Team Performance and Technology - Coursework Example

Technology and Performance Introduction Team members that are located far from each other are mostly faced with the challenge of ensuring coordination among the members. Lack of proper communication within an organization or a team eventually affects the performance of the team. It is usually through passing of information and knowledge that a team gets to grow and take opportunities that can improve the work done by the team. Therefore, there is need to find different ways through which communication of distributed workers can be improved. This paper is going to highlight different categories of technologies that can be used to support performance of globally dispersed teams[Bra111]. Hierarchy of my Taxonomy Discussion Boards One of the categories of technology that boost the performance of globally distributed team workers is the discussion board. In this category there are various communication technology tools that are put in place. The tools here are those that are capable of facilitating communication among many people in different places at the same time. The technologies are always connected together through the internet before members start using them. The internet connects different PCs even those situated in far places. Therefore, many people are brought together by such communication technologies that are enhanced by the internet[Ayo12]. There are various examples of technologies that are categorized under the discussion boards. One of these technologies is the web communities formed by members of a particular group. People who engage in specific tasks that are similar can decide to form an online platform through which they share information. The web communities are also platforms where team workers can coordinate the work they are allocated by the head of the team. Another example of technology in the discussion boards is the yahoo club. This is a form of communication technology that is supported by Yahoo. Yahoo is a leading mail services provider in the world and it has been reliable in ensuring people in different parts of the world connect. Through the yahoo clubs, globally dispersed workers can connect and share the different knowledge they have. Good coordination of workers would lead to improved performance of the team in the long run[Dai122]. Many benefits are attached to these technologies that are used to facilitate discussion boards used by globally distributed teams. The first advantage attached to the web communities is the ability of the teams to organize quick meetings through this technology. In the discussion boards the team members can organize meetings where issues concerning the performance of the teams can be discussed. The other advantage of this technology is the broad knowledge from different cultures of the world it provides to the team. These technologies also have few disadvantages to the distributed team employing them. For instance, the yahoo clubs sometimes have advertisements being posted on the home tab and this can be a form of distraction to the people communicating from this site. The discussion board is an important category of technologies that enhance communication between team members found in far places. Since it helps in maintaining coordination of workers in a team, it contributes to better performance of the team[Cri13]. Video Conferencing The technologies that help individuals from different parts of the world to conduct face-to-face meetings are categorized as video conferencing. The technology here is programmed in a way that people can make both visual and audio communication even though they are found in different parts of the globe. It is due to this reason that video conferencing is termed as a face-to-face mode of communication even though the people involved never get an opportunity to meet in person. Video conferencing is one of the technological methods of communication that distributed workers can rely on to support their performance of distributed teams[Jal12]. There are various examples of technologies that facilitate video conferencing. One of these innovations is Skype meetings. Skype is a new innovation in the telecommunication industry. This technology relies on software that can pass live videos and audio messages over long distances. Due to this, the invention relies on fast internet connections for it to be able to pass messages over the long distances. Video calls from other social sites also act as a way of enhancing video conferencing. Such applications include hangouts which are supported by Google. Through this site people can make video calls over long distance. Therefore, teams can use it to hold video conferences where dispersed team members can be present in the meeting. There are many advantages that arise from use of video conferencing in team communication. All the advantages drive towards improving the performance of the team. The first advantage of video conferencing is the fact that it helps the team to save financial resources. A lot of funds that could have been channeled towards expensive long distance travels are saved since organizations use video conferences to hold crucial meetings that require face-to-face appearance of the members. The other benefit of video conferencing is that it improves productivity of the team in some ways. For instance, the team saves time by having few traveling. The saved time is directed in other production activities of the team[Leo13]. Video conferencing is also faced with some challenges. For someone to be able to use this technology he or she is supposed to be conversant with how it works. The condition brings one disadvantage of the invention since it is not easy to impact the skills to everyone instantly. Another disadvantage of this technology is the high cost of setting the video conferencing program. Video conferencing requires some gadgets such as cameras installed around the board roams and fast internet connections. The requirements are expensive especially when more boardrooms are to be set up[May12]. Despite the few challenges that come along with the video conferencing technology, the benefits that teams enjoy out of it are more valued. For example, the long distance travelling requires a lot of cash which is saved when video