The virtual team uses interactive computer
technologies such as the Internet, groupware (software that permits people at different
computer workstations to collaborate on a project simultaneously), and
computer-based videoconferencing to work together despite being separated by
physical distance.
Virtual teams are
similar to problem-solving teams because they do not require full-time
commitment from team members. The difference is that virtual team members
interact with each other electronically, rather than face-to-face.
Because of their
part-time nature and flexibility in accommodating distance, virtual teams allow
organizations to tap individuals who might not be otherwise available. For
example, a management consulting firm
working on a project out of its San Francisco office for a local bank includes
financial specialists from its New York and Chicago offices on the project
team. This type of team also makes it possible for companies to cross
organizational boundaries by linking customers, suppliers, and business
partners in a collaborative effort that can increase the quality and speed with
which the new product or service is brought to market. In writing this textbook,
the authors (university professors) formed a virtual team with the publishing
company’s editors and also with the design specialists who created the graphics
and visual images for the text.
One of the best practices
that has emerged from research on virtual teams is the use of a virtual work
space, which is essentially a Web site that only team members have access to, where
the team is reminded of its decisions, rationales, and commitments.
The virtual team work
space has a homepage with links to other “walls,” each of which is devoted to a
specific aspect of the team project. One
wall, for example, contains information about all the people on the virtual
team, including contact information and profiles of their expertise and
accomplishments. Another wall displays information about teleconference
meetings, such as when they are being held, who is supposed to attend, the
agendas, and the meeting minutes, that can be shared with team members. Shell
Chemicals, for example, has had success with the use of a virtual work space on
a company-wide project to develop a new cash-based approach to financial management.