Management of Virtual Teams: Benefits and Challenges

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.