Utilizing virtual teams in a management principles course

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to describe development of a component in a management principles course to develop university students' virtual team skills. There were several challenges in creating and implementing this new component. The paper aims to describe how these challenges were addressed and discusses outcomes associated with this virtual team component.Design/methodology/approachThis paper primarily presents a case study of the evolution of a virtual team education module. Descriptive data and regression analysis are presented to support specific outcomes.FindingsAfter completing the course, participants indicated the virtual team experience helped them gain useful professional skills. Hierarchical regression analysis indicated satisfaction with the virtual experience and perceptions that the virtual team experience built useful skills that were related to willingness to use this technology in the future (controlling for age, gender, working experience, and team performance).Research limitations/implicationsThe training method was implemented in only one institution. Additionally, limited empirical data is presented.Practical implicationsResults can be used by others interested in implementing a virtual team training/education component in a university setting. Non‐educational organizations may find the information helpful in successfully introducing virtual teams to employees.Originality/valueWhile computer mediated technology is increasingly utilized to educate and train students and employees, the process of effectively training people to optimally utilize technology, especially in a team setting, is not well documented. Additionally, this paper highlights factors that influence the acceptance of technology and willingness to use technology in the future.

Global Projects: A Conceptual Review on Execution Attitude in Multinational Corporations

“…Financial and competitiveness advantage has been reported in numerous publications for executing projects globally in MNCs, by (Rice et al, 2007), (Bergiel et al, 2008) and (Olson-Buchanan et al, 2007). The advantages of having virtual teams in global projects are summarized and tabulated by Nader et al (2009).…”

Learning to Work in Partially Distributed Teams: An Analysis of Emergent Communication Structures and Technology Appropriation

“…Training on diversity awareness in distributed teams is recommended by [24], [25] notes that organizations today do not adequately train members in virtual team work. The need to prepare students to be effective members of virtual teams is recognized, but to date, little headway has been made beyond introducing such projects into the classroom setting (see [1], [26], [27] for recent case studies).…”

Distant yet Near: Promoting Interdisciplinary Learning in Significantly Diverse Teams through Socially Responsible Projects

“…Similarly, combinations of civil engineering and construction students (O'Brien, Soibelman, & Elvin, ), and product designers, pedagogy experts, and content experts (Winn & Heeter, ) also fall within this category. Adya et al (), Olson‐Buchanan, Rechner, Sanchez, and Schmidtke (), and Ryssen and Godal () paired business students with differing skill sets. Adya et al.…”

“…Yes-Slovenia, Swiss, Netherlands Faculty-defined product development projects when they have, the nature of team engagement has not always been truly remote or interdisciplinary. To illustrate, Olson-Buchanan et al (2007) used colocated "virtual" teams, situated on the same campus, that were not allowed to meet faceto-face during the project. Adya et al (2008), Rusu, Rusu, Docimo, Santiago, and Paglione (2009), Ryssen and Godal (2000), and Zavbi and Tavcar (2005), in contrast, implemented international team projects, though not all of these were interdisciplinary or exposed students to face-to-face communications such as video conferencing (VC).…”