Virtual Teams

Cultural Differences in Virtual Teams Running head: VIRTUAL TEAMS

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Cultural Differences in Virtual Teams

Cultural Differences in Virtual Teams Abstract This paper focuses on how cultural differences between members of virtual teams may affect individuals or even teams from different locations and cultures, with different goals and experiences, to work as teams. The challenge of getting products to market quickly and efficiently in today’s global market has created an increase on demand for virtual teams.

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Advances in technology have also fueled the emergence of virtual teams. Virtual team members are physically separated by time, space or culture. The paper reviews existing perspectives on virtual teams, their organization and management. Understanding characteristics of virtual team members, how cultural differences impact virtual teams with regards to behavior, decisionmaking, and performance are important for successful virtual teams implementation.

Cultural Differences in Virtual Teams Cultural Differences in Virtual Teams The challenge of getting products to market quickly and efficiently in today’s global market has created an increase on demand for virtual teams. Advances in technology have also

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fueled the emergence of virtual teams. Members of virtual teams come from different countries, communicate via various forms of communication technology, and rarely meet face-to-face. Communication delays, time zone differences, conflicts, increased production time, and specialized requirements for local markets are some of the obstacles that multinational organizations are usually trying to overcome by using virtual teams. There are also barriers in implementing and sustaining virtual teams, most of which are related to the characteristics of their members (Dafoulas & Macaulay, 2000). One of the major factors affecting the effectiveness of virtual teams is the difference in culture of team members. Individuals from different cultural...