Advantages And Negatives Of Virtual Team Building

Virtual teams are administrated essentially the by same fundamental values as traditional teams. Yet, there is one systematic difference. This difference is the way the team members communicate. As a substitute of using the full range and dynamics of in-office face-to-face exchange, they now rely on a repertoire of special communication networks facilitated by modern technologies, such as e-mails, faxes, phone calls, teleconferences, and virtual meetings as a result of the team being geographically dispersed. Moreover, this new type of team uses asynchronous technology to communicate amongst the team because of the teams perchance being in different time zones. The purpose of this paper is to show the positive and negative qualities of virtual

As a result of this new frontier, organizations are converging to allow employees to flower their creative energies by permitting them to work virtually. This type of virtual team building allows members of the team to positively use a repertoire of communication networks facilitated by technology. Although technology is not hassle-free, the positive aspects far outweigh the negative aspects. As a result of communication issues being related to human factors, virtual members must be able to communicate effectively to establish trust to gain consensus, agreement and the ability to influence. To positively establish trust, communication should be done synchronously through shared whiteboards, application sharing, video/audio conferencing and virtual meeting rooms so that all team members are getting the same information. As a result of the team synchronously collaborating, they can now positively asynchronously communicate through document sharing tools, group calendaring and newsgroups. Any negative aspects can be overcome by the trust that the team members have with each other. Positive problem solving can for the most part be done quickly through voice mail or instant messaging. Furthermore, positively managing a virtual team means being able to solve problems electronically by e-mail or voice mail. Additionally, video conferences can be scheduled weekly to gather all team members to engage in the project team building. Although virtual teams are a flexible way to work, problem solving can be, for the most part, done in a timely fashion and any negative qualities can be dealt with on an as needed