Coordination of Work in Geographically Distributed Teams - Research Proposal Example

Work Carried Out In Geographically Distributed Teams Table of Contents Introduction 3 2. Review of Literature 3 3. Project 4 3 Problem Statement 4 3.2. Project Scope 5 3.3. Project Objectives 5 3.4. Research Approach 5 3.5. Project Deliverables 6 4. Layout 6 5. Project Plan 7 5.1. Gantt chart for the Proposed Project Plan 7 6. Limitations 7 References 8 Bibliography 10 1. Introduction In the past few years, the way organisations conduct business activities have changed considerably. Regional markets have transformed into global markets. The present organisations no longer wait long time for the arrival of progress reports from remote locations, as in its place, progress report can be distributed within real time. Development of technologies has allowed employees, team members and executives to communicate face-to-face literally, even if they reside in the other side of the world. Beyond enabling individuals, new technologies have also enabled organisations to better manage and utilise resources available to them. One key example of such rapid increase in technology and development of business process is geographically distributed teams (Seesa & et. al., 1999). In the current globalised market, business and production had led to increasing pressure in terms of establishments of geographically distributed team. Such distributed team provides an effective structural instrument for managing increased travel time, coordination and expenses of business. These are group of individuals residing in different places and in different business units or organisations, sharing similar accountability. The geographically distributed teams are independent in nature and perform collaboratively in order to accomplish common objectives (Mohrman, 1999). However, such team still faces considerable challenges, which are absent in traditional collocated teams, as in several circumstances, members are unable to meet to the collaborative work and face difficulties due to diverse experience (Liukkunen & Markkula, 2012). This research proposal is hereby aimed at addressing this particular issue witnessed almost at every instance of team functioning within the contemporary business environment. Accordingly, a detailed planning of the entire research study and its purposes will be addressed in this research maintaining adequate clarity as well as comprehensibility. 2. Review of Literature Employee engagement and motivation has long been witnessed as an emerging influential factor for the entrepreneurs to attain their stipulated business goals and objectives. According to Bidgoli (2004), the distance in communication among the employees can be a major affecting factor for organisations to accomplish the desired business goals successfully. It can have negative impacts on the employees in compliance with the regulations along with the vision that exists within an organisation to achieve its strategic goals. In this process, the modernisation of technological aspects can play an essential role for the entrepreneurs to address and effectively deal with the challenges that might arise due to the distance among the employees (Bidgoli, 2004). Moreover, the distance within the employees or the individuals associated with the organisational process may further cause numerous risks that might lead to the overall reduction of the organisations’ capability to develop their long-term sustainability (Shachaf, 2008). With regard to the study of Lowell (1998), although the integration of ICT tends to reduce interpersonal relationship amid co-workers, the advancement of communication process has further witnessed to minimise gap amidst employees. With reference to the study of Peterson (2011), technology has rapidly developed the communication process of the members facilitating them in sharing essential business information. The method of face-to-face communication also provides adequate support to the business, wherein the integration of advanced Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the communication process has been viewed to play a major role for the co-workers in sharing different ideas, thoughts and other crucial business information. The author also emphasizes various dynamic features concerning the importance of face-to-face communication among the co-workers. The process involves various valuable features, which creates more value than exchanging information through verbal communication methods (Peterson, 2011). In the similar context, Jinhui & Raghupathi (2011) has also stated that communication over the internet medium also facilitates the co-workers to communicate essential business information from different locations throughout the globe in a convenient manner. It also enables the co-workers to maintain adequate privacy of different business related information among the co-workers (Jinhui & Raghupathi, 2011). The continuous development of technological aspects also enables each individual employee to share valuable information and keep adequate control of their operational processes in line with the overall goals and objectives of the organisation. In this regard, Hampton (2010) has also critically stated that the integration of an advanced set of ICT tools enable organisations to maintain the efficacy of relationship amid the employees and ensure appropriate conservation of operational efficiency. Different forms of advanced communication mechanisms, including mail, online chat and/or video conference facilities have enabled entrepreneurs to maintain a strong relationship among the employees and mitigate their issues associated with distance of their presence (Hampton, 2010). 