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Harden, Harden, & Harden is a venerable Wall Street stock brokerage firm. It has its business offices located in downtown Manhattan in the Wall Street district. Its information technology offices are located across the Hudson River in Jersey City. One of HHH’s most important corporate clients is Mammoth Capital Corporation. For years, HHH has been handling Mammoth’s financial security transactions in a semi-automated fashion. Mammoth would supply HHH with financial data generated from its financial systems formatted in accordance with Mammoth requirements. This data would have to go through a multi-step reformatting process so that HHH could deal with it. Similarly, when HHH needed to send data back to Mammoth, it would have to be reformatted so that Mammoth’s computers could accept it. It was obvious that this process was time-consuming, costly, and error prone. Mammoth approached its principal account executive at HHH and said that it would be willing to fund a project that would enable to engage in seamless financial transactions with HHH. It Assignments MGT201. Communication and Soft Skills 2013 University of Management and Technology 2 established some special requirements. For example, instructions to and queries of the system should be web-based. Also, data security protocols would have to be established to assure the financial integrity of the transactions. Songsri Singh of HHH’s Information Technology Department was put in charge of the project. She had two IT professionals to help her, including an expert on web based transactions. All three of these people worked in Jersey City, a forty minute train ride from headquarters on Wall Street. Songsri also identified four business people from headquarters. One was the account executive, who was familiar with the wants and needs of Mammoth. The other three were experts on financial processes relevant to the project’s requirements. Songsri also included a specialist from Mammoth’s IT department, who would coordinate activities from the Mammoth perspective. His name was Joseph, and he and his department were located in Phoenix, two time zones away from Songsri. Mammoth’s business headquarters were located in Chicago, one time zone away from Songsri. The project “owner” was located there. He was a Senior Vice President at Mammoth. He assured HHH that he would make three or four business experts available to help out with the project, when their expertise was needed. A careful analysis of business and technical requirements suggested that the project would take nine months to complete. While most of this time entailed standard software development, testing, and integration activity, a significant portion was also dedicated to getting approvals from senior managers in both companies at crucial milestones (e.g., HHH had a rule requiring all web-based activities of substantial size to undergo a legal review by the legal department. This review typically would take from two to six weeks).

Clearly, Songsri was leading a virtual project team, with important players located in three different time zones.A major challenge she faced was establishing effective communications among the players.

a. Identify at least four significant team communication challenges she would be facing on this project that would be tied to the fact that she was working with a virtual team. Explain carefully the problems associated with each challenge. Describe the negative impact the project would face if these challenges were not successfully handled.

b. For each of the challenges, describe how Songsri could deal with them. Explain why you think your proposed solutions would make things better

Don’t provide superficial comments. The situation Songsri faces is becoming common in modern organizations. Dealing with this situation effectively is crucially important. In developing your response, take into account a range of factors, such as organizational issues, psychological issues, geographical issues, group dynamic issues, and technical issues.

You should devote 3-5 pages (single spaced, 12 point font) to your answer.

Solution

Communication and Soft Skills

The communication and soft skills are most important qualities of a leader to manage any project efficiently and effectively to accomplish the decided task at the right time. These two qualities helps the leader to manage their team in proper manner through implementing their full work capacity for the specified project. But, accomplishing task is not easy in the condition of several issues in the communication process basically in virtual team communication. In this concern, it is important to identify the challenges or issues in the virtual team communication pocess in the given project of Harden, Harden and Harden (HHH) for Mammoth, concerned with engaging in a seamless financial transaction system and data security protocol.

