. One way to ensure this is by creating a culture where

people are comfortable expressing themselves and asking questions without being judged or

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criticized (Prapha, 2022). It can be done by ensuring clear communication channels are open

between all levels of the organization and encouraging other employees to share ideas.

 

 

References

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FUTURISTIC TECHNOLOGY: SIX CASE STUDIES OF BENCHMARKS FOR

SURVIVAL.Kafkas Üniversitesi İktisadi ve İdari Bilimler Fakültesi Dergisi, 267-299.

https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/kauiibf/issue/70698/1112991

Bailey, T., Jeong, D. W., & Cho, S. W. (2010). Referral, enrollment, and completion in

developmental education sequences in community colleges. Economics of Education

Review, 29(2), 255-270.

Davenport, T. H. (2013). Big data in big companies. . International Institute for Analytics, 3. 1

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31. https://www.iqpc.com/media/7863/11710.pdf

Dyer Jr, W. G. (2019). Beyond team building: How to build high-performing teams and the culture

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Haefner, J. (2014). An application of Bowen family systems theory. Issues in mental health

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Kreamer, L. S. (2021). Optimizing Virtual Team Meetings: Attendee and Leader Perspectives.

American Journal of Health Promotion, 35(5), 744-747.

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/08901171211007955e

KWAMBOKA, M. (2018). VIRTUAL TEAMS MANAGEMENT PRACTICES AND PROJECT

PERFORMANCE IN SELECTED PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES IN KENYA.

Newman, S. A. (2020). Virtual team leader communication: Employee perception and

organizational reality. . International Journal of Business Communication, 57(4), 452-473.

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Turning Point: A three-year update on US supermarkets' progress and pitfalls., 98-101.

https://oxfamilibrary.openrepository.com/handle/10546/621362

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Reese, S. (2020). Taking the learning organization mainstream and beyond the organizational level: an

interview with Peter Senge. The Learning Organization, 27(1), 6-16.

https://oxfamilibrary.openrepository.com/handle/10546/621362

Turner, P. (2022). Complementarity in Organization. In Complementarity in Organizations.

Palgrave Macmillan, Cham., 173-201. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-

031-10654-5_7

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