Virtual Teams Defined ETM5361/MSIS5600 Managing Virtual Project Teams Nicholas C. Romano, Jr., Ph.D. Nicholas-Romano@mstm.okstate.edu Paul E. Rossler, Ph.D., P.E. prossle@okstate.edu

Overview What is a virtual team? How does a virtual team differ from traditional teams? What types of virtual teams are there? Are virtual teams all that new? What driving forces have led to the rise of virtual teams? What do current trends in the use of virtual teams suggest?

Virtual teams are… Groups of people who work interdependently with shared purpose Across space, time, and organizational boundaries Using technology to communicate and collaborate

DC NY DC LA LA SF PIT Paris HK SYD NY ATL LON DC SF CHI Share Session Planning Knowledge Management Share Information Generate Ideas Organize Poll Consensus Explore Issues Organizational Memory Enterprise Model Corporate Database Intranet World Wide Web FTP/Gopher WAIS NY DC DC Boston LA LA SF PIT Paris HK SYD NY ATL LON DC SF CHI

A framework for thinking about teams and virtual teams Place Same Different Same Time Different

Virtual teams can differ along a number of dimensions Stability of membership (Stable, Fluid) Clarity of team boundaries (Unclear, Clear) Timeframe in which to operate (Immediate, Long Term) Regularity of activity (Regular, Infrequent)

(Routine, Non-routine) Decision making authority (None, Full) Type or nature of task (Routine, Non-routine) Decision making authority (None, Full) Complexity Organizational (Single, Multiple) Cultural Temporal (Single Time Zone, Multiple)

Example comparison of two types of virtual team Project or Product Team Action Team Stability of Membership Fluid Stable/Fluid Team Boundaries Clear Unclear Timeframe Longer-term Immediate Regularity Frequent Infrequent Task Non-routine Decision Authority High Moderate Complexity

Virtual team management in the context of a management system Idea organization, prioritization, consensus, contribution and progress Virtual Team Leader, Members Technology Structure Process Facilitation Collaborative decisions and actions Ideas Information Performance Progress Project Problem Task (Based on Kurstedt’s Management System Model)

An increasing number of people are participating on virtual teams Downsizing/Rightsizing Flattening, Re-engineering Telecommuting Improvements in communication technology Increased Competition Globalization 9/11

Some recent statistics Two-thirds of Fortune 500 companies employ telecommuters 19 million people worked from their home in 2001 The Gartner Group estimated that by 2002 over 100 million people worldwide will be working outside traditional offices Kirkman, B. L., et al. 2002. Five challenges to virtual team success: Lessons from Sabre, Inc. Academy of Management Executive, 16(3): 67-79.

Tomorrow’s fragmented, geographically dispersed workplace is increasingly becoming a space, not a place, for many

The Information Age Manage routine transactions (50s-60s) Integrated business operations (70s) Enterprise-wide communication (80s) Collaborative technology (90s) Ubiquitous computing 2000-??? Manage and leverage intellectual capital

A shift is taking place with respect to the critical resource Revolutionary Age Critical Resource Limiting Factor Agricultural Physical capital Manpower, horsepower Industrial Financial capital Purchasing power Information Intellectual capital Attention

Intellectual Bandwidth (IB) “The ability of an organization to bring intellectual capital to bear when addressing a particular issue.” A function of the success with which an organization deploys and uses Knowledge Management Systems and Collaborative Technology

4 Levels of Collaboration Capability High Crew Level 4 Collaborative Work: Concerted Team Effort Relay Level 3 Coordinated Work: Coordinated Individual Efforts Degree of Collaborative Effort Huddle Level 2 Communication Work: Unstructured Information Sharing Sprinters Level 1 Cumulative Work : Uncoordinated Individual Efforts Low

Sprinters Level 1 Cumulative Work Individual, uncoordinated effort toward team goal Team productivity is simple sum of individual performances Individualized Processes - Start to Finish Office Applications MSWord Group Editing Multiple Spreadsheet Sections PowerPoint Presentation Passing

Level 2 Communications Work Huddle Level 2 Communications Work Unstructured information sharing Ad hoc process Information sharing applications Lotus NOTES Discussions Net Meeting Video Teleconferencing Application Sharing (Proshare) Chat, News Groups

Level 3 Coordinated Work Relay Coordinated efforts and processes Coordination, sharing, and hand-offs Coordination applications Workflow applications Adding structure to NOTES Coordinator

Level 4 Collaborative Work Crew Level 4 Collaborative Work All team members work a process simultaneously to achieve the team goal Repeatable customized process Attention dynamics Collaborative applications GroupSystems Online Facilitate.COM Meetingworks

Ideal Teamwork Two to hundreds of people Complex issues addressed Everyone Contributes equally Perceives everything from multiple perspectives Focuses attention on critical Issues Takes ownership of the solution

Ideal Teamwork All knowledge at everyone’s fingertips Design customized repeatable processes Accomplish goals and produce products

Summary Virtual teams conduct their work primarily through technology Virtual is often a matter of degree rather than absolutes Leveraging intellectual capital requires effective knowledge management systems and collaborative technology Attention has become a limiting and important factor Collaboration, as opposed to simply sharing information , is the real goal and challenge