Virtual R&D Teams

"Survey and case investigations on application of quality management tools and techniques in SMIs"

"Hi, My name is Jaya Lakhani and I am currently pursuing my final year MBA from Christ University Institute of Management, Bangalore. As a part of my final year dissertation I am working on a project to analyze the impact of team efficacy on the team effectiveness with special reference to the virtual teams. (A virtual team is a team which has some members working from geographically dispersed locations) If you are a part of such a team where in some of your team members work from different locations then I would request you to kindly fill up this questionnaire. This questionnaire is a standardized tool with 36 tested questions and thus your responses would provide me with valid and reliable results. I am very thankful to you for your valuable time and consideration in filling this form and helping me with my study. With warm Regards! "

"Research Article Cross-National Differences in Managers' Creativity Promoting Values Martin Hoegl, K. Praveen Parboteeah and Miriam Muethel"

"Korean International Joint Ventures; How the Exchange Climate Affects Tacit Knowledge Transfer from Foreign Parents"

"Antecedents and consequences of technology acquisition intent: empirical evidence from global high-tech industry"

Distributed Ideation

"Technology Use in the Virtual R&D Teams"

"Technology Use in the Virtual R&D Teams Problem statement: Although, literature proves the importance of the technology role in the effectiveness of virtual Research and Development (R&D) teams for new product development. However, the factors that make technology construct in a virtual R&D team are still ambiguous. The manager of virtual R&D teams for new product development does not know which type of technology should be used. Approach: To address the gap and answer the question, the study presents a set of factors that make a technology construct. The proposed construct modified by finding of the field survey (N = 240). We empirically examine the relationship between construct and its factors by employing the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). A measurement model built base on the 19 preliminary factors that extracted from literature review. The result shows 10 factors out of 19 factors maintaining to make technology construct. Results: These 10 technology factors can be grouped into two constructs namely Web base communication and Web base data sharing. The findings can help new product development managers of enterprises to concentrate in the main factors for leading an effective virtual R&D team. In addition, it provides a guideline for software developers as well. Conclusion: The second and third generation technologies are now more suitable for developing new products through virtual R&D teams."

"Technology Use in the Virtual R&D Teams Abstract: Problem statement: Although, literature proves the importance of the technology role in the effectiveness of virtual Research and Development (R&D) teams for new product development. However, the factors that make technology construct in a virtual R&D team are still ambiguous. The manager of virtual R&D teams for new product development does not know which type of technology should be used. Approach: To address the gap and answer the question, the study presents a set of factors that make a technology construct. The proposed construct modified by finding of the field survey (N = 240). We empirically examine the relationship between construct and its factors by employing the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). A measurement model built base on the 19 preliminary factors that extracted from literature review. The result shows 10 factors out of 19 factors maintaining to make technology construct. Results: These 10 technology factors can be grouped into two constructs namely Web base communication and Web base data sharing. The findings can help new product development managers of enterprises to concentrate in the main factors for leading an effective virtual R&D team. In addition, it provides a guideline for software developers as well. Conclusion: The second and third generation technologies are now more suitable for developing new products through virtual R&D teams. Export to Refworks"

" Technology Use in the Virtual R&D Teams Nader A. Ebrahim, Shamsuddin Ahmed, Salwa H.A. Rashid and Zahari Taha Date Published: January 31 2012"

"Literatur Ebrahim, N.A.; Ahmen, S.; Taha, Z.: Virtual Teams: A Literature Review. Australian Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences (2009), Nr. 3, S. 2653-2669. Shapiro, D.L.; Von Glinow, M.A.; Cheng, J.L.: Managing multinational teams: Global perspectives. United Kingdom: Elsevier/JAI Press, 2005."

"Making the Most of Virtual Expertise in Telemedicine and Telehealth Environments "

"uccessful Global Teams Know How to Gain Traction Cornelius Grove & Willa Hallowell, 1998 This article appeared in the April 1998 issue of HRMagazine Focus, published by the Society for Human Resource Management. Following is the original, unedited typescript of that article. If you've ever tried to drive out of a snowdrift, you know that whirling wheels create even more slippery ice. Gunning your motor looks energetic and decisive, but it's more likely to yield frustration than forward movement. Or, you can get out and patiently dig and sand, preparing the conditions for success: traction for your wheels. If you're conscientious, you're on your way. So it is with global teams. Those that plunge right into work look efficient at first, but eventually spin their wheels. Those that succeed are guided by people who recognize the magnitude of the global team challenge and patiently prepare six conditions for success: Face-to-face relationships Informed, skillful leadership A communications "heartbeat" Intelliguent use of e-links A cross-cultural "third way" Time, money, managerial support 1. Face-to-face relationships The most productive global teams are those whose members enjoy working with each other so much that they want to do it again! This finding from a recent study by Dianne Hofner Saphiere (see references) resonates with the messages from other researchers who are seeking the conditions for success. All highlight the importance of trust, the glue of the virtual workplace. All say that, when it comes to making trust possible, face-to-face relationships have no equal, not even via electronic communications systems with every bell and whistle. By face-to-face, we don't mean videoconferencing. If you can't shake hands, you're not face-to-face. We're learning that informal, spontaneous talk adds value. It not only builds and maintains trust (which motivates people to work collaboratively), but it also absorbs the shocks of confli

