The virtual project - Essay Example

?Introduction The virtual project has been defined as one in which the work groups are globally dispersed so that they do not share a common workplace. This severely limits the opportunity for direct communication. To circumvent this problem, the project manager must use new electronic technologies. The internet, the pager, teleconferencing, videoconferencing are some of the technologies being recommended by project managers. Virtual projects face some special problems. The process of teambuilding is common to any project. However the virtual project presents some serious problems in the areas of developing trust, developing group identity, sharing information, developing clear structures, formation of ‘cliques’ or informal subgroups and understanding information. If the problems of direct communication and new electronic technologies are not addressed, then they may become fatal. Question 1 A virtual project is defined as being geographically dispersed so that the team members seldom if ever meet face to face. In this respect, the virtual project differs from the traditional project in that in a traditional team environment, the team members share a common work place so that they meet frequently. However the process of team building involves challenges that are common to all projects. The success of managing any project depends upon building an effective team. This is a common problem for any project manager. Effective team building depends upon building trust among the team members. If the team members do not trust each other, then their efforts cannot be directed towards a common goal. This is a problem faced by the project manager not only in the traditional bureaucratic setting, but also in the modern environment characterized by the virtual project. The basic definitions of team building that were implemented in the traditional project hold true for the virtual project as well. In any project, the project manager faces the problem of developing an effective and productive project team. Therefore the problems faced in this regard are common to both types of projects. The problems of communicating and building teams are not necessarily specific to the virtual project. In a traditional bureaucratic setting, the project manager also faces the problem of managing communications among the team members so that the team as a whole can attain the maximum level of productivity. Creating good team work involves problems that are found in any project. Therefore the project manager, whether he is managing a traditional or a virtual project, must develop skills that can address the problems hindering good teamwork. Good teamwork requires clear structures and this is a problem common to both the virtual project and the bureaucratic setting. Unless the project manager can generate commitment to team objectives, project implementation will fail. These are problems that both the modern and the traditional project manager must consider. Virtual projects specifically face the problem of not being able to directly communicate. Because the team members are spread across several time zones, they cannot meet face-to-face. Therefore the difficulties of communicating and team building are much greater in a virtual project. Implementing virtual project teams requires the project manager to have skills in managing the latest communication technologies. The benefits that traditional projects can gain from collocation are not attributable to the virtual project in which the team members are geographically dispersed. Therefore virtual projects face unique communication problems. For this reason, implementing virtual projects requires the use of the most advanced communication technologies. Distant team members also face the problem of information sharing. Because they are located in different locations, they have different perspectives on the same information. This problem creates inequities of information which is unique to the virtual project. The virtual project faces the unique problem of not having collocation. As a result, virtual team difficulties can develop far in excess of those faced in typical environments. Because the team members are geographically dispersed, there is a lower level of comfort and familiarity among the team members. Therefore the problem of developing a group identity is unique to the phenomenon of being dispersed. Virtual team members have fewer shared experiences, lack cohesion and have little understanding of other members’ roles and responsibilities. These problems can hinder group identity in a virtual project. In a typical environment these issues are addressed through collocation. However collocation is missing in the virtual project as the team members are distributed globally. This results in irregular, inconsistent communication which hinders trust. Virtual projects also lack a common system for transmitting information across boundaries. Globally distributed team members also bring different cultural expectations to the meeting. This is not a problem in a typical environment where the team members share a common workplace. The virtual project manager must deal with the problems of building an effective project team. These problems are also faced in a typical, bureaucratic setting. The difference is that the virtual project is not based upon the same physical location which the traditional bureaucratic work is. The definitions of team building apply in both cases. But in a virtual environment, some problems arise from lack of collocation. Because of this, there are some issues that are unique to the phenomenon of being dispersed. While team-building can present problems in any project, the virtual project specifically faces the problems of developing trust, developing group identity, sharing information, developing clear structures, formation of cliques or informal subgroups and understanding information. Question 2 New electronic technologies have enhanced global competitiveness addressing which requires geographically dispersed project teams. Rapid technological advancement in communications has created a global competitive environment which requires complex organizational structures. Cellular phones, pagers, faxes, e-mail, Web pages, and computer-to-computer transmissions across local area and wide area networks are the electronic technologies that contribute to the problems and solutions of virtual project teams. Project management software, teleconference meetings etc. are essential in virtual projects. The project manager in a virtual project needs to have skills in the use of electronic technologies in order to create effective virtual project teams. Electronic technologies such as cellular phones, pagers, faxes, telephones, e-mail, Internet and computer-to-computer create both problems and solutions for virtual project teams. The virtual project manager must provide a variety of electronic communication alternatives. Why these problems and solutions occur Advancements in electronic technologies have led to the creation of a global competitive environment. This means that typical, bureaucratic work is no longer as effective as before. The modern business environment requires complex organizational structures that pave the way for downsizing, outsourcing and employee empowerment. All of these trends underscore the need for virtual project teams. Because of the enhanced global competitiveness, the modern organization must be able to rapidly change its structure, culture and products to survive. This requires the use of the virtual project which enables the organization to manage short production runs of unique products. Because virtual team members are geographically dispersed, they can introduce greater dynamism to the decision making process. However the use of the virtual project would not have been possible without the same electronic technologies which created the problems of global competition. As mentioned before, geographically dispersed project teams cannot access the benefits of collocation. For this reason, communication alternatives are called for. These are the electronic technologies which have made the virtual project a possibility. However the same technologies also create the solutions. The internet, the pager, teleconferencing, videoconferencing may have created the