Intelligent Virtual Assistant's Impact on Technical Proficiency within Virtual Teams

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-61
Author(s):  
Christian Graham ◽  
Nory B Jones
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Teams ◽  
Virtual Team ◽  
Database Systems ◽  
Systems Development ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
Success Rates ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Team Projects ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Technical Proficiency

Information-systems development continues to be a difficult process, particularly for virtual teams that do not have the luxury of meeting face-to-face. The research literature on this topic reinforces this point: the greater part of database systems development projects ends in failure. The use of virtual teams to complete projects further compounds these failures. However, recent developments in intelligent virtual assistants (IVAs), such as Siri, Cortana, or Watson, have created opportunities to automate the systems-development process and improve success rates. Specifically, the use of a virtual assistant possessing key knowledge about database systems development can increase virtual team member technical proficiency in project-based skills. In addition, a virtual assistant can contribute to the development of higher-quality virtual team projects—in this case, database management systems. This observational study found that while the result of statistical analysis was not quite significant, teams that used the IVA did develop higher-quality team projects.

scholarly journals The power of individual cultural values in global virtual teams

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 193-210 ◽  
Author(s):  
Audra I. Mockaitis ◽  
Elizabeth L. Rose ◽  
Peter Zettinig
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Values ◽  
Cultural Differences ◽  
Virtual Teams ◽  
Virtual Team ◽  
Global Teams ◽  
Global Virtual Teams ◽  
Team Processes ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
The Relationship

This paper investigates the perceptions of members of 43 culturally diverse global virtual teams, with respect to team processes and outcomes. Despite widespread acknowledgement of the challenges presented by cultural differences in the context of global teams, little is known about the effect of these differences on team dynamics in the absence of face-to-face interaction. Using a student-based sample, we study the relationship between global virtual team members’ individualistic and collectivistic orientations and their evaluations of trust, interdependence, communication and information sharing, and conflict during the team task. Our results suggest that a collectivist orientation is associated with more favorable impressions regarding global virtual team processes and that cultural differences are not concealed by virtual means of communication.

Learning together and working apart: routines for organizational learning in virtual teams

2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 138-149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy Dixon
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Learning ◽  
Virtual Teams ◽  
Virtual Team ◽  
Critical Issue ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Information Industry ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Virtual Teaming

Purpose Research suggests that teaming routines facilitate learning in teams. This paper identifies and details how specific teaming routines, implemented in a virtual team, support its continual learning. The study’s focus was to generate authentic and descriptive accounts of the interviewees’ experiences with virtual teaming routines. Design/methodology/approach This case study gathered concrete, practical and context-dependent knowledge about virtual teaming routines in a specific environment. The main source of data was narrative expert interviews with working members of the team. Findings This study illustrates how a mix of face-to-face and virtual routines can ensure organizational learning in virtual teams. Research limitations/implications This case study is limited to one virtual team in the information industry. Future research could build on this research to study virtual teams in other industries. Practical implications This research offers specific examples of teaming routines that managers of virtual teams might adapt in managing their own teams. Social implications Given that the use of virtual teams is a growing phenomenon, understanding how to help those teams learn effectively is a critical issue. Originality/value This case study extends the research on teaming routines to virtual teams.

Removing Space and Time

2011 ◽  
pp. 14-23
Author(s):  
Christie L. McDaniel
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Teams ◽  
Virtual Team ◽  
Communication Barriers ◽  
Team Cohesion ◽  
Team Dynamics ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Managerial Styles ◽  
Geographic Boundaries ◽  
The World

Virtual teams are become more and more popular as the world becomes more connected; furthermore, research is suggesting that virtual teams are as effective as face-to-face teams (Baker, 2002). This chapter compares and contrasts virtual teams with face-to-face teams in order to determine what differences exist as the workplace become virtual. It investigates how relationships between team members change when geographic boundaries are removed and how managers should adjust managerial styles when leading a virtual team. Also, a discussion of team dynamics—including the development of trust, team cohesion, and communication barriers—is included. Tips and techniques for developing an effective team are provided for virtual team managers.

