Virtual teams
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Unit8 Team building Managing teams across different countries and cultures Virtual teams: global harmony is their dream If managing diversity in the work- place is a tough task for business leaders, the challenges of keeping executives from different backgrounds working together efficiently in various parts of the world is even more difficult. ‘One of the things you should take into account is whether your team includes members who don’t speak English well,’ says Joanne Yates, a professor of management at MIT Sloan, who has studied the use of communication and information systems in companies. ‘Any good virtual team has a communication plan that includes weekly conference calls or e-mail check-ins, but with a virtual team where not everyone speaks English well, the regular report-ins should be in written mode rather than by phone or conference call.’ The other advantage of e-mail communications is that, for those working in different time zones, group messages can be responded to when it is convenient, reducing the need for early morning or late night calls. At the same time, using e-mail can remove much of the hierarchy of professional communications, since many executives find it far less intimidating to send an e-mail to someone in a senior position than to telephone them. However, cultural or behavioral differences that can manifest themselves in face-to-face working situations can be exacerbated in virtual team working, particularly when the group has members from different backgrounds. One reason for this is that, when one is physically immersed in a new culture, it takes less time to adapt to the social norms and become aware of cultural sensitivities. So those trying to do this at a distance may find it tougher to fit in, increasing the potential for misunderstandings between team members. ‘You don’t build the relationships in the same way as you do working face-to-face,’ says Martin Calpin, managing psychologist at Pearn Kandola, a UK-based research business and consultancy of occupational psychologists. Prof Yates points out that, when people in professional groups come from different backgrounds or cultures, it is often useful to appoint someone in the team who knows both cultures as the person responsible for setting the norms of working behavior during a project that is being carried out from different locations. And virtual working certainly does not eradicate the sort of cultural misunderstandings that can arise in a face-to-face situation. Prof Yates cites an online mini-conference she recently observed that took place between a group of US and Japanese executives working in the research and development unit of a Japanese company. ‘A Japanese executive was putting text into a window for instant messaging when one of the Americans started asking questions in the middle of the presentation,’ she explains. ‘That was not culturally familiar and required an instant response, which caused real problems.’ 1. Before looking at paragraph 1 again, complete the sentences below with correct forms of the verbs from the box. be include keep speak(x2) study work a) The challenges of…………….executives from different backgrounds ………………. together efficiently in various parts of the world are difficult. b) You should check whether your team………………members who don’t………………English well. c) Professor Joanne Yates has....................the use of communication and information systems in companies. d) With a virtual team where not everyone ........................... English well, the regular report-ins should………………in written mode rather than by phone or conference call. 2. Now find words or expressions in paragraph 1 that mean: a) a range of differences b) tasks or situations that test people’s abilities c) consider d) in preference to 3. Before looking at paragraph 2 again, put the correct preposition from the box into the following expressions. for(x2) in of to(x2) a) the advantage ………e-mail communications b) for people working ………different time zones c) respond ………messages d) reduce the need.............late night calls e) using e-mail ……….work exchanges f) find it intimidating……….telephone a senior manager 4. True or false (paragraph 3)? a) Problems with cultural or behavioral differences in a local team can be much worse in a virtual team. b) People trying to adapt to the social norms and cultural sensitivities of a virtual team can increase the misunderstandings between team members. c) According to Martin Galpin, people build relationships differently when they see each other. 5. Match the two halves of the sentences below, which summarize paragraph 5. a) You definitely cannot eliminate the kind of cultural misunderstandings that happen when a team meets in the same room… b) Prof Yates gives us a short online conference between a group of US and Japanese R&D executives… c) A Japanese executive was interrupted with questions from an American colleague… d) The fact that this was culturally unfamiliar and demanded an instant response... …as an example of this. …caused real problems. …by having virtual teams. …in the middle of his instant messaging presentation. 本文来源：https://www.wddqw.com/doc/d699c10ebceb19e8b8f6badd.html