Role of Communication in Conflict Management
The dissimilarity in the ideas and opinions of individuals result in a conflict. One needs to adjust with each other to some extent to avoid conflicts and better relations. Conflicts and fights must be prevented to avoid its adverse consequences like stress, anxiety and unnecessary tensions. Communication has a big role to play in conflict […]
Political Systems around the World and the Causes and Consequences of Gridlock
Political Systems and Gridlock around the world There are different types of political systems in different countries around the world. If the United States has a presidential direct election kind of system, the UK and India have parliamentary systems that are characterized by a mixture of direct and indirect elections. This means that the democratic […]
The Economic Costs of MeToo
The MeToo movement has caused ripples across the entire world. The fact that some of the most prominent and powerful men in the world are harassing their female colleagues has been a shocking revelation to many. It has also opened the potential for many lawsuits. Companies that continue to keep accused on their payroll are […]
Outsourcing Risk Management Program/Outsourcing Human Capital Consulting
Managing risk efficiently and effectively can be a determining factor in the overall success of any organization. Most of the companies try to develop a risk management plan on their own and some outsource this function. Outsourcing risk management function is not a new concept and is being widely used by many organizations nowadays. However, […]
Sensation and the Sensory Organs (Gustation, Olfaction, Somatosensation, Proprioception and Kinesthesia)
Gustation (Sense of Taste) The gustatory system comprise of three crucial parts: the mouth, tongue and also the taste buds which helps us in perceiving the sense of taste. Both the gustatory system and the olfactory system (sense of smell) follow chemoreception process. The process of Chemoreception allows the human sense organs to interpret the […]
Politics is an inevitable phenomenon faced by the employees in any workplace - virtual or collocated. The personal agenda of individuals in terms of career aspirations and motivations to work as well as organizational culture are the key determinants of workplace politics. Political processes can be either overt where the organizational hierarchy is rigid or covert in less bureaucratic organizations. Overt or covert, both types of political processes are detrimental to the organizational health.
Members of virtual teams adopt different influence tactics to impact team decisions. Influence tactics adopted by virtual team members affect:
All this have direct impact on the productivity and effectiveness of global virtual team. Therefore, it is one of the most important responsibilities of virtual team leader to understand as well as manage politics in the virtual workspace.
There are different types of influence tactics such as assertiveness, rational persuasion, consultation, pressure, blocking, upward appeal etc. exhibited by the members during their interactions with others. Following four factors largely determine the intensity and choice of influence tactics by the virtual team members:
Thus we see virtual teams witness less intense and interpersonal means of influencing rather than unhealthy competitive ones. An exception to this rule occurs when members of same geographical area form coalition and hold discussion outside the formal group interactions.
Though virtual team members experience politics but in a comparatively subtle way. In fact, virtual team leaders can minimize any signs of politics by establishing flatter hierarchy and promoting cultural sensitivity. Thus we see the basic characteristics of global virtual teams like multicultural, physical distance and constrained communication keep the emergence of team politics under control.
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