Running Head: TOPIC IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS 1

In a 2 to 3-page APA formatted written report, address the following concepts by providing indepth
analysis and details pertaining to implementation and strategic planning:
 Identify strategies to make virtual teams more productive
 Identify and discuss in detail, Knowledge Management (KM)
 Identify and discuss the factors that affect the decision to buy versus custom-building (inhouse)
software.

Topic In-depth Analysis

Shreesh Prasad Shrestha

BN190188

BUS 530 Managing Information Systems and Technology

Prof. Prakash Bhetwal

Prof. Dr. Omid Gohardani

Westcliff University

December 4th, 2019

TOPIC IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS 2

Abstract

In this paper we have discussed about what virtual teams really are, the difficulty that

may arise while working in a virtual team. How to tackle those difficulties and make the team

more productive. Also, the in-depth discussion regarding the Knowledge management has

also been discussed. Lastly, this paper discusses on what must be known before deciding

whether the organization should build the system themselves or buy it from others.

Keywords: Virtual teams, Knowledge management, system

TOPIC IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS 3

Topic In-Depth Analysis

According to [ CITATION Lee06 \l 1033 ], Virtual teams can be defined as, “The

group of people with complementary competencies executing simultaneous, collaborative

work process through electronic media without regards to geographical location”. From the

provided definition we can get an idea that virtual teams are incorporated into three

dimensions. Collaborative work process, group of people, and electronic media. Also,

according to [ CITATION Cor16 \l 1033 ], “The virtual teams are bunch of individuals or

organizations who are using the communication technologies for accomplishing the common

goal”. Knowledge Management is the concept of finding, accessing, gathering, organizing,

and sharing of knowledge. It is an important tool for any organization as it helps the company

to gather and organize important information in order to projects, and the tasks can be

complete efficiently.

Strategies for making virtual team more productive

According to [ CITATION Siv06 \l 1033 ], “Virtual team members are more exposed

to challenges that arise from mode of interaction, geographical distance, and cultural

differences. And for any team leaders or project managers, they are highly responsible for

maintaining the correlation between the team and getting the job done, since they are the one

who is tasked to manage the team”. For any team who are working virtually, they need to be

in constant communication with other parties, who are involved in the project. Also, the

timing of other people and the culture must be respected, as in virtual teams there might be

people who are of different origin, and have a different time zone. And also according to

[ CITATION Sia17 \l 1033 ], “Mobile support for virtual teams are also equally important for

the projects to succeed, as many organizations are dependent on virtual teams, where the

individuals are from different geographical places”.

TOPIC IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS 4

I work in a software development company, and we have a collaborative project

which we are doing with few people living in the USA. Since we are in different time zone

and we are not working from a same place, we are constantly documenting the work, and the

team leads decides a specific meeting time, and all of the developers involved in the meeting

attend it. We constantly update the task in trello, and we use teams for sending email, as well

as chats, and managing the project milestones.

Knowledge Management

According to [CITATION Moh17 \l 1033 ], Knowledge management can be defined

as the process of identifying and evaluating existing and necessary information, and then

preparing and managing activities for building knowledge capital for achieving individual or

an institutional objective. For any organization, its efficiency is dependent upon the

knowledge of its human resource. Through knowledge management an organization is able to

utilize the employee’s capacity through the help of information, technology, research, and

management.

For any organization, Knowledge Management and Knowledge Management System

is appearing to be the necessities for organizational competitiveness and effectiveness.

According to [ CITATION Ala02 \l 1033 ], “Organizational Knowledge management

consists of three overlapping process, they are, Knowledge creation, Knowledge codification,

and Knowledge application”. For the Knowledge Management process, organizations are also

implementing the Knowledge Management System, which is basically a system that is

developed to support and enhance the organizational Knowledge Management Process.

The process for Knowledge management is universal for any organization, but in

some cases the resources, such as tools and techniques can be different for different
TOPIC IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS 5

organization. In Knowledge management process there are six basic steps, which are assisted

by different tools and techniques. These steps include collecting, organizing, summarizing,

analyzing, synthesizing, and decision making.

Decision to buy versus custom building

In any organization, there will arise a problem they want to solve using the software

system, they then will have to make decision regarding, whether they want to buy the system

or make one themselves. For creating the system themselves, the organization have to keep

few things in mind, such as do they have the right candidate having technical ability to look

over the whole process, then comes the phase where they must Know whether they have the

right manpower to create the system, deploy and maintain it, if not then are they capable to

hire the right people for the job. Before doing all these they must be well aware of the budget

and the time constrain, as they must research intensively whether making a software,

maintaining it, and hiring the developers would be easy or buying one.

In case of a restaurant who wants to implement a food ordering system, they will not

have the right people to develop the application, let alone have the technical knowledge to

manage the development team. It will be difficult for them to gather the required resources

for the task, so in their case it will be easy and feasible for them to buy the system And in

case of a software development company, where they want a leave application system, they

can use the skill of their own developers to create the system and implement it in their

organization.

Conclusion

Here, in from this paper we can clearly see that, it is hard for a virtual team to

collaborate without a proper management. Communication, documentation, and support are

really important for the project to succeed. Also, for any organization, it is important to have
TOPIC IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS 6

installed the concept of knowledge management, as through it the organization can properly

utilize the capacity of the employees. Also, regarding making or buying the system, the

management must be the one to conduct the proper research, and decide which one would be

profitable, and feasible for the organization.

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References
Alavi, M., & Tiwana, A. (2002, October). Knowledge integration in virtual teams: The

potential role of KMS. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and

Technology, 53(12), 1029-1037. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/asi.10107

Cordes, S. (2016). Virtual team learning: The role of collaboration process and technology

affordance in team decision making. Knowledge Management & E-Learning, 8(4).

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com.proxy.lirn.net/compscijour/docview/1955086439/15370AA1488F4440PQ/9?

accountid=158986

Lee, S.-H., Bonk, C. J., Magjuka, R. J., Su, B., & Liu, X. (2006). Understanding the

Dimensions of Virtual Teams. International Journal on ELearning, 5(4), 507-523.

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com.proxy.lirn.net/compscijour/docview/210367970/B150CC58644E4A95PQ/11?

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Mohajan, H. K. (2017). The Roles of Knowledge Management for the Development of

Organizations. Journal of Scientific Achievements, 2(2), 1-27.

Siau, K., & Ling, M. (2017, July). Mobile Collaboration Support for Virtual Teams: The

Case of Virtual Information Systems Development Teams. Journal of Database

Management, 28(3), 48-69. doi:10.4018/JDM.2017070103

Sivunen, A., & Valo, M. (2006, march). Team Leaders' Technology Choice in Virtual Teams.

IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, 49(1), 57-68.

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