...Assignment 1 Communication in Virtual Team Capella University September 26, 2013 Communication Communication is the activity of conveying information though the exchange of thoughts, messages, or information by speech, visuals, signals, writings or behaviors (Grosse, 2002). These processes are done over time, culture, and geographic boundaries, while this has become a common practice for organizations and has give rise to the concept of globally dispersed teams known as virtual teams (LaLonde, 2011). Communication is one of the most necessary components of leadership, without communication there would be no teams, nobody would know what their role on the team would be, there would be no procedures to go by for the test, and there would be no launching of a new team, so the team would never actually exists. Communication can be either verbal or nonverbal; there are many ways in which a speaker can present themselves without using any verbal form. This can be done though body language, hand gestures and facial expressions. Since a virtual team does not have the best ability to see all of these forms of nonverbal communication when partaking in a conference call or see the speaker’s body language when they are seated at their desk. While this can prevent a virtual team from being a successful team, it should not be the main reason why a team fails. Virtual teams are comprised of individual who work interdependently using computer-mediated communication technology to accomplish...
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...of the Communication Strategies and Flow used in a Virtual Office By Patricia Camille C. Duremdes Submitted December 13, 2014 to Dr. Rosario M. Baria Abstract Communication is important in any group that has a common goal (Simon, 1976). It is a requirement in a situation where people with different tasks have to coordinate to work as one. While achieving effective communication is relatively easy in a traditional organization, organizations that exist in cyberspace have to find alternative ways to communicate effectively due to the limitations caused by the long distances between the members. This study was conducted to find out whether or not the communication within a virtual writing service of 14 workers is effective. The study used both qualitative and quantitative methods in gathering information. Information about the virtual office’s communication strategies and flow were obtained through first-hand observation, while the effectiveness of communication was determined through questionnaire results. The results indicated that the communication strategies and flow used in the office were effective, as a vast majority of the respondents had positive views on the communication within their office. TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER I Introduction Importance of the Study Purpose of the Study Limitations of the Study Definition of Terms 1 2 2 3 3 CHAPTER II Review of Related Studies 5 CHAPTER III Methodology 9 CHAPTER IV Results and Discussion a. Communication Flow b...
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...RUNNING HEAD: COMMUNICATIONS AND TECHNOLOGY CASE STUDY 2 Introduction I have been tasked with facilitating the launch of a virtual team that will collaborate on an important and highly confidential project. The team will be made up of primarily senior leaders, managers and directors coming from all major business units of the organization. The orientation meeting will occur in two weeks and will present the finished outcomes to the executive team approximately 90 days following the orientation. My current focus is to provide the team with the guidance necessary to assist with the launch, specifically in two areas. I will be offering recommendations for the team charter, specifically focusing on ground rules, setting expectations and conflict resolution within the team and leadership. The second focus will be on recommendations for technology to assist in communication and collaboration for this national team. We will assess both synchronous and asynchronous technologies as well as recommendations for technology that will assist in brainstorming and problem-solving and conflict resolution. Team Charter Recommendations A fully functional team spanning across the United States of America can be a difficult process to maintain. It is vital that we as a team come together to create and honor a specific charter that will be devoted to our team. While we will still be working under the main Mission Statement of our company...
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...Electronic Communication with Virtual Teams Tia Taylor CMC260 August 23, 2014 The term Virtual teams are used loosely among the average person, especially young adults. However, everyone at one point in their adult life has been a part of a virtual team and did not even know it. A virtual team is a group of people whose members communicate primarily through electronic and digital tools. Members of a virtual team may be within the same city or even across the world. (WebFinance, 2014) Whether you have had experience or are going to be new to a virtual team, the best way to familiarize yourself with the expectations are to compare the communication you have within social media to your new adventure with business partners. Your communication will be professional at all times yet; you will most likely not meet any of your teammates in person or face to face. Some of the platforms that you may often use within the team include emails, video conferencing tools such as the program Skype, and social media tools like those within LinkedIn or Facebook. Virtual teams allow organizations to bring people together to combine the best expertise, regardless of where they live. Take, for example, the countries Mexico, France, China and the United States and involve some representatives on a virtual team to conduct business. The individuals involved get to look forward to many benefits including working from the comfort of home and never having to take a flight...
