Virtual Communication 09 15 09

JHUBusiness Communication

Tuesday, September 15, 20096 – 9PM ET

Conference Call:Number: 218-339-3600Access Code: 752020#

Tom [email protected] 15, 2009 1

mailto:[email protected]

Agenda

September 15, 2009 2


Introduction


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Exercise


Exercise

You have all the information you need to complete the exercise. Read the story on the next page and quickly answer the questions.

Please do not read the next page until the exercise begins.


ExerciseThe StoryA business man had just turned off the lights in the store when a man appeared and demanded money. The owner opened a cash register. The contents of the cash register were scooped up, and the man sped away. A member of the police force was notified promptly.

Statements about the story (T/F)1.A man appeared after the owner had turned off his store lights. 2.The robber was a man. 3.The man who appeared did not demand money. 4.The man who opened the cash register was the owner. 5.The store owner scooped up the contents of the cash register and ran away. 6.Someone opened a cash register. 7.After the man who demanded the money scooped up the contents of the cash register, he ran away. 8.While the cash register contained money the story does not state how much. 9.The robber demanded money of the owner. 10.A businessman had just turned off the lights when a man appeared in the store. 11.It was broad daylight when the man appeared. 12.The man who appeared opened the cash register. 13.No one demanded money. 14.The story concerns a series of events in which only three persons are referred to: the owner of the store, a man who demanded money, and a member of the police force. 15.The following events were included in the story: Someone demanded money, a cash register was opened, its contents were scooped up, and a man dashed out of the store.


Small Group Discussion/Large Group Discussion



Channels of Communication


Face to Face

+ -• Provides all channels of

communication

• Most natural method

• Can be fastest and most effective

• Time and place limited

• Can be expensive

• Not always required


Best Practices• Understand use of self (personality type, conflict style, etc)

• Improve communication skills (feedback, listening, etc)

• Understand group dynamics, become skilled in facilitation

Email

+ -• Convenient and universal

• Easiest 1-to-many method

• Provides documentation

• Easily misunderstood

• Misused

• Can cause more problems than it solves


Best Practices• Keep it short and sweet -- fact-based, and use other channels

to reinforce

• Develop and communicate norms for usage (response deadlines, content, subject lines, read times)

• Consider related technologies for persistent knowledge (wikis, SharePoint, etc)

Telephone (one-to-one)

+ -• Retains content and tone

• Focused

• Build relationships

• Time & place restricted

• Difficult to document

• Constrained span


Best Practices• For voice mails – leave name, number, brief purpose, and

when you are available for a return call

• Schedule calls ahead of time with IM/SMS or Outlook

• Follow-up calls with email to document decisions/actions

• Use phone calls to enhance all other channels (especially for informal/emotional content)

Meetings and Teleconferences

+ -• Focus power of a group on a

problem or decision

• Can allow full participation and accountability

• Can result in better and/or innovative approaches

• Often poorly planned and facilitated

• Conflict can damage relationships

• Widely seen as time-wasters


Best Practices

• Goals, outcomes, processes

• Strict facilitation useful in many contexts

• Explore alternative techniques to focus on tasks and preserve relationships

IM/SMS

+ -• Quick

• Enhance awareness of group (presence )

• Accessible from almost anywhere

• Distracting

• Time-restricted

• Lack of immediate response may be disappointing or confusing


Best Practices• Brief questions or use to schedule later discussion

• Use as back channel to other channels

• Can support more emotional content

Collaborative Software and Enterprise IS

+ -• Any time/any place

collaboration

• Tailored to the organization

• Persistent knowledge base

• Can be restrictive

• Steep learning curves

• Does not always solve the problem it was intended for


Best Practices

• Extensive, deep training and alignment to strategic goal

• Leadership should model needed behavior

• Encourage full participation

• Lowest common denominator

Effective Virtual Organizations



Material Resources

M1. Technology capability Providing needed functions to all group members, measured by speed, reach, interactivity and richness.

M2. Technology and collaboration

Supporting and reinforcing group collaboration, leveraging technology capabilities.

M3. Technology reliability, flexibility and usability

Accessibility (group members’ ease of access through a particular medium) is a critical factor in choosing the appropriate infrastructure. A flexible technology is essential since groups use technology according to their own norms, cultures and practices.

M4. Appropriate usage of FTF and CMC

Using face-to-face (FTF) and computer-mediated communication (CMC) for the optimal application.

M5. Other essential resources Allocating budgets for all required and essential resources (home office, mobile tools, travel budget for regular face-to-face meetings, etc.)

Organizational Context

C1. Rewards Virtual group compensation is based upon group-related behaviors and outcomes. Provide incentives to expand independence as well as risks and benefits.

C2. Performance measurement

Developing criteria to encourage virtual group performance: including peer ratings, team outcomes and critical virtual behaviors.

C3. Training and learning Providing early virtual team training to reinforce norms, practices, goals and roles.

C4. Knowledge Reinforce need to archive learned knowledge for later use.

C5. Information system Required business information is available to all collocated and distributed members, in real time if necessary.

Group Design

D1. Task structure A clear, explicit and decoupled structure designed to allow independence and reduce interdependence.

D2. Group norms Maintaining clear and open communication. Message content is explicit and frequent.

D3. Goal clarity Establishing clear rules and shared goals for all members of the virtual group.

D4. Trust development Acknowledging the critical value of trust in virtual relationships and the actions and behaviors required to build trust and trustworthiness during virtual group initiation.

D5. Trust maintenance The actions and behaviors required for trust and trustworthiness for the full life cycle of the group.

Group Synergy

S1. Conflict management Leveraging positive task-based conflict to strengthen the virtual group’s satisfaction and performance. Manage the negative impact of relationship-based conflict.

S2. Leadership Providing enough autonomy for virtual group members, while reinforcing a more structured formal process to compensate for lost communication cues. Must be constantly aware of team synergy to identify issues early and serve as role model for the group.

S3. Group identity Maintaining a sense of the group as an entity, maintaining awareness and presence with group members.

S4. Communication Communication should be frequent, timely, and task- as well as non-task related. Group should develop clear norms for communication protocols (acknowledgements, response times, etc.) to avoid conflict due to reduced cues.

S5. Feedback Providing a fixed and formal channel for feedback (scheduled meetings, calls, etc.)

Effective Virtual Organization model

Small Group Discussion/Large Group Discussion



Review/Debrief


Virtual Communication 09 15 09

Education

Transcript of Virtual Communication 09 15 09