Unit 4 Discussion Topic
Are face-to-face teams more creative than virtual teams? Please explain.
Unit 4 Discussion
Are face-to-face teams more creative than virtual teams?
To meet up the increased global economic competition, organizations are trying every day to enhance their organizational structure to communicate in boundaryless networks and overcome the geographical barrier through technology. Information and communication technologies have discovered new perspectives for organizations by replacing traditional ones. Companies are looking for innovative and creative products and strategies to compete with the increasing customer demands.
In any organizational scenario, creativity can be described as the discovery of innovative, time-relevant, and unique ideas which will help the company to make an identity in the market. In the case of a face-to-face team, employees are able to work under the same roof and are in close proximity, they are able to communicate within no time as everyone is physically present in office settings. Whereas, in virtual communication, the whole team is dependent on online technologies (video calls, online meetings. emails, and conferences) to communicate with each other (Cummings & Dennis, 2018, p.712). This discussion compares the creativity skill between face-to-face and virtual teams.
Performance:
In the official setting, co-workers can communicate both verbally and non-verbally. Touch, sight, gossiping, and sharing help in the building of a nurturing relationship among them. Remote jobs resist the employees from communicating nonverbally which gives birth to mistrust among them (Hacker et al. 2019, p.15). This will, in turn, decrease the overall performance, innovation, and productivity of the employees.
Communication:
In a virtual setting, employees get a bit impersonal. Everyone works in accordance with their time and comfort. The non-availability of all team members leads to a lack of collaboration among the employees (Morrison-Smith & Ruiz, 2020, p.29). Proper distribution and correct interpretation of the scheduled work are much easier in a face-to-face team than in a virtual team because, in a virtual team non-accessibility of the modern technologies by all the employees, and technical glitch always creates a problem.
Satisfaction:
Studies have shown that employees in face-to-face communication are more satisfied with their work output than in virtual platforms. Working physically as a team makes them more fulfilled than in virtual teams. The virtual members also undergo much more conflicts than in face-to-face settings may be due to the absence of their team members in close proximity. Therefore, from the above discussion, it can be concluded that, although the virtual
Platforms provide its member to work over time, space, and geographical barriers, it also gives birth to the issues like miscommunication, dissatisfaction, and conflicts among team members. Creativity, productivity, and performance are much more well-reported in face-to-face communication than in a virtual team. Practice, training, and proper guidance can help to overcome these challenges in a virtual team
References:
Cummings, J., & Dennis, A. R. (2018). Virtual first impressions matter: the effect of enterprise social networking sites on impression formation in virtual teams. MIS Quarterly, 42(3), 697-718.
Hacker, J. V., Johnson, M., Saunders, C., & Thayer, A. L. (2019). Trust in virtual teams: A multidisciplinary review and integration. Australasian Journal of Information Systems, 23.
Morrison-Smith, S., & Ruiz, J. (2020). Challenges and barriers in virtual teams: a literature review. SN Applied Sciences, 2, 1-33.
