Virtual Teams

LEA5130 Week Three Supplemental Materials © 2016 South University

2 Week 3 Supplemental Material LEA5130

Team Types Assignment 3-1; 3-2

Within an organizational context, several types of teams might exist:

• Functional team: A team that includes members of the same department, such as marketing or research and development.

• Cross-functional team: A team that includes members across departments, often seen in product development teams.

• Problem-solving team: A team that is formed to resolve a specific problem that the organization or a unit within the organization may be facing.

• Self-managed team: A team in which the team members have complete autonomy as to how they may manage their work.

• Virtual team: A team of employees that work remotely with colleagues at different geographic locations, connected to each other through information technology.

Creativity and Innovation Assignment 3-1; 3-2

The free flow of ideas in the daily activities of a team results in innovation. From a measurement perspective, teams can measure innovation in processes, products, and people dynamics. You can improve only if you measure the outcome.

When a team member presents an idea, some of the other team members may discuss why the idea might not work. Do not stop this natural tendency to think of reasons a particular idea may not work. Instead, discuss with the team the reasons the idea may not work, and record the time it takes to discuss those reasons. Next, ask the team to be fair, and spend the same amount of time or more on how the idea can work. This simple process will challenge people to think differently. As this practice becomes a norm, more time and effort can be spent on developing optimal solutions and doing routine tasks differently and efficiently.

Teamwork via Information Technology Assignment 3-1; 3-2

Technology is being used everywhere. Information technology (IT) and its applications, such as e-mail, database systems, and cell phones, help people communicate quickly and effectively. IT also enables people to be connected to each other no matter where they are. However, although IT offers incredible advantages for teams, it also harms human relationships and weakens the bonds between people.

The following anecdote will help you understand how technology helps increase work efficiency and, at the same time, adversely affects personal relationships among team members.

Page 2 of 4 Team Building and Group Dynamics

©2016 South University

3 Week 3 Supplemental Material LEA5130

The Advantages and Disadvantages of IT Let’s understand the advantages and disadvantages of IT by using an anecdote.

A vast network of cellular towers has a network operations center (NOC) as its “central nervous system.” No event in the cellular network occurs without the NOC being informed. A huge amount of information arrives at the NOC to facilitate the mobile communication in the network area. All field technicians telephone and inform the NOC controllers about their location. On each call, the NOC controllers talk for a while with the field technician. This interaction helps many field technicians and managers develop strong relationships with the NOC controllers. As the number of network locations increases, the number of field technicians also increases. Instead of increasing the number of NOC controllers to accommodate the increased communication, a new technology called the Interactive Voice Response system is implemented in the NOC environment. The Interactive Voice Response system enables the field technicians to call a computer and enter the relevant information, informing the NOC controllers of the technicians’ location. Pressing a few key codes eliminates the need for human interaction. This electronic communication replaces almost all the human interactions that had built strong external relationships among the field technicians and the NOC controllers. A year later, three regional NOCs are consolidated into two regional NOCs. The different teams in these two NOCs have had no interaction with each other, and therefore it becomes difficult for the team members to work together as a team.

In this case, the use of technology has proven to be both advantageous and disadvantageous. On the one hand, technology has facilitated the efficient transfer of a huge amount of data. On the other hand, it has eliminated all human interaction among the teams and has weakened the bonds between people.

Technology and Human Relationships Assignment 3-1; 3-2

You should be careful with the use of technology in a team. Although technology can help you work efficiently and quickly, it can also deteriorate human relationships in a team.

Excessive use of IT, such as e-mail, text messages, and mobile phones, enables organizations to violate the personal space of their employees. IT can adversely affect family connections. A simple e-mail message or phone call might weaken your relationship with your friends and family. When you answer the phone while sitting with a friend, what message do you convey to your friend? The contextual message you send is your friend is not as important as the phone call. Constant interruption of family and personal time by work affects human relationships adversely.

Make a conscious decision to set limits to the use of technology. Successful people always have solid boundaries between personal space and professional space.

Page 3 of 4 Team Building and Group Dynamics

©2016 South University