Part I: Summarizing the Logic
In June of this year, the Editors of the Academy of Management Journal published one piece in a series aimed at exploring “new content areas and grand challenges with the goal of expanding the scope, interestingness, and relevance of the work.” The piece is entitled, “Climate Change and Management” and is co-authored by Jennifer Howard-Grenville, Simon J. Buckle, Brian J. Hoskins and Gerard George.
How, you may wonder, is the connection made between climate change and virtual work? The following five bullets are a compilation of key quotes from the article that outline this logic:
- “…[J]ust over 200 years of human and industrial activity will have wrought fundamental change to our climate system…[O]rganizations are equally critical to mitigating and adapting to climate change” (p.615).
- “As climate impacts become more apparent over the next few decades, they will impinge on the structure and functioning of our value chains and industries, the resilience of organizations, individual work patterns and practices, and the social orders and broader governance systems upon which organizations rely. In other words, climate change and responses to it will fundamentally reshape many of the phenomena, interactions, and relationships that are of central concern to management scholars” (p.615).
- According to the article (p.618), implications for organizations and management include:
- “First, climate change will reshape value chains, including supply networks, production arrangements, and the provision of energy and water.”
- “[N]ew approaches to decision making, forecasting/ planning, and organizational adaptation.”
- “Third, climate change will alter how we live and work.”
- “Climate change will have far-reaching impacts on fragile human populations, while forcing difficult choices upon affluent societies.”
- Elaborating on the third point that most directly affects the topic of this article, the co-authors state: “Just as telecommuting was a response to traffic congestion and work–life balance concerns of the 1990s, so will responses to climate change likely prompt related shifts in how work is distributed, how employees interact with one another, and how physical assets are used by organizations” (p.620).
- The Editors add that, “These issues are often described as relevant only to developed economy employees. However, the vast number of people who live and work in developing nations, where, increasingly, pressures will be placed on development using clean energy technologies and greater resource efficiency may require a radical rethink of employment practices, human resource management, coordination of distributed work, and location choices for businesses” (p.620).
Thank you to Bjørn Z. Ekelund of Human Factors in Norway for sharing the article, “Climate Change and Management,” from the Academy of Management Journal.
Part II: Implications of Climate Change on Virtual Work
Assuming both the existence of climate change and a resulting new organizational order, what preparations are being made within your virtual team, group or network for the future of working virtually? In the world of virtual work, preparation for climate change is likely more conceptual than material. Instead of amassing dried legumes or bottled water like apocalyptic preparers, virtual teams, groups and networks can take an initial step in preparedness by assessing the current state of their virtual performance.
Connection to the Virtual Performance Assessment Tool (VPA®)
Virtual Performance Assessment (VPA®) assesses performance in the following five categories:
- Organization and Process
- Space and Time
- Inclusion
- E-Culture
- Members, Tasks and Objectives
These five VPA categories comprehensively address future changes in work anticipated in the article, “Climate Change and Management,” released by the Academy of Management Journal this year.
1. Changes in Work Distribution
First, inevitable changes in distribution of work, as cited by the authors of the article, connect to the VPA dimension of “access to information and power” within the Organization and Process category; the dimension of “geographic advantage” within the Space and Time category; and, the dimension of “media competence” within the E-Culture category. In at least these three ways, the VPA is equipped to prepare virtual teams, groups and networks to improve and be flexible to changes in work distribution.
2. Changes in Professional and Social Interactions
Second, the realities of transformed interactions among far-flung, culturally diverse, virtual members relate to the “shared leadership” VPA dimension of the Inclusion category and the “identification with group and objectives” dimension within the Members, Tasks and Objectives category. Here, the VPA tool supports virtual teams, groups and networks in shared understanding among members about what does—and does not—work well within an evolving work world when it comes to professional and social interactions.
3.Changes in Handling Ressources
Finally, in addition to some dimensions already mentioned, the “time investment” dimension of the VPA Space and Time category and the “language skills” dimension of it’s Members, Tasks and Objectives category connect with the Academy of Management Journal’s forecast about the certain impact of climate and organizational changes upon both developed and developing worlds. These dimensions of the tool equip virtual teams, groups and networks in identifying how to best use resources, especially when resources are at a premium.
Future-oriented Solutions
In all, results of the Virtual Performance Assessment enable partnering consultants to design fine-tuned interventions for the benefit of virtual teams, groups or networks. The tool is based on the co-developers’ years of research and experience consulting teams in virtual collaborations, and has been tested numerous times in a variety of conditions. VPA is one offering within the Virtual Performance Improvement blended portfolio that boosts performance in virtual collaboration.
The VPA process essentially provides a blueprint of strengths and areas of opportunity for future virtual collaboration, based on past performance. As seen in the image above, group self-assessments of virtual performance are averaged and mapped along a summary profile for the purposes of analysis and discussion. The tool is future-oriented and allows forward-thinking virtual group leaders and members to identify how they may continue to be successful and in what ways virtual competency can be built to meet the upcoming demands.
How are you preparing for future changes in virtual work?
We look forward to your contact!
The above article was included in the Sept. 2014 intercultures e-newsletter.
Photo Source Title Picture: Getty Images.