problems, but they have also provided the communication alternatives which are essential in managing a virtual project. The electronic technologies have created conditions that demand faster reactions, team-building over extensive distances and ever-more extensive communications. However they have also made the virtual project a possibility so that these problems are addressed. For the modern project manager, it is now a mandatory skill to facilitate the creative use of electronic technologies in order to create a common system for transferring information. Because the virtual project team does not have the benefit of collocation, careful management and control of the communication process is mandatory. The new electronic technologies have created alternative approaches to dealing with the challenges of team-building in a virtual project. The main problem in virtual project teams is that they lack formal and informal personal contact among the team members. This problem can be addressed by applying the Internet technology which facilitates quick and inexpensive communication throughout the world. This is an example of the use of electronic technologies which created the conditions necessary for implementing virtual project teams. However the application of these technologies also provides opportunities for dealing progressively with the problems. The Internet, the pager, teleconferencing and videoconferencing can be used to manage the communication process to overcome virtual team difficulties. The new electronic technologies have created the global competitive environment that has made virtual projects necessary. These technologies can also serve as the communication process to manage virtual projects. The global competitiveness that characterizes the modern business environment makes virtual projects both possible and necessary. Therefore skills related to implementing virtual project teams are essential for the modern project manager to have. Modern communication technologies have created the conditions that demand greater business competitiveness through the use of virtual teams. Virtual teams face some special problems which are different from those typically encountered in a bureaucratic setting. By using new electronic technologies such as the Internet, project managers can provide solutions for managing the communication challenges that occur in implementing virtual project teams. Question 3 Developing trust is one of the most serious problems faced by the project manager. In a virtual project, team members seldom, if ever, meet face-to-face. Therefore it is difficult for them to get to know each other well. As a result they tend to communicate poorly and are less than comfortable with each other. This destroys the trust which is essential to good teamwork. The problem of developing a group identity is also serious. Because virtual team members do not have collocation, they are not able to associate with the events that occur in other geographical locations. This means that the virtual team members have different perspectives based upon which to interpret the information that is available to them. This hinders the process of information sharing. In a bureaucratic setting, the team members share a common workplace so that they can meet face-to-face to carry out their assignments. This makes team-building simpler. However in a virtual project which is geographically dispersed, team members may come from completely different working conditions which make information sharing more difficult. In a virtual project, the scope for direct communication is severely limited. Therefore the use of electronic communications is recommended. Therefore it is absolutely essential for the project manager in a virtual environment to have skills in the use of new electronic technologies as communication alternatives. As mentioned before, developing a group identity becomes problematic because the team members do not meet face-to-face. Without a group identity, the efforts of the team members cannot be directed towards project and team objectives. As a result the teambuilding process is hindered. Team members’ exposure to project information as well as to each other is severely limited in a virtual project and this is also a serious problem which can only be addressed through the use of communication technologies. It is a serious issue for the virtual project manager to be both knowledgeable and creative in the use of new electronic technologies. Problems which might be fatal The lack of face-to-face communications can be fatal. Because of time and cost constraints, it may not be possible for the virtual project manager to arrange this frequently. Therefore there is a lack of formal and informal personal contact among the team members. This problem may be addressed to some extent by the application of new electronic technologies. However there is a tendency to use such communication only for official purposes such as exchanging reports. Because the virtual team members are geographically dispersed and located in different time zones, it is difficult for them to get to know each other well. As a result, there is a lower level of comfort and familiarity among team members and an “us vs. them” attitude. If this occurs, then the required participation and sense of ownership that leads to commitment to the project and team objectives are not there. The virtual project manager has to solve the problem of direct communication. Otherwise effective team building may become impossible. The use of new electronic technologies is also problematic. Unless the project manager has skills in the use of these technologies, he cannot implement virtual project teams. As mentioned before, new electronic technologies have enhanced the competitiveness of global firms but the same technologies provide essential tools for implementing virtual project teams. If the new electronic technologies are not used creatively, then it is not possible to manage globally dispersed project teams. However that may not be possible due to time and cost constraints because the organization that is implementing the virtual project team has to develop complex structures that facilitate the use of new electronic technologies. Virtual projects face serious problems because the work groups are spread across different time zones. If the project manager cannot use new electronic technologies, then it is fatal. Team members cannot share information and as a result their efforts cannot be directed towards project and team objectives. The process of team building is common to any project. But the virtual project presents some special challenges because its work groups are globally dispersed. In this situation, there is a lack of direct communication which can be fatal. If communication alternatives are not provided, then developing an effective and productive project team becomes impossible. The project manager in a virtual project has to have skills in the use of communication technologies. If these problems are not dealt with, then they become fatal. The project cannot generate the required commitment to accomplish the task at hand. Final conclusion The modern business environment is characterized by a high level of competitiveness which requires global firms to rapidly change its structure, culture and products to match the changing demands of the environment. This has impacted upon the project management framework in terms of creating pressure for the virtual project. Although the virtual project shares some of the definitions of the bureaucratic setting, it requires some special skills on the part of the project manager. Because the work groups in a virtual project are globally dispersed, it severely limits the opportunity for direct communication. The project manager has to use new electronic technologies in order to create a common system for sharing information across boundaries. The same technologies that have made the concept of the virtual project a possibility are providing the solutions. These solutions are the communication alternatives which address the problem of globally dispersed work groups so that they can communicate frequently. Sources Adams, J. R., and Adams, L. L. “The Virtual Project: Managing Tomorrow’s Team Today.” PM Network, Project Management Institute 11.1 (1997): 230:235. Read More