E-COMMERCE

Question one

During the virtual team meeting, as the members were on the call, the team leader, Rebecca, noticed that some of the members were not frequently sharing their sales pipelines. This is despite previous agreements by all stakeholders involved that they ought to present them. She also noticed that some members were not present during some of the calls, and when they attended, they were not confident enough to contribute to the discussion. Rebecca decided to use humor to break the ice in the room and make the atmosphere a little bit conducive for all involved.

Question 2

Despite making prior arrangements and rules before beginning the meeting to enhance a smooth transaction between all members, Rebecca realized later that there was more preparation that could have been done. For each member involved in the project, she should have personally contacted them to understand their different circumstances and approach to the project. This would have enabled her to come up with a helpful team structure that would have accommodated all individuals. It would have also made their work more relaxed since all the members would feel accommodated.

Question 3

Through making personal contact with each member, Rebecca would have gotten to understand the various challenges that Woo-Jin, her Korean colleague, and Kamiko, her Japanese worker, were undergoing. For Woo-Jin, her work setup was in a stringent hierarchal office where subordinates replied directly to their managers. This meant that for whatever decisions there were to be made, she had to first get authorization from her supervisor. This affected her contribution to the project since she could not send the pipeline sales documents without approval from her manager.

Kamiko, who worked from Japan, was in fear of the stringent data laws that were enforced in the country to protect data users. This meant that she did not feel comfortable enough to share the pipeline sales information. This was because of the measures that had been put in place, and she might have probably faced the law, had she done so. However, she had tried to address this issue with Rebecca indirectly. Unfortunately, Rebecca was not able to understand her.

Question 4

Virtual leaders need to exercise more understanding and patience with their members. By engaging with the members, the leaders can get to know the different circumstances that each member is facing, and that might affect their performance on the project. By understanding the various issues and conditions each member is undergoing, the team leaders come up with better strategies and procedures to conduct virtual meetings. The leaders also need to exercise more engagement with their members to understand the various favorable approaches that can be used to make the virtual experience better. By encouraging contribution to the process, this enhances inclusivity and diversity towards making the virtual experience more productive.

Virtual members need to practice transparency over their existing conditions and challenges. By raising their concerns, they enable other members and leaders to look for alternative options for tackling the issues. Virtual members need to also uphold teamwork as an essential component of making the virtual experience better. This means that they are required to work collaboratively with each other towards ensuring that everything necessary to run the meeting is set up well.

Question 5

Virtual teams can be useful by understanding each member’s cultural diversity and using their diverseness to bring out a better contribution to a project. The virtual teams can also become more productive by ensuring that they strictly adhere to the meeting times and requirements of the project. By each member contributing to the teamwork effectively, the projects can be successful. The team leaders should also practice proper team management that incorporates the diversity of all members and enhances positive contribution towards successfully doing the project.