Virtual Online Teams: The Development of Cross-cutting Skills for
Business Students
Maureen Snow Andrade and Ronald Mellado Miller
Utah Valley University, 800 W. University Parkway, Orem, U.S.A.
Keywords: Online Learning, Teamwork, Schools of Business, Higher Education.
Abstract: Extensive research of employers across sectors over the past decade indicates the importance of teamwork
and other transversal skills such as communication, critical thinking, problem-solving, ethical reasoning, and
the ability to work with diverse others. In spite of its value to employers, teamwork is decreasingly emphasized
by schools of business in terms of the learning outcomes they measure for purposes of accreditation. This
qualitative study explores the implementation of teamwork in an online business management course. It
examines the student experience based on data derived from formative team reflections measuring team
performance and effectiveness. The study sought to gain insights into the performance of virtual teams in a
business education context and determine if and how the technology-mediated environment impacted
effective teamwork as perceived by the students. Findings indicate that students primarily experienced issues
characteristic of all developing teams rather than being specific to virtual teams and that they recognized the
value of teamwork. Course design and content supported students in addressing issues. Further
recommendations are provided for structuring effective teamwork in online courses.
1 INTRODUCTION
Over a decade of research has consistently identified
the skills that employers seek in recent college
graduates. These include written and oral
communication, teamwork, ethical decision-making,
critical thinking, and application of knowledge
(Association of American Colleges & Universities
[AAC&U], 2015; Hart Research Associates, 2015).
In spite of this, recent college graduates fall short of
expectations (Hart Research Associates, 2015).
College graduates themselves, however, are
confident in their mastery of these skills (Hart
Research Associates, 2015).
Adding complexity to the development of cross-
cutting skills are changes in higher education,
specifically expanded access resulting in a more
diverse student body, the need for lifelong learning,
and for flexibility in scheduling and course delivery.
Institutions are addressing this through online course
delivery. In the United States, online enrolments have
been increasing for the past 14 years with 30% of all
university students enrolled in at least one online
course (Seaman, Allen, & Seaman, 2018). In the UK,
online learning comprised 8% of all higher education
offerings in 2016-2017 with 83% of those enrolled
being 25 years of age or older (Universities UK,
2018). Although the goal of distance learning is to
increase access to knowledge (Kentnor, 2015), many
online students are non-traditional (Radford, 2011;
Wladis, Conway, & Hachey, 2015), have weak
academic performance, are ethnic minorities, or are
first-generation (Ashby, Sadera, & McNary 2011;
Johnson & Palmer, 2015; Wladis et al., 2015).
Another issue facing higher education institutions
is ensuring that learning outcomes, such as the
development of cross-cutting skills along with
mastery of disciplinary knowledge, can be effectively
facilitated in an online learning environment. In spite
of scepticism that learning outcomes in online courses
are the equivalent of those in a traditional face-to-face
setting (Allen & Seaman, 2015, 2016; Calderon &
Jones, 2016), demand for online courses is high.
This study focused on the development of cross-
cutting skills in an online business management
course, specifically the development of teamwork
skills. The goal of the study was to understand the
experiences of students working in virtual teams by
means of a formative team reflection in which teams
examined their performance and set goals for
improvement. It also sought to determine if the online
442
Andrade, M. and Miller, R.
Virtual Online Teams: The Development of Cross-cutting Skills for Business Students.
DOI: 10.5220/0009446504420449
In Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Computer Supported Education (CSEDU 2020) - Volume 1, pages 442-449
ISBN: 978-989-758-417-6
Copyright
c
2020 by SCITEPRESS Science and Technology Publications, Lda. All rights reserved
environment and teamwork mediated by technology
was a factor in team effectiveness.
2 LITERATURE REVIEW
Teamwork is a cross-cutting skill highly valued by
employers in a variety of educational and professional
contexts (CPA, 2012; Jackling & De Lange, 2009;
Hart Research Associates, 2015; Kotey, 2007; Olson-
Buchanan, Rechner, Sanchez, & Schmidtke 2007).
