Distant Partners: A Case Study of Global Virtual Teams Between Spain and South Korea (original) (raw)
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Virtual Teams as part of Internationalization of Higher Education
Proceedings Cross-Cultural Business Conference 2017, Steyr, Österreich, 2017, pp. 211-220 , 2017
Worklife is becoming increasingly international and intercultural. With improved online interaction and new ways of working multicultural virtual teams are becoming a routine. In order to interact effectively and efficiently in the networked professional environments practice for higher education students is of utmost importance. Building intercultural competence and experimenting with multicultural virtual teams as part of pedagogical internationalization must be systematic. Successful internationalization of education depends on activities on three levels: institutional, faculty and students (Lauridsen & Cozart 2015). Trust, relationship building, cohesion, cooperation, communication, team-related attributes and tasks are crucial for successful virtual team cooperation (Hertel, Geister & Konradt, 2005; Baruch & Lin, 2012). In order to explore for further prerequisites of effective cross-cultural virtual cooperation in an educational setting a group of Finnish and Austrian master level students were given an assignment to organize multicultural virtual teams and study aspects of intercultural work. Six virtual teams were formed with only a broad assignment brief with the objective of finding out factors hindering or facilitating a successful intercultural virtual team cooperation from the subjective students' point of view. After a three weeks' long cooperation both student groups filled in a similar qualitative questionnaire about the intercultural virtual team experiences. The questionnaires were analyzed with content analysis by means of different criteria i.e. cooperation and collaboration, technical platforms, satisfaction and perceived challenges. The results were additionally analyzed in view of intercultural differences. The students were very satisfied and appreciated the possibility for the virtual international team work. Based on the results following recommendations for enhancing intercultural knowledge in virtual teams are presented: considering obligations and time (especially for para-occupational education), clear assignments, a set of recommended tools for communication and collaboration, scaffolding students in different steps i.e. team formation, common ground for group work and intercultural awareness.
Designing and implementing virtual exchange – a collection of case studies
This case study outlines an example of cooperative online learning for teaching business communication skills at a Hungarian and a Belgian university. During this eight week long Erasmus+ Virtual Exchange (E+VE) project, students collaborated online in virtual teams on a weekly basis to complete the following main missions: (1) giving constructive feedback; (2) creating an elevator pitch; (3) promoting themselves by creating a digital CV; (4) preparing for a job interview; and (5) participating in a real online job interview with a professional recruiter. Not only does this case study describe the planning, design, and implementation of the project from a pedagogical perspective, but it also details its challenges and outcomes.
2004
This chapter narrates our experiences designing and teaching an international management course which was technologically enhanced to include cross-cultural interactions between the US and Denmark. Our rationale, that issues regarding globalization have accelerated the need to bring together through virtual means people from different cultures to engage in collaborative performance at a distance, was addressed in the context of theoretical concerns regarding cultural differences. We discuss the theoretical premises on which we based the course, illustrate the three core distance activities that we designed for these purposes, evaluate the general outcome in light of our objectives, and assess their value for others engaged in teaching courses such as ours. At the end, we link our experiences to broader issues pertaining to distance-education in today's university environments.
