OPPapers.com

Finance

1. Introduction

This discussion covers of the key decisions my company is facing that is whether it makes financial and project sense to virtualize current teams so that key benefits of geographically dispersed teams such as diversity of perspectives, large member selection pool, extended hours of productivity, and reduced transportation costs.

1.1 What are “Virtual Teams”?
“Virtual teams are groups of geographically and/or temporally dispersed individuals brought together via information and telecommunication technologies.” (Piccoli and Ives, 2003, p365) Virtual teams are increasingly becoming a key feature of projects in modern organizations, while the landscape of communication tools continues to change dramatically.
However, many new challenges arise, such as difficulty in performance monitoring, disappearance of social cues, member isolation and anonymity, and technology issues. In addition, virtual teams must deal with cultural, temporal, and geographic barriers.
Advances in communication and information technology have created new opportunities for organizations to build and manage virtual teams. Virtual teams are defined as groups of employees with unique skills, situated in distant locations, whose members must collaborate using technology across space and time to accomplish important organizational tasks

1.2 Scope of analysis


2. The Analysis

Presented below are the factors that influence the effectiveness of a virtual, globally-distributed team:


2.1 Personality

Understanding personality is an important attribute for virtual team members. Particular traits and skills, in appropriate quantities, allow a team to efficiently accomplish its tasks. Characteristics to analyze are extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness to change.

Extroverts are not likely work well in a virtual team. They are very sociable people and enjoy interacting with co-workers. While they may have positive attitudes towards...