STRUCTURING VIRTUAL TEAMS
STRUCTURING VIRTUAL TEAMS
Assignment Overview
The Case Assignments for this course are tightly coordinated with the SLP and the TD. In the SLP, you will be working with a virtual team comprising several of your classmates. In the Case, you will be considering the more conceptual topics that will guide you in structuring your team and its work. Your task is to apply what you learn from preparing the Cases to the way you build your team. The exception is Module 4, where the Case involves an assessment of your team and the SLP an action plan for improvement and learning. The goal is that by the end of the course you will have had a chance to learn and practice what current management “gurus” are telling us about how to work in virtual teams, and will be in a position to analyze how effective these practices are.
Case Assignment
Arguably the trickiest part of building and maintaining an effective virtual team is the task of balancing “togetherness” and “apartness.” Some insight was given to this question in the background reading. Now read an additional piece, which expands on this theme:
Mapping out the creative process and work design approach. Retrieved from http://media.wiley.com/product_data/excerpt/46/07879711/0787971146.pdf
After considering the material in this reading as well as the background readings and any other research material you choose to use, reflect on how a virtual team best addresses the balance between togetherness and apartness. Specifically, you will want to think about how the work in virtual teams is designed as well as how leadership is handled. For example:
What are the options for work design and leadership of virtual teams?
How do task requirements and team characteristics affect the choices of work design and leadership (such as rotating, etc.)? Be specific and give examples if appropriate.
Make an assessment of the effectiveness of the structures/practices covered by the readings in this module for virtual teaming. (In other words, do they work, or are the authors of the readings hopelessly out of touch with reality?)
Assignment Expectations
Your paper (which should be from 4 to 5 pages), will be evaluated using the following five (5) criteria:
Assignment-Driven Criteria (Precision and Breadth): Does the paper fully address all assignment expectations? Are the concepts behind the assignment addressed accurately and precisely using sound logic? Does the paper meet minimum length requirements?
Critical Thinking (Critical Thinking and Depth): Does the paper demonstrate graduate-level analysis, in which information derived from multiple sources, expert opinions, and assumptions has been critically evaluated and synthesized in the formulation of a logical set of conclusions? Does the paper address the topic with sufficient depth of discussion and analysis?
Business Writing (Clarity and Organization): Is the paper well written (clear, developed logically, and well organized)? Are the grammar, spelling, and vocabulary appropriate for graduate-level work? Are section headings included in all papers? Are paraphrasing and synthesis of concepts the primary means of responding to the assignment, or is justification/support instead conveyed through excessive use of direct quotations?
Effective Use of Information (Information Literacy and References): Does the paper demonstrate that the student has read, understood and can apply the background materials for the module? If required, has the student demonstrated effective research, as evidenced by student’s use of relevant and quality (library?) sources? Do additional sources used in paper provide strong support for conclusions drawn, and do they help in shaping the overall paper?
Citing Sources: Does the student demonstrate understanding of APA Style of referencing, by inclusion of proper end references and in-text citations (for paraphrased text and direct quotations) as appropriate? Have all sources (e.g., references used from the Background page, the assignment readings, and outside research) been included, and are these properly cited? Have all end references been included within the body of the paper as in-text citations?
MGT508 Leadership Of Team
Module 1 SLP
STRUCTURING VIRTUAL TEAMS
Introduction
The SLP and the Discussion work together in this course. You will be working with several classmates as a virtual team in a competitive game. The SLP is a series of group papers that document the process you go through as you organize your team and compete in the game.
The Discussion is where you hold your virtual team meetings and make group decisions. In this module you will be organizing the team, so be sure to respond to the Discussion that is set up for your team right away, even if just to introduce yourself. Failure to engage early in the Discussion can cause difficulties for both you and the team. This can be costly in terms of your time as well as team cohesion. It is the most efficient use of your time to stay involved with the Discussion, even if you do not have time to write the Cases and SLP.
The SLP: An Experience in Virtual Teaming
While the Cases are individual work, the SLP is an experiential exercise in virtual teams. You will be working with the others assigned to your team in the Discussion to produce your team’s SLP papers. So while there is one group grade for the SLP paper, your grade for the Discussion evaluates the individual contribution you made toward the paper.