"Virtual teams: not only a technological matter Posted by Luca on January 16, 2012 · Leave a Comment For my master thesis (Master in Work and Organizational Psychology at Maastricht Universiteit) I studied attitudes and cognitive aspects that have an impact on virtual teams' collaboration with respect to efficacy and effectiveness. Study's sample was composed by two virtual teams set in two different countries: Italy and Mozambique. During a virtual team collaboration simulation, I considered many cognitive aspects that have to be addressed for distance-teamwork-collaboration. According to Wilson and Whitelock (1998) reliability and stability of the used device enables communication among team members. In other words, selected technology need to be adaptable and tailored for the specific collaboration's aim. For example selected media has to connect people through e-mails and chats, if virtual team wants to use synchronous and asynchronous communication. A part from that, online collaboration is not only a technological matter. Trust among team members (Kimble, 2011), shared backgrounds (Tolmie & Boyle, 2000) perception of usefulness of participation (Bliuc, Ellis, Goodyear,& Piggott, 2011) and perceived interdependence (Nam & Zellner, 2011) are examples of cognitive constructs related to virtual team collaboration. It is important to create a culture of team work and being sure that people feel that they are joining a useful activity. In the opposite case there will be no collaboration. Tolmie & Boyle (2000) underlined the importance of having a shared background. More than having it, I guess that it is more important to have a drive in sharing background than an already shared."

"Virtual multicultural teams: real communication in the virtual world Intercultural | Irina Budrina | August 8, 2011 8:43 am The following situation sounds common enough for Romania, a country which has been chosen by many companies as their outsource location. The cheaper and more skilled labor force, plus the expansion of online technologies make it easy for Romanians to tele work with colleagues in other countries. But how easy is it to communicate with them? By Irina Budrina Let's start from the following situation: A company based in the United States develops multimedia software with a team of 7 free-lance developers located in 3 different countries, including Romania. The team was formed through Internet chat groups or interpersonal relations and is completely virtual. All developers are under commercial contract with the main company. The company has no offices and developers have never met with each other. All employees tele-work from home and informally communicate through electronic means. Each developer has specific tasks and is in charge of one part of the software development. They plan the work together at the beginning of each project. They work on the same data file and post their contributions on a collaborative platform. The company's job is to assemble the different pieces developed by the tele-workers. Many companies use virtual teams of geographically dispersed people to work on short- and long-term projects. A long-term "virtual" team is one that conducts its work almost entirely through electronic technology. Such technology and the expansion of global business have changed the work environment for organizations of all sizes, allowing even small companies to compete in the international market place. Communicating across cultures using technology can be a difficult task. It requires understanding the advantages and limitations of technology and how to build relationships via technology. Though it gives an opportunity for fre

"This post is part of the HBR Insight Center Making Collaboration Work. Teamwork and collaboration are critical to mission achievement in any organization that has to respond quickly to changing circumstances. My research in the U.S. intelligence community has not only affirmed that idea but also surfaced a number of mistaken beliefs about teamwork that can sidetrack productive collaboration. Here are six of them. Misperception #1: Harmony helps. Smooth interaction among collaborators avoids time-wasting debates about how best to proceed. Actually: Quite the opposite, research shows. Conflict, when well managed and focused on a team's objectives, can generate more creative solutions than one sees in conflict-free groups. So long as it is about the work itself, disagreements can be good for a team. Indeed, we found in our earlier research on symphony orchestras that slightly grumpy orchestras played a little better as ensembles than those whose members worked together especially harmoniously. Misperception #2: It's good to mix it up. New members bring energy and fresh ideas to a team. Without them, members risk becoming complacent, inattentive to changes in the environment, and too forgiving of fellow members' misbehavior. Actually: The longer members stay together as an intact group, the better they do. As unreasonable as this may seem, the research evidence is unambiguous. Whether it is a basketball team or a string quartet, teams that stay together longer play together better. Misperception #3: Bigger is better. Larger groups have more resources to apply to the work. Moreover, including representatives of all relevant constituencies increases the chances that whatever is produced will be accepted and used. Actually: Excessive size is one of the most common--and also one of the worst--impediments to effective collaboration. The larger the group, the higher the likelihood of social loafing (sometimes called free riding), and the more effort it takes to keep

