Importance of the Community Building, Outline Example

• Importance of the community building in the virtual teams in the modern global economy:

Empirical research has indicated that over 24 million Americans work from home or locations other than office, which forms roughly 20% of the US working force (Merriman, K. 2007). It is a known fact that only well-united and integrated teams are capable of achieving their goals, consequently community building is the main aspect in the virtual team management.

• Factors that positively influence the community inside virtual teams:

1. Mutual trust (Panteli, N. 2005)
2. Goal-orientation (Bell, B.S., & Kozlowski, S. W. 2002)
3. Homogeneity (Kenneth, 2004)

It can easily be seen that the main factors on which the success of the virtual team depends, is generally the same for the regular team too. However, due to the fact that virtual teams are so dispersed, makes the bonds within the team much weaker and the only solution to this problem is creation of a closely-knit community.

• Common practices to integrate and unite the virtual team:

1. Motivaion – make sure the employees are willing to get the job done (Thompson, J.A. 2000)
2. Set a positive working environment – strive for comfortable and positive environment inside the group (Thompson, J.A. 2000)

• Necessary processes, which influence the unity the virtual team:

1. Time management (Snyder, B. 2003)
2. Decision making (Snyder, B. 2003)
3. Problem solving (Wong-MingJi, D.J.)

Time management is a critical factor, as the team members may be in different time zones, which creates significant complications. Communication is also vital, as efficient information transfer is the core issue for the virtual teams (Snyder, B. 2003). Without well-organized schedules and procedures, a group of people working separately will never manage to achieve strong relations and create a positive atmosphere that will contribute to the work results.

• Community-building processes to improve effectiveness

1. Communication – concerning means of correspondence, right time choice for the conferences (Kenneth W., Anthony F. 2004)
2. Establishment of trustful communications – respecting cultural and religious background, difference in professional knowledge (Merriman, K., Stuart M. 2007)
3. Equal conditions – adequate division of responsibilities (Panteli, N. 2005)
4. Fair reward -Salary and bonuses should depend on the volume of contribution made by this or that team member (Ahuja, K., Carley, K. M. 1999)

• Conclusion

1. Strong community as a main asset for the fully-functioning virtual team.