MBA 6011 Collaborative Virtual Organization: Assessment and Strategy –
Instructions
As a team, identify a real company that someone on the team has access to internal data and information. The first choice is usually an organization that one of the team members works for – that way they have access to data and information needed for the assignment. If this wont work, then identify another organization that has a lot of publicly available information and contact your faculty member to discuss this option.
Once you have the organization identified, as a team complete the team charter and project plan. Submit to the Dropbox in Week 2. Once you have approval from the faculty for your proposed organization begin collecting the data that you will need to analyze in order to address the six areas below. Write a 25 to 30-page APA style report that addresses the following areas.
Section 1 Organization Profile – Using the framework provided, develop a description of the organization and current working environment.
Section 2 Vision for Collaboration Practice – What is the current vision the organization has for a virtual collaborative work environment?
Section 3 Technology – Identify and assess the technology infrastructure and tools that support a virtual collaborative work environment.
Section 4 Culture of Virtual Collaboration – Describe and assess the current culture for virtual collaboration.
Section 5 Workforce Capabilities – Identify and assess the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed by the workforce to support a virtual collaborative working environment.
Section 6 Leadership – Identify the leadership roles, responsibilities, and abilities needed to lead the transformation to a collaborative virtual work environment.
For each section assess the current situation and propose a new design or plan to go from the As Is to the To Be. Support your analysis with solid references.
This comprehensive assessment addresses a wide variety of issues including context, strategy, culture, technology, workforce, and leadership. Consequently, all the books, articles, and videos included in the course are potential resources for this project.
Download the Project Charter and Plan Template. Download the Team Member Peer Evaluation Form.
Watch – How to get your Company ready for Digital Transformation (9:17 min.)
Christoph Magnussen https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhJlkx419og
Watch – Working in the Cloud for Agencies (regardless of G Suite or Office 365)
Christoph Magnussen https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLVOya2iBIY
Once you have the organization identified, as a team complete the team charter and project plan. The virtual team project includes multiple requirements and activities. Consequently, the effective use of project management tools and techniques is critical for a successful experience. Use the Excel spreadsheet template provided to develop your charter and project plan.
Team Charter – The first tab is the team charter. This will set the stage for a successful team
experience. Note – The charter is due in the Dropbox no later than Wednesday of Week 2.
Project Plan – The second tab is your project plan. Once you have approval from your professor for your proposed organization, begin planning how you will collect the data that you will need to analyze in order to address the six areas in the report.
Note – If you have another project management application that you prefer then you are free to use that vs. the spreadsheet for the project plan portion.
Status – The third tab is a project status stoplight report on four dimensions of schedule, scope, cost, and quality (a.k.a. Triple Constraint Theorem). Working as a team, use this tab to evaluate and discuss your status throughout the project.
Journal – The last tab is a journal where you can record events, decisions, issues, and activities. It provides a record that anyone on the team can access to review previous decisions, etc.
Feel free to add Tabs to your file to keep track of other aspects of the project such as documents, interviews, etc.
Ownership The entire team owns the project. While you will likely assign individuals to develop a DRAFT for each section, once the draft is complete is becomes the teams report. At that point release all pride of ownership and allow the entire team to edit the document. Synchronous editing on a collaborative digital platform such as Google.docs or Microsoft OneDrive will make this easier and faster. In other words, no one has a section after the draft. The team owns and is responsible for all the sections.
Professionalism Friendships and personal relationships are great, but keep it professional and do not
allow cliques or subgroups to form. Make sure everyone is always in the in- group.
Communication Listen, participate and balance inquiry and advocacy. Make sure everyone on the team knows everything all the time.
Record Keeping Keep track of everything you do. Maintain archives of drafts, revisions, final editions, emails.
Conflict Resolution Be honest, be fair, stress the teams product. The team is responsible for managing
the project and the behaviors.
Assessment At the end of the course, each team member will complete an evaluation of their
teammates performance. To help set expectations, use the evaluation form to discuss expectations when developing the team charter. Note – Individual course grades may be adjusted based on the results of the peer evaluations.
In addition to traditional project management tools and techniques, you will need a few virtual team tools to facilitate teamwork. There are three types of tools that will make a big difference in your effectiveness and efficiency as a team including (a) file sharing and synchronous editing, (b) group messaging, and (c) video conferences.
