virtual team dynamic study guide

communciation skills for teams

■ Ask questions ■ Listen actively ■ Give constructive feedback ■ Manage feelings

Maya comes from a culture that bands together to resolve conflict and external pressure. What culture does she belong to?

collectivists

What does not cause competition between team members?

communication

communication

communication is central for teamwork, peopel send and reecieve messages,

email

fast speed, moderate in interactivity, low richness, low social presenec, yes document

team website

moderate speed, low interactivity, low richness, low social presence, yes documented

print

moderate speed, low interactivity, low richness, low social presence, yes documetned

group support system

moderate speed, moderate interactivity, low richness, low social presence, yes documentted

decision making

- More logical and factual based than considering other social characteristics

social relations

- Reduced social contact, less satisfaction from members (lack of social support, increased stress), trust building is challenging

misocnceptions of conflict

-Conflict is bad and should be avoided. • Misunderstandings by team members cause conflict. • All conflicts can be resolved to everyone's satisfaction.

1. In your opinion, what benefits/challenges are the most important in working with teams - particularly virtual teams? (Explain why). 2. How can teams generate motivation? (Explain) 3. What are some of the positive impact of cohesion? Is cohesion always a good thing? (Explain)

1. In my opinion, I think that virtual teams are more beneficial in this day and age. The benefits include inclusivity and convenience/efficiency. Virtual teams are very inclusive because its locational efficiency. For example, if an organization has an employee working in a branch overseas, virtual teams can be very effective because team meetings and discussions will be done virtually. Similarly, convenience and efficiency is one of the greatest benefits of virtual teams. A lot of the times, it is difficult for different branches and departments to come together as a team for a meeting or discussion because they have their own schedules. However, with the introduction of virtual teams, team meetings and discussions have been more efficient and easy to schedule. On the other hand, there are some drawbacks of virtual teams. For example, punctuality is an important issue to tackle. Taking the example from before of the employee working overseas, the time difference may be an issue to configure. Also, despite the developing technological advances, there are still technical issues and errors that we face that may disrupt virtual teams. 2. Teams can generate motivation because the participants can keep the others accountable. For example, a goal oriented group has "people joining together for some purpose and to achieve some goal" (Levi, 4). If each participant gets assigned a task that is correlated to the others' tasks (i.e. one needs to finish or start a task for another to start and or finish their task), then everyone will have a bit of pressure to finish their task for the sake of the other teammates. As mentioned by Levi, "roles are task-related and allow the group to operate more efficiently" (Levi 69). If roles of the participants are clearly understood amongst the team, then there will be no role ambiguity thus producing effective and beneficial impacts to the goal. 3. Cohesion can have a positive impact when done correctly. Aforementioned, if all the participants can keep each other accountable and be independent yet be open to other opinions and have positive attitudes and behaviors for teamwork, cohesion can be very beneficial and positive in terms of virtual teams. However, cohesion isn't always positive because there is possibility of groupthink still present in team settings.

What are key characteristics of communication technologies? (cite/make reference to the readings) 2. How does virtuality (virtual work) impact communication and relationships? Explain, give examples, and cite/make reference to case studies. 3. The author, Levi, suggests that it is important to select technology that is appropriate for the context and the task. He talks about several factors including social relations, usefulness for the task, and conflict management in deciding technology that could be used by teams. What are some other contextual issues you can think of when selecting the appropriate technology for a team? Please explain and cite/make reference to the readings.

