Communication Norms
Communication norms can be broken down into four types.
Availability norms establish when people will be accessible, and how quickly they will respond to team needs. These norms will determine how often people check communication venues, the appropriate timeframe for response, and boundaries between an individual's work and personal time.
Appropriateness and use of collaboration tools norms ascertain what type of tools are used and for what purpose (see Module 3). They also cover rules of etiquette for using different types of tools.
Exchange norms determine when all members of the team should receive information, when just a subgroup should receive the information, or when it is preferred that individuals just communicate between themselves. Clear exchange norms can help prevent duplication and information overload.
Structure norms are concerned with whether formal or informal channels are preferred for different types of communication. Formal channels include scheduled meetings and teleconferences. Informal channels can include random e-mails and phone calls.
Task and Work Norms
Process norms set out a "lifecycle" for the team project. They insure that sufficient time is allocated to all stages of the team process-Idea Generation, Development, Finalization and Closure (see Module 1). Clear process norms help the team ensure that everyone will be working at the same stage, and facilitate assigning tasks and coordinating work.
Task norms help the team decide what is routine vs. nonroutine work. Routine work can be standardized and efficiency gained through the use of forms and templates. This frees up time and energy for nonroutine work where creativity and innovation is required.
Accountability norms set time frames for deliverables and establish consequences for failure to met obligations.
Resource norms shape how team members work on shared files. They control issues of work storage, updates, tracking, and security/confidentiality.
Review and approval norms influence how feedback is given, how often, and who has the authority to approve work. They often direct how often the group conducts "process checks" to review how well the team is doing at accomplishing its task in the most effective manner.
Assignment Overview
In this module, the comment was made that norms are implicit and tend to develop over time. However, it was also observed that virtual teams cannot afford the luxury of such a passive process and need to take proactive steps to establish explicit norms.
Case Assignment
In this Case, you are asked to consider ways a virtual team can explicitly establish communication and task norms that support high performance. The following reading provides some additional ideas for how a co-located team could an engage in norm-setting. You should model your action plan for virtual teams after this type of analysis.
Assignment Expectations
For this Case, complete the following:
• Identify 10 specific behavioral norms (five communication and five task norms) that you feel are essential to the smooth performance of virtual teams.
• Explain why you feel these norms are essential.
• Propose a specific action plan virtual teams could use to develop and enforce task and communication norms.