Exploring Virtual Project Teams in the Construction Industry

This research paper examines the application of virtual project teams within the construction industry, drawing from successful implementations in other sectors. It defines virtual project teams as groups of professionals separated by geographical, temporal, and psychological distances, relying on telecommunication tools to achieve common construction objectives. The paper discusses the structure of virtual teams, emphasizing inputs like team duration and technical expertise, socio-emotional processes to build trust, task processes involving communication and coordination, and outputs such as completed construction projects. It highlights the environmental and economic benefits of virtual teams, including access to global markets and reduced pollution, while also addressing barriers like lack of trust, communication issues, and time zone differences. The study concludes by advocating for the use of virtual teams to improve construction outcomes, offering insights into optimizing team dynamics and overcoming common challenges. Desklib provides access to this and other solved assignments.

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VIRTUAL PROJECT TEAMS IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
A Research Paper on Virtual teams by
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This research reviews the virtual project teams in the construction industry by providing an overview
of the application of virtual project teams in numerous industries that have successfully implemented
it.

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Keywords
Virtual communication, Processes, Virtual teams,
the Construction industry, Benefits
1. Introduction
1.1 Overview of Virtual Project Teams
The virtual project terms can be defined as a group
of working professional who is separated by
temporal distance, psychological, and geographical
distances. The virtual terms utilize the tools in
telecommunication for social and business
communication so as to attain the construction
requirements of working towards and attaining the
common objectives.
1.2 Context of Virtual Project Teams
The virtual construction project teams are also
referred to as the remote team, distributed team, or
geographically dispersed teams and it involves a
group of people who work together from diverse
geographical locations and depends on
telecommunication technology like video or voice
conferencing services, FAX, or email.
2. Virtual Teams Formation
There are three different concepts to the
virtual project teams in the construction
industry, these aspects include the links,
people, and purposes. While the purpose is a
significant feature in all construction
industries, it is also the most crucial feature
for virtual project teams since it is what
holds together the virtual project teams. The
virtual project teams in construction teams
do not have any hierarchy or any other
popular structures since they may not be
from one construction industry, and the
purpose is what brings them together and
holds the project teams [1].
3. Structure of Virtual Teams
The four major factors making up the
structure of the virtual teams in a
construction industry include the inputs,

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socio-emotional processes, outputs, and task
processes. The figure below shows the
structure of the virtual project teams:
Figure 1: Structure of virtual project teams [2]
2.1.1 Input
The inputs in the virtual project team in the
construction industry include the length of team
duration, training, technical expertise, and design.
The length of team duration determined the
effectiveness of the team. Longer duration teams
build group identity and satisfaction in term
performance [3].
2.1.2 Socio-emotional Process
This section involves the emotional problems
involved as well as the tactics to mitigate these
problems so as to attain the trust and cohesion
amount the virtual project team members. There is a
need for face-to-face meetings so as to build the
relationship and interpersonal bonds.
2.1.3 Task Process
These are actions performed by the team
members so as to attain the objectives and
the completion of the construction project.
During the construction process by the team,
some of the key factors involved include
communication, coordination, and
technology structure.
2.1.4 Outputs
These are the outcome of the work process
such as the construction project completed
by the virtual project team members [4].
4. Benefits of Virtual Project Teams
The virtual project teams is beneficial
environmentally since it assist in
accessing the global leasing, parking,
lodging, travel, and markets and also
reduce car pollution. The concept also

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promotes the recruitment of different
experiences and perspectives to the
project [2].
5. Barriers of Virtual Project Teams
The major barriers of virtual project teams include
lack of trust among members, communication
barriers, security and compatibility, and also time
zone differences [5].
6. Conclusion and Recommendation
The virtual project terms in the construction
industry utilize the tools in telecommunication for
social and business communication so as to attain
the construction requirements of working towards
and attaining the common objectives.
References
[1] P. Brandon, Virtual Futures for Design, Construction and Procurement, Toledo: John Wiley &
Sons, 2009.
[2] P. Chinowsky, Virtual Teams: A Guide to Successful Implementation, New York: Construction
Industry Institute, 2010.
[3] T. Cornick, Construction Project Teams: Making Them Work Profitably, Michigan: Thomas
Telford, 2009.
[4] P. Jorge, Virtual Modelling and Rapid Manufacturing: Advanced Research in Virtual and Rapid
Prototyping Proc. 2nd Int. Conf. on Advanced Research in Virtual and Rapid Prototyping,
Melbourne: CRC Press, 2011.
[5] A. Walker, Project Management in Construction, Perth: John Wiley & Sons, 2015.

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