If we consider key characteristics related to teams such as geographical dispersion, team members' objectives and roles, the flexibility of structural arrangements, the level of diversity and finally the team's electronic dependence, then we can distinguish some emergent team types:

Project or product development teams

These can be considered to be the most traditional virtual teams, which started to come into existence in the 1990s. They consist of experts on a subject matter, sometimes from different places across the globe, who get together to work on a very specific task, for example a new product. Such teams are often characterised by a high level of professional homogeneity but also a high level of cultural heterogeneity. An example of such teams are software development teams. However, they can also include a high level of functional diversity, for example when a team is tasked with finding a technical business solution, which may include expertise in engineering, user experience design and graphic design, for example.

Work, production or functional teams

These are teams which tend to have a high level of structural embeddedness in an organisation. Team members typically have clearly defined roles and tasks, enabling them to work independently. However, they are members of teams that need to combine their work in order to produce an end result. Hence they come together to exchange views on the development of their work, streamline work processes and coordinate tasks.

Action teams

Action teams are teams that get together on an ad hoc basis, for example because there is an urgent issue to be tackled. They are often asked to offer an immediate response to a problem, whereby the minute the problem has been solved, they also disperse. These teams are strictly task oriented and therefore other characteristics are subordinated.

Agile teams

These are self-organised and self-dependent teams which are able to handle complex tasks in a very productive, flexible and creative manner. They are cross-functional teams, so every team member has a broad set of social and professional skills, which are required to fulfil the project. As self-responsibility is one of the main characteristics, hierarchy levels are flat. Agile teams act autonomously and are generally not dependent on other teams. They are therefore responsible for risks and delays, since they often do not depend on other teams.

Management teams

Management teams are formed by managers of an organisation, who may come from different countries and cities around the world. They operate and coordinate at the higher levels of an organisation and may or may not be geographically dispersed.

Last modified: Thursday, 14 September 2023, 2:08 AM