Managing Virtual Teams

MANAGING VIRTUAL TEAMS 4

ManagingVirtual Teams

ManagingVirtual Teams

Manyorganizations haveshiftedto outsourcingbusiness activities to employees who aregeographically dispersedand culturally diverse, resultingin the formationof virtual teams that provide diverse skills, talents,and perception. Virtual teams are more effective and efficient andcan greatly increasebusiness performance and productivity when well managed.

TheKey Points in the Article

Thereare several key points in the article “How to Manage Virtual Teams”by Siebdrat, Hoelgel,and Ernst. One is that successful virtual teams have characteristicsof combinedskills, talents,and capabilities that each member presents. Another is that theoverall effect of dispersion inbusinessdepends on the processes that promote the coordination of members andcontribution (Siebdrat, Hoelgel &ampErnst 2012). Also,the article revealsthat this dispersion can be advantageous to a business if themanagers utilize the social skills and self-efficacy among the teammembers at dispersed locations.

TheTop Three Items

Thetop three items important in this article include the dark and brightside of dispersion, a clause presenting the advantages anddisadvantages of dispersion in business. The other item is the Dosand Don’ts of managing dispersion, where the authors present thestrategies for improving performance and productivity of virtualteams. The article also discussesthe comparison between the dispersed teams and co-locatedone to reveal the strengths and weaknesses of each over the other,and conditions that influence these strengths or weaknesses.

TheManagement Strategies

Themanagement strategies discussed in the article include fostering theemployees’ global awareness and mindset that results in friendlyattitude and ability to work in pressure of different context(Siebdrat, Hoelgel and Ernst 2012). The other strategy is promotingself-leadership among the team members. Consequently, members becomeself-sufficient managing the tasks assigned to them. Also,emphasizing on teamwork among the dispersed member can be effectivefor it actsas a wayfor exchanging varying capacity, and improving both coordination andcommunication (Siebdrat, Hoelgel &amp Ernst 2012).Finally, authors establish that affectingface-to-face meeting can help in developing team identity of eachmember and improve cohesion.

PersonalOpinion

Ido agree withthe authors’ idea ofthe management strategies and the superiority dispersion in business.However, it can be difficult to emphasize on teamwork and effectingface to face due to the distancebetween members, the costs,and unresolved racial or religious differences.

Inbrief, virtual teams can be as effective as colocated one inbusiness.More importantly, there are the obstacles close distance createsand this is solved in Virtual teams. Also,the virtual teams availdiverse skills, experience, knowledge and approaches for increasingproductivity.

Reference

Siebdrat,F., Hoelgel, M., &amp Ernst, H. (2012). Howto manage Virtual Teams(1st ed., pp. 2-7). Massachusetts, USA: MIT Sloan Management Review.