Globally dispersed engineering teams at Delphi Packard Electric Systems

Abstract

Globally dispersed engineering teams within Delphi Packard Electric Systems were studied to identify areas for future improvement in global team performance. The research consisted of several management interviews and the administering of a survey to global team members and team leaders at various Delphi Packard Electric Systems engineering and manufacturing facilities located throughout the world. The results of the survey were analyzed using bivariate statistical analysis methods and suggestions for future improvement were developed based on the interviews and survey results. The suggestions were summarized as leadership leverage points for various levels of leadership within the company, including team leaders, regional (local) managers, and global managers. A system dynamics causal loop model was also developed to describe the relationships for various factors that affect team performance, including availability of capital (material resources), skills of the team members, individual and collective team effort, team interaction and communication, use of task-appropriate strategies, global versus local issues, and team results. The original survey was modified and expanded to allow future researchers to better address the variables and relationships that were presented in the casual loop system dynamics model.