Globally-expanding organisations that are
trying to capitalise on distributed skills are increasingly using
virtual project teams to shorten product development time and increase
quality. These virtual teams, which are distributed across countries,
cultures, and time zones, are required to use faster and better ways of
interacting. Past research has shown that virtual teams that use
computer-mediated communication (CMC) instead of face-to-face
communication are less cohesive because they struggle with mistrust,
controlling behaviour, and communication breakdowns. This study aims to
determine whether project practitioners in South Africa perceive virtual
teams that use videoconferencing as suffering from the same CMC
disadvantages described in past research in other environments; and if
they do, what the possible causes could be. This paper reports on a
survey of 106 project practitioners in South Africa. The results show
that these project practitioners prefer face-to-face communication over
CMC, and perceive virtual teams using videoconferencing to be less
cohesive and to suffer from mistrust and communication breakdowns, but
not from increased conflict and power struggles. The perceived
shortcomings of videoconferencing might result from virtual teams that
use this medium having less time to build interpersonal relationships.Organisasies
maak toenemend gebruik van virtuele projekspanne wat verspreid is oor
lande, kulture en tydsones en verbeterde maniere van interaksie benodig.
Vorige navorsing het egter getoon dat virtuele spanne wat gebruik maak
van rekenaar-bemiddelde kommunikasie (CMC) i.p.v. aangesig-tot-aangesig
kommunikasie minder samehorig is omdat hulle sukkel met wantroue,
beherende gedrag en gebrek aan kommunikasie. Hierdie studie ondersoek of
106 Suid-Afrikaanse projekpraktisyns van spanne wat videokonferensies
gebruik ook meen dat die spanne ly aan die nadele van CMC wat in ander
omgewings ondersoek is. Die resultate toon dat die respondente
aangesig-tot-aangesig kommunikasie bo CMC verkies. Dit toon ook dat
virtuele spanne wat gebruikmaak van videokonferensies minder samehorig
is en ly aan wantroue en gebrek aan kommunikasie, maar nie aan verhoogde
konflik en magstryd nie.