This technical note is a meta-analysis of some of the issues involving the management of virtual teams. Managing people who are geographically dispersed across time, space, and organizational boundaries requires team leaders who are able to communicate effectively and navigate interpersonal relationships. This requires an understanding of team dynamics, how to create a virtual team culture, and what works best when managing from a distance. The successful virtual tam leader knows what it takes to create and sustain high-performing teams, whether people are working in separate, remote locations or in the same corporate workplace.
This technical note examines the organizational structure of the network and provides a brief introduction to network analysis: What is it? Why do it? What are the implications? How can companies best implement it to highlight the strengths and power of networks and minimize the flaws and fragilities?
Internal communication in organizations has been significantly changing under the influence of the latest advancements in the digital space. Recently published research suggests that the majority of companies use internal communication for a variety of purposes, including helping employees understand the business and providing performance information. This technical note examines the importance of social media used for internal purposes, provides relevant examples from companies taking leading positions in adopting social media technologies, and presents an overview of the existing internal social media tools that are commonly used in organizations.
Curtis "Hank" Barnette exited Bethlehem Steel's boardroom with a sense of calm and purpose. He loved Bethlehem Steel. He had seen it prosper and decline over the previous 30 years, and he had given most of his life to shepherding it through change. Barnette was a soft-spoken man with graying hair and a serene countenance. He paused at the plate-glass window and looked toward the massive blast furnaces and the miles of steelwork structures on the south side of town. This was American history. So much had happened here: so many lives, families, innovations, and purposeful interactions. And now a special division of the corporation would come to an end on his watch as chairman and CEO: The doors were closing on Bethlehem Steel's Structural Products Division located in the heart of the city of Bethlehem. Or were they? When one door closed, somewhere else a window opened-didn't it? The current business structure would end, but he had assets to work with: the land, historical artifacts, town, buildings, goodwill he'd spent a good part of his life creating, and the people.
In the follow-up to the A case (UV0803), Karl Henderson has convened the first meeting of the virtual team at Metrionic Systems. Because of the time-zone differences, some members are meeting from home, while another member cannot attend at all. Henderson decided that since it was cumbersome to schedule a meeting where everyone was present, each member of the team should send status reports to him on Fridays, and he would then decide whether to set up a conference call. As time passed, Henderson found himself spread too thinly at work. He was spending too much time trying to understand what each team member had done and then putting the pieces together?in fact, he was putting more time into that effort than any other task at work. Henderson must consider various problems in dealing with a virtual team that he had never even considered before, including spec, time zone, integration, technology, and network issues.
Karl Henderson was a senior manager at Metrionic Systems, a Santa Clara, California-based provider of networking solutions. During his time there, he had worked on and managed various cross-functional teams. When he was given the opportunity to manage a team that was spread across five continents, Henderson was confident that with a little groundwork, he could manage perfectly and deliver on time as he had always done. Due to a recent increase in the number of breaches into enterprise networks by hackers, Metrionic's vice president wanted the team to develop the next-generation network-security product for IT professionals. Companies were seeking advanced security devices that could prevent any further attacks. The home bases of the individuals on the team created by the vice president stretched across five continents. For the first time in his life, Henderson had to consider the various aspects of managing a team virtually. After reading the case, students can be given a role to play from the virtual team. They must decide how to proceed in the first conference call. In addition, the Henderson role must consider issues, such as how to create and manage the communication across the globe. See BC-0211 for the B case.
The mere mention of the term "merger and acquisition" (M&A) can send messages of misinformation or half-truths. Clarity about motives and intent, as well as timing the release of information during a merger, requires strategic information management. But when is the right time to tell employees about a pending merger? Who should make the announcement, and what communication channels should they use? A recent survey of managers conducted by the Darden Graduate School of Business explored communication practices that companies use to communicate internally during their firms' merger or acquisition. This note reveals the findings and makes communication recommendations.
This note offers a four-step framework for writing business letters, reports, and proposals. It advises the writer to consider purpose, audience, channel, and message structure when drafting managerial communications, and offers effective strategies for dealing with common communication challenges.
Katherine Mason is a program officer at InterExchange, a firm that administers academic-exchange programs with the former Soviet Union. After returning from an extended period of time in three of the former Soviet republics, Mason discovers that the finance department has instituted new reimbursement policies. She must decide how to interpret and react to the memos concerning expense-report reimbursement. The twist in the case is that because of a past incident, Mason does not have a positive relationship with either her division head or the controller. Mason is convinced that the new policies fail to take into account the individual nature of financial transactions conducted in foreign countries. How should she present her arguments and explain her position to the controller?