Virtual teams are comprised of members who primarily interact through electronic technologies even though they may meet face-to-face occasionally. The technological advancements many of whom have been made possible by the invention of internet including email, video conferencing, digital exchange of documents, and real-time online collaboration have made it possible to assemble teams comprised of geographically dispersed members. Virtual teams have been especially beneficial for multinational corporations as the pace of global trade has rapidly increased due to phenomenal progress in information technology. The companies are discovering the benefits of diversified workforce in generating ideas and are increasingly assembling teams made of members from different countries. More and more multinationals such as McDonald’s and Ford Motors are trying to win international customers by incorporating local tastes and preferences in their products. Virtual teams make it possible to launch marketing campaigns reflecting local tastes by increasing collaboration between corporate management and its international subsidiaries. Even within the same area, virtual teams yield time and cost benefits as they allow their members to manage family and work life effectively without sacrificing work quality. Happy workers mean more loyal and productive workforce.

Besides the above mentioned reasons that are contributing towards the popularity of virtual teams, there are also numerous other advantages of virtual teams. The factors of production have become more mobile and many companies have now global supply chains. The growth of outsourcing has been due to the fact that the companies can obtain the same quality of products or services at lower costs. In addition, education levels are improving thus, companies are more willing to expand their international workforce. Informational technology is the primary driver behind such a trend. Companies have also discovered that diversified workforce is more efficient at generating new ideas and more capable of solving problems because they all bring different perspectives (Chutnik & Grzesik, 2010). In addition, they also avoid the problems of groupthink that have a greater potential in teams with similar cultural backgrounds.

Virtual teams also enable organizations to form teams with desirable skills and strengths that might not have been possible before due to distances, costs, and time factors. Virtual teams also have more diversified skill sets because organizations now can tap into their entire global workforce instead of specific subsidiaries only when forming virtual teams.

How I would Increase Cohesiveness of a Virtual Team as a Leader

First of all, I will educate myself about the cultural backgrounds of each team member and will also encourage the team members to learn about each other. This will build trust, respect, and strong working relationship. Gartner research found that the greatest risk to effective virtual teams is cultural risk; both company cultures and geographical culture (Gartner Research, 2002). Another study also found that relational capital increases the effectiveness of virtual teams (Zornoza, Orengo, & Peñarroja, 2009). It would not be surprising if a particular company’s international subsidiaries have certain corporate culture elements that are different from each other since most international subsidiaries mostly employ native employees. I will also assign specific duties to each member so that they are aware of their particular responsibilities. This will reduce the potential of confusion as well as potential conflicts which may negative effect the morale of the team.