MNG81001 Report: Virtual Teams for Global Marketing Success

This report addresses the strategic decision of whether to implement a virtual marketing team for Company ABC, as requested by the Marketing Director. The report advocates for the adoption of a virtual team structure, citing increased flexibility, the ability to tap into a diverse workforce, and cost-effectiveness as primary advantages over a traditional, centralized team. The report acknowledges the potential opposition to virtual teams, such as concerns about organizational culture and supervision, but argues these can be mitigated through technology and effective management. The report includes references to academic sources that support the claims made, emphasizing the importance of adapting to a globalized business environment where virtual teams can provide a competitive edge by enabling local presence and global reach. The report provides a comprehensive analysis, backed by research, to persuade the Marketing Director to embrace virtual teams.

VIRTUAL TEAM: A
BOON FOR
ORGANISATIONS IN A
GLOBALISED WORLD

INTRODUCTION
◦ The scope of marketing department have
increased manifolds in the globalised
enterprises
◦ The global expansion have challenges to
manage a dispersed team and maintaining
coordination between them
◦ The cost of having a physical space in foreign
land is a costly affair
◦ Virtual marketing teams enables organisation
to reap the benefit of having a local presence,
and yet have the same or increased efficiency
of a traditional face-to-face centralised office.

FLEXIBILITY
◦ Employees can work from any location
◦ Local business associates and clients expect to have a local base so that
they are able to interact with them
◦ Do not have any time bound, and have the flexibility of working as per
the need of the hour
◦ Virtual marketing team will ensure that the work is done smoothly,
without the interruption in time zone

DIVERSE WORKFORCE
◦ Important to hire people who will understand the local culture and customs
◦ a significant factor in cross-cultural negotiations
◦ virtual team comprising of local workforce will reap the benefit of staying local but
thinking global
◦ help in fostering diverse talents in the organisation
◦ head office makes little effort and expense in training employees in cultural
differences between the two countries

OPPOSITION TO VIRTUAL
TEAMS
◦ Opponents of virtual teams opines that the virtual teams are detrimental to
organisational culture
◦ Lack of supervision decreases the efficiency level
◦ Stanford professor Nicholas Bloom researched that people telecommuting
have better concentration on their jobs
◦ Video conferencing and virtual face-to-face meetings enables one to connect
with people from distant places easily
◦ Staying connected has helped to develop a sense of community and
understanding among various teams

CONCLUSION
◦ Virtual teams have the advantage
over traditional face-to-face team
◦ No expense of building or renting out
a physical space in foreign countries
◦ Virtual teams have the flexibility and
autonomy to enjoy a work-life
balance
◦ Digital communication system
enables virtual teams to collaborate
and develop a trusting relationship

REFERENCES
◦ Bloom, N., Liang, J., Roberts, J. and Ying, Z. (2014). Does Working from Home
Work? Evidence from a Chinese Experiment *. The Quarterly Journal of
Economics, 130(1), pp.165-218.
◦ Fan, K.T., Chen, Y.H., Wang, C.W. and Chen, M., 2014. E-leadership effectiveness in
virtual teams: Motivating language perspective. Industrial Management & Data
Systems, 114(3), pp.421-437.
◦ GILSON, L. L. et al. (2015). Virtual Teams Research: 10 Years, 10 Themes, and 10
Opportunities. Journal of Management, 41(5), pp.1313–1337.
◦ Hofstede, G. (1985). THE INTERACTION BETWEEN NATIONAL AND
ORGANIZATIONAL VALUE SYSTEMS. Journal of Management Studies, 22(4),
pp.347-357.
◦ Jean Louis, R. and Simons, D., 2014. Business Cycles Synchronicity and Income
Levels: Has Globalisation Brought us Closer Than Ever?. The world economy,
37(5), pp.592-624.