Essay on Virtual Teams and Their Effect on Organizational Behavior

A Virtual Team – also known as a Geographically Dispersed Team (GDT) – is a group of individuals who work across time, space, and organizational boundaries with links strengthened by webs of communication technology. They have complementary skills and are committed to a common purpose, have interdependent performance goals, and share an approach to work for which they hold themselves mutually accountable (Alavi et al 1997). Geographically dispersed teams allow organizations to hire and retain the best people regardless of location. There are seven basic types of virtual teams:

Networked Teams consist of individuals who collaborate to achieve a common goal or purpose; membership is frequently diffuse and fluid.

Parallel Teams work in short term to develop recommendations for an improvement in a process or system; has a distinct membership.

Project or Product-Development Teams conduct projects for users or customers for a defined period of time. Tasks are usually non-routine, and the results are specific and measurable; team has decision-making authority.

Work or Production Teams perform regular and ongoing work usually in one function; clearly defined membership.

Service Teams support customers or the internal organization in typically a service/technical support role around the clock.

Management Teamswork collaboratively on a daily basis within a functional division of a corporation.

Action Teams offer immediate responses activated in (typically) emergency situations.

Effects of Virtual Team on Organization
The team that can stay in close touch and maintain an accurate record of its own progress is the most likely to get something done on time and under budget.

Virtual teams affects organization in a positive way by providing better internal communication. The success of any open living system, and that includes an organization, depends on clear channels for the flow of information. Virtual teams are part of the feedback loop that establishes and maintains these channels......................

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