Working virtually and Understanding Diversity in Teams
For the final week we will examining virtual and multicultural teams. More specifically we will look at defining what they are and the implications for managing team performance.
Upon completion of this module, you will be able to:
1. Describe the Place-Time model of social interaction.
2. Discuss the key factors to expect when interacting with a team via information technology.
3. Explain the challenges of cross-cultural teamwork.
4. Identify the various approaches to managing multicultural teams.
Listen to a brief audio introduction to the module:]
So this week we’re obviously going to be looking at Virtual teams those teams that are not physically present when working together working virtually and Understanding diversity and how that can be an effective means of coming up with creative solutions, creative ideas, innovative ideas, and so forth. So how do teams manage themselves when they’re virtually driven and are diverse and that is of course a lot different than when they’re in a physical presence of somebody. So we’re looking and exploring the different elements of that concept. Again if there’s any questions please use the question form and have a great week.
To achieve these objectives:
1. Read textbook chapter 12 – Virtual Teamwork and chapter 13 – Multicultural Teams.
2. Read article Behfar, Et al (2006). Managing challenges in multicultural teams.
3. Watch the video below ‘Managing Cross Cultural Remote Teams’.
4. Complete Module 7 Discussion below.
Respond to the questions in the forum below..
1. What are the major effects of the physical separation of group members? How can distance, in some cases, be beneficial to groups and teams?
2. What are some key differences between individualistic and collectivistic cultural values?