Effectiveness of Teamwork in Virtual Teams Dissertation

Effectiveness of Teamwork in Virtual Teams - Dissertation Example .56 6.2. Ways to solve the problem 6.2.1. Virtual team management..59 6.2.2. Leaderships.60 6.2.3. Training provided for team members.63 6.2.4. Trust building among team members.64 6.2.5. Effective communications, e.g. add the frequency of face-to-face contacts..66 6.2.6. Boundary Management..69 Chapter 7: Case Study of Virtual Collaboration 7.1. The context and challenge.72 7.2. The challenge of building a virtual team...73 7.3. Defining a compelling challenge..73 7.4. Creating involvement ...74 7.5. Managing performance..75 7.6. Demonstrating commitment .76 7.7. Team success and illustrative outcomes ...77 7.8. Dynamics in a Global Virtual Team..78 7.9. Implications for virtual team leaders ....78 Chapter 8: Guidelines 8.1.Guidelines...80 Chapter 9: Conclusions 9.1. Summaries and Conlusions...86 Bibliography Chapter 1 Introduction 1.1. Background introduction 1.1.1. The origins of teamwork Much of the behavior of an individual in an organization is an expression of his place in the group to which he belongs. These groups tend to develop persistent patterns in their relations to each other. Because members identify with their own groups, they may express fairly uniform attitudes toward other groups. In some cases, well-developed patterns of antagonism are found between groups, with each being critical of the others and defensive toward itself. Thus, natural conflicts of interest exist even in the most wisely designed organizations. The formal structure typically establishes the basis for these conflicts by the way it differentiates its work units. With all of the diligence and understanding a manager can exert, differentiation across formal units and cohesion within each of them are the almost inevitable consequences of... If a group is not integrated, teamwork is likely to be minimal-regardless of efforts to develop it. Conversely, where integration in a group is high, there is greater potential for the development of teamwork. High cohesion is a necessary ingredient for the development of teamwork, but not the only one. In order for teamwork to be developed, a number of other elements are essential. Many factors operate to encourage the development of team relationships. Common membership in a particular group, the possession of a common terminology, the sharing of a common doctrine, common problems with regard to the current operational situation of the team, and common understandings of its significance, the possession of common means and channels of communication, the fact of frequent association, and shared values regarding the necessity for working as a team-these are all factors that enhance the development of teamwork. Nonetheless, the presence of the above factors alone will not assure effective teamwork. In addition, the development of a closely knit team requires each member to possess a frame of reference that embraces cooperation and coordination as operational requirements. When people act at cross purposes, it is because they are impelled by individual, rather than common, motives or by motives that are incompatible and irreconcilable. On the other hand, teamwork develops through the efforts of individuals who possess motives that require cooperative activities for their attainment.