Similarities and Differences Between Virtual and Traditional Teams Term Paper

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Identifying Best Practices for Supporting Virtual Teams

About half of all multinational corporations already use virtual teams in some capacity, and current trends indicate that they will become increasingly commonplace in the future (Minton-Eversole, 2012). Although definitions vary, virtual teams are typically regarded as being comprised of a group of individuals that are located in different geographic locations who communicate primarily through collaborative electronic communications platforms (Minton-Eversole, 2012). Given their growing importance, identifying best practices for supporting virtual teams has assumed new importance and relevance today. To this end, this paper examines five issues that IT departments are likely to face in supporting virtual teams and an architectural diagram depicted how virtual teams collaborate and access common documents, software, development and testing facilities. In addition, a description of five advantages and disadvantages of using virtual teams for global enterprises is followed by a description concerning how various challenges can be addressed. Finally, proposed procedures for virtual teams and a compare and contrast analysis of virtual teams and traditional teams with respect to communications, technology use, and team diversity is followed by a summary of the research and important findings concerning virtual teams in the conclusion.

Examination of five issues that the IT department is likely to face when it comes to supporting virtual teams

First and foremost, virtual teams composed of qualified and talented individuals must be capable of responding to internal and external customer demands (Bergiel & Bergiel, 2009).

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Therefore, virtual teams require the appropriate types of synchronous and asynchronous communications and collaboration technologies that they need to achieve their objectives despite their different geographic locations and time zones (Bergiel & Bergiel, 2009). In addition, virtual teams require specialize human resources support. For instance, Duarte and Snyder (2006) emphasize that, “Human resource policies should support working virtually. Systems must be integrated and aligned to recognize, support, and reward the people who work on and lead virtual teams” (p. 11).

Architectural diagram

An architectural diagram that shows how the virtual teams would collaborate and access common repositories for documents, software, development, and testing facilities is provided at Appendix A.

Five advantages and disadvantages of using virtual teams for the organizations described in the scenario

Advantages:

1. Reduced travel time;

2. Increased productivity;

3. Flexibility;

4. Cultural diversity of membership that can improve the team’s deliverables; and,

5. Lower costs compared to traditional teams.

Disadvantages:

1. Cross-cultural differences that can adversely affect the quality of communications between team members;

2. Different time zones introduce challenges in coordinating a mutually acceptable time for synchronous communications;

3. Diminished work-life balance for team members;

4. A lack of….....

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