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...Communication Challenges in Global Virtual Teams Abstract This paper approaches some of the communication challenges in global virtual teams, such as diversity understanding, asynchronous communication, behavior, language barriers, lack of trust, and technological problems. This paper groups the challenges into five main categories and describes the common issues leaders and team members need to address and overcome in order to succeed. The five categories are time zones, cultural differences, language, trust and relationship building, and technology. The purpose of this division is to help a better understanding of different type of issues in global virtual teams. Knowing these challenges allows leaders and team members to increase team’s performance through good planning and training, and avoid problems other global virtual teams had in the past. In addition, cases study showed communication and technology usage norms play an important role in global virtual teams, these norms or rules are more important in global virtual teams than collocated teams. Communication Challenges in Global Virtual Teams Global virtual teams “work across space, time and organizational boundaries” (Montoya, Massey, Hung, & Crisp, 2009, p. 139). A global virtual team is a group of people located in different geographic regions that communicate via telecommunication technology and share a common set of tasks to accomplish when completing a project. Virtual teams working...
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...What is actually virtual meeting on business? Recent years, advanced technology brought a lot of new opportunities in our life and on our businesses meanwhile these technological improvements get inside our life day by day. Virtual meeting is one of these opportunities which many businesses are using it and many of them will use in the future. Virtual meeting is having a meeting by using internet connection virtually with the other branches or other related companies that you work with. “Virtual meetings will never eradicate the need for traditional face-to-face meetings, but they often provide the least expensive means of bringing people together” (2011, Mittleman). As long as companies remain, people who work within these companies will travel to other countries or cities to have meetings but virtual meeting which is videoconferencing and telepresence will decrease these travels. What are the advantages of the virtual meetings on an organization? Maybe 15 years ago, if we talked about a virtual meeting, it would be so weird but now this is very common way to have a meeting and will be more than now. There are a lot of advantages of the virtual meetings first and important one for a business is saving time. The other important advantage is saving money. These two important things are actually main factors to consider for many businesses anytime. These virtual meetings will reduce your employees to travel for a meeting sometimes these meetings can last 1 week or...
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...dilemma as your family does not want to be relocated. The project has a six-month deadline. What factors should you consider in order to make this virtual assignment effective? Answer: First of all, virtual assignments is where the employees and managers are located in different areas as in this case, the Project Manager’s office is in London whereas the other six team members are in Munich. Thus, the Project Manager has to rely heavily on communication technologies such as telephone, email or video conference. In my opinion, the factors that has to be taken into consideration include effective use of technology, invest time in building relationships and trust, provide specific intercultural training and arrange face-to-face meeting occasionally. To bring a success to virtual assignments, I will need to be aware of the full range of technology tools available to us and become practices and proficient in their use. Without familiarizing the technology, it is difficult for managers to keep in touch with the team and it might end up slowing down the team performance. For instance, it will be a waste of time discovering the function of Skype tools during the virtual meeting. Besides that, as a newly-appointed Project Manager, trust and a comfortable level of social or personal interaction are enormously important for effective virtual assignments. It is crucial for me to find ways to engage with my members and create an appropriate and effective dynamic within the team. Initially...
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...Why Off-Sites Should Go Virtual: the Virt-Site By Keith Ferrazzi Organizations are all trying to do more with less. As the economic downturn drags on, companies have tightened their belts even further. Businesses continue to lay off thousands of workers; holiday parties are being drastically downscaled; executive perks like corporate jets have become history; and the list goes on. As part of that belt-tightening, some companies have begun to rethink their strategic off-sites. Instead of flying executives from around the world to an expensive three-day offsite location, why not just conduct everything virtually? The problem, though, has been that many companies have been trying to use videoconferencing, virtual reality technologies, and other tools to try to replicate physical off-sites. One idea was to encourage spontaneous conversations by simulating a “virtual cocktail hour. ” Wrong! The use of virtual technologies to replicate traditional physical off-sites misses a huge opportunity. Doing so results in a “poor man’s” version of the real thing, like online training courses that consist of nothing more than a video recording of an instructor followed by a test. Instead, companies need to be much smarter about how they conduct virtual off-sites. They need to leverage online’s unique characteristics to push beyond what’s possible in a physical setting and truly transform the process. Interviews with dozens of experts resulted in the following methodology, dubbed the virt-site...
