AMPLIFYING PERFORMANCE IN VIRTUAL TEAMS OPTIMIZING COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES

摘要

INTERNATIONAL COMPANIES, IN RESPONSE TO A HIGH EXPECTATION OF GAINS AND EFFICIENCY, HAVE STARTED IMPLEMENTING VIRTUAL TEAMS TO COMBAT GEOGRAPHICALLY SCATTERED RESOURCES. THESE STRATEGIES HAVE OFFERED SIGNIFICANT SAVINGS AND INCREASED PRODUCTIVITY AS WELL AS MANY ADVANTAGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR EMPLOYEES. ALTHOUGH TECHNOLOGY HAS BEEN THE MAIN ENABLER IN THE VIRTUALIZATION OF TEAMS BY OFFERING MANY DIVERSE FORMS OF COMMUNICATION WHICH VARY FROM TELEPHONY SERVICES, EMAIL, TELECONFERENCING, ELECTRONIC WHITEBOARDS, COLLABORATIVE SOFTWARE, GROUP CHATS TO CLOUD/INTRANET DATA SHARING, IT IS ALSO ONE OF THE DEFINING DIFFERENCES WHICH HAS TO BE TACKLED WHEN CREATING A STRATEGY FOR LEADERSHIP. RESEARCH SUGGESTS THAT FACE TO FACE AND ON-SITE MEETINGS, VIRTUAL ROUND TABLES AND ELECTRONIC YEARBOOKS SHOULD BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT TO ENCOURAGE COMMUNICATION AS NOT ALL CHANNELS ARE AS EFFICIENT IN SENDING NONVERBAL CUES. THE PURPOSE OF OUR PAPER IS TO DISCOVER THE EXTENT OF PREVIOUS RESEARCH REGARDING COMMUNICATION IN A VIRTUAL TEAM AS WELL AS GAIN INSIGHT INTO THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DIFFERENT FORMS OF DIGITAL COMMUNICATION AND HOW THEY IMPACT PERFORMANCE.