28/11/2007


Today is the for the exam , because we don’t have a good level of German we can do these exam , but it is not a reason for no work these week.
For other subject which I am doing now I must to do a work about virtual team , I think it is interesting , furthermore I think It is very relation with these subject which talked about the computer and new technologies, why I think my work have relation with the subject? Because , The virtual team is able to do thanks to the new technologies.


So , It is my work:


We are going to talk about virtual team , it is for that we are going to start with a

definition of this.

A Virtual Team – also known as a Geographically Dispersed Team (GDT) – is a group

of individuals who work across time, space, and organizational boundaries with links

strengthened by webs of communication technology. They have complementary skills

and are committed to a common purpose, have interdependent performance goals, and

share an approach to work for which they hold themselves mutually accountable.

Geographically dispersed teams allow organizations to hire and retain the best people

regardless of location. A virtual team does not always mean teleworkers . Teleworkers

are defined as individuals who work from home. Many virtual teams in today’s

organizations consist of employees both working at home and small groups in the office

but in different geographic locations.




Once we have a definition of what is a virtual team, the question may arise of why

working in this way, and not face to face as had previously worked in companies, "We

will develop the principal advantages of the teams virtual well understand this new way

of developing work, these are:

§ Best employees may be located anywhere in the world.

§ Workers demand personal flexibility.

§ Workers demand increasing technological sophistication.

§ A flexible organization is more competitive and responsive to the market place.

§ Workers tend to be more productive – less commuting and travel time.

§ The increasing globalization of trade and corporate activity.

§ The global workday is 24 vs. 8 hours.

§ The emergence of environments which require inter-organizational cooperation as

well as competition.

§ Changes in workers’ expectations of organizational participation.

§ A continued shift from production to service/knowledge work environments.

§ Increasing horizontal organization structures characterized by structurally and

geographically distributed human resources.



Of course this new technique has advantages like, have a disadvantage,

the major disadvantages are:

• Misunderstanding in communications is the leading complaint

among members of virtual teams.

• Working on a project over the virtual workspace causes lack of

project visibility .

• Difficulty contacting other members.(For example, email, instant

messaging , etc.).

• Differences in time zones.

• It can be difficult for team members to fully comprehend the

meaning of text-based messages.




Once we know that is a virtual team, their strengths and weaknesses ,how we are going

to develop the creative work developing its principal objectives can be developed in this

type of organization. After reading the material recommended, and seeking additional

information about this type of work so we can give some recommendations by which

the virtual team could carry out their work in a creative way and making its main

objectives. These are:

-Include Face-to-face Time: Have an initial face-to-face team meeting for the team
members to get together, meet each other, and socialize. Meet face-to-face periodically
throughout the life of the project. These meetings will help to establish ties,
relationships, and trust among team members which are important for an effective team.
In addition, many problems can be resolved when people meet face-to-face.
-Keep the Project Visible: Many team members consider overall project visibility
important. This includes the overall schedule, progress toward goals, and how each
team member fits in. Team leaders can send team members copies of the project
schedule or provide an electronic view of the project schedule on-line using the Internet.
-Avoid or Reduce Communications Delays :Team leaders should recognize that the
combination of multiple time zones, busy team members, and electronic
communications will likely result in communications delays. This may become a
significant problem. One way to begin to address this problem is with the establishment
of ground rules or group norms.
-Keep Team Members Visible: Use the Internet or work-group calendaring software to
store team members calendars.
-Use Computer Supported Cooperative Work Technologies Where Possible :The
Internet/World-Wide Web combined with email can provide reasonable
communications capability and visibility to many teams today.
-Establish Ground Rules or Group Norms: Ground rules are important for teams to
establish. They are useful in determining how team members interact and what kind of
behavior is accepted. These ground rules assist in preventing misunderstandings and
disagreements .
-Take Time Out for Self-assessment: Periodic assessment is important to determine
where the team is vis-à-vis where it is going. Team leaders should periodically stop to
examine how well the team is functioning and see if anything is interfering with its
effectiveness .
-Recognize People : If team leaders recognize peoples’ contributions to team goals,
people will respond to recognition. Recognition does not have to be in the form of a
raise, a promotion, or stock options; recognition can be as inexpensive as a simple
“thank you.” Recognition should be public. Organizations and teams can adopt and
adapt the example of recognition from Military organizations where recognition in the
form of medals and insignias is given in a public setting. In a virtual environment,
where the team cannot physically meet, recognition could be given in a voice or video
conference setting or perhaps even more informally using email with all team members
copied in a distribution list.
-Learn from Experience: Team leaders can learn from other team experiences. Data
collected over time can be organized into knowledge bases, FAQs can be established,
and other useful forms of information can be made available for sharing.


For this study will conclude with some concluding remarks, as we have seen virtual
teams can be effective, creative and efficient. People who are virtual teams may be
known among them, and trust without having to work every day together. New
technologies such as the Internet, and everything related to it (e-mail, webcam, etc.) are
an important subject to the effectiveness of this type of group work and without him it
would not be possible. Finally, as we have seen, but could operate virtual teams will be
more effective and work better if there was any contact between the team face to face.

Bibliography:
-Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
-Clifton Chair in Leadership, College of Business Administration, University of Nebraska-Lincoln; Director, Gallup Leadership Institute, University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
-www.seanet.com/~daveg/articles.htm#Factors.