conferences are adopted. Virtual Team Rooms The idea behind this category of technologies is the ability of distanced workers of an organization to operate on regular basis as if they are in one office. The communication in this case is by messages sent through mails and instant messages. Every member gets an opportunity to contribute in team discussions as long as one is online. However, if someone gets online after being off for some time he or she gets an opportunity to follow what the other members discussed earlier on[McN12]. When someone is online it is also possible for other team members who are online to note. The same way, a new team member gets recognized by all members. Virtual team rooms are basically like offices where any person can get in and start a conversation at any time of the day or night. Due to this, this technology is considered the best option of making instant communication in times of urgency. The best examples of virtual team rooms are the yahoo chat rooms. These are chat rooms that are formed by different people depending on their reasons of coming together. Some people create the groups for social purposes while others do it for professional reasons. In this technology members get to have an opportunity to receive messages instantly when someone leaves a message in the team’s virtual room. The technology has become popular due to its ability to be instant[Nyd11]. One of the great advantages of this technology is its ability to join people at different places in an instant manner. Through the virtual rooms, the team members get to meet and discuss matters relating to the team as everyone offer best solutions. The virtual team rooms are also beneficial to the team members since they can keep track of what their colleagues discussed while they were offline. There are some disadvantages of using this technology despite the many advantages. The use of virtual team rooms creates space for instant messaging between group members. The quick mode of communication brings in the setback of lack of enough time to make decisions concerning the issues at hand. Apart from that, the other disadvantage of the virtual team rooms is the fact that they depend on the availability of some factors for the technology to be successful in enabling distributed team communication. For example, without a good internet connection that is so fast the technology cannot become useful[Rib13]. The virtual team rooms act as a platform where team members get to meet online as a team despite the distance between them. The pros of employing this technology outdo the cons of adopting this technological mode of communication. Therefore, one is justified to recommend the use of virtual team offices to better the performance of globally distributed teams. Intranet Software Connection within a team can be enhanced through internal VPN systems that are well coordinated. Intranet is one of the available options that organization can rely on to enhance communication within its departments. The intranet is a technology that uses a software to connect different PCs that are dispersed so that the team members can operate swiftly as if they were operating from the same PC. The best examples under this category are the various intranet software applications that Intranet Connection provides. Intranet Connection is an online service provider that deals with matters relating to PCS, VPNs, and other computer software. The intranet software that this provider offers includes the corporate intranet software, financial intranet software, and the healthcare intranet software. All of these are designed for specific uses. For instance, the corporate intranet is used by business organizations to make the coordination of their workers easier by connecting the computers at work. The financial intranet can be employed by any institution that seeks to manage its financial department in a transparent and effective manner. The healthcare intranet is used by healthcare service providers to coordinate patients’ information from one officer to another, and to offer electronic health services. With this wide variety to choose from, even a globally distributed team can decide to pick suitable intranet software to enhance communication between the team members[Ver13]. One of the advantages of these intranet connections is that they are cost effective. The team or organization adopting this technology will save a lot of funds that would have been used in making many calls to different workers. The workers will also not rely on making phone calls if they need to coordinate since the intranet software provides an avenue through which members can communicate. Another benefit of this technology is its enhancement of swift communication for the workers. With the intranet connections, one will not be forced to move from office to office for him/her to pass some information. Anytime that one is logged onto the system connection to other workmates is enabled[Sar111]. However, there are some challenges that arise from the use of intranet connections within an organization. For instance, the technology requires familiarization which may be hard for some office members. I justify the employment of intranet software in organizations and distributed teams because it enhances better performance among the teams. When members of a team can be connected easily it improves the productivity of the team since work is going to be properly shared and done. Conclusion The performance of distributed teams is usually affected by many factors brought by the geographical distances between the workers. However, organized teams make use of the technologies in the world today to better their performance. Discussion boards, video conferencing, virtual team rooms, and intranet software form the taxonomy that I prefer to be used by the distributed teams. The categories will aid in ensuring good performance for the team. References Bra111: , (Brazile, 2011), Ayo12: , (Ayoko, 2012), Dai122: , (Daim, Exploring the communication breakdown in global virtual teams, 2012), Cri13: , (Crisp, 2013), Jal12: , (Jalali, 2012), Leo13: , (Leonardi, 2013), May12: , (Maynard, 2012), McN12: , (McNab, 2012), Nyd11: , (Nydegger, 2011), Rib13: , (Ribes, 2013), Ver13: , (Verburg, 2013), Sar111: , (Sarker, 2011), Read More