Cross-Cultural Virtual Team Projects

2021 ◽  
pp. 86-107
Author(s):  
Anuli Ndubuisi ◽  
Elham Marzi ◽  
James Slotta
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Teams ◽  
Intercultural Competence ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Virtual Team ◽  
Project Based Learning ◽  
Virtual Collaboration ◽  
Team Projects ◽  
Intercultural Competencies ◽  
Before And After

Future engineers require global and intercultural competencies to prepare them to work in an increasingly multicultural, digitized, and interdependent global economy. To enhance engineering students' international exposure, awareness, and cultural experiences, the authors developed a unique international virtual team program that engaged students in collaborative project-based learning with peers around the world. Each virtual team consisted of multidisciplinary students from various countries and institutions. The students' knowledge and understanding of intercultural competence were evaluated before and after the program to ascertain its impact on their understanding of intercultural sensitivities and collaboration in virtual teams. Recommendations for learning enhancements were proposed. The authors found the integration of intercultural content with the global virtual team projects to be a successful strategy for helping engineering students build intercultural competencies and virtual collaboration skills, in addition to technical engineering knowledge and experience.

Leapfrogging an IT Sector

2005 ◽  
pp. 1799-1802
Author(s):  
Eileen M. Trauth
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Teams ◽  
Strategic Alliances ◽  
Virtual Team ◽  
Information And Communications Technology ◽  
Boundary Crossing ◽  
Building Relationships ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Global Coverage ◽  
Product Launches

How do virtual team leaders assess and respond to boundary crossing issues when building relationships with virtual team members? Virtual teams are a new phenomenon, defined as groups of people working on a common task or project from distributed locations using information and communications technology (ICT). With rapid advances in ICT allowing alternatives to face-to-face communication, virtual teams are playing an increasingly important role in organizations. Due to their global coverage, virtual teams are often assigned critical organizational tasks such as multi-national product launches, negotiating global mergers and acquisitions, and managing strategic alliances (Maznevski & Chudoba, 2000). Their use, however, has outpaced the understanding of their unique dynamics and characteristics (Cramton & Webber, 2000).

Out of Sight, Out of Mind

2005 ◽  
pp. 13-21
Author(s):  
Robert Jones ◽  
Rob Oyung ◽  
Lisa Shade Pace
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Teams ◽  
Virtual Team ◽  
Conventional Wisdom ◽  
Golf Course ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Upper Management ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Water Cooler ◽  
Face Time ◽  
The Universe

Conventional wisdom often cites that individuals cannot advance their career without putting in daily face-to-face time with their managers; thus, members of virtual teams are inevitably less successful at career development than their co-located colleagues. Virtual team members lose out on the informal interactions that typically occur in the lunchroom, in the hallway, at the water cooler, and on the golf course; therefore, they are essentially out of sight, out of mind. Furthermore, conventional wisdom postulates, it is impossible to get the attention of upper management without these interactions, and people believe that if you want to advance, you will move to the companies selected “center of the universe” where the largest concentration of employees reside. This chapter will discuss the potential drivers behind the following myths that focus on this potential out-of-sight, out-of-mind dynamic, and will document some of the techniques that we’ve observed that help reduce the potential impact of the reduced face-to-face time that is inevitable with the implementation of virtual teams within an organization.

Cross-Disciplinary Learning in Virtual Teams

2011 ◽  
pp. 78-81
Author(s):  
Scott P. Schaffer ◽  
Therese M. Schmidt
Keyword(s):  
Software Development ◽  
Virtual Teams ◽  
New Product Development ◽  
Virtual Team ◽  
Knowledge Bases ◽  
High Performing ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Geographically Dispersed ◽  
New Product Development Teams ◽  
Better Than

