Cross-border virtual teams, as seen from applied psychology & applied economy perspective. A Case study of a cross-cultural teaching program

Radosław B. Walczak

University of Opole, Institute of Psychology
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6787-7673

Jaroslava Kubátová

Palack University Olomouc
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6214-8332

Klara Seitlová

Palacky University Olomouc

Abstract

As communication becomes easier with the proliferation of ICT (Internet Communication Technology), more companies and individuals face the need and challenge of creating and facilitating virtual teams. Those are groups of people that contact each other only by the means of the internet, with no real-world physical face-to-face contact. Despite the numerous benefits, as low-to-non monetary costs and enormous creation flexibility, there are also many (psychological) risks, often not apparent from the outside. In the current paper we discuss the teaching program that was designed to foster virtual communication skills. We describe a project conducted simultaneously between Palacký University (Olomouc, CZ) and University of Opole (Opole, PL) in the summer term of 2015. We argue that such classes have a potential for individual and business development, provided the necessary preparations are made.

Keywords:

Virtual Teams, Cross-Border Communication, Internet Communication, Human Resources