So Many Teams, So Little Time: Time Al, location Matters in Geographically Dispersed Teams

So Many Teams, So Little Time: Time Al, location Matters in Geographically Dispersed Teams

Journal Critique

1. Introduction

Geographically dispersed forms of teams whose members lack the capacity to allocate their time to a single unit or rather, a group often carry out a significant knowledge-intense form of work within multinational organizations as established in this research study. Cummings & Haas (2011) reveals that multinational entities mainly operate within a fast-changing and competitive global environment that demands the element of flexibility as well as the utilization of sophisticated and complex communication methods and technologies. Given this, it is extremely challenging for these entities to ensure that teams whose sole members work on a face-to-face basis harness a useful work model. According to Cummings & Haas (2011), it is common that teams within multinational organizations spread across varied geographical regions while participating in various projects as required, thus ensuring that their goals are balanced in a provided project. However, there is a more significant variation on how the team members allocate their time as well as responsibilities to the teams, with this driven in part to the increase in the prevalence of knowledge on the element of extensive work that relies mainly on the expertise as well as the experiences of the team members irrespective of their location within an organization.

2. Statement of the Problem

Cummings & Haas (2011) in this research study reveals that unlike the bounded entities, stable as well as traditional research teams that ensure that the team members all work hand in hand on a face-to-face basis over a provided duration in solving problems, accomplishing tasks, and making decisions, the knowledge-intensive teams as established in this case are less likely to engage in work together entirely within a similar location. The research reveals that these teams are more likely to use part of their efforts and time within a focal group given the fact that they have the capacity to work on other groups in a concurrent manner, as well as span varied geographical locations (Cummings & Haas, 2011). On the other hand, the challenges, as well as the opportunities that come with globalization, are considered as unavoidable, an aspect that in part informs how knowledge-intensive groups and teams allocate time to each of the members following there geographical dispersion.

3. Limitations of the Study

One of the flaws in this study lies in the fact that the research lacked the awareness regarding the percentage of the duration of time that each of the team members spent on the other team members. In other words, an understanding of how the member time within the teams is allocated could have played a fundamental role in understanding the costs and the benefits that the members acquire and gain in participating in different groups (Cummings & Haas, 2011). On the other hand, the studies independent as well as dependent variables were equal measures through the use of data collected from different respondents at differing points, thus revealing that the study has a possibility of facing a reverse causality.

4. Methodology

In order to address the concern raised in this study, the researcher resorted to an attention-based model of team designs that commenced from the perception that attention remains a scarce and valuable resource within an organization. The researcher, in this case, conducted an investigation of some of the antecedents as well as consequences that relate to member time allocation within a multi-level survey of 2055 respondents in 285 teams within a more massive corporation (Cummings & Haas, 2011). The researcher therefore resorted to the use of survey data as well as independent executive methods of rating in underpinning the time allocations and team performances.

5. Findings

The findings of the study, as established by Cummings & Haas (2011) at the individual level, found that the element of time allocation remains a trajectory that is influenced by the team member’s level of education, experience, leadership roles, and rake as established. On the other hand, at the team level, the findings revealed that performance remains higher among teams whose primary members are allocated a significant proportion of time within a focal group. However, it is surprising to establish that the findings established that performance tends to be higher for the groups whose team members are alleged to allocate adequate time to a number of the other groups (Cummings & Haas, 2011). Moreover, the findings of the study established that time allocation within the performance of teams is a contingent of geographical dispersion, thus establishing the fact that the advantages of time allocation remain in the allocation of more time to a focal team.