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Effective virtual teams for new product development

Ale Ebrahim, N.; Ahmed, S.; Abdul Rashid, S.H.; Taha, Z. (2012) Effective virtual teams for new product development. Scientific Research and Essay, 7 (21). pp. 1971-1985. ISSN 1992-2248

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Abstract

At present, the existing literature shows that the factors which influence the effectiveness of virtual teams for new product development are still ambiguous. To address this problem, a research design was developed, which includes detailed literature review, preliminary model and field survey. From literature review, the factors which influence the effectiveness of virtual teams are identified and these factors are modified using a field survey. The relationship between knowledge workers (people), process and technology in virtual teams is explored in this study. The results of the study suggest that technology and process are tightly correlated and need to be considered early in virtual teams. The use of software as a service, web solution, report generator and tracking system should be incorporated for effectiveness virtual teams.

Item Type:	Article
Creators:	Ale Ebrahim, N.(1 Department of Engineering Design and Manufacture, Faculty of Engineering, University of Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) Ahmed, S. Abdul Rashid, S.H. Taha, Z.
Journal or Publication Title:	Scientific Research and Essay
Additional Information:	Department of Engineering Design and Manufacture, Faculty of Engineering, University of Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Virtual teams, collaboration, questionnaires, communication, information, integration, performance, success, cross-functional teams, product development.
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General) L Education > L Education (General) T Technology > T Technology (General)
Divisions:	Faculty of Engineering
Depositing User:	Mr. Nader Ale Ebrahim
Date Deposited:	18 Jun 2012 09:16
Last Modified:	18 Jun 2012 09:16
URI:	http://eprints.um.edu.my/id/eprint/3316

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Can virtual teams outperform traditional teams?

Can virtual teams outperform traditional teams?

19-Apr-2012

As you may know, RESULTS.com has offices in the USA, Canada, and New Zealand.  Our company is organized by functional teams – comprising staff members who work together on a daily basis, across multiple time zones, mostly with colleagues they have never actually met face to face.  And here’s the thing, they may never get to meet face to face! 

Likewise in our work with clients.  We have clients we have worked with virtually for several years now, that we have never met face to face!

A few years ago, these types of working relationships would have seemed strange, but now, thanks to a combination of web conferencing technology and business execution software, this style of working feels very normal to us.

Increasingly, these types of working relationships are becoming the norm for our client firms too.  More and more companies are forming virtual teams with staff (and external contractors) who reside in different locations to collaborate on projects. Some of these teams last only for the duration of the project, while others are more permanent in nature.

The notion of staff being forced to all work out of the same office and to work the same business hours makes less and less sense – and the future implications for office space requirements and working environments are profound.

In the past, it was thought that you need to work face to face in order to create highly productive teams – but is that still true?  I came across a study of 80 firms showing that virtual teams can be highly effective, even when individual members have never met in person, and they can even outperform traditional teams.

Key advantages of working face to face:

• Frequent informal face to face communication helps to strengthen social bonds and build trust
• Can directly observe and read our colleagues’ emotional states

Key advantages of virtual teams:

• Assemble people with the best expertise for the job, regardless of location
• Geographically dispersed teams tend to have divergent viewpoints – reducing “group think”, leading to higher quality problem solving and decision making

The research showed that virtual teams can indeed outperform local teams - provided they are set up and managed in the right way.  You can’t just assemble a dispersed team of talented people and hope for the best.   
How to create highly productive virtual teams:

• Shared commitment to group goals
• Awareness and appreciation of cultural differences
• “Global culture” – create a sense of belonging to the virtual team, not just the local office
• Disciplined meeting cadence with high quality communications
• People encouraged to share personal communications as well – e.g. what’s going on in their lives
• Solid business execution practices to make performance visible, and drive progress
• Each team member held firmly accountable for results

Business execution software helps firms like us to create and manage highly productive teams.  You don’t need to have virtual teams to experience the benefits of using such tools either.  Even your face to face teams will benefit from implementing a disciplined business execution system! 

Stephen Lynch

Chief Operating Officer - Global Operations - RESULTS.com

Can virtual teams outperform traditional teams?

"Effective Virtual Teams for New Product " by Nader Ale Ebrahim, et al.

Effective Virtual Teams for New Product Development

Nader Ale Ebrahim, Department of Engineering Design and Manufacture, Faculty of Engineering, University of Malaya
Shamsuddin Ahmed
Salwa Hanim Abdul Rashid
Zahari Taha

Abstract

At present, the existing literature shows that the factors which influence the effectiveness of virtual teams for new product development are still ambiguous. To address this problem, a research design was developed, which includes detailed literature review, preliminary model and field survey. From literature review, the factors which influence the effectiveness of virtual teams are identified and these factors are modified using a field survey. The relationship between knowledge workers (people), process and technology in virtual teams is explored in this study. The results of the study suggest that technology and process are tightly correlated and need to be considered early in virtual teams. The use of software as a service, web solution, report generator and tracking system should be incorporated for effectiveness virtual teams.

Suggested Citation

Ale Ebrahim, N., Ahmed, S., Abdul Rashid, S. H., & Taha, Z. (2012). Effective Virtual Teams for New Product Development. [Full Length Research Paper]. Scientific Research and Essay, 7(21), 1971-1985.

