Problem of Johnson

On the role of team leader of virtual and multicultural team, Johnson is required to provide the leadership for the development of new product in the next six weeks of a short life cycle. It has given a normal break away of the normal product that usually requires three months to launch. Therefore, the main problem lies in their team member that is one of the main challenges for Johnson to create the synergy in the group. The synergy in the team member can help the group to beat the deadline. Cultural diversity is the major factor of problem as it has led the Johnson to use different styles of communication (Alhejji, Garavan, Carbery, O'Brien & McGuire, 2016). In the virtual team, some members prefer written communication skills whereas some prefers oral communication. In addition, due to the different geographical locations, the response timings are also different.it is necessary to receive the urgent response while doing any urgent task so that it can bring with effectiveness. It was the first issue that Johnson was facing.

The second problem was the existing conflict among the three members in team. All the arguments were about the mission of the group. These members were disagreeing from the actual mission that is made for the every member. All the members have different idea about the limitation in a team. This disagreement further hampered the synergy and unity in the group. Due to the lack of synergy, it led the slower decision-making in the past. This will be the big problem in launching the new product within the timeframe of six weeks. In addition to all these, there are still conflicts related to adequate structure for the enhancement of unity as well as teamwork in the group. Hence, there was no meeting held for all the members.

Solutions for product launch

The above-mentioned problems can be solved by taking various measures. It can divide all the problems and can take short-term solutions. It will help in launching the product within the time as planned. As a leader of virtual team-members, role of Johnson is to provide effective guiding to its members. Conflict resolution and effective communication should be the top priority of every leader (Dunn, Grannan, Raisinghani & Stalling). It can initiate a meeting that will be attended by all the members. The meeting will held through video conferencing in which the focus will be given on the crisis. With the help of this meeting, the main goal of team and the responsibility of each member for the urgent matter will be conferred. Besides this, it will also discuss the specific rules for communication and feedback that is agreed by all the members.

It should also show the short clip that assist the member in guiding toward the exact development of product. The problem of different communication channel can be solved by specifying one major channel of communication. There should be an official channel of communication for allowing the members to consult with each other. “Mission conflict “can be solved by deciding a specific mission of the team for the launch of new product. It is also seen that these members are communicating from geographical location; therefore, diversity-training programme will be sound for multi-cultural team (Jiang, Flores, Leelawong & Manz, 2016). This training program will ensure the members to learn effectively in a team of different cultural background. Among all these, motivation plays an important role in leading a virtual team. Linking of reward with outcomes tends to produce better output in specified time framework.

Selection of effective team

All the solutions explained above are the effective measures to reduce the limitations in a team for launching a new product. In the long run, effectiveness of virtual team is determined by the selection mode and its formation. The first step for formulation of better team is identifying a great leader. Leaders are the one who take the initiate for everything in a team by recognising the skills and cultural gaps that exist in a virtual and diverse team that are discussed by the Johnson (Liao, 2017). It is also essential for the leader of a team to provide on the job training for the cultural and skills improvement within the members.

In the development stage, leaders must define the mission and values of team from the onset. This will help the leader in getting only those members who do not have problem regarding the mission of the company. It will generate a pool of skilled members in team. In addition, all the members will be able to understand the concern and purpose that may be addressed by those ( Erez & Shokef, 2015). Conflicts related to various issues definitely came in leading a multicultural background team. Therefore, it is mandatory to create the “conflict resolution mechanism” while formulating a team. This will help in effectively addressing the potential conflicts that might occur in future. Team building skills is also one such measure that helps the members in understanding its team in a better way. Therefore, the team is required to have structures for development as well as team building. It will promote the harmony and synergy among the team members.

Conclusion

In the limelight of above discussion, it can be stated that a leader is required to face various problems in managing the teams of different cultural background. For leading a team effectively, synergy and harmony is the top most requirements. In multi-cultural team, the idea of each members of different due to which if one aggress on some point then other will surely disagree. Therefore, decision-making is the biggest problem that the leader faces.

All these issues can definitely be solved by taking suitable actions or measures. Effective communication is a best technique to solve the conflicts lying between these members. Video conferring proves to be best communication tool when teams are from different locations. By taking a crisis meeting through video conferencing, members will come to know the goals and responsibilities that are to be fulfilled by them.

It is clear that effectiveness of team will depend on the selection mode as well as formulation. However, the formation of better team depends on the leader. In this way, leaders should take the initiative for effectively leading the team. It should adopt effective leadership style that encourage its team members to effectively participate in group.

References

1. Alhejji, H., Garavan, T., Carbery, R., O'Brien, F., & McGuire, D. (2016). Diversity training programme outcomes: A systematic review. Human Resource Development Quarterly, 27(1), 95-149.
2. Dunn, S., Grannan, C., Raisinghani, M., & Stalling, H. (2015). Communication Strategies for Successful Virtual Teams. In System Sciences (HICSS), 2015 48th HawaiiInternational business LawConference on (pp. 364-373). IEEE.
3. Erez, M., & Shokef, E. (2015). Cultural Intelligence and Global Identity in Multicultural Teams. In Handbook of Cultural Intelligence (pp. 195-209). Routledge.
4. Jiang, X., Flores, H. R., Leelawong, R., & Manz, C. C. (2016). The effect of team empowerment on team performance: A cross-cultural perspective on the mediating roles of knowledge sharing and intra-group conflict. International Journal of Conflict Management, 27(1), 62-87.
5. Liao, C. (2017). Leadership in virtual teams: A multilevel perspective. Human Resource Management Review, 27(4), 648-659.