VIRTUAL TEAMS IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Diana Elena Ranf

Romanian-German University of Sibiu, diana.ranf@roger-univ.ro

Abstract: Virtual project teams have undergone accelerated growth during the past decade, primarily thanks to the development of web tools for handling project communication. This article wants to outline the importance of virtual teams in project management and the main differences between traditional teams and virtual teams. The article also reveals the importance of culture in the management of project teams. Keywords: management, project, virtual team, culture. 1. Introduction A virtual team is a group of individuals, residing in geographically dispersed locations, that have a collective mission toward a project with a specific outcome. The market globalization and the intense trend toward outsourcing have been the major factors in the increase in the establishment of virtual teams for global projects. A virtual team is the cost-effective means by which the enterprise will acquire expertise from anywhere in the world.[4] The defining distinction between a traditional team and a virtual team is the mode of communication and reporting. Traditional teams tend to work during specific and common working hours, and often conduct their communication and information sharing synchronously and face to face. In traditional teams, the team members tend to conduct most of their communication, and information sharing, through regular face-to-face communication. Pure virtual teams are relatively rare, although pure traditional teams still exist in some project environments. It is always helpful to know where a project environment maps on the continuum between extreme virtual and extreme traditional. In as much as the differences between the traditional and virtual teams must always be on the forefront of the considerations for the virtual team, the commonality between virtual and traditional teams should always be defined and enhanced. Further, providing detailed and appropriate formalized producers will ultimately result in bona fide team spirit and teamwork, in both team structures. 2. Types of virtual teams Virtual teams will normally contain greater layers of complexity than traditional co-located teams because of the different cultures and team dynamics they will usually bring together. Consequently, they will certainly benefit if they can define the purpose of their creation more clearly.[1]

Distinguishing between the following types of virtual team may enable an organization to better define the needs for type, frequency and support of collaboration between participants. a) Project teams Project teams come together for a finite period of time in response to a project brief, not necessarily originating from any member of the team. Project teams comprise an intact group of members who stay together for the duration of the project, but who can draw on the skills of other members of the organization without necessarily integrating them into their unit. The team members will probably have formal meetings on a predefined basis and then work together in subgroups in the intervals between meetings to complete allocated modules of work. With project virtual teams, the nature of the project can be used to define the skill base that is required, and suitable members can be identified to deliver the objectives. Such a team will have measurable outputs, just like any co-located team. b) Service teams Service teams often exist as a resource on call maybe across a number of locations or countries for the resolution of problems and for advice. IT support is a typical example. The team is from a single function, and is primarily a support service. Their work and expertise is not usually tailored to the need of a single organization or location and can be a resource for a number of departments, companies and countries. Due to time differences in working hours across locations the virtual team may need to be staffed during abnormal working hours. c) Process teams Process teams will collaborate over an undefined period to respond to ongoing needs within a certain domain. The group is likely to have fluid membership due to the Common procedures Modified procedures

indefinite nature of the need or process, and people will be called upon depending on the challenges the team is facing at any particular time. The remit of these teams is often broad and their action plan everevolving. The nature of their collaboration would depend on the work to be completed. 3. Management of virtual teams The project manager of a co-located team is clearly the central control of the project as a signaled by an array of physical status symbols visible to those who are in close proximity to the project manager. As such, he or she might become the principal project spokesperson to the project sponsor and to internal and external stakeholders who are in that location. Thus, in a traditional project, the project manager tends also to be the one, and the only one, who provides leadership for the project. In a virtual project, leadership is typically shared among team members based on a specific task at hand, location, and each team members area of expertise. In a virtual team, the project manager may not be in the same geographic location as the sponsor or the customers. Therefore, liaison with the sponsor or customers might have to be performed by team members who share the same location and who are designated as relationship managers with key stakeholders.[3] One of the most common transition mode for organizations, from traditional teams to virtual teams, is to attempt to apply the same policies and procedures in both types of teams. As project managers and team members realize that some of the procedures cannot be directly imported into the virtual environment, the policies and procedures will be modified with an eye toward the specific features of the team. Further, unique processes may have to be devised to handle the circumstances that occur only in virtual teams. Unique procedures

Requirements Scope

Conflict

Language

Feedback

Etiquette

Estimate

Orientation

Software

Schedule

Team building

Time zone

Documents

Diversity PMO

Figure 1. Virtual Teams Policies and Procedures The procedures and policies necessary for virtual teams fall into three separate categories: common procedures, modified procedures and unique procedures. Common procedures are those that can be imported directly from the traditional team archives of best practice without any changes. Modified procedures are those transportable procedures that have been used successfully for traditional teams, and creating their virtual team versions would require somewhat minor modifications and enhancements. Unique procedures are those procedures and tools that must be developed exclusively for virtual teams to account for their special features. These procedures deal with issues of distance communication and the proper ue of technology in handling the projects emerging issues, as well as complications that arise only in teams that are distant and virtual. 4. The importance of culture in virtual teams Differences in national culture influence not only the surface behavior but there are also essential conditions for understanding the values adopted by business people. Each person comes to the negotiation table with skills and habits that are often not aware and that there are only subconsciously. For example there are two extreme types of behavior between Latin and Anglo Saxon, the first are followers of speech, and others are likely to listen, Latinos tend to generalize, while Anglo Saxons are very analytical, Latinos have a great spontaneity while Anglo Saxons show a remarkable self-control. But this does not mean we can not find an analytical Latin or Anglo Saxon with spontaneity. But cultures, values, beliefs and social usages cause a special style of communication for an individual or group of individuals.[5] The importance of culture cannot be understated. There are four important points to remember concerning the impact of

culture on virtual teams identified by Duarte and Snyder. The four points are [2]: (1) There are national cultures, organizational cultures, functional cultures, and team cultures. They can be sources of competitive advantages for virtual teams that know how to use cultural differences to create synergy. Team leaders and members who understand and are sensitive to cultural differences can create more robust outcomes than can members of homogeneous teams with members who think and act alike. Cultural differences can create distinctive advantages for teams if they are understood and used in positive ways. (2) The most important aspect of understanding and working with cultural differences is to create a team culture in which problems can be surfaced and differences can be discussed in a productive, respectful manner. (3) It is essential to distinguish between problems that result from cultural differences and problems that are performance based. (4) Business practices and business ethics vary in different parts of the world. Virtual teams need to clearly articulate approaches to these that every member understands and abides by.

A virtual team provides a costeffective and efficient organizational entity that would facilitate the achievement of better business results through managing by projects. The major advantage of a virtual team is that the team is not physically bounded, and it can be formed very quickly. The disadvantage is that, because the team might span multiple cultural and language boundaries, project procedures must provide guidelines so that the resulting diversity will become an asset and not a liability. 6. References: 1. Edwards, A.,,
Wilson, J.R., Implementing virtual teams: a guide to organizational and human factors, Gower Publishing, 2004, England, p. 6-7.

2. Kerzner, Harold, Project Management: a System Approach to Planning, Scheduling and Controlling, John Wiley & Sons Publisher, 2009, New Jersey, p. 354. 3. Rad P.F., Levin G., Achieving project management success using virtual teams, J. Ross Publishing, 2003, USA, p. 10-15. 4. Rad, F. Parviz, Anantatmula, S. Vittal, Successful Project Management Practices, Emerald Group Publishing, 2010, UK. 5. Zait, N., Intercultural Management: valuing cultural differences, Economic Publisher, 2002, Bucuresti.

5. Conclusions