Project 4: Implementing Virtual Teams

4

Step 6: Review Team Member Personality Assessments

After your team has decided on team composition, the next step is to learn how personality assessments coupled with follow-up training and development (including coaching and mentoring) can enable successful teams.

As consider the use of personality assessments, you and your team should complete the following tasks:

· First, review the following areas from Project 1:

· the CliftonStrengths Class Discussion

· the team member grid found in the My Reports section of the CliftonStrengths website, and

 

· the various readings you did on personality assessments and your experience with CliftonStrengths in particular.

· Discuss with your team how various combinations of personalities might affect team development or 

team dynamics

.

· Identify 

team assessments

 the team should take.

· Explain why and how these assessments will help team members do the following:

· manage disagreements

· limit harmful conflict

· build swift trust

· prevent free ridership

· make timely decisions

· complete assigned work

· qualify as a high-performing team

Consider the possible steps your client organization might take to limit challenges associated with likely personality differences and other differences among team members.

 

Culture, Climate, and Ethics 4

Step 4: Analyze Challenges, Solutions, and Recommendations

Once you have made recommendations about team types and objectives, it’s time to think through challenges and solutions to those recommendations. With your teammates, consider the following factors:

· Given your recommendations in Step 3, identify and analyze challenges that are likely to arise in coordinating the work of these geographically dispersed teams (in Paris, Tokyo, Honolulu, and on the East Coast of the United States).

· Analyze the available options for ensuring successful operations in light of these challenges.

· Determine whether using a 

follow-the-sun

 model makes sense for the team’s tasks and objectives or whether there is a more appropriate way of managing the team’s project work.

· Based on your analysis, develop, propose, and defend a recommendation about how to organize and manage workflow to leverage the capacity of teams located in multiple time zones.

When you have finished this step, proceed to Step 5 to make recommendations about team composition.

4

Project 4 Final Deliverable: Team Narrated Presentation

Your CEO has tasked your team to prepare a narrated PowerPoint presentation on implementing virtual, multicultural, geographically distributed teams in your organization. This report will be presented to the board of directors, and your team needs to work together to produce the report quickly and efficiently. Your team’s presentation should span 12 to 15 slides (excluding introduction and reference slides), include a 25- to 30-minute narration. The notes for each slide must be included in the space below the slide to which the notes refer, with proper APA citations as appropriate (on the slide and in the notes). A reference list in APA format is required.  

Your first task is to select an organization to work with, and you should choose from among the organizations you and your team members reported on for the organizational analysis. Once you’ve selected an organization, you can move on to researching and creating the presentation.

Your team is expected to identify necessary facts about their chosen organization for the project and to integrate relevant MBA concepts and course materials with those facts. Throughout the project, your team should demonstrate a deep understanding of both your organization and the MBA concepts and course materials.

The presentation should research and make recommendations about the following:

· team type

· team principles and guidelines

· team size

· team composition

· team roles

· team leadership model

· team management

· assessments for managing team dynamics

· managing culturally derived orientations and preferences

· team training

· technology solutions for virtual teams

· advantages and challenges of working in virtual teams

· cost benefit analysis of virtual teams vs. cross-site travel alternative

Keep in mind that all recommendations should address the following issues:

· efficiency

· seamlessness

· cost-effectiveness

As your CEO emphasized, the culture of your organization is data-driven and data-based, so all your claims, recommendations, and arguments should be supported by data and evidence. 

Culture, Climate, and Ethics 4

Step 1: Select an organization.

As a team, select an organization to work with. To do this, first review your individual organizational analysis projects. Then, as a team, decide if one of your organizations might be a good choice for Project 4. If none of the team members’ organizations seem to be a good fit for this project, identify and agree on a possible alternative to submit to your professor for approval.

Your team is expected to identify necessary facts about their chosen organization for the project and to integrate relevant MBA concepts and course materials with those facts. Throughout the project, your team should demonstrate a deep understanding of both your organization and the MBA concepts and course materials.

After you have a good idea of the scope of work, discuss with your instructor any limiting factors you may encounter as you work on this project.

4

Step 7: Address Country Cultural Differences

The next challenge to tackle is cultural differences. As a result of this merger, many members of your virtual teams will be French, Japanese, and American, and you will need to make suggestions about how to navigate cultural differences and preferences among team members of these nationalities. This resource on 

country cultural differences

 provides guidance about how to proceed with this important component of your team project.

After reading the resources on country cultural differences, complete the following tasks:

· Identify potential sources of concern about having company operations in different locations around the world.

· Make and defend recommendations about the optimal approach to prepare for cultural differences and preferences among team members.

Culture, Climate, and Ethics 4

Step 5: Make Recommendations for Team Composition

It’s time to start looking at the teams themselves and thinking about how they should be composed. Keep the following preferences in mind as you make recommendations about

team composition

:

· Recommend ideal

 

team size

, 
team composition, and 

team roles

, based on your organization’s needs.

· Analyze options for handling 

team leadership

.

· Identify the team leadership model best suited for your organization and provide a rationale for your explanation.

Next, proceed to Step 6, where you will review team member personality assessments.

 

4

Step 8: Research Group Decision-Making Processes

You have probably come to realize since you started working on this project the importance of having good mechanisms in place to make decisions as a group. Research and compile a list of specific resources for 

brainstorming

 and other 

decision-making

 processes.

When you have finished this step, proceed to Step 9, where you will identify training and technology needs.

Culture, Climate, and Ethics 4

Step 2: Select Team Type and Create Team Principles or Guidelines

The next step is to select from the 

types of teams

  the one that makes the most sense, given the mission and goals of your organization. After picking the team type, create a set of general 

team principles or guidelines

 that should be useful for a virtual team. Provide a rationale for both decisions.

4

Step 11: Identify Other Advantages and Challenges

You’re nearly done with this project, but after surveying your results, you and your teammates agree that you have to address one last issue. Though cost is important, it shouldn’t be the only determining factor in the decision to implement virtual teams.

Identify other advantages and challenges the organization is likely to confront when making this strategic change to virtual, cross-site, global teams.

Next, proceed to Step 12, which gives instructions for submitting your final team PowerPoint presentation.

4

Step 10: Prepare Recommendations for Team Management

Finally, after completing all previous steps, you should have some recommendations for team management, one of the most important elements of any work team. To this end, complete the following tasks:

· Identify and analyze the options for managing these geographically dispersed multinational and multicultural virtual teams.

· Prepare recommendations that will help the CEO make the best decision about how to manage this teams.

After completing this step, proceed to Step 11, where you will consider other advantages and challenges your organization may face.

 

4

Step 9: Identify Training and Technology Needs

After reading up on how to make decisions as a group, your next step will be to identify training opportunities. To identify those opportunities, complete the following tasks:

· Identify optimal information and communication technology (ICT) (team communication) to facilitate communication, collaboration, and decision making.

· Identify necessary

 

training for virtual teams

 and consider the pros and cons of the CEO’s preference to conduct the team training online rather than with a preliminary face-to-face meeting.

· Include a

cost-benefit analysis

that helps the CEO understand the pros and cons of her preference for virtual teams. Refer to the Michel and Oliverio (2007) article in 
cost-benefit analysis.

Next, continue Step 10, where you will prepare recommendations for team management.