How can a virtual collaboration
be success with an effective communication?
It is surprise that we need to collaborate with the
strangers (morning class classmates) for a group project and without any
physical contact. We had to forming a “high performing” team and to finish a
project virtually. It was really hard to do it but we were getting through the
whole process finally.
When we think of the “high performance” team, what do we
think of? As a boss or an outsider, they are based on the outcome to judge the
performance of the team. It is definitely right. But how can we get this
outcome? Using what kind of media and tools? Actually, there are many elements
to lead a successful “high performing” team.
In my point of view, the communication is the most essential
part during the whole group project or in the “high performing” team. So, I
would like to review the communication process within our group for the
individual reflection.
What is
communication?
Communication is the exchange and flow of information and ideas
from one person to another; it involves a sender transmitting an idea,
information, or feeling to a receiver (U.S. Army, 1983).
The process of communication is a
sequence of events in which a sender transmits a message to a recipient. The message
can be verbal or nonverbal as long as the recipient is able to understand it.
There are several steps in the process: encoding, medium of transmission,
decoding, and feedback. The sender selects a format for the message,
"encodes" it into that form, and then selects and uses a medium, or
method, of transmission. When the recipient receives the message, it is
"decoded," and feedback occurs.
Effective communication occurs only if the receiver understands
the exact information or idea that the sender intended to transmit. Many of the
problems that occur in an organization are (Mistry, Jaggers, Lodge, Alton,
Mericle, Frush, Meliones, 2008).
After reviewing the communication theories, we would like to
focus on the parts of the communication media, the communication networks we
adopted and the barriers that we have faced during the project.
Choosing the
Communication Media in the Virtual Collaboration
The have suggested several communication methods, e.g.
using QQ or WeChat. But we rejected. We would like to have the email be the
core communication medium.
- Quick delivery and reply of messages
- Convenient
- Can contact a group of people at once
- No limit on how short or how long the message should be
- Can attach large documents and other files with a click of a button
After the whole process, using the email as the only medium
may not be the best option. We experienced the misinterpretation of the email
message easily. For example, when we were brainstorming the ideas by using
email, each person got different meanings from the ideas. We needed to clarify
the ideas several times.
Also, email does not include nuances of tone of voice or
facial expression, making miscommunication more likely. Unlike oral
communication, email communication does not allow for instant feedback, such as
questions or facial expressions.
If I need to do a virtual collaboration again in the
future, I will select email as the major communication medium but not the only
one. I would like to arrange the video conferencing meeting especially when we
have to discuss the major issues e.g. the main ideas of the projects and the
solution of the significant problems. Why do I choose video conferencing? First,
it will have no time and place limit. We just need a computer with a microphone
& speaker (or just need a smartphone) and the Internet access. Second, we can
see the facial expressions and the eye contacts from the team members. It will
be better for us to understand is that they have any queries or
misunderstanding during the discussion. Also, it can increase the productivity.
As I mentioned before, we have to clarify the ideas several times to make sure
all of us is understand a “same thing”. Using the video conferencing can
eliminate or lower the chance of the misinterpretation. After the
video-conferencing, we can have the email follow up and confirm the ideas.
Adoption of the Communication Networks
During the whole process, we used the decentralized
communication networks (i.e. a communication
network in which all group members
have access to the same number of communication channels).
Why did we choose the decentralized communication networks?
Decentralized communication networks are better than the
centralized communication networks for the problem solving. In the centralized
communication networks, the decisions are always made by the leaders. But
within our collaboration, we do not have any leader in the team. Everyone can
provide their own point of view and we hope that the solution can be satisfied
by all the team members.
We are mainly using the email to have the communication. All
the emails are sending to all group members even the email to Frank. So, it
will help to disseminate all messages.
Being use the decentralization communication networks, we
hope that all of us enjoy the higher levels of satisfaction during the process
(but we do depress in sometimes) and a better quality of the project (we hope
it is).
Barriers during
the Communication in the project
During the whole process, we had faced several barriers
during the communication.
Culture,
background, and bias
During the brainstorming stage, both team
are thinking which we are familiar and what we have done. For example, we are
focused on the fashion industry i.e. what we had done some analysis before.
This experience is going to affect our direction during the discussion.
Another example is the members of Tick Tack
are all coming from the Chinese mainland. They do not have the clear concept of
non-government organizations (NGOs). After we divided the roles, they started
to ask the information about the NGOs. We (Tri) are from in Hong Kong. We did
not think of the difficulty for the partners group before they raising the
problems. And our team discussed the major reason is that the Chinese mainland
does not have many NGOs and most of the services are provided by the
government.
Email from Tick Tack:
Reply from Tri (Peter):
Our culture, background, and bias can be good
as they can help us to understand something new. But they can also interfere
with the communication process. So, we are trying to help them understand the
concept of NGOs and explain and provide more information (email, website and
some documents) about NGOs to facilitate them to finish their part.
Ourselves
During the project, we are always focusing
on ourselves rather than the other person. It led to confusion and conflict. For
example, we feel we know more that the other in the whole project process (the
requirement of the group project) and the ideas (about the fashion or the
disabilities). It may lead the feeling of the superiority. These kinds of
feeling and attitude must be tossed aside for the effective communication and
the effective collaboration to occur.
Perception
When we have the discussion, sometimes we
feel the member’s comments or ideas are non-sense and it is not workable. We
may dismiss the person. These preconceived attitudes affect our ability to
listen. It is going to affect the whole collaboration process. We are trying to
stay clam and then providing the feedback with a better solution and with the
brief explanation to support.
Stress
People do not see things the same way when
under stress. We all are in stress when we are running out of time and have to
prepare the presentation and the final report. What we see and believe at that
moment is influenced by our psychological frames of references, i.e. our
beliefs, values, knowledge, experiences, and goals. Sometimes, we are just
based on the past experience and limited knowledge to frame the directions. Everyone
got different experience and knowledge. We have to discuss the things again and
to clarify the ideas again before the presentation to confirm all of us are in
the same pace.
Conclusion
An effective communication is essential to the virtual
collaboration. I suggested that we have to choose the suitable media to
communicate. It can avoid the misinterpretation of the ideas and to increase
the productivity. For the long run, it may also increase the group
cohesiveness.
To adopt the communication networks, we have chosen the decentralized
communication networks. We believed that we all have the ability to finish the
project with the email communication. Also, we trust all the members are going
to work towards the ultimate goal (i.e. to finish the project successfully). It
may not be suitable for all the cases. When the abilities of the team members
are not adequate or we just need to handle some simple task, the centralized
communication network may be more suitable and effective to finish the task.
For the barriers of the communication, I suggested that we
have to prepare ourselves to be good team members which include our attitudes
(e.g. to be open minded and not to judge the things by our own knowledge and experience).
If we cannot meet these, it is difficult to have the success of the virtual
collaboration.
Reference:
Burnett, M.J., & Dollar, A. (1989). Business Communication:
Strategies for Success. Houston, Texas: Dane.
Mistry K., Jaggers J., Lodge A., Alton M., Mericle J., Frush
K., Meliones J. (2008). Using Six Sigma Methodology to Improve Handoff
Communication in High Risk Patients. In: Advances in Patient Safety: New
Directions and Alternative Approaches. Vol. 3. Performance and Tools. AHRQ
Publication No. 08-0034-3. Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and
Quality; August 2008.
U.S. Army. (October 1983). Military Leadership. FM 22-100.
Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
No comments:
Post a Comment