A Dyadic Composition to Foster Virtual Team Effectiveness: An Experimental Study

The importance of effectiveness for virtual teamwork continues to gain momentum as technology and globalization of work accelerate. The implementation of virtual teams provides one approach to enhance competitiveness, overcoming the disadvantages of space and time differences through collaborative technologies. The influence of structure to virtual team performance has not been clearly established in the literature. The purpose of this research study was to investigate the effectiveness of a dyad structured approach for virtual teams using a quasi-experimental research design. This research investigated four questions related to the influence of structure on virtual team effectiveness related to task performance, communication frequency, and team satisfaction. Research questions included: (1) How does a dyad structure influence virtual team performance?, (2) What is the impact of a dyad structure on virtual team effectiveness with respect to task outcome?, (3) What is the impact of a dyad structure on virtual team effectiveness with respect to team satisfaction?, and (4) What is the impact of dyadic communication on virtual team effectiveness in terms of reducing overflow communication? The research approach was a quasi-experiment design to test the effect of a dyad structure, compared to self-structured, design on virtual team performance. A total of one-hundred eleven participants were placed in thirty-eight virtual teams, including dyad and self-structured assignments. The participants included graduate and undergraduate students from different universities in the US, Israel, Colombia, and the Netherlands. The teams completed a task using a web-based virtual environment, reached a team decision, and reported their satisfaction and perceptions of the experience through a self-reporting web-based survey. Hypotheses on task performance, team satisfaction, and the amount of communication were tested for differences between dyad structured and self-structured virtual teams. Statistical analyses were conducted to assess differences between the dyad and self-structured teams. The results showed significance differences between the two virtual team structural configurations. Dyadic teams performed better in arriving at the task solution using less communication to finish the task. Dyadic teams were also more satisfied with their task solution than the self-structured teams. However, results indicated that dyadic teams were not satisfied with operating as a dyadic team in this study. The research also demonstrated that team satisfaction was the most significant predictor of virtual team effectiveness. The research document concludes with implications for further research and suggests guidance for improved effectiveness in design and implementation of virtual teams

Strategic alignment and project management offices: case studies from successful implementations in Turkey

Due to an increased need for learning modern project management methodologies, companies have been forced to improve their knowledge of Project Management Offices (PMO). Global business environment resulted with increased importance of project management methodologies, aligned with competitive strategies. Today, many organizations have recognized the importance of implementing PMO's for effective project control and better stakeholder (executives) support for projects. PMOs also undertake strategic roles such as incorporating higher management support to achieve strategic goals, integrating business strategies into project management efforts, and prioritization of projects. This paper examines PMOs in the process of strategic alignment. Moreover, the contribution of PMOs to achieve strategic goals is explored. Our initial findings are promising represented in a framework, and demonstrated by a case study application review using IT and telecommunication companies selected from Turkey. The research offers future directions and implications of a well-established successful PMO system.Publisher's Versio

Virtual team effectiveness using dyadic teams

The importance of effectiveness for virtual teamwork continues to gain momentum as technology and globalization of work accelerate. The implementation of virtual teams provides one approach to enhance competitiveness, overcoming the disadvantages of space and time differences through collaborative technologies. The influence of structure to virtual team performance has not been clearly established in the literature. The purpose of this research study was to investigate the effectiveness of a dyad structured approach for virtual teams using a quasi-experimental research design. A virtual dyadic team is considered as two person-structured teams working on a particular task in a virtual collaborative environment. This research investigated four questions related to the influence of structure on virtual team effectiveness related to task performance, communication frequency, and team satisfaction.The results showed significance differences between the two virtual teams. Dyadic teams performed better in arriving at the task solution using less communication to finish the task. Dyadic teams were also more satisfied with their task solution than the self-structured teams. However, results indicated that dyadic teams were not satisfied with operating as a dyadic team in this study. The research also demonstrated that team satisfaction was the most significant predictor of virtual team effectiveness. The paper concludes with implications for technology managers and suggests guidance for improved effectiveness in design and implementation of virtual teams.Publisher's Versio

Developing organizational maturity for effective project management

Despite criticism for their serious shortcomings, maturity models are widely used within organizations. The appropriate applications of these models can lead to organizational and corporate success. Developing Organizational Maturity for Effective Project Management is a critical scholarly publication that explores the successes and failures of maturity models and how they can be applied competently to leadership within corporations. Featuring coverage on a wide array of topics such as project management maturity, agile maturity, and organizational performance, this publication is geared toward professionals, managers, and students seeking current research on the application of maturity models to corporate success.Publisher's Versio

Crisis project management and the effect of national culture under crisis: A study from Turkey

Crisis management is a critical function in organizations, specifically developing and emerging countries dealing with crisis in a minor and major scale frequently. Crisis in projects should be handled immediately and professionally in where the projects threat the reputation of a company. In traditional organizations, most common organizational behavior under crisis seems to take the risk with no supported mechanism. Project management based organizations practice risk management under project management methodologies, surprisingly we cannot find many companies are prepared for crisis. This behavior may associate with national culture, especially Hofstede's extensive work on national cultures. Therefore, this paper investigates cultural characteristics of Turkish business culture under crisis, and identifies the relationship with the natural culture dimensions and crisis project management. Two-stages survey questionnaires are employed and data analyzed using different statistical analysis. Our results indicate that power distance, uncertainty avoidance, and long-term orientations are the national cultural dimensions observed significantly under crisis situations. Further investigation and recommendations are discussed.Publisher's Versio

Solving the multiple level warehouse layout problem using ant colony optimization

This paper addresses the multiple level warehouse layout problem, which involves assigning items to cells and levels with the objective of minimizing transportation costs. A monthly demand and an inventory requirement are associated with every item type along with vertical and horizontal unit transportation costs. The warehouse has one port to transport items vertically from ground floor to the other levels, where each item must be assigned to exactly one cell on the assigned level. An ant colony optimization (ACO) algorithm is adapted to this NP-complete problem and its performance is evaluated by comparing its solutions to the ones obtained using genetic algorithms (GA) as well as the optimal solutions for small problems. The computational results reflected the superiority of ACO in large-size problem instances, with a marginally better performance than GA in smaller ones, while solving the tested instances within a reasonable computational time. Furthermore, ACO was able to attain most of the known optimal solutions for small-size problem instances.Publisher's Versio

Designing project management systems

The purpose of this paper is to develop the concept of project management system from the perspective of systems science. There is a need to extend the body of knowledge for project management. In particular, the application of systems perspectives and systems theory offers a significant opportunity to advance the current state of project management knowledge. Although there have been suggestions of systems approaches for project management, rigorous systems science has not been used to support these depictions. First, we develop the background and define a perspective of project management systems. Second, assumptions and principles are drawn from systems science to provide a foundation for project management systems. Third, a model for project management systems is developed from systems sciences and management cybernetics. Our initial explorations are promising, demonstrated by a case study application review using a complex system of systems (SoS) project encompassed multiple government agencies, and we offer future directions and implications for further model refinements, applications, and research into project management systems.Publisher's Versio