Team Communication Challenges

There are various team communication challenges or issues because of the working with virtual team members that work in different time zones in the USA. In this project, there are two IT professionals to help Songsri Singh. The one expert has knowledge about web based transactions. Further, the other four business member of the headquarters of Wall Street would also work with Songsri according to the requirement of Mammoth. She has also included a specialist from Mammoth’s IT department that would coordinate activities from the Mammoth perspective. All these members would work together for this project through virtual communication process that is very challenging according to the different time zones. Therefore, the significant team communication issues or challenges are as follows:

Work Adjustment Issues: Work adjustment is the main issues in the team communication on the regular basis because of the different time zones of the offices location. In this, the communication has to be done with the virtual process together to accomplish the project within nine months. But, this project is time-consuming, costly, and error prone project that need care management at any cost. The Songsri and her two IT professionals working in Jersey City that is far from Wall Street district and is the headquarter of HHH. The four people are also working with this team from headquarter of HHH. Moreover, an IT specialist is also working with this team from Mammoth side to coordinate this project from Phoenix city. The Phoenix City is two time zones away from Jersey City as well as Mammoth headquarter is one time zone away that is located in Chicago (Maynard, Mathieu, Rapp & Gilson, 2012).

At this stage, the different geographical places of the districts are creating issues in the proper team communication process. In case of deciding to fix a meeting with team members to discuss about the project though the virtual process, the meeting schedules are not matching among all these location. When the team leader would try to contact with another member at a given time, the other members would be unable to respond promptly in the virtual communication process because of the separate time zone.

In this concern, various problems are associated with team in communication such as meeting time problem, less task performance, and lack of members’ inclusion in the project. Further, minimum participation in meetings and less interaction are also associated with this issues (Maynard, Mathieu, Rapp & Gilson, 2012). When this team would work virtually, these functions are difficult in adjustment. Further, the verbal or visual reminds of a collapse in communication would not be revealed clearly in time for effective team training of the project process.

Thus, this issues would delay the project and a negative impact in case of inability to handle by the team leader. Further, the project would not be completed within nine months and it would increase the cost of the project. There would be possibility about teamwork inefficiency to manage it properly at the right time. Further, the project would not continue and probability to close the project.     

Limitations of Technology Issues: The other significant issue of the team communication is limitation of technology that can interrupt in the working process to solve the project at the right time. There are constraints such as limited benefits from the use of other technology to communicate with the team members apart from virtual technology because Songsri is tied to the fact to work with a virtual team apart from face-to-face. In this project, Songsri would use the internet facility to mail and can also call for any communication, but it has little impact because project basically needs face-to-face communication for better understanding (Weisband, 2013). At this stage, the team communication would face issue due to limitations of technology. Further, the network and electricity failure in virtually discussion would be a big problem that can interrupt the communication process.

Moreover, the connectivity of all the different places at one time is not possible through a virtual process in case of making them understand that how to contact with an account executive of HHH’s headquarter and Joseph of Mammoth in Phoenix at the same time. On the other hand, the problem of the limitations of technology in team communication would raise lack of making decision, and lack of expressing opinions that can inhibit quality output of the projects in time. Further, the limitation of technology would also limit to generate innovative ideas. Now, these situations because of the limitations of the technology would rise some negative impacts such as less value of the project to bring efficiency in financial transactions through web technology.      

Issues of Limited Interaction between Team Members: Limited interaction among all the team members is also a team communication issues due to lack of face-to-face communication. The virtual interaction is less valuable than face-to-face communication process and it minimizes the effectiveness of the project in virtual communication process. At this stage, this challenge increases several problems due to lack of personal interaction among team members. In the virtual team environment, the real circumstances cannot be possible and because of this the full potential of interpersonal communication such as body language, expressions, facial cues and intonations as well as eye contact missing in the act of sending messages (Weisband, 2013).

The other problem such as uneven technical capabilities of the team members and low degree of trust or shared sense can be possible due to limited interaction. It is the weakest point of virtual communication that team leader would face. As a result, the project would be diverted from its setting goals in case of less dominance over this challenge. The project would go towards the risk of under performance when the challenges would not successfully handled by team members in the situation of left out of the interaction.

Legal Constraints Issues: It is clear that the project operation management is based on leading a virtual project team, including important workers that are located in three different time zones. Therefore, in the team communication challenge, legal restrictions is inhibiting the project value to be completed in time. Both of the organizations have a significant legal rule for the software development, testing and integration activity, every process must have to take approvals from senior managers after that the team members would move forward on the project in the next step (RW, 2010).

