Strategies for Training Managers to Effectively Manage Virtual Teams

This essay, written for an International Management course, addresses the challenges and strategies associated with managing virtual teams in a global context. It begins by defining virtual teams and highlighting their increasing prevalence in multinational companies. The author, in the role of an IT Director, identifies key challenges such as weak communication, lack of trust, and time zone differences. The core of the essay focuses on providing practical strategies to mitigate these challenges. These include establishing diverse communication tools, emphasizing the importance of technologically savvy managers, advocating for video conferencing over emails, and utilizing project management tools. The essay concludes by reiterating the importance of these strategies for ensuring productivity and success in virtual team environments. The essay draws upon various scholarly sources to support its arguments and provides actionable recommendations for managers.

Running head: INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT
INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Introduction
In recent times, the age of globalization has led to many organisations expanding their
business in other countries for more productivity and sales. This makes companies have different
set of employees working from the locations where the business has expanded their business
which leads to the creation of virtual teams in the organisation. Virtual terms are mainly defined
as the group of people who work coherently and together from various geographical locations
and operate solely based on the innovative communication technology like FAX, video
conferencing, e-mail and many more for effective and positive collaboration (Stocker et al 2017).
It is very difficult to handle and manage global virtual teams because of the distance thus, it is
important for companies and the managers to be able to manage virtual teams successfully. This
paper is going to focus on coming up with strategies that will help in training the managers to
ensure that they manage virtual teams effectively and also discuss the challenges that they face in
this scenario and provide recommendations to overcome the issue.
Discussion
I have been currently assigned as the Information Technology Director for a company.
The company is a multinational company which has their other offices set up in different
continents like Europe and Asia. The company has incorporated various virtual teams in their
organisations in order to lower their costs, have more availability of talent, reduction of the travel
time and many more. However, virtual teams often possess some challenges for the managers of
an organisation. A manager while managing the virtual teams may often face the following
challenges:

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Weak communication
According to research, communication is one of the biggest weaknesses in virtual teams
as it lacks the face to face communication which restricts from building a positive relationship
between the manager and the team which is essential for fruitful performances and productivity
of the organisation (Marlow, Lacerenza and Salas 2017). The members of the virtual teams often
go days without having any kind of contact with one another which can also make the members
of the teams feel isolated which can lead to demotivation in the workplace.
Lack of trust
Managing virtual team becomes difficult for the managers because of the geographical
distance. Lohikoski et al (2015) states virtual teams tend to create mistrust among the members
of the team. This is mainly because they do not work together for a sufficient amount of time,
they cannot see what the other is doing and the lack of immediate responses often leads to the
mistrust. This creates a negative atmosphere and relationship among the team members which
hampers the productivity of the organisation as well as the employees working in different teams
making it difficult for the managers to ensure the proper productivity of the teams.
Differences in the time zone
This is one of the major challenges while handling a virtual team. As the members of the
teams live in different geographical locations they have time differences. The team residing in
one country might work at the time when the members of the countries are not working which
can create difficulty in operating and also creates a huge challenge for the proper production.
Thus, meetings are conducted by the managers for coming up with solutions which will help
them in managing global virtual teams effectively.

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There are many other challenges which the managers face while managing virtual teams
at a global level. However, the above challenges are the most common which have a negative
effect on the operations of the team, the organisation which results in the poor performance and
productivity of the organisation. Thus, the following strategies and tips should be followed by
the managers in order to effectively manage the virtual teams in Asia and Europe.
Establish various communication tools
Communication is one of the most important factors in an organisation which helps in the
fruitful production of the organisation and also helps in build a positive environment. Thus,
various communication tools should be incorporated in the workplace by the manager.
According to scholars, incorporating different communication tools in the organisation will help
in improving the communication in the workplace and will ensure that the urgent message or
information is received by the correct person immediately (Dulebohn and Hoch 2017). This will
help in overcoming the issue of communication which the managers generally follow.
Technologically savvy
Managers need to be technologically savvy and need to have an interest in new
technologies as majority of the work are done by communicating through technology or used by
technology in virtual teams. This will help the managers in explaining the work efficiently for
the proper operations of the organisation.
Choose video conferencing over e-mails
With the advent of internet and innovative technological devices, e-mail and Skype are at
the fingertips of every people. It is very tempting to send a chat or an e-mail for faster delivery of
message however; this can create misunderstanding among the employees if they are unable to

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decode the message sent effectively. Thus, video conferencing or calls in a regular basis by the
managers can help in avoiding misunderstandings and provide a clear vision and mission
statement to the employees so that they work effectively as per the goals set by the organisation.
Nemiro (2016) state video conferencing especially when there are virtual teams helps in
connecting the team members on a personal level. The positive relationship with the manager
and the team members are necessary to work properly.
Use of project management tools
Project management tools are considered to be ideal for maintaining and tracking
deadlines. These tools also send reminders and alerts for deadlines and also give an overview of
what are the goals that needs to be achieved. Using these will help the managers constantly
check on the virtual teams and manage them successfully.
Conclusion
Majority of the organisations these days have been incorporating virtual teams in their
organisation because of the distance of the locations. However, handing and managing virtual
teams are a difficult job because of the distance and the lack of communication which causes
various challenges for the managers and hampers the production of the team. Thus, the managers
need to have proper skills and practice certain methods like be technologically savvy and use
project management tools in order to efficiently handle virtual teams and ensure the productivity
and profit of the company.

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Reference
Dulebohn, J.H. and Hoch, J.E., 2017. Virtual teams in organizations.
Lohikoski, P., Kujala, J., Haapasalo, H., Härkönen, J. and Ala-Mursula, L., 2015. Managing
barriers of virtual communication in global new product development projects. IJNVO, 15(4),
pp.277-298.
Marlow, S.L., Lacerenza, C.N. and Salas, E., 2017. Communication in virtual teams: A
conceptual framework and research agenda. Human Resource Management Review, 27(4),
pp.575-589.
Nemiro, J.E., 2016. Connection in creative virtual teams. Journal of Behavioral and Applied
Management, 2(2), p.814.
Stocker, F., Abib, G., Fürbringer, G.V. and Lourenço, M.L., 2017. Virtual teams and
multiculturality: differences and impacts of organizational culture in an IT
company. REBRAE, 11(1), pp.35-55.

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