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...An Instructional Manual for Virtual Teams Table of Contents So, You Want a Virtual Team, Huh? 3 Introduction 3 The Look of a Successful Virtual Team 4 The Leader's Relief 6 Establishing Team Purpose 7 The Virtual Team Start-up Meeting 8 Local vs. Virtual 9 Operating Principles 10 The Culture Thing 11 “The Safety Net" – Coping With Virtuality 12 Become An Effective Leader 12 Staying On Top Of Things 12 The Technical Needs of a Virtual Team 13 Learning and Technology 13 Selecting Technology 13 Examples of Real-Time Tools (Synchronous) 14 Examples of Asynchronous Tools 14 The Virtual Meeting 15 Planning Your Meeting 15 The Virtual Meeting, cont. 16 Facilitation Tips 16 Types of Virtual Meeting Software to Consider 16 Managing Issues In A Virtual Team 17 Conclusions and Closure for a Virtual Team 18 References 19 So, You Want a Virtual Team, Huh? An Instructional Manual for Virtual Teams Introduction John is so excited! He starts his new job on Monday. In his new job, John will take on a team for a Fortune 100 company. His new company is growing fast, and to keep up with the pressure of rapid growth, they have been expanding across the country. John is new to this matrix-type work culture and needs to adjust his style of work and leadership to accommodate. How will he setup technology and infrastructures to support his new team? What techniques can he use to build trust, agreement and purpose with his...
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...The Advancements over Social Media Rachel Hammer INF103: Computer Literacy (ACD1246B) Instructor: Livia Muse-Johnson December 13, 2012 Social Media In today’s society, social media has become a part of our everyday lives. People of all ages and professions utilize social media in some form on a regular basis. Some common forms of social media are social networking, blogs, voice over IP, collaborative projects, content communities, virtual game worlds, and online shopping. These types of social media offer communication, sharing and shopping capabilities. People from all around the world are able to be connected with a click of a mouse. Social media also allows for creativity and expression. Social networking includes websites like Facebook. Over one billion people worldwide are active members of this online community. It is estimated that every user on Facebook has approximately 130 friends on their profile pages. This website is very easy to join, and the best part is that it is free. Members are able to upload and post pictures and videos to share with their friends and family. Privacy settings are available so the member can choose who is allowed to access their page or view their pictures. This is especially convenient for parents who monitor their teenager’s computer usage. Facebook originally created for peer-to-peer connections of classmates in college; however, it quickly expanded into a worldwide, multidimensional, phenomenon. Blogs, by definition...
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...Virtual Reality Close your eyes and imagine yourself to be on another planet fighting aliens or imagine flying over your favourite city on your personal tour. These situations might never materialise in your real life. But virtual reality provides you with an option to experience the thrill and excitement of something like this happening. While currently only in its infant state, virtual reality could exceedingly alter the future of the human race. Virtual reality can be defined as, “a technology that enables users to enter computer generated worlds and interface with them three dimensionally through sight, sound and touch.” (Nequist, Virtual Reality, 1993). Earlier popular only in video games and entertainment fields, virtual reality has now excelled in many other important fields like medicine, surgery, space programs, military, etc. This technology once properly developed and mastered will do wonders in these fields. Virtual reality helps people in breaking the boundations of their routine life and enters them into a 3-D version of the life they dream about. It is very aptly said “virtual reality is the first step in a grand adventure into the landscape of imagination.” (Biocca, Kim & Levy, Communication in the Age of Virtual Reality). This technology also provides us with interface for trials and errors in hypothetical yet possible in real life situations. For example, the military uses virtual training grounds for training their soldiers, virtual flight simulators...