At a Distance: Learning about Cross-cultural Virtual Teams in an International Management Course
2004
This chapter narrates our experiences designing and teaching an international management course which was technologically enhanced to include cross-cultural interactions between the US and Denmark. Our rationale, that issues regarding globalization have accelerated the need to bring together through virtual means people from different cultures to engage in collaborative performance at a distance, was addressed in the context of theoretical
2016
The rising power of the internet and the technology that has developed around it has enabled people around the world to easily connect with one another on a personal, yet virtual basis. The business world has also taken advantage of the internet and technology and has pushed towards the globalization of its markets and its workforce. Through the use of global virtual teams, multinational companies are able to maintain a competitive advantage in the globalized economy by pooling the talent and workload capacities of their employees from around the world. According to Jarvenpaa & Leidner (1999), a global virtual team (GVT) is a culturally diverse and geographically dispersed work group that communicates primarily through electronic media to complete temporary projects together. The GVTs bring many advantages to international organizations: access to international markets, reduced travel and employee costs, consistent output of corporate strategies, and diversity that encourages innovation (O'Hay, 2011). These advantages and the development of communication technologies such as the internet have resulted in most larger organizations employing virtual teams to some degree within their structures (Hertel et al, 2005). Virtual teams, with their lack of time and space barriers, have the potential to revolutionize the organizational structure of the workforce by providing incredible flexibility and responsiveness (Powell et al, 2004). The diversity that comes with a GVT brings a wide scope of skills and knowledge that can be leveraged to the advantage of the company, and is listed as one of the main reasons that companies choose to create global teams (Lagerstrom/Andersson, 2003). Yet, this diversity also brings challenges. These team members often speak a variety of native languages which can clearly result in communication difficulties, even with the use of one common language within the team (Feely/Harzing, 2003). Now consider that communication has been proven to have a direct impact on team performance (Walsh et al, 1988). Culture has also been proven to have a profound impact on cross-cultural management, and language is generally seen as being a key aspect of culture. Yet compared to commonly cited theories from Hall (1976), Hofstede (1991), and Trompenaars (1993) which focus more on personal characteristics that are culturally influenced, only a few authors such as McGuire et al (2002), Swift (2002), and Feely/Harzing (2003) have focused on how language influences culture (Chen et al, 2006). Overcoming the challenges that culture and language bring to a GVT has a considerable effect on the success of communication and thus on the team performance. Global virtual teams bring advantages and problems for their team members as well. For the interculturally inquisitive, it brings the chance to work with multiple nationalities from the comfort of their own home country. Virtual teamwork also often allows the worker to work from home, offering less commuting time, more comfort, and greater flexibility in the structuring of the work day. These positive attributes have their flip sides though. The possibility of working with multiple nationalities also means that the virtual team member must simultaneously deal with multiple cultural approaches to solving problems, juggling interaction styles with foreign colleagues in distant countries with those of colleagues from his own home country. This lack of focus on any one particular culture makes it more difficult to prepare for intercultural work than if one were given a foreign assignment abroad. The flexibility also has its downsides. Communication may be scheduled at extremely early or late hours in order to accommodate as many participants as possible. While this may be done from home, it also means that some colleagues may be in their pajamas at 1a.m. and prefer not to take part in a video conference. This lack of visuals removes most nonverbal communication cues that help make clear how a message is received. Communication thus may be limited to speaking and listening to team members with pronunciation that is quite difficult to understand. One of the greatest challenges to creating an effective global team therefore lies in overcoming these geographical, linguistic, and cultural differences that separate the team members. These GVTs must overcome the challenges and make use of the advantages of its multinational, intercultural team to produce a successful project result. Research in this relatively new field primarily has focused on various aspects such as: the impact of cultural diversity (Gudykunst & Ting-Toomey, 1988; Dekker et al, 2008; Erez et al, 2013; Zouhbi, 2013), language and strategies (Chen et al, 2006; Harzing, 2011; ; Holtbruegge et al, 2011; Warren, 2012; Tenzer, 2014; Tenzer & Pudelko, 2015; Ladegaard & Jenks, 2015), and communication media (Riopelle et al, 2003; Schachaf, 2008; Klitmoller & Lauring, 2013; Cagiltay et al, 2015). Little research has been done showing the interrelationship between intercultural, language, and technical competences necessary for effective communication in a successful global virtual team. With this paper, I aim to identify the intercultural, language, and technical competences necessary for effective communication in global virtual teams. Building on research into university-level telecollaborations (student collaborations over the internet between at least two university classes from different countries), that I did in the fourth module, I expanded my literature review to look into various attributes that influence effective communication in GVTs, looking particularly for the tri-fold areas mentioned as so important in telecollaborations – intercultural, language, and technical (digital literacy) competences. Three short definitions here should provide a general understanding of what is inferred when mentioning these three competences, which are described in more detail within the literature review. Intercultural competence: The most commonly cited definition of intercultural competence within the field of linguistics comes from Byram (1997) as “the ability to communicate effectively and appropriately in intercultural situations based on one’s intercultural knowledge, skills, and attitudes.” His model is based on Hymes and van Ek’s model of communicative competence (1972, 1986). Language competence: When referring to language competences, I largely follow the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) that refers to different knowledge, skills and abilities in using language in general. Similarities to intercultural competence come through Byram's influence on the development of the CEFR. The primary CEFR criteria used for this study looks at communicative language competence and language activities. Communicative language competence consists of three main components: linguistic, sociolinguistic, and pragmatic. Linguistic competence relates primarily to the lexical, phonological, syntactical knowledge, skills and abilities, regardless of its connection to culture. Sociolinguistic competence refers to the connection of language to its sociocultural context. Pragmatic competence relates to how language is used functionally, looking at e.g. discourse, cohesion, text types and forms. Language activities include the four basic competences: reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Technical competence: This competence focuses on the ability to use the necessary telephone and computer-mediated technology for a GVT. According to Blackburn et al (2003) it involves three main aspects: 1) competence and confidence in using the associated technologies, 2) openness to learning new technologies, and 3) adaptability to using the technologies in the most suitable way for collaboration.
