Virtual
Teamwork &
Communities
Pat Sobrero
Dean Sutphin
Carolyn Stuart
Virtual Teams & Communities
"There exists no force in this
universe that is capable of resisting
the coherent and coordinated
action of a group of people whose
minds converge toward a
determined goal."
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
Saturday, March 18, 2006
Virtual Teams and Communities
Saturday, March 18, 2006
Virtual Teams and Communities
Terms in Literature
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Virtual Teams –Teamwork
Virtual Communities of Practice
Virtual Collaboration
Virtual Organizations
Saturday, March 18, 2006
Virtual Teams and Communities
Research Findings
Published in Knowledge Management Review, Fall 1999. Copyright © 1999 by Richard McDermott.
Thanks to Etienne Wenger, Bill Snyder, Mike Mahaffie, and Sue Gilly for comments on earlier drafts.
Saturday, March 18, 2006
Virtual Teams and Communities
Fundamental Changes
(Kimble)
The global environment has changed the
nature of work and there has been a rapid
development of technology.
To be effective, people
are operating in two
spaces simultaneously:
• physical space and
• electronic space.
Saturday, March 18, 2006
(Kimble 11)
Virtual Teams and Communities
Future of Organizations
• Among 376
business
managers in
Germany 90%
work in virtual
teams, full time
(20%) part-time
(70%)
(Hertel, Geister, Konracht,
2005)
•
http://www.co-i-l.com/coil/index.shtml
Saturday, March 18, 2006
Virtual Teams and Communities
Virtual Teams
• Exist within and across
organizations
• Exhibit relatively few permanent
structures with fluid membership
(Palmer, Speier)
(Palmer, Speier)
• Focus on a specific task output
utilizing technology to disseminate
and collaborate in order to prepare
deliverables (Palmer, Speier)
• Often self-organizing
Saturday, March 18, 2006
Virtual Teams and Communities
Virtual Teams
• These teams often span authority
structures (within one organization or across
organizations)
(Palmer, Speier)
• Communication is supported primarily by
information technology
(Palmer, Speier) (Hertel, geister, Konracht, 2005)
Saturday, March 18, 2006
Virtual Teams and Communities
Virtual Team #1 Issue =Trust
Trust is the Heart of the Matter
• Trust results in social capital and
effectiveness
• Trust in new electronic
environments
• Trust vs. Lack of Trust – Successful
virtual team members experience a
changed mindset
Saturday, March 18, 2006
Virtual Teams and Communities
Virtual Team Issue
Sense of Identity (#2) through
Shared Team Culture
• Taking the required time
to develop ‘common
ground’ by establishing a
sense of identity
through:
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rituals,
celebrations,
meaning, and
comfort with “the way
we do things virtually”
Saturday, March 18, 2006
Virtual Teams and Communities
Virtual Team Issue
Procedures for Communication
Balanced Mix of Social & Task Communication
• Well developed communication plan for
connecting with others
• Use of synchronous & asynchronous
methods
• Established communication protocols that
allow establishing appropriate project
structure
Saturday, March 18, 2006
Virtual Teams and Communities
Virtual Team Issues
Technology
Use of multiple electronic means
such as video with audio, and
asynchronous methods
• Team satisfaction
• Team cohesion
Reliable technology
Saturday, March 18, 2006
Virtual Teams and Communities
Virtual Team Issues
Social Context
• Requires meaningful relationship
building competencies for
successful virtual teams
• Assuring the team takes time to
understand each other, their assets,
& preferences
• Cooperation
• Conflict management
• Trust
Saturday, March 18, 2006
Virtual Teams and Communities
Virtual Team Issues
• New Supervisory Methods
• Development of new supervisory
methods for virtual teams and
communities tied to TRUST.
(Jarvenpaa and Leinder
1998; Grabowski et al 1998)
Saturday, March 18, 2006
Virtual Teams and Communities
CoP Best Practices (Wenger 2000)
Saturday, March 18, 2006
Virtual Teams and Communities
Barriers to Virtual Teams
and Communities
• Organizational
• Cultural
• Technological
Saturday, March 18, 2006
Virtual Teams and Communities
Barriers to Virtual Teams
and Communities
• Organizational
• Often there is perceived
disruption of virtual teams to
the organizational culture &
loss of employee loyalty
when team members are
from other organizations
(Kimble)
• Isolation
Saturday, March 18, 2006
Virtual Teams and Communities
Barriers to Virtual Teams
and Communities
• Organizational
• Leadership (Hertel, et.al.,2005)
• Performance monitoring or
control methods
• Team cohesion and
identification
• Disciplinary differences
• Unclear expectations and
goals
• Lack of interdependence
Saturday, March 18, 2006
Virtual Teams and Communities
Barriers to Virtual Teams
and Communities
•Cultural
Time zone
Language
Work preferences
Control issues
• Taylorism approaches
Saturday, March 18, 2006
Virtual Teams and Communities
Barriers to Virtual Teams
and Communities
• Technological
Break downs, constant change,
traffic issues, & lack of
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Compatibility
High speed access
Infrastructure
Expertise with new media
groupware
• Integrated software support
Saturday, March 18, 2006
Virtual Teams and Communities
Community of Practice (CoP)
Introduced by Lave and
Wenger in 1991
“CoP are groups of
people who share a
concern or a passion for
something they do and
learn how to do it better
as they interact regularly.”
