DE Oracle @ UMUC

The Hidden Value of Virtual Teams (Part I)

Lucia Worthington

Collegiate Faculty

School of Undergraduate Studies

Published: May-June 2006

Category: » Online-pedagogy » Group-team-projects

The School of Undergraduate Studies' Business and Management department requires that all BMGT students do group work, recognizing this reality of the world of business. Students rarely welcome group work until they understand its value, are coached in creating a team structure, and learn techniques that make their projects easier and that result in teams that are productive and "sing." This two-part article describes one professor's approach to helping students see the hidden value of virtual teams and work effectively together.

Part 1 (below) outlines the process Professor Lucia Worthington uses to manage, motivate, and encourage her students into sharing and learning as much as they can from the group assigments required in her class.

Part II, discusses support materials, monitoring and feedback, managing dysfunctional teams, and assessment and feedback.

State the Mandate

Students in my management principles (BMGT364) and strategic management (BMGT495) courses know from day one that group work will count for 20% of the course work and that there are no options but to learn and participate in the process. This mandate to comply is simply stated in the syllabus and serves as a contractual obligation to learn and apply management principles in a practical, useful, and hopefully, energizing way.

Overcome Resistance

Experience has taught me that many students have had bad experiences doing group projects, having had to carry a major work load while team members who didn't do their fair share have gotten an easy or free ride by getting the same grade as the one(s) who did most of the work. In the first week of class, I acknowledge grudges and bad past experiences about team work with a class conference that asks each student for the best tips on managing teams. This brings students into the course by engaging them to think about what did not work and makes them responsible for finding good solutions on making teams productive and holding team members accountable. Constructive venting among the class in the first week uncovers dysfunctional situations, offers useful solutions, and creates ownership of these solutions.

The conference is valued at 2% points of the course grade and counts towards the group work percentage as well. This grade incentive tends to produce 100% participation, and we are off to a good start.

Clarify the Value

Most students do not know why team work is important and how it can benefit them in their careers. To motivate them and create incentives, I outline the following points:

• In today's world, teams are necessary for problem solving because the world has become too complex for one person to know it all.
• Employers value team players and more so if they are experienced virtual team players.
• Effective teams balance the strengths and weaknesses of their members by buffering the weaknesses of each with the talents and strengths of all.
• Teams distribute the work load and expedite the project. Example: One member may spend a week on a case study while five members can complete the case study in a day and have fun as they gain momentum.
• Teams tend to be more creative when members learn to work together and explore new ways of doing things.
• Virtual teams decrease travel and labor costs.
• Teams can help build and maintain communities, create synergy, and increase stakeholder commitment.

Use Good Management Principles

Teams use the four management functions that are fundamental to the course and management in general. They are:

1. Planning
2. Organizing
3. Leading
4. Controlling

The four management functions also provide the structure for the team process.

Establish the Structure

Structure drives processes and gives students a sense of control when they know how the team game is to be played.

Group Formation

Size: I prefer odd numbers for tie breakers and five students per team. Much depends on the class size as well, but five is ideal. I may increase some teams to six if class sizes are not divisible by five.

Composition: I prefer heterogeneous groups with a mix in age, gender, ethnicity, maturity and skill levels. Care should be taken to disburse ESL students and not have too many weak English speakers in one group.

Member Expectations: Students are reminded to read the group process section that looks at each stage of group formation to get a reality check on their own group formation process. The processes are forming, storming, norming, performing, adjourning.

Structural Support

When I set up the Webtycho virtual Study Group area, I do the following:

• Set up each group area by name and number using up-beat names such as, "The Transportation in Motion Team" or "The Big Bucks Finance Consortium." Or I ask groups to choose their own image-making name; this helps the bonding process.
• Post a recap of the group assignments in each group area.
• Propose a structure, to include
  • Team member self-introductions, to include strengths and weaknesses and time availability.
  • Organization: Suggest that each team create a separate topic for each group project and subtopics, to include tasks, timelines, and group assessment.
  • Communications: Remind students to work within their group areas and keep all communications posted in order to archive the process. Emails to each other are to be used sparingly, and all email should be posted in a separate conference titled "Email Archives" so that a record of all interaction is maintained. Chats should also be recorded and posted in the group conference as part of the communications record.
• Let teams know I will "stop by" occasionally, but they are to be self-managed and learn to manage the process independently.