The reality of virtual teams’ performance in the new Kafr 'Aqab School during the Covid-19 pandemic (Case study)

Abstract

The aim of this study is to find out the reality of the virtual teams' performance in the new Kafr ‘Aqab School during the Covid-19 pandemic.

A purposive sample of 39 male and female teachers were selected and distributed in four virtual teams according to the academic topic, and each team had a leader presenting the center of the topic. Online meetings were used as a studying tool, as well as viewing the team’s virtual online inventory of emails and chat rooms. Four main practices were selected and used by the team’s leaders to enhance their team’s performance; provide training and support, gain the team members' commitment, learn about the members’ contributions, and hold the virtual team accountable. The study yielded several results, including: factors that will help the virtual team to succeed, which are: team composition, stable membership, members from the same academic specialty, the longest duration as a team, communication and training, technology with good leverage, skills development and finally leadership.

The study also found five ways to differentiate between the highest performance and the lowest performance, which are: ability to manage change effectively, promote a cooperative atmosphere, ability to deliver the team’s goals and their direction, strong communication skills, and capability of empowering the team’s members. In addition, the study revealed some obstacles and challenges facing the virtual teams, including: communication, lack of resources, building: trust among members, cooperative atmosphere and personal relationships. The study concluded that ICT-enabled virtual collaboration would be effective with the support of face-to-face communication and lead to higher levels of satisfaction in collaboration. The study also made a number of recommendations, including: conducting training workshops for managers on how to build a virtual team, improving teamwork and collaboration skills, maintaining team performance through continuous learning and improvement and managing important team processes, such as: conflict resolution, and building trust which will greatly affect the virtual team’s performance.

The researcher also recommended several future studies, such as studying the role of the virtual team’s leader in instilling the ethical and moral culture in the team, and a study that examines the impact of both organizational culture and managerial accountability on the effectiveness of the virtual team.