1. What are key characteristics of communication technologies? (cite/make reference to the readings) a. There is the characteristic of virtuality, which is the "degree of electronic communication dependence among team members" (Levi, 2015, p. 304). There are various kinds of technologies that allow informational communication, and therefore they lead into the next two characteristics of communication technologies. Firstly, there is media richness. Which refers to the "amount of information that can be transferred through the median"(Levi, 2015, p. 304), varying from low to high depending on that amount. And secondly, there is media synchronicity and asynchronicity. For example, synchronous media could consist of face-to-face communication, teleconferences, videoconferences, and other forms of real-time and concurrent participation that allows for immediate feedback (Levi, 2015, p. 305). Meanwhile, asynchronous media would be more along the lines of emails, chat messages, etc. that "involve temporal gaps in responses, less immediate feedback, and lack of concurrent participation"(Levi, 2015, p. 305). 2. How does virtuality (virtual work) impact communication and relationships? Explain, give examples, and cite/make reference to case studies. a. Virtuality can affect the effectiveness and ability to communicate within a virtual team on top of affecting the various relationships between the members of the team. Teams that have low virtuality tend to use more face-to-face methods of communication, such as personal meetings or videoconferences, which allow for better social aspects and the conveying of emotions and complex/personal conversations. On the other hand, teams with high virtuality would be more in use of asynchronous media, such as emails or chat messages that don't convey as much feeling as information. And even then, there may be teams with low virtuality that uses a lot fo synchronous media technologies to work together as well, which while the personal feel is not as apparent, the aspect of social communication remains. In one case study, it's very emphasized the quality of life that's allowed by teams with low virtuality, "You get the best of working remotely - flexible hours, no commute, a personal work environment, much more time with friends and family - without the typical downsides - guilty about being away from the office, or missing out on hallway discussions" (Schneider, 2018). 3. The author, Levi, suggests that it is important to select technology that is appropriate for the context and the task. He talks about several factors including social relations, usefulness for the task, and conflict management in deciding technology that could be used by teams. What are some other contextual issues you can think of when selecting the appropriate technology for a team? Please explain and cite/make reference to the readings. a. I believe Levi neglected to consider the contextual issues of the availability of certain communication technologies and the dependability of the location that communication technology is utilized. Firstly, not every individual has access to the latest technology, if not the most recently well-performing technology, and therefore lacks the similar features, software, even hardware that most users have access to today. Devices such as the latest iPhone, iPad, Mac, PC, laptop, Samsung Galaxy, etc. aren't completely available around the world, and therefore limit some individuals that are unable to have access to these technologies. Levi says "there are many technologies available to support virtual teams" (2015, p. 316), but these many technologies aren't always available to everybody. And going hand in hand, individuals that do have access to these technologies may not have access to the mediums needed to effectively use them. For example, a team member may be able to order a device, such as a tablet, to participate in video conferences or send emails. However, say that the same team member has a very poor connection to the internet, low-speed wifi, and a very weak signal because of their geographical location. The previously mentioned "quality of life" (Schneider, 2018) that Schneider emphasizes is lost because of the need to relocate in order to be able to use the technology, defeating the whole purpose of a virtual team.

confrontation

Acting aggressively and trying to win one's way to deal with conflicts. Winning is more important than making a good decision.

conflict resolution specific types

Avoidance accomodation confrontation compromise collaboration

Both collaboration and conflict are critical for team functioning. In terms of conflict, do you often view conflict positively or negatively? Please explain and cite/reference the readings to support your view. Provide an instance from personal experience or other sources (such as news or case study) where conflict was found to be beneficial for a group/team situation. The author discusses five approaches for dealing with conflict (from the readings). Cite/reference the readings to support your perspective. Provide two examples where you have experienced a "conflict" working in groups/teams and did you (or could you have) used any of the five approaches to manage conflict in teamwork (from the readings) whether in student teams or teams at work? Cite/reference the readings to support your perspective. In what ways can an organization/team prepare for conflict (in other words, how can they prepare well to utilize the benefits that conflicts accrue and control costs)? Cite/reference the readings to support your view.