At this stage, the project is facing major problems in taking approval because it takes two to six weeks in a legal review by the legal department. Therefore, team communication process is taking more time on each step of the process. It can be assumed that team communication is taking two to six weeks after completion of one process. Now, the project would be delayed in the context of not successfully handling that is a negative impact of the project.

Resolution of Issues

Work Adjustment Resolution: Time adjustment is the main issue for Songsri Singh in team communication activities because of three different time zones in the virtual team operation. Therefore, Songsri could make a strategy of twenty four hours working with the team members at any time. Whenever she requires to discuss about the valuable project, the other members should be ready to communicate at any cost with commitment (RW, 2010). Further, Songsri could specially fix an adjustable time for every team members to suit the different location and time zones to communicate regularly whenever she required to discuss on project progress.

Moreover, she could also make a schedule to communicate with each member separately to take the ideas for other team members to make them better understand on the project progress. Therefore, this solution would be very helpful to remove different time zones challenges of the different locations in the team communication process. The members would communicate whenever they need in the problem solving, and task performance of the project. It would reduce the problem of day and night work.

Resolution of Technology Limitations: The solution of the limitations of the technology could be handled with the help of maximum use of internet facility where every member should live in touch at every moment of project progress. The Songsri could use advanced virtual technology to be connected with other experts and try to use better broadband services on the internet to avoid any interruption. Further, she could also use some common techniques such as text messaging, email, virtual chatting, calendaring, file sharing, faxes, voice mail, and data conferencing with the help of collaborative software that allow people to work together towards a common goal in the absence of face to face meeting.

At the same time, this solution would make thing better in the virtual team communication and it would remove the limitations of technology (Maynard, Mathieu, Rapp & Gilson, 2012). The main reason for the effectiveness of this solution is concerned with the use of videoconferencing system that would support the team members to interact through interactive audio and visual transmissions with the help of better quality microphones, speakers, and cameras along with an internet system to transfer the data.

Resolution of Limited Interactions: To remove the effectiveness of limited interaction, Songsri could apply different rules in the team communication process to complete the project at the right time. In this, the team members should behave naturally on camera to avoid distraction in eye contact (Leonard, 2011). She could make rules of clarity of role, and synchronizing the work efforts as well as to build and maintain effective communication interfaces with the team in well manner to minimize the effectiveness of limited interactions.

Further, she could create opportunities for team members to get to know each other on a personal level. She could make a faithful system to recognize and manage misunderstandings among team members. When anyone feels upset or uncomfortable about virtual communications with another virtual team member, Songsri could give a responsibility to share related concern openly to create greater understanding (Leonard, 2011). Now, this proposed solution would increase confidence and trust of team members to know each other to complete the setting goals of the project.

Resolution of Legal Constraints: In the legal constraint solution, Songsri could talk with both owners of the organization to make quick decisions in the legal review process by the legal department in each and every step of progress (Brown, Huettner & Tanny, 2010). She could try to convince them that the late approval would increase the cost and time of the project and consequently it would decrease the value of the project at the right time. In this concern, this solution would make things better when both owners of the organization be convinced to know the value of the project in the seamless financial transaction.     

References

Brown, M.K., Huettner, B. & Tanny, C.J. (2010). Managing Virtual Teams: Getting the Most from Wikis, Blogs, and Other Collaborative Tools. USA: Wordware Publishing, Inc.

Leonard, D.A. (2011). Managing Knowledge Assets, Creativity and Innovation. USA: World Scientific.

Maynard, M.T., Mathieu, J.E., Rapp, T.L. & Gilson, L.L. (2012). Something(s) old and something(s) new: Modeling drivers of global virtual team effectiveness. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 33 (3), 301–444.

RW (2010). Retrieved from: http://www.rw-3.com/VTSReportv7.pdf

Weisband, S.P. (2013). Leadership at a Distance: Research in Technologically-Supported Work. USA: Psychology Press.