Management of globally dispersed teams : a case study in the automotive industry

Abstract

As globalization gains importance within the business world, managers are increasingly exposed to the challenges of coordinating groups of professionals isolated in time and in space. Globally dispersed teams are subject to the same principles of effective teamwork that affect co­located groups, therefore those basics must be implemented whether or not dispersion is an issue. But the global scope of these teams brings an additional layer of complexity in which trust, communication, as well as socialization assume new dimensions, and individual roles gain new meaning. The present work analyzes a real case of globally dispersed team, in the light of a theoretical foundation built from academic and managerial writings. It focuses on a diverse group consisting of at least four different nationalities and several corporate cultures, brought together in an engineering and design project for a new vehicle. Conclusions and recommendations are given in order to help management understand and deal with the types of issues found to be important in the case analyzed.