File Sharing with Synchronous Document Editing – First, you need a place in the cloud for file sharing. More importantly, you need a place that will allow team members to edit documents at the same time. Emailing files around is old school and the slow way to work. We recommend that you use the report template as an intact document and everyone on the team edit it at the same time. The two most
common platforms capable of this type of work are Google and Microsoft 365 cloud. Either platform works as long as everyone has access.
Team Messaging – Second, while email is often useful it can be slow and create a disconnected collection of messages. Many teams use free messaging applications such as WhatsApp or Slack to communicate quickly and keep their conversation organized. In addition, some teams use Microsoft Teams but this isnt always available to everyone on your team. Some teams have also found cloud- based project management tools useful such as Trello (a free version is available).
Video Conferencing – Third, video conferences such as Zoom or Skype provide for a richer communication experience vs. voice only. Virtual teams composed of diverse team members often experience communication issues. Video conferences help increase the effectiveness and efficiency of team interactions and allow for screen sharing which also often enhances the communication process.
General Formatting Instructions
All your formatting questions are answered in the APA guide with the exceptions listed below. DO submit a Word.doc NO PDFs!
DO name the file submitted with your Team Letter for example, A Team.doc Do Not include any other information in the file name.
DO use tables and diagrams as appropriate to illustrate key concepts and processes and save space. However, if you include a table or diagram you must refer to and discuss that exhibit in the text of the paper. Make sure you label and format the tables following APA guidelines.
DO use 1.5 Spacing! Except for tables and diagrams which are single spaced.
DO use 11pt font for the paragraphs and tables in the body of the paper (excluding headings).
DO support your discussions with solid management concepts and research from credible source (e.g., journal articles). Without references, your discussions will be limited to your opinion vs. critical analysis backed by empirical evidence.
DO NOT include generic tutorials on management concepts. This is an application paper so references to the literature theories, concepts, and research should be applied to the particular situation. In other words, make the connection between theory and practice not just a description of general theory.
DO NOT include any direct quotes from the references that you use. Use the references to support your own analysis and words.
NO APPENDICES!
For the Title Page use the following format:
University of Fredericton Exclusive Exceptions Apply Sample Title Page: UFreds Writing Lab Example of
What your Title Page Should Look Like Which Should Never Be More Than Two Lines Long Student Name Appears Here
University of Fredericton and UFred Course Number and Title Appears Here UFred Professor Name Appears Here
Date of Submission Appears Here
Organization Profile
Using the framework provided, develop a description of the organization and the current working environment. Begin the paper with a brief description of the organization, size, industry, markets, operating locations, etc. Focus on those aspects and factors that are relevant to the topics in the remainder of the paper virtual collaboration.
Vision for Collaboration Practice
What is the current vision the organization has for a virtual collaborative work environment? Describe what the organization would look like if they achieved their vision for collaborative work. Base this vision for a collaborative virtual work environment on input from the organization and your own analysis of their situation. Include the rationale for proposed your vision.
Technology
Identify and assess the technology infrastructure and tools that support a virtual collaborative work environment. Identify the key factors that you included in your framework for analyzing the technology needs. Include a diagram of that technology framework as an introduction to this section. Then identify the specific technology needed to achieve the vision for virtual collaboration. Include your rationale for your proposed technology choices.
For more on a technology framework check out:
Working in the Cloud for Agencies (regardless of G Suite or Office 365) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLVOya2iBIY
Culture of Virtual Collaboration
Describe and assess the current culture for virtual collaboration. Identify the cultural characteristics needed to achieve the vision for virtual collaboration. Characteristics of culture include values, norms, rituals, symbols, heroes, and organizational practices. Using those characteristics assess the current organizational culture and identify areas to improve.
Workforce Capabilities
Identify and assess the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) needed by the workforce to support a virtual collaborative working environment. What KSAs are needed by the workforce to achieve the vision for virtual collaboration? Using the list of desired KSAs, assess the current workforce and identify areas for improvement.
Leadership
Identify the leadership roles, responsibilities, and abilities needed to lead the transformation to a collaborative virtual work environment. What leadership knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) are needed to achieve the vision for virtual collaboration? Assess the current leaders as a group and identify areas for improvement.
References
Include references actually cited in the paper following APA format guidelines .
Support your discussions with solid management concepts and research. Without references, your discussions will be limited to your opinion vs. critical analysis backed by empirical evidence. Also, make sure you reference the two texts:
Fisher, K., & Fisher, M. (2011) Managers Guide to Virtual Teams, 1st edition. McGraw-Hill, New York. Hofstede, G., Hofstede, G. J., and Minkov, M. (2010) Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind,
Third Edition, McGraw-Hill, New York