Saturday, March 18, 2006
Virtual Teams and Communities
Community of Practice (CoP)
“a group of professionals
informally bound to one
another through
• exposure to a common class
of problems,
• common pursuit of solutions,
and
• thereby themselves
embodying a store of
knowledge” (Manville and Foote , 1996)
Saturday, March 18, 2006
Virtual Teams and Communities
Saturday, March 18, 2006
Virtual Teams and Communities
Community of Practice (CoP)
Practice Constructivism
Saturday, March 18, 2006
Virtual Teams and Communities
(Piaget, 1973) (Vogel, et.al, 2001)
Community of Practice (CoP)
• A small group of people
• 25%have worked together
over a period of time.
• They are not a team or
taskforce, not necessarily
an authorized or identified
group…
(Seely Brown and Solomon Grey)
Saturday, March 18, 2006
Virtual Teams and Communities
Community of Practice (CoP)
• They are peers in
execution of “real work”.
• They are held together by a:
• Common sense of purpose, and
• Real need to know what each
other knows. (Seely Brown and Solomon Grey)
Saturday, March 18, 2006
Virtual Teams and Communities
Community of Practice (CoP)
• Share projects
• Solve problems
together
• Swap experiences
• Learn from discussions
and dialogue
(Hildreth, Kimble and Wright, 1998; Kimble and Wright, 2000)
Saturday, March 18, 2006
Virtual Teams and Communities
Research Findings
Task & Media Fit
• Matching the task to the
type of media is not a predictor of
activity.
• CoP need to consider that time,
interaction and performance theory
represent production, member support
and group well-being. This links task
and social context to influence media
choice. (Palmer and Speier)
Saturday, March 18, 2006
Virtual Teams and Communities
Two kinds of CoP
• SelfOrganizing
• Sponsored
Saturday, March 18, 2006
Virtual Teams and Communities
Basic Charter – Sponsored CoP
1. Enable colleagues to learn from
one another through
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the sharing of issues,
ideas,
lessons learned,
problems and their solutions,
research findings and other relevant
aspects of their mutual interest.
Saturday, March 18, 2006
Virtual Teams and Communities
Basic Charter – Sponsored CoP
2. Broadly share and better
leverage the learning that
occurs in the CoP with other
colleagues.
Saturday, March 18, 2006
Virtual Teams and Communities
Basic Charter – Sponsored CoP
3. Generate tangible,
measurable, valueadded benefits to
the organization.
Saturday, March 18, 2006
Virtual Teams and Communities
Mission for a CoP
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Stimulating interaction
Fostering learning
Creating new knowledge
Socializing new members
Identifying and sharing best
practices
Saturday, March 18, 2006
Virtual Teams and Communities
Definition of CoP
Self-governing groups of people who
share a passion for the common domain
of what they do and strive to become
better at it. They create value for their
members and the organization hosting
them through:
• Developing and spreading new knowledge and
capabilities
• Fostering innovation
• Building and testing trust through working relationships
by P’or
Saturday, March 18, 2006
Virtual Teams and Communities
7 Principles of CoP
1. Design for evolution.
2. Open a dialogue between inside and outside
perspectives.
3. Invite different levels of participation.
4. Develop both public and private community
spaces.
5. Focus on value.
6. Combine familiarity and excitement.
7. Create a rhythm for the community (using
technology).
by Etienne Wenger, Richard McDermott, and William M. Snyder
Saturday, March 18, 2006
Virtual Teams and Communities
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"When you listen to somebody else,
whether you like it or not,
what they say becomes part of you ...
the common pool is created,
where people begin suspending their
own opinions
and listening to other people's ...
At some point people begin
recognizing that
this common pool is more important
than their separate pools"
David Bohm, Physicist
Saturday, March 18, 2006
Virtual Teams and Communities
Learning Method Workshop
1. Consider the question on your
own.
2. Dialogue with small group
through listening and learning.
Prioritize.
3. Large group synthesis
and decision
Saturday, March 18, 2006
Virtual Teams and Communities
Learning Workshop Question
What can we do to
strengthen the concept
of virtual teams and
virtual communities
in the VT culture?
Saturday, March 18, 2006
Virtual Teams and Communities
Thanks to CEUT
• Terry Wildman &
Nancy Polk
• Dean Sutphin
• Jim Collier
• Carolyn Stuart
• Each of You!
Saturday, March 18, 2006
Virtual Teams and Communities