MGT 508 Structuring Virtual Teams Paper
Trident University
Module 1 Case Assignment
MGT 508:
Dr. Virginia Johnson
5 Aug 14
Structuring Virtual Teams
Virtual teams are those in which “team members are geographically distributed, requiring them to work together through electronic means with minimal face-to-face interaction (Malhotra, Majchrzak, & Rosen, 2007).” As more companies become global and are looking for ways to cut costs, virtual teams are starting to become the norm, making it important to understand the dynamics of virtual teams. This paper will discuss the approaches to the creative process, work design, leadership structure, and principles to make virtual teams successful. It will conclude with my personal assessment of the documents covering these elements.
Approaches to Creativity
Team creative processes and how teams go about problem solving fall into one of three approaches (Nemiro, 2004). The first being the linear approach, which is viewed as a logical problem-solving process (Nemiro, 2004) such as the eight-step Simplex Process developed by Min Basadur (MindTools.com, 2007). The second is the intuitive approach, which involves intuition and insight (Nemiro, 2004). The last …show more content…
For instance, the linear creative processes for virtual teams tend to include four steps instead of eight (Nemiro, 2004). Additionally, virtual teams are often provided with a defined problem at the start thus eliminating some of the more traditional steps of the linear approach models (Nemiro, 2004). Intuition and insight also play a role in the creative process for virtual teams but are more focused during the initial agreement of which ideas should move on to the next stage (Nemiro, 2004). All of these differences can be attributed to the fast pace communication done electronically and the need to be cost-effective while at the same time responding to the demands of their customers and the evolving market (Nemiro,
Module 1 Case Assignment
MGT 508:
Dr. Virginia Johnson
5 Aug 14
Structuring Virtual Teams
Virtual teams are those in which “team members are geographically distributed, requiring them to work together through electronic means with minimal face-to-face interaction (Malhotra, Majchrzak, & Rosen, 2007).” As more companies become global and are looking for ways to cut costs, virtual teams are starting to become the norm, making it important to understand the dynamics of virtual teams. This paper will discuss the approaches to the creative process, work design, leadership structure, and principles to make virtual teams successful. It will conclude with my personal assessment of the documents covering these elements.
Approaches to Creativity
Team creative processes and how teams go about problem solving fall into one of three approaches (Nemiro, 2004). The first being the linear approach, which is viewed as a logical problem-solving process (Nemiro, 2004) such as the eight-step Simplex Process developed by Min Basadur (MindTools.com, 2007). The second is the intuitive approach, which involves intuition and insight (Nemiro, 2004). The last …show more content…
For instance, the linear creative processes for virtual teams tend to include four steps instead of eight (Nemiro, 2004). Additionally, virtual teams are often provided with a defined problem at the start thus eliminating some of the more traditional steps of the linear approach models (Nemiro, 2004). Intuition and insight also play a role in the creative process for virtual teams but are more focused during the initial agreement of which ideas should move on to the next stage (Nemiro, 2004). All of these differences can be attributed to the fast pace communication done electronically and the need to be cost-effective while at the same time responding to the demands of their customers and the evolving market (Nemiro,