Asian Conmference on Education, 2009 , 2009-10-24

Title : ( Barriers to teaming: An Iranian case study for virtual training in universities )

Authors: Mohamad Reza Ahanchian ,

Citation: BibTeX | EndNote

Abstract

Teaming is about team members’ willingness to join with, and work with, others as a team. Accompanying with advancements in ICT, both organizational studies in theoretical level and organizations in practical level have shown their tendency toward virtual teaming. Organizations world-wide have been moving more and more to virtual teaming (VT). This movement suggests a demand for a new type of team structure that can be directed toward technology because of its increasingly potential for team forming. Confirmed by documents, advancements in ICT could respond to this new demand by introducing VT. This paper has proposed that, training by VT in a university is likely to increase the probability of teaming for learning. Replacing face-to-face training with virtual training may change the previous concepts and implications of team-based learning. With referring to several experimental studies, the paper has suggested that VT can create a good opportunity to achieve typical training program objectives in organizations. We have proposed that this may be done if different variables do not make unwanted barriers. Accordingly, the paper has reported the results of a study conducted on Ferdowsi University of Mashhad. The collection of the data was carried out through the use of a researcher-made questionnaire with two intended samples of 23 non-academic staff (trainee) and their 14 immediate supervisors. The trainees are participated in an eighteen-hour training program for basic skills in computer science. The most important findings showed that there is a significant positive correlation between trainees and their immediate supervisors\' viewpoints about something makes a barrier for teaming in the training program. Furthermore among four categories of indicators the administrative one could take the highest mean of scores for both samples.

Keywords

, Teaming, training, virtual team, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad (FUM).