Virtual Teams and International Business Teaching and Learning: The Case of the Global Enterprise Experience (GEE)

Abstract

Abstract: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.

Knowledge hiding as an obstacle of innovation in organizations a qualitative study of software industry

“…Knowledge sharing and knowledge transfer are one of the most widely researched topics by professionals and academics in different fields such as management, information sciences, sociology and economics (Demirkasimoglu, 2015;Serenko and Bontis, 2016;Kang, 2016). Conrad and Newberry (2012) and Gonzalez-Perez et al (2014) implied on necessity of practical use of skills and knowledge instead of theoretical understanding or abstract knowledge. For knowledge to be applicable, the foundation and context is needed, to provide a place for implementing knowledge (Khajeheian,2014, p. 177) and knowledge sharing provides such context for practical knowledge (Dong et al, 2016).…”

Central and Eastern European Experience of the X-Culture Project in Teaching International Management and Cross-Cultural Communication

“…Experiential learning approaches can most challengingly be used in International Business and Management training and education as simulating multi-cultural global environment in the classroom is often a daunting or even an impossible task. There have also been studies evaluating experiential learning in the field of International Business and Management education (Taras et al, 2013).and using virtual teams as experiential learning vehicles (Gonzalez-Perez et al, 2014).…”

Diretrizes para adaptação de novos colaboradores em equipes virtuais de desenvolvimento de <i>software</i> ágil

“…Essas habilidades podem ser adquiridas por meio de um treinamento formal que pode ser aplicado até mesmo por instituições de ensino. Gonzalez-Perez et al (2014) afirmam que estudantes precisam desenvolver essas habilidades particulares e ter a oportunidade de praticá-las para que gradualmente possam adaptar-se a nova forma de trabalho antes mesmo de terem que enfrentar diretamente os desafios associados no ambiente de trabalho.…”

“…Nessas atividades, os estudantes desenvolvem competências como planejamento, autogestão e criatividade em ambientes controlados (BASS;MCDERMOTT; LALCHANDANI, 2017;ORTA-CASTAÑON et al, 2017). Os estudantes precisam desenvolver essas habilidades particulares e praticá-las, isso irá ajudá-los a se adaptarem gradualmente as novas formas de trabalho existentes antes mesmo de enfrentarem diretamente os desafios do mercado de trabalho(GONZALEZ-PEREZ et al, 2014). A KANAWATTANACHAI; YOO, 2007).…”