Is it possible to complete projects on-time and on-budget using geographically distributed virtual teams? Yes! Here's the book that shows you how. Packed with practical tools and proven techniques for managing virtual teams for optimum performance, this expert author uses real-world examples and specific guidelines to show you how distributed work groups can be even more productive, effective and flexible than traditional co-located teams. Supported by extensive research, the book addresses the most commonly identified managerial concerns such as communication, control, monitoring, team building, cultural differences, and legal and process issues. You're provided with a framework of principles and best practices for dealing with these concerns, plus step-by-step procedures for transitioning teams, and tips on using high-speed networks and groupware as tools for solving problems. What's more, you learn how to...Reduce costs and time to market with round-the-world, round-the-clock work flow; Integrate remotely located technical experts into a team and take advantage of remotely located corporate resources; Build stronger products and markets with partnerships and joint ventures. Managing Virtual Teams contains communication principles and management practices that won't become outdated with the next release of a software program. The author outlines the benefits of concentrating first on the investment that needs to be made in people, planning, processes, and training, not on technology alone.
Solving the Communications Problem. Building a Team. Monitoring and Controlling Remote Team Members. Organizing a Distributed Team. Networking Technology. Managing International Projects. Implementing a Telecommuting Program.
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Martha Haywood
Martha Haywood is a Senior Consulting Partner at Management Strategies where she has assisted companies such as Oracle, Lockheed Martin, Hewlett Packard, and Amdahl in the training and implementation of their distributed teams. She also teaches project management at the University of California Berkeley Extension.