Virtual Teams
Team working dates back to the days when men
came together for a common purpose. Making a team function
together and achieve the objectives set for it has always
been a challenge. While a lot has been written about team
work, people have often focussed on teams that meet face-
to -face. They have addressed issues related to selecting
right members for better teams, better human relations and
better team management. There is however very little written
about virtual teams, the new but fast emerging way of working
together.
What Are Virtual Teams
Different authors have different definitions for virtual
teams. While some speak of them as groups of people geographically
dispersed, but working together toward a common goal, others
have spoken of virtual teams as those who work on a common
purpose but across time. However, these only cover some
aspects of virtual teaming. A virtual team is one in which
the members are
Rationale For The Formation Of Virtual
Teams
There are innumerable reasons for the formation of virtual
teams. Organisations may incorporate virtual teams for reasons
ranging from introducing new products and services to entering
new markets or new technologies. However, some predominant
reasons for the increasing formation and use of virtual
teams are.
The improvements in technology seem to have
complimented the increasingly competitive and demanding
markets leading to more of virtual teams being formed.
Kinds Of Virtual Teams
Virtual teams can be classified based on their nature and
composition. They can be classified depending on the kind
of organisation, the kind of time schedules, and kind of
geographic dispersion the teams work in. While there can
be virtual teams spread across the globe but part of the
same organisation, there can be teams that are of same geographic
location but working in varying time frames. Virtual teams
however can be broadly classified as.
Collaborative Teams: These are teams
that work together to achieve specific common purposes.
Members may be across various geographic, time or organisational
lines.
Members may come in and out of team based on their functional
requirement in the team.
Support Teams: These teams are formed
for some specific short- term purpose and the team is not
part of the normal organisational structure. Even these
may be across various organisational, geographical and time
boundaries.
Project teams: These are typically formed for completing
particular projects or products and have a short term life.
This can typically be identified with projects being done
for clients or customers. Though the team may disband after
the project, the members may go on to form other teams for
other projects. The teams are also identifiable in the organisational
maps, and members may get their functional designations
with respect to the roles they generally play in the projects
they participate in.
Work Teams: These teams form part of
the normal day -to- day working of the organisation. , The
members being across time and geographic boundaries typically
communicate using the tool of technology. They form a team
in order to share information or knowledge related to similar
issues they face together.
Service Teams: These teams are formed
to provide 24 hour service to their clients. The members
work during what is day time for them and pass on information
to the next member at another geographic location at the
end of the day.
Decision Teams: These are typically characterised
by members of management team within same organisation.
They work together across geographic and time boundaries
to take management related decisions.
Response Teams: These teams work together
in times of emergency and come together in response to an
event. They can cross all boundaries of time geography or
organisation in order to fulfil a purpose that is mutually
important. Example can be a major chemical accident that
requires sharing of knowledge between the on site engineer
and chemical's specialist in the R&D department placed
elsewhere.
While some of these teams may have clearly
defined membership roles and leaders, many may be formed
due to the shared values goals and objectives of the members.
Communication takes on an added dimension of importance,
as the kind of communication possible is always less than
what is possible when members meet face to face.