Even though these are team papers, you will each need to submit your own copy. Make sure to note all team members who participated in developing/writing the paper on the cover sheet.
Tools Available to You to Facilitate Your Teamwork
Your Trident e-mail account comes with several tools that can help you facilitate your team’s work including:
University Email, found on the TLC Portal Home Page, https://mytlc.trident.edu/index.php. Look under Tools and Links.
Trident Email Account can be accessed using your mobile phone to access information in your e-mail account, you can do this through Microsoft (Office 365). To find instructions, visit the Trident Tech Support site at http://support.trident.edu/ and click on “Access the Student Support Site.” Then select “Set Up Your E-Mail Account on Your Mobile Phone.” Note that this is not a Trident feature, and the Trident Tech Support Team is not staffed to help with mobile phone set-ups should you need assistance.
Shared calendars to easily coordinate schedules with team members.
Messages/Pager ability to send instant messages within the classroom to faculty or students.
A number of additional tools can be used to facilitate your team’s work. Many of these are discussed in Module 2, but tools that allow your team to work on a single version of a paper – rather than emailing various versions back-and-forth – can be extremely helpful. Here is a link to some free resources you may want to try to simplify and coordinate your team’s work:
Falconer, J. (n.d.) 10 free tools for collaboration. Lifehack. Retrieved from http://www.lifehack.org/articles/technology/10-free-tools-for-collaboration.html
Hint for Success
It may be that as the term progresses, your team decides to use some of the above features, or even move on to other forms of collaboration tools (see Module 2), and that is OK. Just keep in mind that you want to be sure that all team members (as well as the instructor) have access to the same information, whether they are concurrently involved with the team’s work, or checking in at a later time. In addition, at the risk of jumping ahead, it is critical in a virtual team to keep a record of team activities that is accessible to all team members, whether these activities involve telephone conferences, a blog, a wiki—or whatever method you decide to use. Most teams do this by posting summaries or minutes of group activities/communications on the Discussion. Your professor will be evaluating your contribution to your team by viewing your collaboration on the Discussion, so be sure your work is adequately represented there.
SLP Assignment Expectations
The SLP works as follows:
Review the instructions for the game below.
Locate your virtual team in the Discussion (Module 1 lists the team name and members) and check in.
3. Communicate with the rest of the team and decide what leadership structure and work design you will use.
Do not submit any list of tips yet, just use this time to get organized.
When you have finished getting organized, submit a 2- to 3-page report (the group paper). The report should include:
The name of the team. (I have assigned preliminary team names. You can keep the name or come up with your own name.)
The leadership structure and work design you chose for your team.
A critical evaluation of the process your team went through to get organized and make these initial decisions.
Keys to the SLP Assignments in this Course
The SLP in this course emphasizes critical thinking:
The SLP is an opportunity for you to put into practice the concepts covered in module—be sure to justify your choices in terms of the characteristics of the task and team membership.
Did your process resemble any of the models of team process presented in the background material? Was it something different?
Was it effective?
What problems did you run into? Were they resolved?
Your paper will be evaluated using the following five (5) criteria:
Assignment-Driven Criteria (Precision and Breadth): Does the paper fully address all the assignment requirements? Are the concepts behind the assignment addressed accurately and precisely using sound logic? Does the paper meet minimum length requirements?
Critical Thinking (Critical Thinking and Depth): Does the paper demonstrate graduate-level analysis, in which information derived from multiple sources, expert opinions, and assumptions has been critically evaluated and synthesized in the formulation of a logical set of conclusions? Does the paper address the topic with sufficient depth of discussion and analysis?
Business Writing (Clarity and Organization): Is the paper well written (clear, developed logically, and well organized)? Are the grammar, spelling, and vocabulary appropriate for graduate-level work? Are section headings included in all papers? Are paraphrasing and synthesis of concepts the primary means of responding to the assignment, or is justification/support instead conveyed through excessive use of direct quotations?
