Comm 315 - Virtual Meeting Scenario Paper

COMM/315

May 12, 2014

Tatyana Thweatt

Virtual Meeting Scenario Paper

The Virtual Meeting Scenario is an interactive program virtual consisting of the global organization in which employees function together on an assignment. At one time participating in a meeting that consisted of organizations and companies that operated globally was a difficult task. Today, many companies are benefitting by allowing the use of virtual technology while allowing meetings to take place. According to Consortium & Educause Learning Initiative (2006), virtual meetings are real-time communications that take place using the Internet with the assistance of audio and video tools, chat tools, and application sharing. The meetings can carry on without any employee leaving the comfort of his or her seat. With this newfangled improvement, businesses can increase commerce and allow management to make quicker decisions. In order for this meeting to be productive, all members must show respect for one another and the differences. Within the working world, teams are prevalent. Teams within the working world, particularly virtual teams as well as the individuals who are participating as a team member must be in attendance and be cooperative. Everyone must make an effort to have a successful virtual meeting.

What are the obstacles within their communication?

Because virtual meetings take place with attendees being from different parts of the world, complications are created since the members are meeting via the Internet and not face-to-face. The individuals or teams who are participating in a virtual meeting need to remain willing to respect other individuals in order to discuss the information at hand and seek knowledge. The virtual meeting scenario that includes Pablo, Sam and Lifang Lin, exhibit signs of difficulties since each is from different cultures. The obstacles that need to be considered include the different genders, accents, and cultures. In the scenario, Pablo is the office manager with achievements from Mexico. Pablo's personality is said to be cheerful. On the other hand, Sam is from the United States and voices that he works hard and is very vocal and to the point. The third team member is Lifang Lin. With her Chinese culture, Lifang speaks slowly and listens attentively to other people before she speaks. Another obstacle is the lack of respect exhibited between Pablo and Sam.

What remarks would you have found offensive if the remarks had been directed at you?

Sam is known to make offensive comments to Pablo and the other members. The comments that Sam verbalizes are those of his own and not the represented company. Sam is also known for making inappropriate jokes while trying to create mutual foundations to organize business practices globally. Of course, Pablo described himself as the handsome person who has an incredible personality and can represent the company. Some may think that the company only hires handsome or gorgeous people and may not consider hiring other people who are not as attractive. Pablo's statements also bring up the possibility that the company has issues with various sexes including women, foreigners and transgender. Other team members could look at Pablo's personality as looking out for himself and being selfish. Pablo's conflict management skills are lacking and are questioned by his team members.

Lifang Lin, because of her Chinese culture speaks slowly after listening closely to others can make others think that she is in agreement with every situation. This agreement appears as though her company goes with the flow of business and is not capable of making decisions. Team members wonder if Lifang Lin has the same interests as the others in the group. In order for the virtual meeting to be successful, the different time zones need to be taken into consideration. The different time zones could be crucial regarding deadlines and exchanging important information regarding the meeting. If the comments had been directed to me, I would be offended. Professionalism also includes