Chapter 10 Using Technology to Communicate within Virtual Teams Roebuck: Improving Business Communication, 4th edition. (c) 2006, Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved.

Learning Objectives Describe and list the advantages of virtual teams. Outline the stages of team development and how a team operating agreement helps teams with the formation stage. Describe why team members should consider international team-building activities. Roebuck: Improving Business Communication, 4th edition. (c) 2006, Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved.

Learning Objectives Explain the role of technology within virtual teams. Explain collaborative writing and collaborative writing strategies. Roebuck: Improving Business Communication, 4th edition. (c) 2006, Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved.

Did You Know ? A decade ago, virtual teams were almost nonexistent. Today, technology, globalization, and the need for fast responses to marketplace demands have dramatically changed the way business is conducted. Roebuck: Improving Business Communication, 4th edition. (c) 2006, Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved.

Group Projects in 2010 Employees Will Spend: 30 percent of their time alone. 5 percent in the same place and time. 25 percent in a different place and same time. 40 percent in a different place and different time. Roebuck: Improving Business Communication, 4th edition. (c) 2006, Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved.

What Is a Virtual Team? Roebuck: Improving Business Communication, 4th edition. (c) 2006, Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved.

Characteristics of Virtual Teams Work across space, time, and organizational boundaries. Use advanced information technology. Cross international boundaries. Do not meet face-to-face. Roebuck: Improving Business Communication, 4th edition. (c) 2006, Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved.

Advantages of Virtual Teams Responds to challenges associated with downsized and lean organizations. Addresses new workforce demographics. Allows an organization to remain flat. Appeals to some personality types. Roebuck: Improving Business Communication, 4th edition. (c) 2006, Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved.

Stages of Virtual Team Development Forming Storming Norming Performing Adjourning Roebuck: Improving Business Communication, 4th edition. (c) 2006, Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved.

Relationship between task-oriented virtual teams and task-relationship oriented virtual teams (Grovewell, 2001). Roebuck: Improving Business Communication, 4th edition. (c) 2006, Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved.

Virtual or Distributed Team or Work Group A group of people committed to a common compelling purpose (performance goals) and approach that works across space, time, and organizational boundaries with links strengthened by webs of technologies and TRUST. Roebuck: Improving Business Communication, 4th edition. (c) 2006, Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved.

How to Build Trust Begin interactions with social messages. Set clear roles for each team member. Display eagerness, enthusiasm, and an action orientation. Roebuck: Improving Business Communication, 4th edition. (c) 2006, Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved.

To Eliminate Problems Schedule a face-to-face meeting. Communicate goals. Resolve differences in work ethic. Select technology tools. Roebuck: Improving Business Communication, 4th edition. (c) 2006, Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved.

Virtual Team Challenges Empowerment is essential. Effective communication depends heavily on strong relationships. International work compounds the communication challenge. A variety of communication tools should be employed. Esprit de corps must be maintained. Roebuck: Improving Business Communication, 4th edition. (c) 2006, Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved.

Remember Virtual-team members should be careful about what they say in their first messages. In a virtual world, the old adage, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression,” rings truer than ever. Harvard Business Review, May-June 1998 Roebuck: Improving Business Communication, 4th edition. (c) 2006, Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved.

Team Operating Agreement Purpose or Mission Goals or Objectives Team Norms Team Operating Agreement Roebuck: Improving Business Communication, 4th edition. (c) 2006, Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved.

Roles and Responsibilities of Virtual Team Members Be clear about what your job is. Listen to others. Be adaptive. Communicate, communicate, and communicate. Work to resolve conflicts. Roebuck: Improving Business Communication, 4th edition. (c) 2006, Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved.

How to Be Successful Build the teams. Nurture relationships. Empower team members. Promote learning together. Roebuck: Improving Business Communication, 4th edition. (c) 2006, Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved.

Advantages of Technology Better, more timely communication. Geographical distance. Ability to exchange information and work produced. Convenient for managing the project. Grand facilitator of the virtual teaming process. Roebuck: Improving Business Communication, 4th edition. (c) 2006, Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved.

Choosing the Right Technology Quickly and sensitively expresses a clear message. Best fits the needs of a situation. Different media can achieve different effects. Variety of modes can refresh and impact. Roebuck: Improving Business Communication, 4th edition. (c) 2006, Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved.

Technology and Its Effect on Team Dynamics E-mail What norms need to be established for things like response time? How does the style of an e-mail influence how people feel about the team? Videoconferencing How can you manage the attention span of participants? Where can video add something that audio cannot? Roebuck: Improving Business Communication, 4th edition. (c) 2006, Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved.

Technology and Impact on Group Dynamics Audioconferencing How do you help participants have an idea of who is present? How can you sense when people have something to say so you can make sure everyone is heard? Asynchronous Web Conferencing How do you deal with conflict when everyone is participating at different times? Roebuck: Improving Business Communication, 4th edition. (c) 2006, Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved.

Web-Based Systems Information is always available for anyone. The work may be done in New York and a question may arise in Sydney or Hong Kong. The question gets posted on the Web and gets answered quickly. The answer resides on the Web and is available for everyone, so the question only needs to be asked once. Roebuck: Improving Business Communication, 4th edition. (c) 2006, Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved.

Knowledge of other tools Web casts. Meeting managers. White boards. Bulletin boards. Data sharing helps managers develop digital environments that foster ingenuity and innovation. Roebuck: Improving Business Communication, 4th edition. (c) 2006, Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved.

The Trick Is . . . To know what to use and when to use it. To realize the more you can interact by voice, text, and audio, the more you’ll overcome the barriers to time, distance, and culture. To thoroughly understand e-mail, teleconferencing, and videoconferencing. Roebuck: Improving Business Communication, 4th edition. (c) 2006, Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved.

Collaborative Writing Avoid looking for the one right answer. Work toward achieving consensus. Develop a work plan. Roebuck: Improving Business Communication, 4th edition. (c) 2006, Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved.

Collaborative Writing Allow time to get acquainted. Draw out silent partners. Allow and encourage disagreements. Avoid settling on quick and easy answers. Roebuck: Improving Business Communication, 4th edition. (c) 2006, Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved.

The Future of Virtual Teams Will continue to be the mode of operation for many organizations. Will reply on virtual teams for project work. Roebuck: Improving Business Communication, 4th edition. (c) 2006, Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved.