| Summary: | The impact of globalisation and advanced information technology on service and knowledgebased
industries in South Africa contributes to these workplaces becoming increasingly
virtual. Virtual teams can be seen as a mechanism that organisations could use to increase
their orientation for change through enhancing and integrating key organisational resources
such as people, space and information technology to deliver greater business value. The
findings of several studies suggest that the implementation of virtual teams is associated with
benefits such as cost and time saving, increased employee productivity and employee
empowerment. There are however salient barriers to effective virtual teamwork that
organisations need to address before engaging in the transformational process towards virtual
teamwork. The literature review identified ineffective leadership practices, factors relating to
virtual team development, inadequate use of information technology and a paucity of social
and organisational cultural integration, as the most salient features that impede effective
virtual teamwork.
The objective of this research was to develop a basic theoretical framework for the
implementation of virtual teams. Since virtual teams emanate from a relatively new area of
research an inductive methodology, based on a literature review, was used to achieve the
research objective. Several theoretical models on virtual teams and their effectiveness thereon
were explored to conceptualise the dynamic nature of virtual teams and the requirements for
implementing them in the workplace.
The results of the study indicated that an emergent approach to change be followed and that
the following factors be addressed to determine an organisation's readiness for the
implementation of virtual teams, namely: the degree of interdependence between tasks,
structural requirements, technological requirements, process redesign and the selection of
appropriate people. A methodology for work transformation towards virtual teamwork was
suggested based on an integration of these factors. === Thesis (M.Sc. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2004.
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