Virtual Team Response Paper

Remember the career path and goals of the team members to avoid any confusion or frustration in the job field. If the sense of shared directorship can be built up with the remote employees, it helps to pull the team towards a successful project.

As part of the two person executive secretariat team at Embassy Baghdad, I helped support our primary Mission Iraq goals: protecting America’s security by countering violence and instability, and renewing America’s competitive economic advantage through bilateral relationships and economic reform. Our team not only directly supported the Ambassador’s and the Deputy Chief of Mission's (DCM) engagement with the highest-level Iraqi interlocutors, but also supported working level meetings and reporting from all sections at Post, including USAID and the Departments of Defense, Treasury, and Justice. In the six months since my arrival, our team has processed more than 1,000 papers. Our work, almost always completed on the day of receipt, includes editing for grammar and content, checking and securing clearances, and drafting supplementary

These groups rely on technology to communicate with one another and to accomplish the tasks allocated by the organization. One benefit of a virtual team is that they use technology and this can help increase efficiency and productivity of the members. The virtual teams also assist in the development of intellectual capital. The composition of the virtual groups helps improve quality as well as the outcome. The other benefit is the efficiency of communication. Some of the challenges include the distance between the members. The significant distance may dilute leadership, weaken human relations as well as amplify dysfunction. Virtual teams are hard to manage especially when it comes to goal setting, task distribution, coordination and member motivation. Virtual organizations rely on trust that the other members will fulfill their roles since it is not possible to monitor them closely (Hoppe, 2011). The virtual teams may face some internet challenges such as slow internet or disconnection. This problem can be handled through the use of alternative methods of communication such as mobile phones. While making a virtual team, the team members should address all challenges which may hinder communication by coming up with all possible substitutes of means of communication. These organizations rely heavily on the internet for video conferencing and sending emails. However, when the internet fails, they

Virtual Team on the other hand is a group of people working across time, space, and organizational boundaries which communication links are strengthened by the internet. It should be noted that virtual teams can also mean individuals spread across different cultures and languages. (“Virtual Team - Origin, Definition and its Scope,” 2016). More so, this team of geographically dispersed professionals working together as a unit despite distance are committed to achieving a single objective, holding one another mutually accountable.

In this article Brandt, England, and Ward define what virtual teams are, they state “virtual teams are individuals working together who have never met each other in person and probably will not meet face-to-face during the assigned project (Brandt, England, Ward 2011).” The next part of the article is used to define what virtual teams consist of. Virtual teams mainly consist of members from different locations working together on a specific project. Although some members of the team may

A virtual team is the network of diverse individuals in multiple locations working in this evolving economy. Challenges the team faces include isolation feeling, lack of trust, unclear goals, direction and priorities, and lack of engagement all due to no face-to-face contact. Therefore, Associates may leave the company through attrition. In the Marketplace simulation our team will make effort to have face-to-face meetings. We will focus on input from each team member and ensure everyone feels they are contributing to the team.

I support the validity of your observation that team collaboration is an asset to an organization. As you have put forward, the driving force behind the integration of all the teams with Regis Corporation should be its goals and objectives. Each unit has its primary goals that are supposed to be in line with the overall objectives of the organization. The targets of each employee require being aligned with their respective team goals which in turn should be pushing the company's entire plans (Beauchamp, Bowie, & Arnold, 2009). Roles cross each other making it necessary to have interdepartmental meetings to avoid confusion. However, individual responsibilities have to be in line with the key performance indicators (Beauchamp et al. 2009). It

Themes and patterns were extracted from interview transcripts through content analysis, and data were analyzed in relation to the main study questions. Findings indicated that virtual communities of practice could be successful, information sharing could be limited but was evolving, and information shared was generally perceived to be accurate but may not have been routinely updated. The results included positive and negative aspects of the virtual community of practice within an organization, through which the organizational leaders could gain a deeper understanding of the uses of virtual communication in the company. Increased efficiency, improved collaboration strategies, and a deeper understanding of the uses of virtual communities of practice within organizations have implications for positive social change. Recommendations for further research include specific guidelines and an action research project for virtual communities of

Hertel, Guido, Susanne Geister, and Udo Konradt. 2005. “Managing virtual teams: A review of current empirical research.” Human Resource Management Review 15 (1): 69-95. doi: 10.1016/j.hrmr.2005.01.002.

Due to virtual communication rely on technology-mediated communication to interact with collaborators. Lacking of technology-mediated communication causes asynchronous communication and confusion between collaborators, which such factors bring to increase levels of interpersonal conflict in global

This paper will provide a hypothetical discussion of how each of the four “worldviews” (post-positivism, constructivism, advocacy/participatory, and pragmatism) might apply to the proposed study. It will refer to the topic paper developed during the class RSH9101B (Research Topic, Problem, Purpose, and Questions) with the assistance of Dr. Kenneth Gossett, class mentor. The portion of the Topic Paper to be used will be the problem statement, which will provide the foundation for this discussion and completion of this assignment. This discussion ultimately will lead to the strengthening of this research and the understanding for the need of better researches to help today’s virtual organizations.

Hastings, R. (December 3, 2008). Set Ground Rules for Virtual Team Communications. SHRM Online. Retrieved August 8, 2011 from http://www.shrm.org .

Question:2- Is building ‘’Community’’ important in a virtual world? If so, what would you do to promote a sense of community among these team members?

A team comprised of international components presents an interesting challenge in regards to management. Various problems can potentially arise in regards to organizing the team, developing rules that govern the team and assigning tasks. One method in which to mitigate all of the above mentioned rules is by setting performance standards for the entire team to adhere (Alexander, 2000). One such standard involves the use of a balanced scorecard. A balanced scorecard allows each individual irrespective of their position within the team to have a core set of standards in which to abide by. These standards will also include the job function and the roles of each member with the job function. The scorecard provides an ideal medium in which to judge performance as well. By viewing the scorecard management can easily pinpoint areas of opportunity and improvement (Blair 2010).

The first issue that needs to be addressed is that of trust, since trust is a foundational issue without which nothing else done will be effective. In order to foster trust, the roots of mistrust need to be investigated. Zakaria and Yusof (2011) point to cultural differences as a key barrier to trust and effectiveness in global virtual teams. There is evidence of cultural differences being a factor in the current morale issues. It has been cited by some members within the company as a barrier, and the company has offices around the world, featuring people from a number of different cultures.