Leadership and management Thesis Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Leadership and management - Thesis Proposal Example The cultural norms, orientations and values of the country are expected to influence the manner in which flexible team leaders need to engage with team members. The outsourcing trend has resulted in a growth of virtual teams, particularly in the software development industry with India emerging as a popular destination for virtually outsourced work. The distinct differences such as geographical distance, time zones, religious beliefs, customs, work ethic, communication styles, etc. between Indian team members and western team leaders necessitate considerable flexibility on the part of team leaders. This research project will explore aspects that virtual team leaders should manage flexibly. Hambley, O’Neill & Kline (2007) have discussed the influence of communication styles on the quality of interaction in virtual teams. They have found that videoconferencing does not result in a significant decline in team interaction over face-to-face communication, implying that transactional or transformational leadership styles are not influenced considerably by the virtual team environment. On the other hand, research by Ruggieri (2009) has shown that transformational leadership is more effective than transactional leadership in a virtual team environment. According to the Society for Human Resource Management (2010), leaders need to develop a more flexible approach to communication in a virtual team environment, including communicating at different times throughout the day and using culturally appropriate feedback mechanisms. Maintaining corporate identity is another leadership challenge in virtual teams. Lee (2014) explains that leadership needs to adopt an appropriate multicultural approach towards communication with team members dispersed in various countries of the world. Fan et al. (2014) have elaborated on the impact of instructions sent by virtual