Virtual Teams

The role of virtual teams in business cannot be underestimated. More than before, virtual teams continue to play a significant role in business because they allow organizations to organize talents and skills to achieve various business objectives (Duarte & Snyder, 2006). With increasing use of technological tools and proliferation of globalization, virtual teams have become a viable option for business organization to accomplish varied business tasks. Nonetheless, there are many challenges that affect how virtual teams operate. These challenges vary depending on the composition of virtual team and their distribution, as well. If, for example, there are two teams, both working in Houston or one working in London and another in Houston, their experience and abilities will vary significantly, but some similarities will also be observed. Nonetheless, the team within Houston is much easier to operate.

Virtual teams within Houston and other based in Houston and London have several attributes that vary. First, both teams have a difference in time zones, which can have a significant influence on their working environment. For instance, the team in Houston can find it less challenging to work on their projects than the other virtual team, which has to grapple with the time difference in Houston and London. In addition, business holidays and other calendar events differ between Houston and London, and this has considerable influence on the performance of the virtual teams. Organization culture can also be a source of difference between the virtual team. Despite the above differences, the virtual teams based in Houston and the other in Houston and London share some similarities; both teams will have to contend with power difference, which affects how virtual teams operate (Duarte & Snyder, 2006). Moreover, the virtual teams also have to cope with various assumptions that characterize any virtual team, regardless of its composition. Similarly, the virtual teams will also be affected by variation in culture. While cultural variation is a force to reckon in a virtual team based in a different location, a local team like the one based on Houston will also be affected by this factor.

Given an opportunity to choose between the virtual teams, I would go for the team based in Houston. My choice for this team is based on the ease that the team can tone down the challenges associated with virtual team formation. Unlike a team operating in London and Houston, the Houston based team face fewer acute challenges. A team with members in Houston and others around the globe presents significant challenges to the operation of the virtual teams. These challenges are more pronounced due to the possible variations between the team members. This team will have to cope with many challenges among them time zone variations, power difference, communication challenges, and variation in business culture and difference in practices (Duarte &Snyder, 2006). These challenges amplify the complexities of not only forming virtual teams, but allowing them to work on various projects without incurring any significant bottleneck that can derail their efforts. Despite these challenges, a virtual team with members across the globe can still exploit some of the challenges to create synergy. For instance, virtual team members from various parts of the world have the ability to bring new ideas that and thoughts on how to accomplish various tasks.

While a virtual team with members around the globe can harness its challenges to create synergy, there are other issues that can impede its effectiveness. First, the impacts of time zones are more pronounced with various team members coming from different regions. Second, variation in business culture can shape the outcomes of the project because of its impact several aspects. As an illustration, business ethics can break or facilitate success of a project. Most importantly, variation in technology and bandwidth requirements can