Summary

Exploring the communication breakdown in global virtual teams, by Tugrul U. Daim and his research assistants, focuses on how developers communicate with each other when they are spread out across the globe. It also analyzes multiple causes of communication failure among these developers. Previous research has shown that teams of developers working in the same region tend to be more effective than teams spread across the globe. By sharing his findings, Daim hopes to educate others on how to avoid communication breakdown.

            Daim and his research assistants studied five criteria that they found to be the main causes of communication breakdown: cultural differences, interpersonal relations, leadership, technology and trust. Each of these causes can single-handedly cause communication breakdown and thus are equally important. Technology contributes to many of the issues because technology is behind every type of communication whether it is e-mail, video-conferencing or social media. People of different cultures also have different expectations, values and behaviors. This makes it hard to build interpersonal relations among team members, which can lead to an overall lack of trust. Team members that work in the same office have a lot more in common than members from different cultures and because of this members are less likely to share ideas with each other. The last major criterion discussed by Daim is leadership. Daim says that the team leader needs to be enthusiastic about the work and also be in constant contact with every member of the team. This ensures that everyone is on the same track and workings towards a common goal. The leader is also in charge of making sure each member of the team has an effective relationship with each of the other members.

            After laying out these five criteria, Daim mentions many complaints brought up my members of global virtual teams. These complaints vary depending on if the team communicates in real-time virtually or if they communicate through e-mail and face-to-face. With teams that communicate by e-mail and face-to-face many people complain that e-mail is a waste of time and ineffective in trying to get an idea across. They also argue that there are a lot of meetings and not many decisions being made. When they do make decisions at these meetings it is hard to keep track of the decisions being made because there is no record of it. Because of these reasons and also the challenge and cost of bringing everyone together face-to-face, many teams choose to meet in real time virtually. However, many people find that meeting in real-time virtually consumes a lot of time and invades on their personal life. These meetings are generally US dominated and are not usually very productive because they either happen at the beginning or end of the day. One of the biggest difficulties is remaining productive and continuing to communicate when not meeting in real-time. Daim used in-house software developed at Portland University to combine answers to all the questions interviewees were asked and also weigh each answer in importance. Daim found that across all of the professionals interviewed responses remained consistent, which shows the accuracy of his findings.

            In conclusion, Daim offers a few ways to combat these issues since global virtual teams are necessary in today’s global market and cannot be eliminated. Firstly, building and integrating company culture into teams helps members relate to each other faster. Secondly, learning how to effectively use the forms of communication offered will make team members more eager to communicate with one another. Lastly, ensure the leader of the group has a good, positive attitude that will foster good relations among the team members.