A Study of Thousands of Dropbox Projects Reveals How Successful Teams Collaborate - Article Analysis Essay

Introduction

The article titled, A study of thousands of Dropbox projects reveals how successful teams Collaborate, by Adam Pah, Brian Uzzi, and Rebecca Hinds explores how teams can utilize collaborative platforms such as Dropbox, Google Docs, and other virtual platforms effectively. Collaboration among team members is crucial in determining their performance and success. There is sufficient evidence that illustrates how physical teams collaborate in terms of effective communication, conflict resolution, and effective leadership skills. However, little is known about how virtual groups collaborate. To understand this problem, the authors conducted a study to evaluate how teams at universities collaborate through the word on Dropbox. After analyzing their collaborative features to the performance, the authors then suggested a list of the best practices that teams can utilize any file sharing platforms as a mechanism towards enhancing their performance.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

The five best practices uncovered in the article were practiced more in the teams that were performing very, and they were least practiced in the less performing teams. These best practices include going small, taking time, increasing same team collaborations, aiming for equality, and embracing the experience.

Going Small

From the study, it was evident that the projects at the high performing teams involved fewer collaborators than those at less performing teams. This shows that too many people in a virtual platform can spoil the team.

Taking Time

It was evident the teams at the high performing projects often take a longer time to complete their projects. The findings suggested that giving more time for the projective perhaps provides a chance for more thoughtful collaborations among the team.

Increasing Same Team Collaborations

The findings uncovered that teams at the top performing universities often encouraged completion of various projects together unlike the less performing teams. A team that works together frequently; they tend to manage team dynamics with the aim of enhancing performance.

Aiming For Quality

In high performing teams, all people put equal efforts in sharing the tasks of the project to enhance its success. On the other hand, less performing teams have few people putting more efforts than others which in turn drags the team behind in achieving its targets.

Embracing Experience

At the high performing teams, the seniors perform a higher proportion of the tasks. This is because the seniors are perceived to have more experience on the project requirements and therefore are conversant in handling problems, effective interaction, and setting strong goals to maintain steady progress of the project.

Other suggested best practices for team collaboration include setting a clear communication network, developing the spirit of encouragement and support among the team members, selecting the most appropriate technologies that are suitable for all the team members, conducting active discussions to solve any problems that may arise, and establishing guidelines to resolve conflicts effectively without harming the performance of the team.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the article shows that most of the entities are adopting virtual teams in the contemporary world. For this reason, there is a need to understand the best practices to enhance collaboration and performance within the virtual teams. This is because while managing physical teams is widely known, less is known on ways to boost performance of a virtual. The best practices presented above revolve around working together as a team by supporting each other and proving room for equal participation in achieving the set goals and objectives of the project therein.