Effective Use of Information (Information Literacy and References): Does the paper demonstrate that the student has read, understood and can apply the background materials for the module? If required, has the student demonstrated effective research, as evidenced by student’s use of relevant and quality (library?) sources? Do additional sources used in paper provide strong support for conclusions drawn, and do they help in shaping the overall paper?
Citing Sources: Does the student demonstrate understanding of APA Style of referencing, by inclusion of proper end references and in-text citations (for paraphrased text and direct quotations) as appropriate? Have all sources (e.g., references used from the Background page, the assignment readings, and outside research) been included, and are these properly cited? Have all end references been included within the body of the paper as in-text citations?
Instructions for the Game
The game is called “Virtual Teams: 101 Tips.” Our goal is to generate a list of practical tips that can increase the effectiveness of virtual teams.
What’s in it for you? Four things:
You participate in a fun game.
You learn practical tips to improve your virtual teaming skills.
You share some practical tips with an eager audience.
You achieve fame: Your team get points and, if you are one of the top scorers, your name is placed in the Hall of Fame in the subsequent module.HOW TO PLAY. Your team needs to come up with a list of practical tips on how to manage a virtual team. Keep your tips brief (three or four sentences and not more than 50 words). Send at least one tip and not more than five tips before the end of Module 2. (Submit as part of the SLP.)
HOW TO WIN. Our panel of judges will select the top three tips at the end of each round. The best tip receives a bonus score of 70 points, the second-best 30 points, and the third-best 10 points. If you are among the top three scorers, your team members’ names are added to our Hall of Fame in the next module. This list is updated at the end of each round.
HOW TO CHEAT. Reflect on your own experience in teams that were not co-located and derive important tips. You can read the background materials or draw on any books, workshops, expert interviews, or surf the Internet to collect virtual teaming tips and rewrite them in your own words. Obviously, I don’t want you to violate copyright laws and we do want you to give credit where it is due. Finally, “mining” tips from past students in this course is completely out-of-bounds.
HOW TO SEND YOUR TIPS. Remember the limit of five tips per round.
The deadline for the first round is the end of Module 2.
Send your team’s tips as described in the module SLP instructions.
WHAT’S NEXT? We will continue this game until the end of Module 4. Every round I will update the list of virtual teaming tips and place them on our Threaded Discussion site in a separate forum titled the “Hall of Fame.” Review this list and continue sending additional tips that do not duplicate the tips already on the list.
MGT508 Leadership Of Team
Module 2 CASE
SUPPORTIVE TEAM CLIMATES
Assignment Overview
On the home page of this module, six different management and team competencies/conditions were described. In this case, you will reflect on how these competencies/conditions act either alone or with others, to create task and interpersonal connection.
Case Assignment
Read the following article:
A. T., Alsever, J., Hempel, J., & Roberts, D. (2014). The New Teamwork. Fortune, 169(6), 78-82.
You can find this article in the TUI library, in EBSCO, Business Source Complete database.
Then address the following:
Discuss how each competency and condition leads to either task and/or personal connection by contributing to goal clarity, loyalty, trust, or information sharing.
Explain your reasons with reference to the background materials and examples from the case reading or other research if needed.
Assignment Expectations
Your paper should be 4-5 pages and will be evaluated using the following five (5) criteria:
Assignment-Driven Criteria (Precision and Breadth): Does the paper fully address all assignment expectations? Are the concepts behind the assignment addressed accurately and precisely using sound logic? Does the paper meet minimum length requirements?
Critical Thinking (Critical Thinking and Depth): Does the paper demonstrate graduate-level analysis, in which information derived from multiple sources, expert opinions, and assumptions has been critically evaluated and synthesized in the formulation of a logical set of conclusions? Does the paper address the topic with sufficient depth of discussion and analysis?
Business Writing (Clarity and Organization): Is the paper well written (clear, developed logically, and well organized)? Are the grammar, spelling, and vocabulary appropriate for graduate-level work? Are section headings included in all papers? Are paraphrasing and synthesis of concepts the primary means of responding to the Keys to the Assignment, or is justification/support instead conveyed through excessive use of direct quotations?
