Mini Sim on Virtual Teams

The fixed meeting time at 11 am is posing a problem for the team. For some team members it is too early. For others team members it is too late. What is the best way to solve this problem?

Adjust the meeting time to accommodate most team members

A conflict has arisen within the team you have assembled. The team leader, Glen, has annoyed the rest of the team with an email that stressed the importance of being punctual and working full-time hours. Glen meant it simply as a reminder, but the team members took it as a criticism. You want to make sure this kind of conflict doesn't happen again. How can you best achieve this?

Agree on team norms, and shift emphasis from time spent working to actual results achieved

There is conflict and distrust in the team. Glen, the team leader, doesn't think the team members are working enough. The team members, on the other hand, don't think Glen trusts them to do their jobs. You want to resolve this conflict and make sure it doesn't happen again. How can you best achieve this?

Agree on team norms, and shift emphasis from time spent working to actual results achieved

The CEO says: "If we go ahead with setting up a virtual team, it could mean making changes in the way we run our business. Will we need to modify any of our current practices or procedures to accommodate virtual teams?"

Curtis may have to adjust meeting times to accommodate different time zones

A communication problem has arisen. Team leader Glen is concerned that the virtual team members are not always responding to his requests for updates. The team members say they have not received all the update requests that Glen is mentioning, but Glen says that he has sent them via email. How should you address this problem?

Have Glen mark important messages more clearly so team members will recognize them

Before committing to the idea of creating a virtual team, you will need to be able to convince the CEO that this would be a desirable way for Curtis to operate. Which of the following would be the most likely benefits of switching to a virtual team?

It would save the company money Fully mobile service personnel could get to customer sites faster Team members would have more flexibility

The CEO says: "I'm glad we agree that there might be potential for conflict between team members. Why do you think this happens in virtual teams? I want to reduce the chance of it happening to our teams." What is the most likely cause of conflict in virtual teams?

More effort is needed to establish trust early on

One of the virtual support staff, Janice, has been assigned to make product recommendations to a client based on a 3D source file of their current system. However, Janice cannot open the file because she does not have the same computer-aided design software as the other team members. How can you resolve this problem?

Provide Janice with the needed software

As you start to assemble a virtual team of support people, you discover that not everyone has access to the same tools to do their job, and not everyone uses them in the same way. Some team members have smartphones and some don't. Some use standard industry software, while others use freeware equivalents. How will you resolve this?

Provide all team members with the same hardware and software, at Curtis's expense

Curtis has traditionally held a company picnic for all employees. However, this year there are many virtual team members living outside the region. How can you make sure that the virtual team members don't feel left out of the celebration?

Send each virtual team member a gift certificate and a note of appreciation

You talk to the CEO, who says: "I'm not sure about virtual teams. I like having the whole team under one roof. You said that this could be a cost savings, but I need more information. How would a virtual team save the company money?"

Switching to virtual teams will allow Curtis to spend less on renting office space, since team members can work from their homes or in other regions where the rent is cheaper.

The CEO says: "Before I let you go ahead with this virtual team idea, I need to be sure that you've considered the risks as well as the benefits. I see many potential problems with virtual teams. Tell me which ones you think are serious enough to investigate." Which of the following would be the most likely drawbacks of switching to a virtual team?

Team members becoming isolated Greater potential for conflict between team members Greater difficulty of communication

The CEO says: "You say that switching to virtual teams would benefit the company by giving the individual team members more flexibility. Can you explain this?"

Team members can have more flexibility in balancing their professional and personal schedules.

The CEO says: "Communication problems between team members can be a problem with virtual teams. Why does this happen? If we know why, we might make it less likely to happen at Curtis."

There can be a lack of social cues for guiding communication between team members