VIBu - Virtual Teams in International Business

1. VIBu - Virtual Teams in International Business What is it, how to prepare and what is going to happen? Contacts: Timo Lainema, Senior ResearchFellow, timo.lainema@utu.fi Eeli Saarinen, ResearchFellow, eeli.saarinen@utu.fi

2. VIBu IS… • Experiential learning around a clock-driven business process simulation game • International, dispersed team work between the participants with diverse cultural backgrounds, team specific simulation companies • The use of virtual communication tools in team collaboration (VoIP, chat, remote desktop connection, video conferencing) • Intra- and inter-team supply chain management • Collaboration between international universities and their students over time zones and geographical distances

3. Experiential learning around a clock-driven business process simulation game You will be managing your own enterprise – it’s internal processes and collaboration with it’s suppliers and customers. The simulation game is clock-driven. It has an internal clock, which runs with a certain speed.

4. International, dispersed team work You will be assigned to an international group of peers and you together as a team are responsible of running your company. One specific challenge is also how your group will agree on the management shifts, as your team is dispersed on several countries and even continents.

5. Virtual communication tools in team collaboration You need some tools to communicate over the geographical spaces between your team member’s locations (Skype, chat, email). Online results sessions during the simulation sessions (video conferencing).

6. Intra- and inter-team supply chain management You also need to communicate with your suppliers/customers, who often are other student groups in the simulation setting. Supply chain management is a simple matter of purchasing raw materials, warehousing, manufacturing end products from the raw materials, and delivering the end products to the customers.

7. The challenge: the collaboration in the multinational, multicultural, international setting: • How cultural differences (e.g. national or organizational) affect teamwork and communication. • How virtuality affects daily operations and activities in an international working context . • How to use this knowledge to improve communicational skills, team performance and satisfaction in virtual working context. • And below all this: understanding the dynamics of business organizations and their nature as ongoing process in constant interplay with the environment. International collaboration over geographical distances

8. Overall, I believe that our team performed very well and was very efficient during the simulation. I learned a lot during this simulation. The main learning is to deal with cultural differences in every aspect of the game. Every player had a different background, personality, culture and education, and we all needed to remain conscious and respectful of these differences. Patience, tolerance and understanding were traits that we all needed to learn and adopt during the simulation. I believe that an important outcome of the simulation was witnessing how a relationship of trust developed between teammates. I can say that we all trusted and respected each other throughout the simulation, which is an interesting development to witness. Developing trust with people from all over the world through virtual channels is not easy, but we managed to achieve it. Finally, the simulation greatly differed from my original expectations. Originally, I believed that the session would be tedious and annoying due to time differences, cultural issues and connectivity problems. However, I was surprised to find the simulation very interesting and actually fun. It was fascinating to meet people from different countries and to work with them. I would greatly recommend this experience to anyone. WHAT TO REALLY EXPECT… (student reflection from October, 2011)

9. THE BASIC TOOL – RealGame Simulation

10. IN EACH TEAM THE STUDENTS WILL SHARE THE SIMULATION USER INTERFACE Asia Americas Europe

11. REAL-TIME COLLABORATION ON THE TASKS Skype, Chat, email,… Asia Americas Europe

12. SOME TEAMS WILL ACT AS SUBPRODUCERS, SOME AS MANUFACTURERS

13. MORE DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS… …as well as the team member list will follow closer to the actual first simulation day. You will also receive a simulation game manual, and a small group pre-assignment, which will all help you in organizing for the simulation exercise. Besides of the simulation sessions, you will also need to do some other exercises/assignments, which might be related to your own universities course you are on. So, do not wonder, if some of your team members do different assignments than yourself. Between the two simulation sessions there will be a team assignment which is common to you all. See the structure figure on next page…

15. A FAIR WARNING VIBu may seem quite complex in the beginning. This is, however, what makes it so fascinating, intensive and rewarding. And sooner than you notice in the first session, you are running your company like an experienced manager of a professional board of executives…

16. ”ACTION REPLAY” AT… See how Stern Business School in New York experience VIBu when they had a trial participation in November 2009 (introduction by Professor Jeff Younger): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdJyt7ObKyo