V IRTUAL T EAMS

V IRTUAL T EAMS

Virtual teams are defi ned as specialized groups that operate without the phys- ical limitations of distance, time, or organizational boundaries, and use electronic collaboration technologies and other techniques to lower travel and facility costs, reduce project schedules, and improve decision-making time and communication (Mittleman & Briggs (1998). Seven basic types of virtual teams have been identifi ed (Mittleman & Briggs, 1998):

Networked teams: Individuals who collaborate to achieve a common goal or purpose.

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Parallel teams: Individuals who carry out special assignments, tasks, or func- tions that the regular organization does not want or is not equipped to perform.

Project or product-development teams: Groups that conduct projects for

users or customers for a defi ned, but typically extended, period of time. Work or production teams: Teams that perform regular and ongoing work. Such teams usually exist in one function, such as accounting, fi nance, training, or research and development.

Service teams: Teams created onshore or offshore to provide certain special- ized services, such as customer support services or help desk services. Management teams: Managers brought together either to deliberate and

decide on an emergent organizational problem or operate as specialized steering committees.

Action teams: Individuals collaborating to offer immediate responses, often to emergency situations.

Two factors appear to guide organizations to adopt virtual teams. First, the change in organization structure away from traditional hierarchies toward distrib- uted operations creates the need to bring together cross-functional expertise to solve problems. Moreover, organizations recognize that they can acquire specifi c kinds of expertise, which is too costly to maintain locally, by going outside the organizational boundaries. Second, advances in networking, computer, and com- munications technologies have lead to the development of methods that can sup- port meetings across time and space (see technology discussion under Driving Forces section).

A team is also known as a work group. In terms of socio-technical systems terminology, groups can be seen as having both technical and social systems components. The technical system defi nes the work process and task accom- plishment goals that derive from that process. The social system defi nes the group process and the quality of work and life goals that are required to make the group function effectively. In order to achieve all of these goals, groups/ teams have certain requirements. Table II, derived from Mandviwalla and Olfman (1994), outlines these requirements in terms of their technical and social system components.

Teams carry out multiple subtasks in order to accomplish their overall goal, and they perform these subtasks using a variety of work methods. The subtasks are typically embedded in many layers of complexity but, for illustrative purposes, we look at a high level set of subtasks that lead to the fi nal goal of a team. For example, take a team charged with developing a new product. It must do market research, create design alternatives, do market testing, and so forth. Each of these high level subtasks requires different work methods, including survey design, data collection and analysis, and engineering.

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TABLE II Group/Team Requirements

Technical System

Social System

Multiple group tasks Development of the group Multiple work methods

Interchangeable interaction methods Permeable group boundaries Adjustable group context Multiple behavioral characteristics

Throughout the work process, teams must maintain their social functions. They develop over time as members learn to work together. This requires that teams

be able to communicate in a variety of ways. They must be able to share docu- ments, as well as to use written, spoken, and visual approaches to communication. Throughout the team’s life, various members may join or leave due to needs for specifi c expertise or other behavioral factors (e.g., someone decides to take a new job). Moreover, team members must be supported so that they can easily fi t into the group tasks, and the group must be able to manage its process, given the needs of the various members plus the goals set for the team.

The complexity of group work as outlined in these requirements is further complicated by the concept of virtuality. Varying the time and space dimensions of the team process adds additional levels of complexity to the concept of the group or team.