However, research indicates a gap between employer
demand for cross-cutting skills and the skills with
which students graduate (Hart Research Associates,
2015; CPA, 2012; Crebert, Bates, Bell, Patrick, &
Cragnolini, 2004; Evans, Nancarrow, Tapp, & Stone,
2002). In spite of this, the number of business schools
assessing teamwork is decreasing. In 2007, for
example, 42% of business schools measured it
(Martell, 2007), but by 2010, this had declined to
26.5% (Kelley, Tong, & Choi, 2010), and by 2015,
teamwork was no longer identified by business school
deans as an outcome actively being assessed
(Wheeling, Miller, & Slocombe, 2015).
Some may assume that requiring students to work
in online teams could lead to frustration and poor
performance. Indeed, virtual teams may have
different challenges than face-to-face teams. These
may include communication issues due to lack of
facial clues or body language if communication
occurs only through text (Saghafian & O’Neill,
2017); however, virtual communication tools allow
face-to-face interaction and document sharing.
Indeed, developing technological and virtual
communication skills is increasingly relevant for
today’s workplace.
In a comparison study, online MBA teams
indicated focusing on the task at hand due to
decreased informal chatting whereas face-to-face
teams were focused on creating harmony (Saghafian
& O’Neill, 2017). The online teams demonstrated
effective leadership skills, task commitment, and the
ability to distribute tasks equally and share ownership
(Saghafian & O’Neill, 2017).
Course design features and pedagogical practices
can enhance teamwork in online courses. These entail
helping students understand the purpose for
teamwork, identifying the value of resulting skills,
considering size and diversity, explicitly teaching
teamwork skills, using teambuilding activities,
ensuring a reasonable workload, assigning roles,
giving feedback, monitoring problems, and using
peer evaluations (Hansen, 2006; Schultz,
Wilson, &
Hess,
2010; Pfaff & Huddleston, 2003).
Another effective practice in business and
management education is peer and self-evaluations of
teamwork. These help students reflect on their
individual contributions as well as team processes,
and counteract issues such as preferences for working
alone, communication problems, conflict, social
loafing; and variations in academic abilities,
(Gueldenzoph & May, 2002; Mayo, Kakarika, Pastor,
& Brutus, 2012; Loughry, Ohland, & Moore; 2001;
Ohland, Loughry, Woehr, Bullard, Felder, Finelli,
Layton, Pomeranz, & Schucker, 2012). For such
evaluations to be effective, students may need
training (Inderrieden, Allen, & Keaveny, 2004;
Jassawalla, Sashittal, & Malshe, 2009; Walker,
2001).
Different approaches to team evaluation have
been used such as allocating a certain number of
points to be divided among team members (Erez.
LePine, & Elms, 2002; Michelsen, Knight, & Fink,
2004), student-created criteria (Thomas, Martin, &
Pleasants, 2011), and standardized rating systems
such as the CATME (Loughry et al., 2007; (Ohland
et al., 2012).
Peer evaluation encourages individual
accountability, particularly when included as part of
the course grade (Fellenz, 2006; Fink, n. d.; Hansen,
2006; Schultz et al., 2010). Instructors can create a
form that identifies the characteristics of effective
teams and invite student input on the criteria. Possible
items include being prepared for meetings,
participating in discussions and decision-making,
sharing the workload, helping teammates, and
demonstrating flexibility (Fink, n. d.). Self and peer
evaluations may also involve reflections or
summative and formative evaluation forms (Fellenz,
2006). For peer evaluation to be effective, teams may
need coaching to avoid the tendency to simply give
everyone full points. Ways to avoid this include
having a limited number of points to distribute among
members and ensuring anonymity.
3 METHODS
This study involved 148 students enrolled in an
introduction to organizational behaviour course
required for students majoring in business. The
course is offered online and entails several team
assignments. These assignments require students to
work in instructor-created teams of 5-6. The students
apply concepts and theories by critically analysing
real-life scenarios and making evidence-based
recommendations to resolve issues. These might
include motivation, leadership, personality, conflict,
Virtual Online Teams: The Development of Cross-cutting Skills for Business Students
443
job design, and so forth. The students collaborate to
plan, draft, design, and polish an ePortfolio artifact
outlining their approaches. They use video
conferencing tools as well as various means of
messaging to communicate, assign, and fulfill the
responsibilities associated with the task.
