Challenges in Developing Virtual Teams. Case: KONE Corporation
HEDMAN, JARKKO (2005)
HEDMAN, JARKKO
2005
Yrityksen hallinto - Management and Organisation
Kauppa- ja hallintotieteiden tiedekunta - Faculty of Economics and Administration
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Hyväksymispäivämäärä
2005-11-28
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:uta-1-15192
https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:uta-1-15192
Tiivistelmä
Hakutermit:
virtual teams, virtual teamwork, dispersed teams, virtual organizations, virtual leadership
The members of a virtual team work in separate places, countries and continents, and they communicate via information and communication technology. Since virtual activity differs from conventional in several ways, completely new skills are required from employees and supervisors. The objective of this Master’s Thesis was to study the challenges a global virtual team may face. Ways to overcome these challenges were also considered. The study was executed in association with a Finnish multinational company, KONE Corporation, in which the amount of virtual teams is increasing rapidly.
The study was conducted by first examining literature in the field of virtual teams. The challenges were grouped into four main dimensions of virtual work: challenges caused by separate locations, asynchronism, diversity of employees, and mode of interaction. The same grouping method was used when the empirical data was gathered and analyzed. Empirical research was conducted within KONE Corporation’s Global Information Services organization with the help of survey questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, as well as participant observation.
The findings of the study reveal that virtual teams are facing several challenges regarding the dimensions of virtual work mentioned earlier. The challenges in virtual teams of KONE Global Information Services are typical: ones identified in the literature and ones that almost every virtual team faces. Moreover, it was concluded that in virtual work environment the supervisor has an essential role. Creating and maintaining virtual presence is one of the key tasks for a virtual team leader.
virtual teams, virtual teamwork, dispersed teams, virtual organizations, virtual leadership
The members of a virtual team work in separate places, countries and continents, and they communicate via information and communication technology. Since virtual activity differs from conventional in several ways, completely new skills are required from employees and supervisors. The objective of this Master’s Thesis was to study the challenges a global virtual team may face. Ways to overcome these challenges were also considered. The study was executed in association with a Finnish multinational company, KONE Corporation, in which the amount of virtual teams is increasing rapidly.
The study was conducted by first examining literature in the field of virtual teams. The challenges were grouped into four main dimensions of virtual work: challenges caused by separate locations, asynchronism, diversity of employees, and mode of interaction. The same grouping method was used when the empirical data was gathered and analyzed. Empirical research was conducted within KONE Corporation’s Global Information Services organization with the help of survey questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, as well as participant observation.
The findings of the study reveal that virtual teams are facing several challenges regarding the dimensions of virtual work mentioned earlier. The challenges in virtual teams of KONE Global Information Services are typical: ones identified in the literature and ones that almost every virtual team faces. Moreover, it was concluded that in virtual work environment the supervisor has an essential role. Creating and maintaining virtual presence is one of the key tasks for a virtual team leader.