Effective Use of Information (Information Literacy and References): Does the paper demonstrate that the student has read, understood and can apply the background materials for the module? If required, has the student demonstrated effective research, as evidenced by student’s use of relevant and quality (library?) sources? Do additional sources used in paper provide strong support for conclusions drawn, and do they help in shaping the overall paper?
Citing Sources: Does the student demonstrate understanding of APA Style of referencing, by inclusion of proper end references and in-text citations (for paraphrased text and direct quotations) as appropriate? Have all sources (e.g., references used from the Background page, the assignment readings, and outside research) been included, and are these properly cited? Have all end references been included within the body of the paper as in-text citations?
MGT508 Leadership Of Team
Module 2 SLP
SUPPORTIVE TEAM CLIMATES
In the Session Long Project for this course, you are working with several classmates as a virtual team on a competitive project. This project involves assessment of both group and individual work. Your team’s process and task output will serve as the material for this SLP. The Discussion is the “default method” to communicate with other team members, so respond to the Discussion that is set up for your team.
Review the rules for the team project, Virtual Teams: 101 Tips (Module 1 SLP). By now you should have met with your team several times and decided on a short list of tips to submit.
SLP Assignment Expectations
By the end of this module, submit your list of tips along with a 2- to 3-page analysis that addresses the following questions:
What did your team do to establish task and interpersonal connection? Be specific and incorporate the concepts for building task and interpersonal connectedness from this module’s materials.
Did your choice of collaboration tools support your efforts to establish connectedness? Explain why or why not.
What barriers did you encounter in trying to establish connectedness?
Did your team try to address these barriers with any of the methods described in the readings for this module?
Keys to the Assignment
The paper should have an Introduction, Main Body with Subsections, Conclusions, and Bibliography. Use APA style for references.
Be sure to take an analytical approach. I am more interested in “why” and “what you did that resulted in that outcome” than I am in mere description.
Be sure that each team member uploads a copy of the team paper for documentation purposes.
It works best if you break out your list of tips from the rest of the text and locate the bulleted list at the beginning of your paper.
Your paper will be evaluated using the following five (5) criteria:
Assignment-Driven Criteria (Precision and Breadth): Does the paper fully address all assignment expectations? Are the concepts behind the assignment addressed accurately and precisely using sound logic? Does the paper meet minimum length requirements?
Critical Thinking (Critical Thinking and Depth): Does the paper demonstrate graduate-level analysis, in which information derived from multiple sources, expert opinions, and assumptions has been critically evaluated and synthesized in the formulation of a logical set of conclusions? Does the paper address the topic with sufficient depth of discussion and analysis?
Business Writing (Clarity and Organization): Is the paper well written (clear, developed logically, and well organized)? Are the grammar, spelling, and vocabulary appropriate for graduate-level work? Are section headings included in all papers? Are paraphrasing and synthesis of concepts the primary means of responding to the Keys to the Assignment, or is justification/support instead conveyed through excessive use of direct quotations?
Effective Use of Information (Information Literacy and References): Does the paper demonstrate that the student has read, understood and can apply the background materials for the module? If required, has the student demonstrated effective research, as evidenced by student’s use of relevant and quality (library?) sources? Do additional sources used in paper provide strong support for conclusions drawn, and do they help in shaping the overall paper?
Citing Sources: Does the student demonstrate understanding of APA Style of referencing, by inclusion of proper end references and in-text citations (for paraphrased text and direct quotations) as appropriate? Have all sources (e.g., references used from the Background page, the assignment readings, and outside research) been included, and are these properly cited? Have all end references been included within the body of the paper as in-text citations?
After all teams have submitted their papers, you will be able to see the names of the highest scoring teams listed in the Hall of Fame in the next module’s discussion.
MGT508 Leadership Of Team
Module 3 CASE
TEAM NORMS AND PROCEDURES
Assignment Overview
In this module, the comment was made that norms are implicit and tend to develop over time. However, it was also observed that virtual teams cannot afford the luxury of such a passive process and need to take proactive steps to establish explicit norms.