To assist students with the required teamwork,
they are provided with considerable structure in the
course design.
1. Students review and discuss material related to
the characteristics of effective teams and the
stages of team formation.
2. They create a team charter outlining their
vision and goals, communication methods,
expectations, rules, and problem-solving
approaches.
3. They are introduced to the ePortfolio platform
and its features. Their first task is to create their
team charters on the home page using available
design tools.
4. At midterm, students reflect on their team
performance by answering the following
questions what is working well, what needs
to be improved, and how can you make these
improvements?
5. Students are provided with reflection
guidelines. These include a teamwork rubric
with five categories: (1) contributing to team
meetings, (2) facilitating the contributions of
team members, (3) individual contributions
outside of team meetings (4) fostering a
constructive team climate, and (5) responding
to conflict (Rhodes, 2009). Explanations of the
categories and ranking descriptors, which are
on a 1-4 scale, are in the rubric. Students are
not required to submit their rankings but can
use them to guide their discussion. They can
evaluate each other, self-evaluate, or evaluate
themselves as a team.
6. Students then create an artifact in their
ePortfolios with their reflections. They also
adjust their team charters to reflect any changes
they need to make.
The team reflections were collected and analysed
with the aim of understanding the experiences of
students working in virtual teams in an online
learning context. The data was coded to identify key
ideas and create categories (Glesne, 1999; Lincoln &
Guba, 1985; Tesch, 1990). Using the constant
comparative method, recurring ideas and patterns that
were representative across teams were identified as
well as deviations from those patterns. This process
led to the creation of themes and subthemes to inform
the study question. The purpose of qualitative
research is to explore rather than to test existing
theory (Baker & Edwards, 2012); thus, although
findings cannot be generalized, they provide insights
that increase understanding of similar phenomena in
other contexts (Trochim, 2006).
4 RESULTS
In this section, we present the themes identified in the
analysis. These are organized by the key questions
that students responded to - What is working well?
What needs improvement? How can you make these
improvements? The themes are illustrated with
representative quotes.
4.1 Working Well
The teams agreed about the aspects of teamwork that
were effective. These included completion of
assigned tasks, on-time submissions, offers to help,
good communication, taking initiative, trust, equal
task distribution, support for each other’s ideas, and
openness to suggestions. The following quotations
illustrate:
Everyone always does their part and usually there
is good communication if they are going to be late
getting their part done. Different people have
taken initiative at different times and everyone is
supportive of team members’ suggestions. Even
when I made a mistake the first time by not
publishing the artifact before submitting it, the
team trusted me to submit it again as if I had never
make the mistake to begin with. Overall, I have
really enjoyed this team.
We have been working great as a team so far. I
think we are good at communicating throughout
the week and dividing projects up. We have done
a great job making sure the work gets done. We
understand each other and want to help out when
needed. I think we have really done a great job of
doing assignments on time and turning in quality
content. I have enjoyed working with this team.
For the most part, studentscomments focused on
practicalities for getting the job done; in other words,
planning and organizing as well as encouraging
accountability and establishing performance
standards. The comments also suggest that personal
connections, support, and shared commitment
resulted in enjoying the experience of working
together.
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4.2 Needs Improvement
Areas needing improvement were almost the opposite
of those that were working well. These included
communication problems, and specifically silence,
particularly when deadlines were near. They were
also characterized by lack of initiative or motivation
and minimal effort. Procrastination was frequently
mentioned – waiting until the last minute to complete
work. The following comments illustrate:
I think the biggest thing for me was that we would
usually wait until the day the assignment was due
to get it done.
Getting the work done earlier. More people taking
the initiative to get the assignment started and
completed.
Related to this, others indicated the need to improve
the quality of work by preparing an initial draft.
The only thing I think we really need to improve
on is rough drafts. I’m at fault at this, too.
Sometimes on assignments we don’t really take
our time preparing for the final draft by creating a
rough draft first.
Similarly, team members observed the need to
organize themselves by dividing up tasks and
assigning them earlier in the week.