3. Project Description 3.1. Problem Statement Geographically distributed teams are increasingly prevalent in modern day workplaces. Irrespective of the increased attention, there are certain aspects, which remain as unknown. For instance, although geographically distributed teams has certain advantages over traditional collocated teams, but they also face problems with respect to conflicts (Hinds&Mortensen, 2005). Present days’ work is rarely undertaken in collocated way; rather, several organisations have shifted to use geographically distributed teams. Irrespective of using a modern way of working, the philosophies of work organisation and surveillance are still outmoded with concentration on direct supervision and close coordination. However, such surveillance is not possible in case of geographically distributed teams (Hinds & McGrath, 2006). Thus, the key research problem here is to analyse how such teams, having members reside in long distances, work in modern day business environment. Geographically distributed teams, at times, may face collaboration challenges in terms of poor communication, breakdown of coordination and low informal communication among others. Moreover, it is worth mentioning that such geographic distributions can also have an impact on motivation of employees and therefore, on the performance of entire team. However, there exists an extensive array of technologies, which support these relationships within geographically distributed teams (Grinter & et. al., 1999). The research would thus provide adequate solutions to the aspects of work carried out in geographically distributed teams. 3.2. Project Scope Distance is an important factor considered in this context in order to undertake any particular work. Nevertheless, with the arrival of technologies, such distances are no longer acting as hindrances for organisations. Still, geographically distributed teams have to face certain problems with respect to collaboration and control. Thus, based on these factors, the research provides an understanding if distance can really be a vital factor, which should be considered by modern organisations while carrying out their entitled tasks. The scope of the project is also concentrated to understand how geographically distributed team works and how geographic distribution influences the team motivation and overall performance of the team. The solution provided through the research would therefore be effective for organisations that have globally distributed teams. 3.3. Project Objectives The objectives of the research have been listed as follows. To understand how people coordinate work in geographically distributed teams To understand the benefits of geographically distributed teams To understand challenges in geographically distributed teams To understand if geographical distribution have any influence on team motivation and team performance To understand how technology mediate the relationships in geographically distributed teams 3.4. Research Approach In order to undertake the research, a qualitative approach will be followed. The reason for using a qualitative approach is that this approach is quite useful in understanding human behaviour and behavioural changes. Furthermore, complex behaviour, which exists, in geographically distributed teams and collocated teams, can easily be understood by using the qualitative approach. There are several designs, which can be used in a qualitative approach such as phenomenological design, ethnographic studies and grounded theory among others. In this research, the phenomenological design will be followed wherein the experiences gained by human subjects will be evaluated on the basis of certain questions (Marie, 2008). Literature studies on the work of virtual teams will be reviewed in order to gain in-depth understanding about the research subject. Both primary and secondary information sources will be used in order to gather relevant information and analyse the subject. The primary information would be collected through questionnaire method. The questionnaire will be distributed to 20 collocated and 20 geographically distributed teams of various multinational organisations in order to understand if distance influences on their motivation and performance irrespective of the employment of contemporary technology advantages. With respect to secondary information, various books, journals and articles will be studied in order to gain knowledge about how people coordinate work in geographically distributed teams and how technology mediate relationships in such teams. 3.5. Project Deliverables The study will deliver valuable information on the experiences of participants, as they perform in various situations. Furthermore, other key deliverables of the project comprise insights about how geographically distributed teamwork and performance issues are faced by the team members. 