Case Assignment
In this Case, you are asked to consider ways a virtual team can explicitly establish communication and task norms that support high performance. The following reading provides some additional ideas for how a co-located team could an engage in norm-setting. You should model your action plan for virtual teams after this type of analysis.
Case Reading
Karten, N. (2003). Creating Team Norms. Retrieved August 2009 from http://www.stickyminds.com/sitewide.asp?Function=edetail&ObjectType=COL&ObjectId=6736
Assignment Expectations
For this Case, complete the following:
Identify 10 specific behavioral norms (five communication and five task norms) that you feel are essential to the smooth performance of virtual teams.
Explain why you feel these norms are essential.
Propose a specific action plan virtual teams could use to develop and enforce task and communication norms.
Use the background readings to support your arguments.
Your paper will be evaluated using the following five (5) criteria:
Assignment-Driven Criteria (Precision and Breadth): Does the paper fully address all Keys to the Assignment? Are the concepts behind the Keys to the Assignment addressed accurately and precisely using sound logic? Does the paper meet minimum length requirements?
Critical Thinking (Critical Thinking and Depth): Does the paper demonstrate graduate-level analysis, in which information derived from multiple sources, expert opinions, and assumptions has been critically evaluated and synthesized in the formulation of a logical set of conclusions? Does the paper address the topic with sufficient depth of discussion and analysis?
Business Writing (Clarity and Organization): Is the paper well written (clear, developed logically, and well organized)? Are the grammar, spelling, and vocabulary appropriate for graduate-level work? Are section headings included in all papers? Are paraphrasing and synthesis of concepts the primary means of responding to the Keys to the Assignment, or is justification/support instead conveyed through excessive use of direct quotations?
Effective Use of Information (Information Literacy and References): Does the paper demonstrate that the student has read, understood and can apply the background materials for the module? If required, has the student demonstrated effective research, as evidenced by student’s use of relevant and quality (library?) sources? Do additional sources used in paper provide strong support for conclusions drawn, and do they help in shaping the overall paper?
Citing Sources: Does the student demonstrate understanding of APA Style of referencing, by inclusion of proper end references and in-text citations (for paraphrased text and direct quotations) as appropriate? Have all sources (e.g., references used from the Background page, the assignment readings, and outside research) been included, and are these properly cited? Have all end references been included within the body of the paper as in-text citations?
This should be a 4- to 5-page paper and can be turned in by the end of the module
MGT508 Leadership Of Team
Module 3 SLP
TEAM NORMS AND PROCEDURES
In the Session Long Project for this course, you are working with several classmates as a virtual team on a competitive project. This project involves assessment of both group and individual work. Your team’s process and task output will serve as the material for this SLP. Remember to respond to the Discussion that is set up for your team.
Review the rules for the team project, “Virtual Teams: 101 Tips.” At this point your team has submitted one list of tips. You will now prepare a second list of original tips.
SLP Assignment Expectations
By the end of this module, submit your list of tips along with a 2- to 3-page analysis that addresses the norms that were developed by your team. It is possible that your list of norms could be quite lengthy. Try to limit your paper to a few of the most important ones.
Keys to the Assignment
Identify at least two communication and two task norms that operate in your team. Remember that norms can be “unspoken.”
What problems/limitations did you run across due to lack of norms governing your team’s behavior?
Did you try anything to overcome the obstacles? How did it work?
What norms do you think your team should have established to make your work go more smoothly?
This checklist may help you evaluate your team’s norms. Many teams find it helpful to use the Discussion to discuss the norms on this checklist that apply to your team:
Team Norms. (n.d.). http://www.wilsonmar.com/teamnorm.htm#Assembly
Your paper will be evaluated using the following five (5) criteria:Assignment-Driven Criteria (Precision and Breadth): Does the paper fully address all Keys to the Assignment? Are the concepts behind the Keys to the Assignment addressed accurately and precisely using sound logic? Does the paper meet minimum length requirements?
Critical Thinking (Critical Thinking and Depth): Does the paper demonstrate graduate-level analysis, in which information derived from multiple sources, expert opinions, and assumptions has been critically evaluated and synthesized in the formulation of a logical set of conclusions? Does the paper address the topic with sufficient depth of discussion and analysis?