The prevalence of global software development and new product development teams is on the increase, and such teams face unique challenges (McDonough, Kahnb, & Barczaka, 2001). First, these teams often are comprised of individuals from different disciplines (software engineering, graphic design, instructional design/educational technology). Second, these teams often are required to communicate and share information virtually, since they are geographically dispersed. These challenges make management of such teams difficult, and very little is known about the conditions and factors that impact virtual team performance. While the task of overcoming these challenges is daunting, the benefits that an effective virtual and cross-disciplinary software development team can have are large. Cohen and Gibson (2003) state, “when organizations compose virtual teams with people from different perspectives and knowledge bases, innovation is more likely to occur” (p.8). In addition, the possibility of creating teams that are virtual allows an organization the opportunity to have the best people for a project actually work on the project, regardless of geographic location. Major questions related to the study of such teams include: Do virtual teams perform better, worse or the same as face-to-face teams? What makes one virtual team better than another? Are group dynamics fundamentally different in a virtual group than in a face-to-face group? Warkenton, Sayeed and Hightower (1997) found that face-to-face teams outperformed virtual teams, and the latter were less satisfied with the experience. Advances in asynchronous communication tools since this study may have improved the situation for virtual teams, but the question of what makes one virtual team better than another is intriguing. Ocker and Fjermestad (2000) investigated factors that distinguish high- vs. low-performing virtual teams. High-performing teams communicated more and more widely related to design decisions than did low-performing teams. Such teams summarized and reflected more often on processes and deliverables, and essentially mirrored face-to-face teams. Similar findings were reported by Baker (2002) in a study of the effects of technology on decision-making in such teams. Another key driver of virtual team development and success is the level of cross-disciplinary learning that occurs during the completion of a project. Fruchter and Emery (1999) define cross-disciplinary learning as the individual’s progression from a state dominated by discipline-centric thought to a state in which the individual understands the terminology and processes of another discipline. It is important to investigate how this learning can be supported and assessed.

Sociotechnical Design Factors for Virtual Team Performance

1996 ◽  
Vol 40 (15) ◽  
pp. 786-785
Author(s):  
Arnoldo R. Cano ◽  
Brian M. Kleiner
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Teams ◽  
Team Performance ◽  
Virtual Team ◽  
Geographically Dispersed ◽  
Sociotechnical Systems Theory ◽  
Sociotechnical Design ◽  
Sound Theory ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Design Factors ◽  
Communication And Information Technology

Recent developments in communication and information technology, coupled with an increased need to coordinate organizational activities across geographically dispersed locations, have led to the development and use of virtual teams. Evidence, most of it anecdotal, points to the benefits that can be obtained from the use of such teams. Unfortunately, a comprehensive understanding of the factors that affect virtual team-based system performance is lacking due to little empirical evidence and sound theory. In this paper, sociotechnical systems theory is used to identify design factors for virtual team performance.

scholarly journals Bringing Out the Best in Virtual Teams

2011 ◽  
pp. 205-211
Author(s):  
Janet Schoenfeld ◽  
Zane Berge
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Teams ◽  
Computer Mediated Communication ◽  
Virtual Team ◽  
Mediated Communication ◽  
Virtual Communication ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Physical Location ◽  
Computer Mediated ◽  
The Right ◽  
Virtual Setting

The use of computer-mediated communication (CMC) is more popular than ever in both educational and corporate settings. Schools and corporations are using virtual communication to replace or supplement in-person classes and meetings. Many educators and managers are taking it a step further, having teams work in a virtual setting with members rarely or never meeting each other in person. Can a virtual team be as successful as a team where everyone works in the same physical location? Does anything different need to be done to compensate for the lack of face-to-face contact? This article identifies unique factors for virtual teams, and then provides recommendations and guidelines that can help virtual teams be successful. With the right planning, virtual teams can equal or exceed the performance of face-to-face teams.

Millennial Teamwork and Technical Proficiency's Impact on Virtual Team Effectiveness

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 34-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Matt Graham ◽  
Harold Daniel ◽  
Brian Doore
Keyword(s):  
Information Systems ◽  
Virtual Environment ◽  
Virtual Teams ◽  
Leadership Style ◽  
Database Management ◽  
Team Effectiveness ◽  
Natural Extension ◽  
Virtual Team ◽  
Database Management System ◽  
Technical Proficiency

The successful completion of information systems projects is already a difficult process that many times ends with projects failing to meet the information systems requirements. These requirements typically center on completing projects that perform the way initially envisioned, and delivering completed projects on time and within budget. Pressures around communication and leadership style are now compounded by the use of virtual teams. The goal of this study was to determine whether or not technical proficiency in the project-based skills, facility with database management systems development, and greater technical proficiency in coping within the virtual environment contributed to the development of greater virtual team effectiveness. This study targeted millennial students at the Maine Business School who were assigned to virtual teams tasked with developing a database management system within a virtual environment. Findings suggest that increased proficiencies in project skills will contribute to greater team effectiveness and more importantly, increased proficiencies within the virtual environment will contribute to greater virtual team effectiveness. These findings have implications for business educators and by natural extension, business practitioners as they suggest that training students and workers how to communicate, collaborate, exchange ideas, and share information better within virtual environments will improve virtual team effectiveness which should translate into greater virtual teams project outcomes.

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