This document discusses teams and virtual teams. It defines a team as a group of people who come together to achieve a common purpose, whether short or long term. It then lists factors for building a productive team such as having clear goals and delegating authority. The document defines a virtual team as relying primarily on electronic communication. It discusses challenges of virtual teams including building cohesion and trust without in-person interaction. Overall, the document provides an overview of teams and virtual teams, their characteristics, tools used, and advantages and disadvantages.

1. Prepared by: Rubina Naz
M.Phil.(continuous)

2. Definition of team:
 A group of people who come together to achieve or
satisfy a common purpose.
 May be short- (hours or days) or long-term (weeks,
months or years!)
 May be large (200+) or small (2)
2

3. How to Build a Productive Team
 Have clear mission/purpose.
 Set specific performance goals.
 Compose the right team size and mix.
 Have an agreed-upon structure appropriate to
the task.
 Delegate the authority to make the decisions
needed, given their mission.
 Provide access to or control of the resources
needed to complete their mission.
 Offer a mix of group and individual rewards.
 Foster longevity and stability of membership.
May 9, 2006 LIS580- Spring 2006 3
G.Dessler, 2003

4. Factors Important for Effective
Team
 Consistency
Team members should all be treated in a comparable
way without favourites or discrimination.
 Respect
Different team members have different skills and
these differences should be respected.
Inclusion
Involve all team members and make sure that
people’s views are considered.
Honesty
You should always be honest about what is going
well and what is going badly in a project.

5. Definition of virtual team
A virtual team is a group of people that relies primarily
or exclusively on electronic forms of communication to
work together in accomplishing its goals.
Groups of geographically, organizationally and/or time
dispersed workers brought together by information
and telecommunication technologies to accomplish
one or more organizational tasks
5

6. Virtual teams
 More than 60% of employees in professions are
members of a virtual team
 Information technologies and knowledge-based
work make virtual teams possible and globalization
make them necessary

7. Similar terms for virtual
Other terms used instead of virtual are:
 Cyberspace
 Dispersed
 Long-distance
 Distributed
 Online
7

8. Team work with collaboration:
 Collaboration and teamwork is the ability to work
cooperatively with others and create group synergy in
pursuing collective goals.

9. Virtual Teamwork Formula
 10 percent technology
And
 90 percent people
=
100 % success
9

10. 10
Traditional face-to-
face meeting
environment with
or without
technology
Team members
communicate
asynchronously using
technology
Team members
communicate
asynchronously using
technology
Participants join
scheduled
synchronous
meetings with help of
technology
Modes of Working with Groups
Same Time Different Time
Same
Place
Different
Place
Source: Boundaryless Facilitation: Leveraging the Strengths of Face-to Face and Groupware Tools to Maximize
Group Process, Metasystems Design Group and Catalyst Consulting Team.

11. 11
Blackboard
Flip charts
Overheads
PPT slides
Electronic
whiteboard
Bulletin board
Web pages
Shared folders
Memos
Displays
Same Place
Different
Place
Telephone
conferences
Video conferences
Online chat
Instant message
Fax
E-bulletin boards
Voice mail
Email
Web pages
Listserve
Pagers
Fax
Sample Communications Technologies
Same Time Different Time

12. Virtual teams
Effectiveness characteristics
1. Focus on the international environment
2. Common mission, responsibility, sense of
ownership
3. Open culture, trust, authenticity
4. Mechanisms for early conflict resolution
5. Effective function (meeting deadlines etc.) and
communication systems and procedures
6. Virtual distance reduction - “Together we can”
culture

13. 10 basic principles for leading virtual
teams
1. Get the team together physically early-on
2. Clarify tasks and processes, not just goals and roles
3. Commit to a communication charter
4. Leverage the best communication technologies
5. Build a team with rhythm
6. Agree on a shared language
7. Create a “virtual water cooler”
8. Clarify and track commitments
9. Foster shared leadership
10. Don’t forget the 1:1s

14. Virtual Team Inputs
14
INPUT
 Mission/goals
 Resources
 Calendar for action
 Team directory

15. Virtual Teams Inputs con’t
15
INPUT
 Virtual team charter
 Process leadership
 Workflow plan

16. Virtual Team Transformation
16
TRANSFORMATION
 What and when work
gets done
 How work gets done
 Adjustments in-process

17. Virtual Team Outputs
17
Purpose/results achieved
New product/service
Process improvement
Process learnings
Successful team
Personal growth &
team-player spirit
OUTCOMES

18. Virtual Team Tools:
• Face to Face Session
• Audio Conference Calls
• Email
• Internet and desktop computer tools
• Collaboration Software
• Web Based Collaboration applications

19. Face-to-face sessions
 Preferred means for teams to build trust and
relationships with each other.
 Set up systems for teamwork
 Make decisions
19

20. Audio Conference Calls
 Telephone—mah-h-velous! for people to get to know
each other
 Share information
 Brainstorm
 Make decisions
20

21. Email
 It is the communication tool you love to hate but
cannot live without these days.
 Cost-effective
 Easy to use
 One to many
21

22. Intranet and Desktop Computer Tools
Intranet websites
Windows
Collaborative calendars
22

23. Collaborative Software
 Lotus Notes—scheduling, electronic messaging,
document and data sharing
 Easy to use
 Asynchronous/synchronous
23

24. Web-based Collaboration
Applications
 E groups-Yahoo
 Can set up directory of team member contact/profile
information
 Can set up multiple topics or threads for discussion
 Great for organizing and retrieving past work
 My Place
24

25. Virtual teams
Advantages Disadvantages
 More productive
 Have no timetable
 Work on a 24hour basis
(global virtual teams)
 Less costly
 Travel expenses
 Labor costs
 Outsourcing
 Poor communication
(e.g. non verbal)
 Building cohesion and trust
 Team leadership (virtual
manager)
 Responsible members

26. The
End……….