Both collaboration and conflict are critical for team functioning. In terms of conflict, do you often view conflict positively or negatively? Please explain and cite/reference the readings to support your view. Provide an instance from personal experience or other sources (such as news or case study) where conflict was found to be beneficial for a group/team situation. The author discusses five approaches for dealing with conflict (from the readings). Cite/reference the readings to support your perspective. I feel I can view conflict as both positive and negative depending on the situation. At my job, conflicts are often viewed as negative and unproductive because there is a specific manager who uses personality types and emotions to pin people against one another which interferes with the team's daily work. When there is more arguing and pointing finger occurring throughout the workday than there is productive work being done, it causes continuous conflicts between employees and managers. According to the textbook, "Relationship conflict has a negative impact on team performance and cohesion because it distracts members from the task and consumes the emotional resources of the team (Tekleab et al., 2009)," (Levi 140). This type of conflict often occurs at my job between a manager and the employees of my job. The manager is not a part of the team's daily tasks, she is simply there to oversee that tasks are being completed properly and on-time. However, the manager tends to micro-manage specific units of the team which delays their efficiency in their task. This actually brings the team itself closer and becomes more cohesive because the other members of the team pick-up extra tasks to help the person who has fallen behind due to a conflict. I feel in this way conflict has been beneficial in my job, because although there have been several personal conflicts with the manager, it has allowed for the team members to relate to one another and grow together from these experiences. Levi, mentions five resolution approaches to conflict management: avoidance, accommodation, confrontation, compromise, and collaboration. Being that the conflict I encounter involves someone outside the team that affects the team's performance, I feel the best way we can solve the problem is avoidance from the conflict and collaboration with one another. As a group we can synthesize our work to become more productive and efficient in our daily tasks and therefore less conflict will occur with the manager who is overseeing us. Provide two examples where you have experienced a "conflict" working in groups/teams and did you (or could you have) used any of the five approaches to manage conflict in teamwork (from the readings) whether in student teams or teams at work? Cite/reference the readings to support your perspective. There have been several times at my job where I have encountered conflicts with team members or with people outside of the team. One example is with the manager I spoke about in Question 1: I often have to work side by side with this individual to plan things for my gymnastics team within the gymnastics school. However, conflicts arise when this person become very stubborn and insists only having things completed her way. Or, if I come up with a good ideas, she will turn it down in a meeting with me but then she will claim the idea as her own. Often, to resolve these types of issues I accommodate her and refrain from offering suggestions or my opinion in fear of being shut down or having my ideas taken without credit. Another example involves conflict within the team I am apart of at my job: At my job there are rules and procedures that need to be followed as a part of daily operations. Some of the rules are you must follow the event schedule posted at the staff cubbies, staff members must clean and put away the mats they used at the end of the night, don't be late, etc. However, there are no consequences from management if a team member does not follow the rules. Instead, management targets the whole group which often leads to conflict between team members because it is noticeable which members follow the rules and which ones do not. In this situation the best way to resolve the situation is to compromise and collaborate with each other. For example, "I'll clean up your mats, if you warm-up my class when I am a few minutes late" or "We can all send our kids for a drink at the same time so we do not bump into each other on the event rotation". In what ways can an organization/team prepare for conflict (in other words, how can they prepare well to utilize the benefits that conflicts accrue and control costs)? Cite/reference the readings to support your view. In the text, Levi writes, "Teams should take a more proactive approach to conflict management by preparing for conflicts. Preparing for conflicts means developing approaches to identify conflicts in early stages and creating an environment that supports constructive controversy so that disagreements can be expressed," (145). I feel monthly staff meetings are a great way to prepare for conflict or to manage conflict within a team. In my case, specifically, we do not currently hold staff meetings which leaves the team very disconnected from changes management is making. In the staff meeting there could be a leader that distributes a syllabus of what the meeting is going to cover. After covering each topic, the leader can open up the meeting for questions and comments. By taking the time to thoroughly understand the thoughts and concerns of the team, the leader/manager can be proactive in making changes to the plans or events before they occur. The staff meeting would act as a forum/safe space for team members or outside employees to express their feelings about upcoming changes or events, which would allow for a more open discussion on disagreements amongst team members.

team process: motivation

Collective is better than individuals but not always due to social loafing.

communciation process

Communication in teams can be viewed as a transaction (Barnlund, 1970) ■ Communication is more than simply the transmission of a message from a sender to a recipient. ■ Both senders and receivers exchange verbal and nonverbal feedback while interacting. ■ Team communication is a dynamic process that is constantly changing (depending on levels of power, trust, status, and motivation). ■ What you communicate and how you communicate are both important influencers of team communication.