Business Writing (Clarity and Organization): Is the paper well written (clear, developed logically, and well organized)? Are the grammar, spelling, and vocabulary appropriate for graduate-level work? Are section headings included in all papers? Are paraphrasing and synthesis of concepts the primary means of responding to the Keys to the Assignment, or is justification/support instead conveyed through excessive use of direct quotations?
Effective Use of Information (Information Literacy and References): Does the paper demonstrate that the student has read, understood and can apply the background materials for the module? If required, has the student demonstrated effective research, as evidenced by student’s use of relevant and quality (library?) sources? Do additional sources used in paper provide strong support for conclusions drawn, and do they help in shaping the overall paper?
Citing Sources: Does the student demonstrate understanding of APA Style of referencing, by inclusion of proper end references and in-text citations (for paraphrased text and direct quotations) as appropriate? Have all sources (e.g., references used from the Background page, the assignment readings, and outside research) been included, and are these properly cited? Have all end references been included within the body of the paper as in-text citations?
After all teams have submitted their papers, you will be able to see the names of the highest scoring teams listed in the Hall of Fame.
MGT508 Leadership Of Team
Module 4 CASE
CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT
Assignment Overview
In the Case for this module, you will be conducting a personal evaluation of your team for the 101 Tips exercise. In reality, you have been assessing the team all the way through the course, but in this Case you are going to condense your analysis into a format that will become the basis for an action plan for continuous improvement and team learning in the SLP for this module. So review your SLPs, Cases and Discussion forums from Modules 1-3, and for each question on the left side of the table, answer yes or no and list appropriate actions for improvement on the right side. The finished table should be about 3-5 pages.
Assignment Expectations
You will turn in just the table for this Case, but be sure that the presentation is professional. For example, make sure page breaks do not break up text, and align the answers in the right-hand cells with the related question on the left.
The following form is adapted from table 8.1: Actions for growth and improvement. In Nemiro, J. E. (2004). Creativity in Virtual Teams: Key Components for Success. Pfeifer, San Francisco: CA. p. 281.
Team Process
Assessment and Improvement
Design:
Are there adequate opportunities for idea generation, development, finalization and closure, and evaluation?
Is there an appropriate balance of periods for the team to work together, work apart, and then work together again?
Is the chosen leadership structure optimal for guiding the team in its path toward creative results?
Climate:
Does the team have adequate procedures and forums for establishing task connection?
Does the team have ways to build and maintain interpersonal connection?
Are the appropriate team and management conditions and competencies present?
Resources:
Does the team have an agreed-upon personalized communication plan in place to specify the communication tools used, the frequency of the use of those tools, and the purpose for which they are used?
Does the team make relevant use of collaboration tools?
Norms and Procedures:
Does the team have agreed-upon communication norms that guide its communication behavior?
Does the team have an agreed-upon set of norms to assist in the management and accomplishment of the team project and tasks?
Continuous Improvement:
Does the team have procedures in place for capturing knowledge for later assessment and learning?
Does the team set aside adequate time to actively review and assess its work and subsequently learn from this assessment?
This case can be turned in by the end of this module.
MGT508 Leadership Of Team
Module 4 SLP
CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT
SLP Assignment Expectations
In this final SLP, you will construct a simplified action plan with your team to foster continuous improvement and team learning. Each team member will submit his/her own copy of the same team plan. Plans should be 2-3 pages.
To construct your plan, review your assessment from the Case for this module. Then, as a team, choose one improvement for each team process and clearly define the steps your team would have to take to achieve this improvement. Present the steps in a logical order and propose a date by which these steps could be completed, if your team were to stay together. Setting a realistic completion date is an essential part of any action plan.
Keys to the Assignment
The format for this SLP is flexible. You could consider a list, a chart, or a timeline. Be creative and have fun with it! The following optional reading may help you with your action plan:
Writing an Action Plan based on your assessment. (n.d.) Retrieved from http://www.njsacc.org/qualityStandards/pdfs/9_Writing-an-Action-Plan.pdf
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