Managing the Mobile Workforce and Virtual Teams - Essay Example

Virtual Teams Introduction: A virtual team can be referred to as a remote or geographically distributed team. It refers to a group of people who are able to work across space, geographical boundaries and time. This is made possible because of the emergence of internet technology, and other technological know-how. Virtual teams heavily rely on an interactive media, and it can only be achieved through the creation of a website that is interactive in nature. Clemons and Michael (14) explain that an increase in innovations in telecommunication technology has played a great role in the emergence of a virtual team, or work force. Information technological tools such as web 2.0, Drupal, or even Joomla have played a role in the development of a virtual team. Furthermore, there are two major components that help in the definition of a virtual work force. One of the components of a virtual workforce is that, it is a small group of workers, who are dispersed geographically. This means that a virtual workforce can be found in any part of the world, and the hiring managers are not limited by geographical location (Clemons and Michael, 17). Another component is the concept of knowledgeable workers who are able to coordinate their work, through an electronic means, which are made possible because of the existence of new technologies in information technology. The purpose of these workers is to accomplish a task, or an organization of tasks. Furthermore, members of a virtual team may never have an opportunity of meeting face to face. This is because of the geographical distance that is involved. Clemons and Michael (19) explain that one of the technological innovations that have made it possible for the emergence of virtual teams is fiber optics. This has increased and improved the manner which offsite communication occurs. Despite an increase in the virtual workforce, there is little focus on the importance of a virtual team leader. These people play an important role in the formation of virtual teams, and their management. This paper explores the challenges of forming a virtual team, and how to manage such kind of teams. Furthermore, it identifies the type of architecture or infrastructure that an organization must have, for purposes of accommodating a virtual work force (Lojeski and Richard, 35). It further analyzes the implications of forming and managing this type of work. The implications identified are legal, financial, technological and organizational. Challenges of Forming a Virtual Work Force and How to manage the Teams: Creating an efficient and effective virtual team is a difficult process. It is impossible for managers of a team to create a highly performing work group, by assigning duties to the members of a team, and allowing them to carry out their duties without a careful support, attention, and structuring process. Based on these facts, virtual teams may not achieve their capability, and they may fail to start operations or their work (Lojeski and Richard, 21). There are four major challenges affecting the development of a virtual team, and these challenges include leadership challenges, management of conflicts, relationship building, and developing an effective communication channel. One of the challenges of forming a virtual team is the development of an efficient and effective communication. Technology provides very low chances of a face to face communication. It is highly possible for members of a team to lose information that will help in making their work to be easy. Losing this kind of information can lead to stereotyping, misunderstandings and miss-interpretations. Furthermore, it is important to explain that majority of communication that occurs between members of a virtual team, will always take place between a lag time (Hoefling, 22). This means that getting a feedback for the message normally takes a period of time. This has the capability of reducing the immediacy or efficiency of the feedback. However, the only advantage is that it has the ability of giving the recipients of information some ample time to respond, hence only reliable and relevant messages are passed. Another challenge is on building of relationships. It is always difficult for the members of a virtual team to build relationships. High quality relationships are always characterized through their responses. It is therefore important that managers should come up with a process that would make it possible for members of the virtual team to adapt, and increase the efficiency of their communication capability. Building of relationships between members of a virtual team is a very difficult process (Tedesco, 54). This is mainly because of the distance involved between the members of the team, and inadequate face to face communication. Building a good relationship amongst the members of a team is essential, mainly because it would help the organization to achieve efficiency amongst these team members. However, building of relationships is a very difficult and tedious process, which will most definitely take a considerable period of time. This is because members of the team are hired remotely, and chances are high that they would never meet with each other (Hoefling, 36). Furthermore, emergence of a conflict in a virtual team is unavoidable. In as much as conflict is associated with some negative connotations, some are seen as positive. This is because they can help in improving the performance of the team. Trust is the most important prerequisite that can be used in resolving a conflict (Tedesco, 51). Because of diversity, issues that lead to the conflict of the team members range from the differences in their cultures, religion, work ethics, etc. Furthermore, whatever is seen or interpreted as conflict is different between the cultures that are present. Scholar further explains that the method of resolving the conflicts is also different (Diamond, 22). Based on these facts, it is very important for the team managers to have an understanding on how to manage and resolve the various conflicts that occurs within a team. Enactment of good leadership is also another problem or challenge that faces a virtual work force. Any workforce team needs a workspace that is organized, that has defined and clears roles, and an explicit interactive culture. In a work force that meets face to face, it is possible to negotiate these processes in an explicit manner, as the members of the team are able to observe the facial expressions of each other, and their non-verbal behaviors (Hoefling, 36). In a virtual workforce, such an opportunity does not exist, and virtual teams that are unable to manage these processes normally fail to meet their objectives. It is therefore the responsibility of a manager to provide a timely feedback, reflect on strengths and weaknesses of the team, and thereafter build a strong team that has the capability of meeting the objectives of the organization. It is the responsibility of the team leader to ensure that the sponsors of the organization are updated on the progress of the team, and involved in the various important tasks of the organization. Furthermore, it is important for the team leader to facilitate relationships. This is by creating mechanism that will help the members of the team to engage in dialogue and conversations with each other (Diamond, 22). There are different methods that these conversations may take place, and they may either take place within the context of a formal meeting. However, these conversations should be part and parcel of the daily activities of the members of the virtual workforce. Furthermore, it is the responsibility of