unhealthy conflicts

Competition over power, rewards, resources - Conflict between individual and team goals - Poorly run team meetings - Personal grudges from the past - Faulty communications - Poorly defined team goal - Conflicts between personal and team goals

conflict resolution: distribution

Concern about one's own outcomes - Assertive

conflict resolution: integration

Concern about the outcomes of others - Cooperative

Individual Emotional Intellegnece vs. Team EI

Conflict management ■ Team dynamics and atmosphere ■ Team character

what is the difference between teams and groups

Groups: - more meta inclusive term -range in size from two to two thousand -ex: political parties teams: -smaller size 3-12 -interact with one another directly -have performance goals connected to purpose -everyone is accountable -members need to acctively cooperate to achieve a goal -require independence as well

avoidance

Ignoring or denying the issues, hoping they will disappear by themselves

Task behavior

Information sharing, helping another team member with work tasks and provide supports

Group process: Cohesion

Interpersonal bonds that hold a team together Members of cohesive team like one another and feel connected because of the relationship ➢Cohesion can also come from the tasks they join together to work. ➢Cohesion provides sense of social identity.

advantages of impact of conflicts

Introduces new perspectives • Motivates team members to understand issues better • Encourages new ideas through debates and discussions

managing team conflicts

Preparing for conflict: Developing approaches to identify conflicts in early stages and creating an environment that supports constructive controversy so that disagreements can be expressed Facilitating conflicts: Outside mediators or facilitators can help manage team conflicts. Mediators operate by gaining trust among participants, managing hostilities, developing solutions to conflicts, and gaining commitment to the solutions from participants. Negotiating (bargaining) conflicts: a process where two sides are engaged in a conflict exchange offers and counteroffers in an effort to find a mutually acceptable agreement. The goal is to develop integrative, win-win agreements that are beneficial to both sides.

What is a drawback of cooperation?

conformity

conflict management: Cooperative vs competative

cooperative:Focuses on developing collaborative solutions - Good for individuals and team - Encourages cooperation and explore alternative ideas to solve issues competative:Focuses on what is good for the individual - Discourages communication

Denotation vs. Connotation

denotation is the word itself connotation ist he feeling that word gives

DTDP

different time different place meeting internet bulletin board, websites Members share the same virtual space on a website - Enable members to participate whenever and wherever possible

DTSP

different time same place meeting computer data places Useful for members who travel frequently or telecommute - Information technology serves as a storage system so members can pass on information as needed

Building norms that support the awareness and regulation of emotions within teams is known as:

emotional intelligence

Empathy is to identify and understand ones own emotions

false

Individualists see success as relative to other's performance.

false

phone call/ video conferencing

good medium

Communication technologies (e.g., email, videoconferencing) and collaboration technologies (e.g., intranet)

help teams share information. q help teams solve problems, make decisions, and work together

How can external competition help organization? (Please select all that apply - 3 answers)

helps grow creativity provide motivating goals provides feedback

video conference

high in speed, moderate interactivity, high richness, moderate social presence, no documented

What is NOT make a sender more effective in the communication process?

low status

face to face meeting

low virtuality high in richness

social loafing

one of the biggest motivation problems that is reduction of individual contributions when people work in groups rather than alone

Free Riders

people under-perform in a team because they don't believe their individual efforts are important and they know they will receive their share of the team's reward regardless of their efforts

Mike works in a research and development team at a pharmaceutical company, where he is able to freely share his thoughts and opinions. Which best describes communication within his team:

psychological safety

Define relationship management:

respond to other emotions with respect and concern

STDP

same time different place videoconferencing/ conference call Distributed meetings that team members interact through a combination of audio, video, or text

STSP

same time same place meeting traditional form of team meeting

F2F

slow in speed, high in interactivity, high in richness, high in social presence, no document of messages

4 types of meetings

stsp stdp Dtsp dtdp

What are awareness norms?

taking time to understand other team members better

teams vs groups

team is a special type of group, distinction is fuzzy, teams are structured groups working on defined goals that reuire coordinated interactions to accomplish tasks

empathy

the ability to perceive, recognize, and experience others' emotions (aka What are others feeling?)

relationship management

the ability to respond to others' emotions with respect and concern for the relationship

virtuality

the degree electronic communication dependence among team members.