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...Successful teams need some form of leadership, good communication, problem-solving skills, and a purpose. Successful groups can achieve tremendous results,. When teams work together, everyone is working toward one common goal and completing the project with successful results. Average groups do just enough to achieve a goal, and then there are groups that are extraordinary. They achieve superior results and team members come away from the group experience with a newfound respect of what he or she helped accomplish. A study revealed eight performance indicators linking extraordinary groups and group members agreed. Each team member agreed teams must: have a compelling purpose, a shared leadership role, team structure, full engagement among members, embrace member differences, learn the unexpected, build trusting relationships, and achieve outstanding results. Whether the team is for-profit or not, volunteers or employees, face-to-face or virtual, these eight indicators emerged (Bellman & Ryan, 2010). Athletics and businesses share many of the same qualities. The head coach sets goals for his team as does the business manager. Head coach and manager set out to accomplish a particular goal. The goal of the head coach may be winning the league championship. The goal of the manager may be to finish the fiscal year under budget. Dayton (2007) agrees sports and business are similar is many ways. Teamwork, excellent communication, creativity, time management, and good leadership are...
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...that at some point additional instances of an application will be needed in order for the architecture to scale and meet demand. That means there needs to be some mechanism in place to balance requests between two or more instances of that application. The mechanism most likely to be successful in performing such a task is a load balancer. The aim of this paper is to discuss the existing techniques of load balancing and elaborate the main points of the techniques that are helpful in reduction of power consumption leading a step towards green clouds. Green Cloud is an Internet Data Center architecture which aims to reduce data center power consumption, and at the same time guarantee the performance from users’ perspective, leveraging live virtual machine migration technology. Index Terms — Cloud computing, load balancing, green clouds, virtualization. Introduction Load Balancing is the technique that distributes workload across one or more servers, network links and connections through intelligent switches using various services such as DNS, FTP, and HTTP etc. There are two main goals that need to be achieved by load balancing in cloud computing. Those are...
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...An Experiment on Public Speaking Anxiety in Response to Three Different Types of Virtual Audience David-Paul Pertaub*, Mel Slater*, Chris Barker** *Department of Computer Science **Department of Psychology University College London Gower Street London WC1E 6BT 2 An Experiment on Public Speaking Anxiety in Response to Three Different Types of Virtual Audience Abstract This paper describes an experiment to assess the anxiety responses of people giving five minute presentations to virtual audiences consisting of eight male avatars. There were three different types of audience behaviour -an emotionally neutral audience that remained static throughout the talk, a positive audience which exhibited friendly and appreciative behaviour towards the speaker, and a negative audience, which exhibited hostile and bored expressions throughout the talk. A second factor was immersion: half of the 40 subjects experienced the virtual seminar room through a head-tracked head-mounted display and the remainder on a desktop system. Responses were measured using standard Personal Report of Confidence as a Public Speaker (PRCS) which was elicited prior to the experiment and after each talk. Several other standard psychological measures such as SCL-90-R (for screening for psychological disorder), the SAD and the FNE were also measured prior to the experiment. Other response variables included subjectively assessed somaticisation and a subject self-rating scale on performance...
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...VIRTUAL REALITY Virtual reality-the very name conjures up fantastic visions of computer technology providing the ultimate out-of-body experience. What is VR? And what can we learn from studying the history of its development and the development of its early and present-day applications? The history of modern VR is the history of the technology that makes it possible-the computer, the head-mounted display, and the data glove. It is also the history of the people and organizations that developed the technology, hardware and software, and applications for that technology. And finally, the history of VR is a history of the social use of VR technology for entertainment, education, military, and commercial purposes. Defining VR Defining VR is an important first step in presenting a brief history of its development. It may also prove to be the most difficult since the combination of the two terms is itself oxymoronic. The phrase "virtual reality" is widely credited to Jaron Lanier who coined it in 1989 to describe the experience made possible by the use of the latest generation of goggles, gloves and related technologies. The role of perception in defining reality raises interesting issues of psychological, sociological, philosophical, and cognitive origins. In this postmodern age the concept of the real continues to have philosophical and practical significance for those who are engaged in the creation of artificial or virtual representations of reality. For some, the dawn of...
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