Management of Virtual Teams: Benefits and Challenges

This memorandum discusses the benefits and challenges of managing virtual teams. It highlights the advantages of virtual teams, such as cost-effectiveness and leveraging global talent, while also acknowledging the potential risks. Effective management strategies are suggested to ensure the success of virtual teams.

Running head: MEMORANDUM ON VIRTUAL TEAM
Memorandum on virtual team
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author note:

1MEMORANDUM ON VIRTUAL TEAM
To: The members of the team
From: The Marketing Director
Date:
Subject: Management of virtual teams
The purpose of this memorandum is to address the concerns regarding virtual teams
prevailing within the team. The organization will be expanding its marketing team to three
new locations, namely Beijing, Mumbai and New York, along with the team at the
headquarters in Sidney. In order to facilitate smooth operational relations and to promote
collaboration between such teams, a virtual team or a geographically dispersed team would
have to be set up.
A virtual team would be perfectly compatible with the existing organizational structure. The
virtual teams, across these four time zones, would be communicating both in synchronous
manner (real time) and through asynchronous modes of communication. It has been found
that virtual teams invite more cooperation and harmony between individuals working in
different locations, thus rendering operations more coherent. As Helen Keller said, “Alone we
can do so little; together we can do so much.” Practically speaking, incorporating a virtual
team would be cost effective; since all meetings and interactions would be carried out
through the internet or other electronic means, the organization would not have to invest in
office space, real estate or other utility factors like electricity. Moreover, a virtual team would
bring together global talent under one roof; that paves the way for greater innovation and
sharing of knowledge amidst the team members (Klitmøller and Lauring 2013). With more
talent in hand and an array of resources to support its functioning, such a virtual team would
demonstrate increased levels of productivity, thus enhancing the profitability of the company.
In other words, virtual teams would play a crucial role in organizational success.
The key to a sustainable virtual team is effective management of the same. According to Yael
Zofi, ““To master the virtual equation and make all the elements work together, you have to
become the connector … You may need to shift gears, perform ream tune-ups, realign, and
refuel your team’s energy along the way.” First and foremost, it must be remembered that
different people have different standards and work systems they abide by. Thus, it is
important to ensure that work standards are set at the onset of the project. This would reduce
chances of miscommunication and optimize effectiveness of the team as a whole.

2MEMORANDUM ON VIRTUAL TEAM
Additionally, multiple tools or channels of communication would have to be used. A situation
might surface where a team member located in Sydney might urgently need to reach out to
the team based in Mumbai. A robust communication system would inculcate a sense of
belonging and unity amongst all the teams (Pinjani and Palvia 2013). For example, video
calls would create an illusion of a face to face meeting and are usually preferred over emails
and faxes. Regular weekly meetings are also recommended so that team members can work
together to devise agendas and plans; moreover, detailed deliverables must be provided to
each team member in all the locations so that every individual is aware of his or her role and
the desired outcome. Thus, it must be asserted that effective management of the virtual team
would ensure its success and maximize efficiency (Lilian 2014).
However, it must be understood that there are several challenges while running a virtual
team. We admit that ineffectual management of virtual teams could adversely affect the
cohesiveness that an organization would require and lead to a fragmented workforce (Gera et
al. 2013). Moreover, it has also been observed that with teams spread out across various
geographical locations, there might be poor camaraderie between the individuals; this is
primarily because the members of the teams would not be engaging in face to face social
encounters which nourish collaborative efforts (Purvanova 2014). As Stephen Hawking says,
“With the technology at our disposal, the possibilities are unbounded. All we need to do is
make sure we keep talking.” Additionally, such a virtual team rests its foundations entirely on
the team members. If one team member in any one geographical location proves to be
incompetent, it could be detrimental to the team as a whole. Thus, while virtual teams would
certainly help the organization in a number of ways, these are some of the factors and
potential risks that must be taken into account.
To conclude, it can be said that there are a number of factors that affect the operations and
management of a virtual team. While admitting that there are a few disadvantages of creating
a virtual team, one cannot ignore the various benefits it offers. For instance, it would be cost
effective and would also enable the company to leverage talent from across the globe.
However, the company would be able to reap the benefits of a virtual team only through
effective management to support it.
Thanking you,

3MEMORANDUM ON VIRTUAL TEAM
Yours sincerely,
Marketing Director.

4MEMORANDUM ON VIRTUAL TEAM
References:
Gera, S., Aneeshkumar, G., Fernandez, S., Gireeshkumar, G., Nze, I. and Eze, U., 2013.
Virtual teams versus face to face teams: A review of literature. IOSR Journal of Business and
Management, vol. 11, no.2, pp.1-4.
Klitmøller, A. and Lauring, J., 2013. When global virtual teams share knowledge: Media
richness, cultural difference and language commonality. Journal of World Business, vol. 43,
no. 8, pp.398-406.
Lilian, S.C., 2014. Virtual teams: Opportunities and challenges for e-leaders. Procedia-Social
and Behavioral Sciences, vol. 110, pp.1251-1261.
Pinjani, P. and Palvia, P., 2013. Trust and knowledge sharing in diverse global virtual
teams. Information & Management, vol. 50, no.4, pp.144-153.
Purvanova, R.K., 2014. Face-to-face versus virtual teams: What have we really learned?. The
Psychologist-Manager Journal, vol. 17, no.1, p.2.