the leaders of the virtual team to help the members of the team to focus on achieving the goals of the organization. This can be achieved by creation of small tasks, and assigning them to the different members of the team. The team manager must also have the capability of using the various technologies that the team under consideration is dependent upon. These include technological know-how such as net-meeting, virtual classroom, e-mail, etc. The team manager should also engage in a frequent and prompt communication, in regard to suggestions, new ideas, directions, and acknowledgements that are related to their work, or the project that they are undertaking. Finally, another method of managing the virtual workforce is by empowering the members of the team (Diamond, 25). This includes giving them a perception of autonomy, potential effectiveness, and meaningfulness. For any virtual team, empowerment is very important. For teams that do not have the capability of constantly meeting one another, empowerment is important because it helps in improving their work performance, and learning capability. Teams that are not empowered, and do not meet face to face, are always passive, and the level of their output is always low (Lojeski and Richard, 26). For purposes of empowering his or her virtual team, the leader has to spend a considerable amount of time with his or her individual team members. This time can be spent through telephone communication, coaching, or even helping them to have knowledge on the culture and objectives of the organization, and how the team is aligned for purposes of meeting the objectives of the organization. Through these strategies, chances are high that the team leaders will manage to overcome the various challenges of forming a virtual work force. These challenges, as mentioned above are leadership, communication, relationship building, and management of conflicts. Infrastructure for developing a virtual work force: For purposes of building an efficient virtual work force, the first step an organization has to do, is to assess is to assess the capability of the existing employees to work in a virtual environment. Weak employees who are unable to fit in a virtual environment would most definitely lead to the failure of the project. Based on this fact, an organization has to analyze the skills that it has, so that it may assess whether they are capable of fitting into a virtual culture or work environment. Another step is the evaluation of the work environment (Diamond, 19). The organization has to ensure that its employees have the necessary space and facilities that can help in working as a virtual team. The facilities under consideration are mainly the technological gadgets that can help in the access of the internet by employees. This includes gadgets such as computers, internet routers, etc. Leadership is another important aspect that the company should focus on, while building a virtual workforce. It is impossible for any virtual workforce to succeed without proper and good leadership. A virtually leader should develop methods that can help him, or her to identify the necessary needs and specific skills of its employees. This can include constant communication, through the use of emails, telephone, and the social media (Hoefling, 12). Furthermore, the team leader must have the capability of developing proper communication skills amongst his workforce. This can be achieved by the introduction of online training programs, aimed at training the virtual workforce on efficient and effective communication skills. Finally, there is a need of using a vast array of communication technologies that are available (Lojeski and Richard, 11). This includes taking advantage of the social media, the use of email technology, and the use of website developing tools such as web 2.0 for purposes of coming up with an interactive website, that will make it possible for the development of an interactive website. Implications of a virtual workforce: One of the most important financial implications of a virtual workforce is that it helps in driving down the costs of operation. This is because it enables the company to reduce the office space and equipments that can be used for purposes of administering the office (Lojeski and Richard, 22). Based this fact, chances are high that the organization would save more, hence increasing their levels of profits. However, the organization would incur high costs of developing an interactive website that has the capability of hosting a large number of employees, and facilitating the manner which they are carrying out their duties. An organization can use as much as thousands of dollars, just to create a website, for virtual work purposes (Diamond, 39). There are a variety of technological implications that an organization would face while developing a virtual workforce. It is quite impossible to develop a virtual workforce, without innovations in information technology. Based on this fact, the company should heavily invest on an IT infrastructure that would make it possible for efficient communication between the parties involved. This might be expensive, because the company would be forced to hire the services of professionals, to develop such kind of an infrastructure (Hoefling, 29). Legally, it is important for the company to consider the various laws that govern the hiring of remote workers, and the taxation laws that affect such kind of workers. It is only after ascertaining the legality of such an action, that the company can hire such kind of workers. Finally, be developing a virtual workforce, the organizational structure of the company would change. This is because workers would be managed remotely; hence there won’t be a need of a physical office, with various departments, undertaking specific functions. All these would be made through the internet. Conclusion: In conclusion, a virtual workforce is an emerging trend, that organizations are using for purposes of cutting down on their costs. This is made possible because the people hired to carry out their tasks are remote workers, hence the company does not need a huge office space, to undertake this activity. Despite its importance, there are a number of challenges that a company faces, when it tries to adopt it. One major challenge is communication challenge. Members of a virtual workforce normally find it difficult to efficiently communicate with one another. This is because they do not meet face to face, and hence over rely on technology, for purposes of communicating with one another. Building of relationships and management of conflicts are other challenges that a virtual workforce normally encounters. All this are because of the diverse workforces that are working as virtual teams and the inability of these people to meet on a face to face basis. Works Cited: Clemons, David, and Michael S. Kroth. Managing the Mobile Workforce Leading, Building, and Sustaining Virtual Teams. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2011. Print. Top of Form Bottom of Form Diamond, ArLyne. Leading and Managing a Global Workforce. Cupertino, Calif.: Super Star, 2012. Print. Top of Form Bottom of Form Hoefling, Trina. Working Virtually Managing People for Successful Virtual Teams and Organizations. Sterling, Va.: Stylus, 2003. Print. Top of Form Bottom of Form Lojeski, Karen, and Richard R. Reilly. Leading the Virtual Workforce: How Great Leaders Transform Organizations in the 21st Century. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley, 2010. Print. Top of Form Bottom of Form Tedesco, Erika. Managing the Virtual Workforce. Alexandria, VA: American Society for Training & Development, 2013. Print. Read More