Cooperative rewards can encourage social loafing.

true

building trust

■ Trust is cultural. - US: having a shared category membership with group members (same college, same hometown) - Japan: sharing interpersonal ties with group members ■ Trust is the key to fostering communication in a team. ■ Trust is expression of confidence in the team relationship. ■ Trust is based on social relationships. ■ Trust impacts interpersonal communication, cooperation, teamwork.

purpose of teams

-Day-to-day operations of orgs - To provide advice and deal with special problems - Manage coordination problems by linking different parts of orgs - Budget or planning - Change orgs by planning for the future or managing transitions

what is conflict

1. Conflicts are natural & normal part of the team process. 2. Conflict changes as team develops. 3. It is a healthy sign. (teams w/o conflicts may experience unhealthy agreement, domineering leader, etc.)

psychological safety

1. The perception that members are free to take interpersonal risks and to express their thoughts and feelings without fear of consequences (Edmondson & Lei, 2014) 2. Climate of interpersonal trust and mutual respect where team members are able to offer ideas, provide feedback, raise issues, admit mistakes, and ask for help without fear of retribution - Teams share diverse information and integration of perspectives - Psychological safety is associated with higher levels of learning from mistakes, success in diverse teams, creativity, and team performance. - Virtual teams benefit from psychological safety, as this mitigates the negative effects of geographical dispersion, electronic dependence, and national culture on innovation and performance (Gibson & Gibbs, 2006)

increasing group motivation

1. Try to create interesting, involving, and challenging tasks 2. Provide constructive evaluation and implement rewards: organizational vs. team 3. Team efficacy: Perception that the team is capable of performing well at a given task 4. Commitment and cohesion: Increased sense of commitment and attraction to a team

characteristics of groups

➢Goal driven ➢Interdependence ➢Interpersonal interaction (Communication!!) ➢Perception of membership (sense of belonging) ➢Structured relations: rules, norms, roles that control people's interactions ➢Mutual influence: impacting one another because of their connections

types of teams

➢Production teams (factory, manufacture or product assembly) ➢Service teams (maintenance crews, food services, repeated customer transactions) ➢Management teams (managers working together to plan ,develop policy or coordinate organizational activities) ➢Project teams (research and engineering teams, bringing experts together to perform a specific task within a defined period) ➢ Action or performing teams (sports, entertainment, surgery teams that require skills and extensive training or preparation) ➢Parallel teams (temporary teams that operate outside normal work- e.g., TF teams)

function of group cohesiveness

➢Reduces stress ➢Positive impact on group performance ➢Members accept group goals, decisions and norms ➢Social interaction & Conflict resolution ➢Building cohesion

Group's two persepctives

1. sociological perspective- a group exists for a reason or a purpose, a shared goal, people have a relationship with another allow them to collectively share to one another 2. psychological perspective- social identification, group exists seperately from one another, social representation shared values and ideas, and interaction help develop their worldview

challange of virtual teams

Team Building in Virtual teams ■ Cyber security, privacy, work-life balance

bypassing

Team members assuming that everyone understands the same meaning for a word

ineffective communication

Dysfunctional information processing - Rather than combining the unique knowledge and perspectives of members teams spending most of their time discussing the information already shared - Biases in team information process bars the team from making good decisions

Masculine vs. Feminine style of communication

Masculine: status-oriented, embody independence, competition, exerting control - Feminine: Embody connection, interdependence, cooperation, empowerment, facilitate agreement

