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604 VIRTUALTEAMSWeb-Based Conferencing
Virtual teams can hold audio conferences using the Inter-
net by using voice over IP (VoIP). VoIP is the transmission
of telephone calls over the Internet. There are four ways to
communicate with VoIP, using a computer and/or a tele-
phone.
Virtual team members can use computers alone to con-
duct an audio conference. All that is required is the neces-
sary software, a microphone, speakers, a sound card, and
an Internet connection. This form of VoIP allows for the
integration of other Internet applications, such as e-mail
and application sharing.
The computer-to-telephone method permits calls from
a computer to any standard telephone. Calls from a tele-
phone to a computer are also possible with the appropri-
ate hardware and software. VoIP can also be used in a
standard telephone-to-telephone exchange. This method
does not involve a computer but is usually more cost ef-
fective than traditional long-distance calling.Asynchronous Communication Technologies
Asynchronous communication in virtual teams does not
occur in real time. Any interaction between the team
members is delayed. Most communication among virtual
teams is asynchronous with a variety of different tech-
nologies utilized. The majority of tools are Internet-based,
because the Internet is the most ubiquitous technology
available to virtual teams. All a team member needs is a
browser and Internet access to be immediately connected
to the rest of the virtual team.E-mail
E-mail is by far the most common means of communica-
tion among virtual teams. Team members can communi-
cate electronically from practically anywhere in the world
and share information. Distribution lists can send a mes-
sage to every single person on the team, or a subset of the
virtual team. Filtering capabilities make it easy for virtual
team members to organize their e-mail messages. E-mail
is also the most cost effective communication technology
for virtual teams to utilize.
Virtual teams must establish a set of rules for e-mail
communication to be effective. The e-mail addresses of
each virtual team member should be provided to every
member of the team. The virtual team needs to establish
how often members will check for e-mail messages and
what is the expected timeframe to respond to an e-mail.
The virtual team members determine what type of infor-
mation will be included in an e-mail, and how detailed
that message will be. If attachments to e-mail messages
will be routine, the virtual team needs to ensure that ev-
eryone has the proper tools to open the attachment.
It is of particular importance that virtual teams provide
guidelines for what constitutes acceptable behavior when
using e-mail. The nature of the technology makes it very
easy to send an e-mail without thinking through the con-
sequences, which could be devastating to the team and its
purpose. Additionally, virtual team members should prac-
tice good “netiquette,” an informal set of rules designed to
regulate conduct on the Internet. For example, proper ne-
tiquette dictates that e-mail messages should not be typedin all capital letters. On the Internet, that indicates “shout-
ing” and can be offensive to those who receive the e-mail
message.
Human beings use more than words to communicate.
Subtle changes in body language can contradict the ac-
tual words being communicated. Because e-mail is strictly
a text-based computer-mediated communication, written
words alone could easily be misinterpreted by members
of the virtual team. “Emoticons,” created using keyboard
characters, are often used in e-mail communications to
convey emotions or visual cues lacking in the words alone.
A smile, for instance, can be added to an e-mail by typing
three characters: a colon, a dash, and a close parenthesis.Web Sites
Maintaining an Internet presence for the virtual team as
a whole, and individual Web sites for each member of the
team, is a very effective method of asynchronous com-
munication. Personal Web sites posted on the Internet
can contain a wealth of content vital to the virtual team’s
success. Team members can communicate their contact
information, such as their phone number, fax number,
e-mail address, and availability. Vast amounts of infor-
mation such as project updates, schedule changes, and
status reports can be accessed by the entire virtual team
through its members’ individual Web sites. Internet bul-
letin boards can also be a part of the virtual team’s Web
sites, allowing team members to exchange e-mail and ac-
cess information.Intranets
An intranet is similar to the Internet, but accessible only
to authorized users, most often within a particular orga-
nization. The intranet is protected from outsiders by a
firewall, which denies unauthorized people access to the
system. Intranets deliver news and information specific to
the organization, provide e-mail distribution lists, and of-
fer bulletin boards and electronic forums for information
sharing, project planning, and status reports. Intranets
are very functional tools for virtual teams to utilize, al-
lowing open lines of communication and data exchange
in a relatively secure electronic environment.Databases
Databases are used for information storage and retrieval.
Copious amounts of valuable data can be accessed by the
virtual team members from anywhere at any time through
the Internet. Databases are another valuable tool for asyn-
chronous communication in a virtual team.Groupware
Some tools used by virtual teams to communicate and
collaborate via the Internet belong to a class of products
called “groupware.” Groupware is a generic term for spe-
cialized computer aids designed for the use of collabo-
rative work groups (Johansen, 1988). Concepts similar
to groupware are often called electronic meeting sys-
tems, computer supported cooperative work, computer
assisted communication, or group decision support sys-
tems. The evolution of groupware products has also aided
in the development of virtual teams. Without electronic