I think we could do the assignments a bit earlier.
I feel like a lot of the time we wait until the night
before to split the assignment up. If we were able
to divide the assignment up early in the week, we
could get it done earlier and have more time to
proofread and edit our posts.
Others experienced issues with some team
members doing more than others.
Work needs to be even; some people end up
doing more than others.
Related to improvements, students did have
perceptions that working together without face-to-
face interaction presented problems.
It’s hard to work on the same assignment when
we don’t have regular face to face interaction but
it’s a good skill to learn because in any
environment where you work in a team, there will
be conflicts with schedules and other obstacles
that you have to communicate about and work
out.
This is the first online class I have been in that has
required teamwork. It has been an adjustment to
figure out how things work and the best ways to
do things. I have learned, though, that it is better
to over communicate. That way it is very clear
what you mean and gives everyone multiple
changes to ask questions or provide input.
These comments illustrate that although students
perceived challenges in virtual teamwork, they also
recognized what they were learning and the skills
they were gaining through the experience.
Teamwork is hard but necessary in the workplace.
There are many factors involved in teamwork that
need to be accomplished before the work can get
done.
4.3 Bringing about Improvements
Suggestions for bringing about improvements were
specifically related to the issues students identified.
These focused on overcoming procrastination,
generally by assigning tasks early in the week and
setting deadlines. The following quote illustrates:
I think we could improve a lot by setting our own
deadlines such as having everything finished the
day before the deadline instead of the night of
the due date. Another thing that would help is
speaking up earlier in the week about how to
divide the parts of the tasks. I know we are all
really busy, and though we always submit on
time, it’s hard to get it done with such late notice.
Along with these suggestions, student responses
also reflected the application of course concepts such
as communication, job attitudes, job design,
personality differences, and the stages of group
formation. Although these would not be applicable in
all online learning situations, they demonstrate that
students were applying course concepts to real life.
Additionally, students indicated making changes
to their team charters to address issues. Many of these
comments were related to team roles as well as clarity
of expectations.
We could set clearer team roles for each person
and expectations for each team member.
Virtual Online Teams: The Development of Cross-cutting Skills for Business Students
445
I think it would help if we would align our
purpose with the expectations we set.
We haven’t reviewed team roles since we
assigned them, so we need to speak with team
members to see if they feel like any roles need to
be changed.
Now that we know what we are all good at or like
to do, I think it would be good to update our team
roles.
Goal setting was another approach that students
identified to address issues. Generally, these focused
around “getting things done prior to the due date.”
5 DISCUSSION AND
IMPLICATIONS
This purpose of this study was to examine the
development of teamwork skills in an online business
management course, and specifically, to understand
students’ experiences working in virtual teams. It also
focused on identifying any elements in the online
environment or factors associated with technology
that impacted team effectiveness.
Interestingly, the comments did not indicate
problems unique to virtual teams even though
students perceived that the lack of face-to-face
contact was difficult. In each of the three categories,
the issues were related to effective team
characteristics generally regardless of the physical
separation of the team members. In many work
contexts, communication increasingly occurs through
technology; this aspect of working virtually was not
much different for an online team compared to teams
who meet in class but might still need to communicate
outside of class through technology (email, texting,
social media). Comments indicated that students
recognized the value of teamwork and virtual
communication. In no cases did technology come up
as an issue.
The key issues identified in the findings could be
addressed by helping students apply the POLC
framework. POLC stands for planning, organizing,
planning, and controlling. It describes what managers
do. Students in this class are learning management
skills through their teamwork; the structure provided
by the POLC framework can guide them to greater
effectiveness. For example, questions such as the
following could be posed for students to consider.
Planning – How successful were you on previous
tasks and related planning? What do you need to do
differently based on the feedback you received on
previous tasks? What goals do you want to set?
Organizing What structure needs to be in place
to be successful? By what day should team members
have completed the readings? How will you share
ideas about the content for the artifact? What are
individual team members’ responsibilities? What are
the due dates for each person’s contributions? Does
each team member understand what to do and by
when? Who will synthesize ideas, edit, and make sure
the content is integrated?