"By Dr. Al Jury · January 22, 2012 · No comments leadership, virtual teams · Tagged: collaboration tools, virtual teams success virtual teams Establishing a virtual team is a key part of a team's long term effectiveness. Setting up virtual teams can be a challenging process, especially for team members who have never participated in a virtual team before. Focusing on a number of core elements as discussed below, should help a virtual team leader to more quickly get a virtual team up and running. 1. Choose an experienced leader The leader of a virtual team has a large impact on the set up and success of a virtual team. Virtual teams tend to rely more heavily on a virtual team leader as they have less direct interaction between team members. Often communication flow in a virtual team is between members and the leader, rather than between members themselves (which is more typical of co-located teams). As such, a virtual team leader needs to be someone who is comfortable managing people remotely, who can use the technology to effectively provide task instructions and build relationships in the absence of face to face interaction. As there is much to learn for first time virtual team leaders, we suggest that a leader has at least had previous leadership experience so that they can then concentrate on the differences a virtual team has. Read more about effective virtual team leaders. 2. Select members who are suited to working in virtual teams Where virtual teams tend to fail, it is often a result of the lack of familiarity, physical distance and incompatible time zones of team members. One of the easiest ways to ensure the success of a virtual team is pick a few team members who already know each other. This way, trust (one of the more difficult aspects to develop virtually) may be established much faster. If it is not possible to find members who have worked together previously, try and arrange a face-to-face meeting at the start (as mentioned below) to devel

"By Shawn Ardaiz Tackling complex problems, fostering creativity and positive impact requires well-formed teams. This is the future of business. Those with the ability to combine innovative scenarios with well-thought-out strategy in a collaborative team setting have the potential for outstanding results. Making the impossible possible will take teams that have a carefully selected communication method, use collaboration not just coordination, and have the ability to recruit members with diverse backgrounds and expertise. Methods of communication are critical. Technology has made it convenient to work at a distance. In the DMBA program, our team meetings often center around video chat. However, have we taken the time to think about the potential impact? The dance of communication is lost in the delays associated with technology. We lack the non-verbal cues which help us determine whose turn it is to talk. Matching communication method and task is critical in maximizing a team's potential. Virtual teams tend to be more task-oriented. In the article "Virtual Teams Versus Face-to-Face Teams: An Exploratory Study of a Web-based Conference System," we see that the exchange of information is more difficult in virtual teams, slowing the development of relational links. Another article, "Interdisciplinary Collaboration in Digital Media Arts," examines the importance of relational links and how they foster openness, personal trust, willingness to compromise, common interests, sympathy and spatial proximity. Why are developing relational links so important within teams that collaborate? Think back to being on a team that had problems congealing. What methods of communication were being used? How might this have affected the team's relational links? Relational links foster "enhanced creativity and motivation, increased morale, better decisions and fewer process losses." The best teams quickly build a safe environment of respect and trust where collabora

"Productivity, Remote Teams At Time Doctor, we work with staff members in more than nine different countries - as you can imagine, team collaboration has a range of unique challenges. There are a number of tools that we use in our company, most of them are free. ((With over 10 years of experience under our belts, we've tried the best and worst of many collaborative tools - we thought it would be valuable to share the tools we we use and what exactly we use them for; Google Docs Google docs - provides free online spreadsheets and document management with a Gmail/Google Account. The spreadsheet feature is particularly useful when you need to have multiple people working on the same spreadsheet at the same time (something you can't do with Dropbox). It doesn't have all of the features of Excel, but it's very useful for collaborative editing of documents (including text files). You can use Google Docs effectively as a company "wiki" where anyone in the company is able to add any information to the document. How we use Google Docs: Domain management, financial reports, feature suggestion lists, payroll coverage, performance appraisals, ranking reports, login information, directory lists and online resources. Jing Project Jing Project - This is a fantastic free collaboration tool (although you need to pay for some features). It allows you to take a screen or video capture of anything on your desktop. Screen captures can be easily annotated, and you can record your voice along with any video to easily explain something. You can upload the capture to Screencast.com and they'll turn it into a simple link where anyone can view the capture. This is perfect for communicating with designers for example when you wish to write comments and explain to a designer what needs to be changed. Here is an example: http://screencast.com/t/GuTz0hjDteI How we use Jing: communicating with designers and developers, creating training and instructional vide