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Structuring the Virtual Team

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Arguably the trickiest part of building and maintaining an effective virtual team is the task of balancing "togetherness" and "apartness". How can the team manage to work together when being physically apart? Some insight was given to this question in the background readings. Now read an additional piece, which expands on this theme,

Mapping out the creative process and work design approach. Reference
- http://media.wiley.com/product_data/excerpt/46/07879711/0787971146.pdf
- Malhotra, A., Majchrzak, A., and Rosen, B. (2007) Leading virtual teams. Academy of Management Perspectives, 21(1), 60-70.
- synopsis of Basadur's model at Simplex. A powerful integrating problem-solving process. (2007) Retrieved February 2008. http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newCT_10.htm

After considering the material in this reading, as well as the background readings and any other research material you choose to use, please answer the following question about the team you are working with on the SLP:

· How is your team addressing the balance between togetherness and apartness?

In answering this question, you will want to consider how the work is designed as well as how leadership is handled. You may have formally discussed these issues with your team - or not. Either way, some early indications of structure are of necessity going to emerge. In this essay (which should be from 3 to 5 pages), be sure that you cover

How you would describe the work design and leadership of your team.
An analysis of whether these structures and practices match the task requirements and characteristics of your team.

An assessment of the effectiveness of the structures/practices covered by the readings in this module for virtual teaming (In other words, do they work, or are the authors of the readings hopelessly out of touch with reality?)

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Structuring the Virtual Team and balancing togetherness and apartness

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Virtual Team is composed of a group of individuals what a shared objective who fulfil their roles with little or no time spent meeting face to face. Such team mates do not cohabit the same work location, and might not even work on the same continent. As a result of such distance, various forms of technology are often used to facilitate communication among team members.

The use of virtual teams creates new possibilities for completion of many projects. With the use of technology, such team comes together, bringing a whole new realm of expertise to the table without any regard for the physical distance. The availability of electronic communication, such as email and video conferencing, has made such teams feasible. The virtual team's format makes it possible to:
? Form teams of people who live in widespread geographic areas
? Add special expertise to a team even though the expert is not in the same geographic area
? In a corporate world, the notion of virtual teams allows:
o Incorporating employees who work from home office
o Form teams of people who work different shifts or hours
o Include people with mobility handicaps
o Move forward with ...

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