GLOBAL VIRTUAL TEAMS

Challenges Facing by Global Virtual Teams

Abstract

In this study we try to explore the concept of Global Virtual Teams in a holistic context. The main focus of the research is on Global Virtual Teams and its Challenges facing globally between different countries. The research also analyzes many aspects of Global Virtual Teams and tries to gauge its effect on cross cultural workforce.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Abstract2

Introduction4

Virtual Teams4

Technology5

Virtual Team Communication Challenges5

Advantages and Disadvantages of Virtual Teams7

Conclusion8

References9

Challenges Facing by Global Virtual Teams

Introduction

Organizations are facing important challenges in an ever dynamic and constantly changing environment. Economic activity of all types is moving in the direction of globalization. Today organizations operate at a global level to leverage the favourable economic conditions that come with advancements in technological connectivity. Virtual Teams

Collaboration across time, culture, and geographical boundaries has become a common practice for organizations and has given rise to the concept of a globally dispersed team known as a virtual team. Although there are similarities between traditional and virtual teams, the main difference between the teams is how they collaborate. Members of traditional teams are located in the same place and work face-to-face whereas members of virtual teams work across space, time, and organizational boundaries with links strengthened by webs of communication technologies. As organizations expand globally, face resource and knowledge contention, employ more foreign based workers, and seek competitive advantage, virtual teams provide organizations with flexibility, lower costs, and improved resource utilization to meet the changing demands of the organization.

Technology

The rapid development of new communication technologies such as the Internet has accelerated the adoption of virtual teams so that, in most organizations, virtual teams are employed, to some degree. Information technology provides the infrastructure necessary to support the development and expansion of new organizational infrastructure. As an evolutionary form of organizational network, virtual teams are enabled by advancements in information and communication technology. With these communication networks, organizations can employ virtual teams and expect that technology will help team members collaborate more effectively. Advances in technology, in combination with well-designed organizational arrangements and well prepared virtual team members will suffice to approximate some aspects of face-to-face communication.

Virtual Team Communication Challenges

Although virtual teams revolutionize the workplace, their unique composition provides for their own unique challenges. The members of a team with diverse competences gather more diverse abilities, skills, and knowledge that can contribute, on one hand to improving the overall performance of an organization, but on the other hand it can negatively affect the cohesion of the group because of gaps in the communication process. While communication could be seen as a traditional team issue, communication problems within virtual teams is magnified by distance, time, cultural diversity, and the technology leveraged by these teams.

Communication complexity is the result of diverse competences of the virtual team members. For virtual teams to be efficient, they require more than just a set of tools dealing with different aspects of their operations. Successful virtual teams need comprehensive, integrated frameworks that can manage and support their ...