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"Effective Virtual Teams for New Product " by Nader Ale Ebrahim, et al.

The Performance of Technical Information Transfer in New Product Development

1. Marc Antaki
   1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, McGill University, Montreal, Canada

1. Andrea Schiffauerova andrea@ciise.concordia.ca
   1. Concordia Institute for Information Systems Engineering, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada

1. Vince Thomson
   1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, McGill University, Montreal, Canada

Abstract

The performance of new product development (NPD) is greatly affected by communication strategy and the information technology tools used to support the strategy. A number of users of NPD processes claim that an adequate communication strategy decreases their product cycle time and cost. However, the problem with evaluating the impact of information transfer is that no one has ever specifically measured how performant communication strategies are, or how effective information transfer tools are. For this purpose, a model was developed to evaluate communication strategies, and a set of communication measurement tools was identified to gauge the efficiency of information transfer. This study examines communication within NPD processes at three companies and measures how well information was transmitted, stored, and retrieved. The results indicate that a shorter, more efficient communication process reduces time and effort, and that a shift toward formal methods and passive information tools (computer-based systems) results in more effective and easier coordination as well as better integration.

The Performance of Technical Information Transfer in New Product Development

Scientific Research and Essays:7 June, 2012; 7(21)

Table of Contents: 7 June, 2012; 7(21)

Research Articles   Nader Ale Ebrahim, Shamsuddin Ahmed, Salwa Hanim Abdul Rashid and Zahari Taha Effective virtual teams for new product development         [Abstract] [Full Text] [Full Article - PDF]   pp. 1971-1985         DOI: 10.5897/SRE10.1005   Wafaa A. H. Ali Alsalihy and Mohammed I. Younis        Security verification of the return routability protocol by Murphi        [Abstract] [Full Text] [Full Article - PDF]   pp. 1986-1996         DOI: 10.5897/SRE10.1211   Mohammadreza Hamidian, Ali Shariati, M. M. Arabnejad Khanouki, Hamid Sinaei, Ali Toghroli and Karim Nouri Application of Schmidt rebound hammer and ultrasonic pulse velocity techniques for structural health monitoring         [Abstract] [Full Text] [Full Article - PDF]   pp. 1997-2001         DOI: 10.5897/SRE11.1387   Hamid Sinaei, Mahdi Shariati, Amir Hosein Abna, Mohammad Aghaei and Ali Shariati Evaluation of reinforced concrete beam behaviour using finite element analysis by ABAQUS [Abstract] [Full Text] [Full Article - PDF]   pp. 2002-2009         DOI: 10.5897/SRE11.1393

Scientific Research and Essays:7 June, 2012; 7(21)

Ebrahim et al. Effective virtual teams for new product development. Sci. Res. Essays: 7 June, 2012

Scientific Research and Essays Vol. 7(21), pp. 1971-1985, 7 June, 2012

DOI: 10.5897/SRE10.1005

ISSN 1992-2248 ©2012 Academic Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Effective virtual teams for new product development   Nader Ale Ebrahim1*, Shamsuddin Ahmed1, Salwa Hanim Abdul Rashid1 and Zahari Taha2   1Department of Engineering Design and Manufacture, Faculty of Engineering, University of Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 2Faculty of Manufacturing Engineering and Management Technology, University Malaysia Pahang, 26300 Gambang, Pahang, Malaysia. *Corresponding author E-mail: aleebrahim@siswa.um.edu.my.   Accepted March 29, 2012

Abstract

At present, the existing literature shows that the factors which influence the effectiveness of virtual teams for new product development are still ambiguous. To address this problem, a research design was developed, which includes detailed literature review, preliminary model and field survey. From literature review, the factors which influence the effectiveness of virtual teams are identified and these factors are modified using a field survey. The relationship between knowledge workers (people), process and technology in virtual teams is explored in this study. The results of the study suggest that technology and process are tightly correlated and need to be considered early in virtual teams. The use of software as a service, web solution, report generator and tracking system should be incorporated for effectiveness virtual teams.   Key words: Virtual teams, collaboration, questionnaires, communication, information, integration, performance, success, cross-functional teams, product development.

Ebrahim et al. Effective virtual teams for new product development. Sci. Res. Essays: 7 June, 2012

Proposal of a model for effective management and development of virtual teams - Publication details

Proposal of a model for effective management and development of virtual teams

Basic information
Original title:	Proposal of a model for effective management and development of virtual teams
Author:	Petr Škyřík

Further information
Citation:	ŠKYŘÍK, Petr. Proposal of a model for effective management and development of virtual teams. Journal of Systems Integration, University of Economics. ISSN 1804-2724, 2010, vol. 1, no. 4, pp. 27-38.
Original language:	English
Field:	Documentation, library studies, information management
WWW:	http://www.si-journal.org/index.php/JSI/article/view/70
Type:	Article in Periodical
Keywords:	trust; teamwork; virtual work

The main aim of this paper is to present a pilot proposal of a model of “Virtual Development Management System” (ViDeMaS) which will facilitate more effective management and development of virtual teams.

Related projects:

• Specifický výzkum a inovace v oboru Informační studia a knihovnictví

Proposal of a model for effective management and development of virtual teams - Publication details