Men vs. Women

Men: Speak more, task-oriented, interrupt, offer advice, make more jokes - Women: Share feelings, invite others to speak, listen to foster bonds

team processes

Motivation ➢Group Cohesion ➢Team Roles ➢Task and Social Behaviors ➢Team adaptation and Learning

disadvantages of impact of conflicts

Negative effects on emotions • Stress • Diverts attention from task • Destroys team cohesion

compromise

One way to balance the goals of each participant and everyone gives in.

coomunocation technology and its impacts on teams: task performance

Pros: flexibility, control over time - Cons: isolation, decreased interpersonal contact, increased miscommunication

collaboration

Searching for solutions that satisfy everyone. Requires both cooperativeness and respect for others' positions.

communciation norm: setting ways virtual teams can overcome their communciation problems

Setting certain norms within a team helps reduce issues that may arise from using technology (e.g.) - Timeliness of responses (e.g., responding to all e-mails within 12 hours) - When to use what technology, who initiates the communication etc.

social behavior

Social recognition, expressing acceptance and encouraging a sense of belonging to the group, encouragement, rewarding, listening to personal issues

acoomodation

Some team members deciding to give up their position in order to be agreeable. Cooperative yet lacks critical opinions or ideas.

characteristics of communciation

Speed ■ Reach (number of members receiving the communication) ■ Interactivity ■ Richness: speed of feedback, the number and type of sensory channels, and the degree to which the source seems personal l ■ Social presence: the degree to which using the technology resembles the experience of communicating with another person \■ Ability to document the message

technology alters communication

Status Differences: Hierarchy, speaking power, decision-making power, etc. - Anonymity: Less self-awareness, reduced social pressure - Possibility of miscommunication is high due to lack of social cues or nonverbals

healthy legitimate conflicts

Task issues - Differences in value & perspectives - Different expectations about impact of decisions

what are ways to create group cohesion

Team-based incentives ■ Share similar attitudes and personal goals ■ Spend more time together ■ Smaller teams have stronger cohesion than large teams ■ Have strict requirements to join the team ■ Leadership ■ Engage in team building activities

4 ways communication tech support teamwork

Tech can gather and present information for a team - (collaborative document management systems/ electronic whiteboards) ■ Tech can help team members communicate both internally (within teams or orgs only) and externally (w/ partners, stakeholders, etc.) ■ Collaboration tech, like group support systems can help teams process information by providing systems to brainstorming (e.g., mind maps), problem solving, and decision making (e.g., poll taking) ■ Tech like electronic meeting systems (e.g, zoom, skype) can be used to structure the group process through meeting agendas, assignment charts and project management tools

emotional regulation

The ability to regulate one's emotions and control the expression of emotions

emotional intelligence

The ability to solve emotional problems

Comm tech has widespread effects on organizations

They directly impact work design, communication patterns, and social effects.

primary goals of virtual teams

To improve task performance - Overcome the constraints of time and space - Increase the range and speed of access to information

the sucker effect

When good performers slack off in teams (b/c they do not want others to take advantage of them)

what is a team

a special type of group where people work interdependently to achieve common goal.

self awareness

ability to identify, understand, and discuss one's emotions (aka What is MY emotion?)

virtual teams

any team whose member interactions are mediated by time, distance, and technology

text messages, emails

asynchronous, high in virtuality low in richness

The case study discusses two forms of trust. What is cognitive trust?

based on the confidence one develops becuase of another persons accomplishments

In order to develop emotional labor, it is important to have: (Please select all that apply - 3 answers)

epathy emotional regulation emotional management

group meeting

slow speed, moderate interactivity, high in richness, high in social presence, no document message

instant messaging

speed is fast, high in interactivity, low in richness, low in social presence, yes document message

Cooperation is important when tasks are ambiguous, complex, or changing and requires substantial information sharing.

true

Emotional Intelligence can be improved by modeling appropriate behavior

true

Evaluations are generally based on individual performance

true

Receivers in the communication process may be characterized by personality characteristics and relationship to the message

true

Trust is based on social relationships.

true

How can anonymity cause competition?

very few interpersonal relations