4. Layout The research will be structured in six chapters. The first chapter will provide information on key components of the research. The second chapter is literature review, which will provide an overview of the theoretical aspects of the research. It will deliver information on the acts of various authors regarding the subject. The third chapter is research methodology, which will explain the methods used in order to carry out the study. Furthermore, this chapter will also describe the motivation for using a particular research approach. The fourth chapter is findings, which will provide outcomes gathered from questionnaire survey. The fifth chapter is analysis, which will evaluate the findings gathered from various sources. Finally, the sixth chapter is conclusion, which will demonstrate how the research objectives have been accomplished. 5. Project Plan 5.1. Gantt chart for the Proposed Project Plan Fig 1: Gantt chart for the Proposed Project Plan In order to accomplish the desired goals of the research, the proposed plan for the project would focus on making an effective allocation of each required activities within their estimated time. Accordingly, the overall process associated with the project activities would require the duration of eight months in total. In this regard, the above-presented Gantt chart presents the timeline for the proposed project and demonstrates the key stages to achieve the ultimate objective of the research successfully and with sufficient ease. 6. Limitations Although the integration of a qualitative method can enable obtainment of substantial and relevant information regarding the research question determined, it has few major drawbacks too that can also weaken the accountability and reliability of the overall research work. The knowledge procured from different academic disciplines and in market researches might not simplify to other group of individuals, which can be considered as one of the major limitations of qualitative research approach (SAGE Publication Inc, 2012). Moreover, it is also difficult to rationalise quantitative predictions of the data analysed by a qualitative method, which might further cause in the decline of the overall credibility of the research. In addition, time required for analysing data in a qualitative approach can also be considered as a major drawback, which can negatively influence the researchers to accomplish their research objectives within a stipulated time (Creswell, 2003). References Bidgoli, H., 2004. The Internet Encyclopedia, Volume 3. John Wiley & Sons. Creswell, J. W., 2003. Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Method Approaches. SAGE Publications. Grinter, R. E. & et. al., 1999. The Geography of Coordination: Dealing with Distance in R&D Work. Lucent Technologies, pp. 1-10. Hinds, P. J. & Mortensen, M., 2005. Understanding Conflict in Geographically Distributed Teams: The Moderating Effects of Shared Identity, Shared Context, and Spontaneous Communication. Organisation Science, Vol. 16, Issue. 3, pp. 290-307. Hinds, P. & McGrath, C., 2006. Structures that Work: Social Structure, Work Structure and Coordination Ease in Geographically Distributed Teams. Stanford University, pp. 1-10. Jinhui, S. and Raghupathi, W., 2011. . The Strategic Association between Information and Communication Technologies and Sustainability Development Indicators: A Country-Level Study. Digital Transformation, pp. 1-44. Lowell. A., 2001. Communication and Cultural Knowledge in Aboriginal Health Care. Cooperative Research Centre for Aboriginal and Tropical Health (CRCATH). Liukkunen, K. & Markkula, J., 2012. Communication Tools for Geographically Distributed Work. International Journal of Industrial Engineering and Management, Vol. 3, No. 1, pp. 1-7. Marie, N. R., 2008. Foundations of Nursing Research. Pearson Education India. Mohrman, S. A., 1999. The Contexts for Geographically Dispersed Teams and Networks. CEO Publication. Patterson, M. L. (2011). More than Words: The Power of Nonverbal Communication. ARESTA. Qualitative Research Consultants Association, 2013. When to Use Qualitative Research. What is Qualitative Research? [Online] Available at: http://www.qrca.org/?page=whentouseqr [Accessed April 22, 2014]. SAGE Publication Inc., 2012. Qualitative Research – Defining and Designing. Chapter 1. [Online] Available at: http://www.sagepub.in/upm-data/48453_ch_1.pdf [Accessed April 22, 2014]. Seesa, V. I. & et. al., 1999. Geographically Dispersed Teams: An Annotated Bibliography. Center for Creative Leadership. Shachaf, P., 2008. Cultural Diversity and Information and Communication Technology Impacts on Global Virtual Teams: An Exploratory Study. Information and Management, Vol. 45, No. 2, pp. 131‐142. Bibliography Ehsan, N. & et. al., 2008. Impact of Computer-Mediated Communication on Virtual Teams’ Performance: An Empirical Study. World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology, Vol. 42, pp. 694-703. Ebrahim, N. A., & et. al., 2011. Virtual Teams and Management Challenges. Academic Leadership, Vol. 9, Issue. 3, pp. 1-7. Steinfield, C., No Date. Virtual Teams and Group Collaboration Technologies: Challenges in Supporting Distributed Groups. IT Systems Perspective. [Online] Available at: http://www.cscw.msu.edu/papers/virtualteams_prepub.pdf [Accessed April 22, 2014]. Read More