Journal of Teaching in International Business, 2014
The increasing importance of global virtual teams in business is reflected in the classroom by the increased adoption of activities that facilitate real-time cross-cultural interaction. This article documents the experience of students from two Colombian universities who participated in a collaborative international project using virtual teams as part of the international business (IB) curriculum. The data reveals that in spite of challenges associated with time zone differences, technology limitations, and trust issues, the vast majority of students perceived that the use of virtual teams as a teaching tool facilitates cultural understanding and IB-relevant learning. The findings of this research suggest that online experiential exercises can be an effective approach in teaching and in the development of virtual collaboration skills.
Experiential Learning with Global Virtual Teams: Developing Intercultural and Virtual Competencies
This study evaluates the impact of Global Virtual Team (GVT)-based experiential learning in business education. During the first semester of 2014, 2,494 university business students from 37 countries from all inhabited continents participated in the X-Culture project. Post-project surveys applied to a participating group and to a control group of Colombian students reveal significant learning in terms of perceived difficulties related to cultural differences and virtual team coordination. This study provides evidence for the usefulness of GVT-based approaches and facilitates a better understanding of the challenges and learning opportunities in using this type of experiential learning activity. This study evaluates the impact of Global Virtual Team (GVT)-based experiential learning in business education. Post-project surveys reveal significant learning in terms of perceived difficulties related to cultural differences and virtual team coordination. This provides evidence for the usefulness of GVT-based approaches and facilitates a better understanding of the challenges and learning opportunities in using this type of experiential learning activity. Participation in the GVT-based project allows students to experience the challenges and form more realistic expectations with respect to intercultural and international virtual collaboration.
Telecollaboration is a learning scenario in which groups of foreign language learners communicate with geographically distant partner classes via the internet. Besides its principle focus on developing linguistic and intercultural competence, telecollaboration provides opportunities for rehearsing multiple literacy practices. These include media and academic literacy as well as the collaborative and critical thinking skills that are needed for academic and professional contexts alike. Drawing on studies of online intercultural exchange from the ields of Foreign Language Education and Business and Economics, this paper discusses the similarities and differences in approach to online exchange between the two disciplines and then shows how this informed the design of a multiliteracies model for telecollaboration projects that is tailored to the speci ic needs of students of Business and Economics.
International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 2016
Collaboration within virtual teams is becoming more and more important in business environment. Different studies try to identify factors which can contribute and augment effectiveness and efficiency within these teams. The following article-which is based on the results of a quantitative and qualitative study conducted in Germany and in the USA-shows that in both, the area of media competence as well as in the area of Intercultural Competence, lies the potential to improve the collaboration between virtual teams and thus to increase their effectiveness and efficiency. The study provides important implications for science and practice.
Journal of Technical Writing and Communication, 2018
This article reports on a qualitative study of strategies and competencies used by technical communication and translation students to address challenges inherent in global virtual team collaboration. The study involved students from three universities collaborating in virtual teams to write and translate instructional documents. Qualitative content analysis of students' reflective blogs and team transcripts was used to examine their experiences while collaborating. Students faced challenges related to communication, leadership, and technology, and developed various strategies to address those challenges. Although the students did not face cultural challenges, they reported increased awareness of cultural issues. Students also reported that the project helped them better understand the workplace and define career goals.