When establishing a virtual team, or when moving between cultures for business, team composition diversity can present some difficulties for both new and experienced managers and team members. In many cultures, principally those with a North America or European base, teams are typically made up of a group of experts and specialists,... read more →
Feb
03
Jan
20
It's been said that the eight most frightening words in international business are "I'm from head office, I'm here to help". The fear that an impending visit from head office can invoke in some support offices, coupled with the desire of those running the sub offices to make sure everything is just... read more →
Jan
12
This post considers how the 2015 movie The Water Diviner, directed by and staring Russell Crowe (@RussellCrowe) as Connor, and co staring Olga Kurylenko (@OlyaKurylenko) as Ayshe and Yilmaz Erdogan (@YilmazErdogan) as Major Hasan, with a screenplay written by Andrew Knight and Andrew Anastasios, can be used to demonstrate some of the best aspects of effective cross... read more →
Dec
18
There are a great many ways in which organisations can get into trouble with their virtual teams, many of them, taken in isolation, will not cause too large a problem, but once two or more problems occur concurrently, or even sequentially, things can begin to unravel quite quickly. Following are... read more →
Dec
09
Communications in virtual team environments can sometimes feel like navigating a minefield with an out of date map, you know where many of the issues lie but there is always a small doubt somewhere in your mind that an unknown trap is about to ensnare you. So too is the challenge... read more →
Dec
04
Anyone managing or working as part of a distributed team will recognise that, from time to time, things change. Sometimes things change for the better, sometimes less so. These changes can be in the status of the work or project being performed by the team, changes in the client's expectations... read more →
Dec
02
Understanding Virtual Team Interaction In Large Complex Resource Projects, F G Norman, D Pick, Managing Complex Projects Conference stream of Engineers Australia Convention, Melbourne November 2014 Background This paper was presented in the Managing Complex Projects stream of the Engineers Australia National Convention, 2014. The paper discusses research findings as applicable to the... read more →
Nov
25
Working in a distributed team exposes every member to a broader range of experiences and challenges than those faced by their co-located team colleagues. Distributed team members have to manage not just the tasks they are assigned and the relationships with their geographically co-located team members, they must also interface... read more →
Nov
18
Corporate politics are a fact of life in all businesses. Love them or hate them, corporate politics is something you at least need to understand to be able to work effectively. Beyond that, to work effectively in a virtual team, you need to understand the politics of the organisation as a... read more →
Nov
11
Entering the culture of a new country, or even just moving to a new city as an expat can be a huge shock for those involved. The largest impact will be on the individual and any accompanying family, but the personnel in the location the expat moves to can also... read more →