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Sunday 27 May 2012

A grounded theory model to be used in the development and implementation of virtual teams

Virtual organizations: A grounded theory model to be used in the development and implementation of virtual teams
by French, Patricia Ann, Ph.D., ARGOSY UNIVERSITY/WASHINGTON DC, 2009, 288 pages; 3476222
Abstract:
This research documents a qualitative grounded theory study of virtual organizations and the primary elements and characteristics that enable an effective virtual environment. A virtual organization is defined as a team of interdependent people of various skills, distributed across multiple geographically distant work locations, connected by a communication network and collaborative work environment, with a common set of organizational or programmatic goals. This research was focused on leaders from two high-tech virtual organizations in the field of aerospace and defense contracting. A series of 40 semi-structured interviews of experienced virtual team leaders was used to collect the data from which this grounded theory was developed. Selected leaders of virtual organizations provided real-life experiences from leading large-scale virtual programs and highlighted the key elements of an effective virtual organization as well as potential pitfalls that must be managed in leading this ever more prevalent form of an organizational structure and dispersed leadership team. As virtual organizations become commonplace in businesses and institutions today, the need to understand the critical characteristics of effective virtual teams and how to avoid the potential pitfalls of these teams becomes increasingly more important to leaders.
This research presents the key elements and characteristics of an effective virtual organization in the form of a model that will be useful to organizations that embark on the design and implementation of a virtual organization. The virtual organization design model presented defines the four primary elements of designing a virtual organization as the selection of the leadership skills to lead a virtual organization, the establishment of the organizational set-up to facilitate working virtually, the right tools infrastructure to enable effective communication and collaboration across the virtual organization, and an extensive training structure to provide awareness of the special nuances of working in a virtual organization. Beyond the model, several propositions are defined that warrant further study. The theory presented herein is recommended for future implementation and testing as part of the growing research into virtual organizations. Virtual organizations are a necessary part of high-tech industry and offer opportunities to create ever more capable teams across an endlessly dispersed global enterprise. This research leverages the lessons learned by skilled leaders of virtual organizations and proposes discrete organizational design steps to be taken to establish stronger virtual organizations for the future.
ProQuest Document View - Virtual organizations| A grounded theory model to be used in the development and implementation of virtual teams

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