Leading – How can you benefit from the different
personalities represented on your team? Does anyone
need to be motivated or encouraged? Do you all have
the same vision of what to accomplish and why? Are
there any conflicts that need to be discussed (rather
than avoided)?
Controlling How will the leader (or person
designated) make sure everything is on track for a
quality artifact that is submitted on time? How will
you as a team, review individual and team
performance? What corrective actions might be
needed?
Although this framework is specific to
management, it provides helpful guidelines for
student teams in any disciplinary context. In
particular, the functions represented in the four parts
of the framework help students develop cross-cutting
skills such as communication, problem-solving, and
working with diverse others, which are valued by
employers across work sectors.
Students may also benefit from practical tips and
reminders about the reasons for teamwork and how
this is preparing them for the world of work.
Accompanying this rationale might be tips for
effective teamwork. The following type of
information could be communicated to through an
announcement in the learning management system, a
video posted in a discussion board, or in a weekly
overview part way through the course.
The point of teamwork in this class is to give you
experience applying the principles and theories
you are learning. In nearly every type of job, you
will need to know how to work with people
effectively. Teamwork can help you better
understand people, how they think and behave and
why, and develop skills to be good managers.
Being a manager or leader is about working
effectively with others. Here are a few ideas:
1. Review the characteristics of effective teams
(e.g., having a common purpose, common
performance goals, a common working
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approach, mutual accountability,
complementary skills, time management,
problem-solving ability, clear roles, open
communication, connections with each other).
Discuss these with your teammates. You
might have different perspectives now than
you did at the beginning of the course.
Evaluate yourselves to determine the extent to
which your team exhibits these characteristics.
2. Think about how to dialogue with each other
in order to reach a shared understanding.
Practice communication techniques such as
the STATE method identified in Crucial
Conversations (Patterson, Grenny, McMillan,
& Switzler, 2012).
3. Think about some of the key principles or
concepts you have been studying in the course.
How can you apply them to your teams?
4. Review your team charters - are they working,
do you need to change anything, do they need
to be more specific, what is working and what
isn't?
You may be doing this virtually, but that is not
unrealistic. Many companies use virtual
teams. It might be helpful to have a video
conference in addition to communicating
through e-mail, texts, or shared document
platforms. Tools for this are provided in the
course. I personally like to use [name of a
video conferencing platform] and use it
regularly.
Please consider this information. It's my goal to
help you not only be successful in this class but
develop skills that will truly be valuable to you in
the future.
Through this type of facilitation, online
instructors can help students understand the rationale
for virtual team requirements, see the bigger picture
in terms of course goals to prepare them with needed
skills for their future professions, have practical
strategies for addressing issues or problems, and
proactively avoiding problems by establishing clear
team structures and processes. The example provided
also shares with students the instructor’s own
engagement with virtual teams and technology.
The findings of this study indicate that students
recognize issues that detract from effective
teamwork. Providing them with evidence-based
principles and strategies to manage these, even in a
technologically-mediated learning context, will not
only support success in the course but also future
success in their work environments.
In addition to the value of cross-cutting skills for
future employment that can be developed through
virtual teamwork in online courses, teams are also a
way to help students make connections and create
communities of learning. These practices can impact
course retention and success, often identified as a
problem in distance learning (Allen & Seaman,
2015).
6 CONCLUSIONS
Higher education can be considered a “partnership
between [the provider] and students with the goal of
providing accessible yet manageable learning
opportunities for a wide range of people” (Higher
Education Academy, 2015, p. 4). Online learning
extends the opportunity for learning and credentialing
to greater numbers of individuals, and when
characterized by responsive course design, structure,
guidance, and facilitation, can help students graduate
with the professional, cross-cutting skills needed by
employers.
This study provides actionable findings to assist
those designing and teaching online courses. It
suggests ways to focus on the development of cross-
cutting skills, and specifically, teamwork skills, and
shows that virtual teams can be successful. It
demonstrates how the learning of cross-cutting skills
can be facilitated by technology in an online teaching
and learning environment. These practices are
effective in business courses as well as applicable to
other contexts.
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