...MANAGING VIRTUAL PROJECT TEAMS A research project submitted to the faculty of San Francisco State University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Business Administration by Bryan Rolf Trautsch San Francisco, California December 11, 2003 Copyright (c) 2003 by Bryan Trautsch. CERTIFICATION OF APPROVAL I certify that I have read VIRTUAL PROJECT MANAGEMENT by Bryan Rolf Trautsch, and that in my opinion this work meets the criteria for approving a research project submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for the Master of Business Administration degree at San Francisco State University. ________________________________________ Dr. Robert C. Nickerson Professor of Information Systems ________________________________________ Dr. Sam S. Gill Professor of Information Systems ABSTRACT MANAGING VIRTUAL PROJECT TEAMS Bryan Rolf Trautsch San Francisco State University Fall 2003 The purpose of the project is to explore the communications and collaborations issues associated with managing virtual project teams. In order to establish a better understanding of the problem, the paper evaluates virtual teams against more traditional collocated teams to provide some background and depth to the research. The method used in the research was in the format of a questionnaire consisting of six questions. The questionnaire was delivered via e-mail to various project managers with virtual project team experience...
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...Assignment Two: “MS Project and Team Leadership” Veunanthe Dorlouis Professor: Dr. David Fountaine HRM 517 – Managing Human Resource Projects December 10, 2011 Write a memo that communicates the budget situation to the rest of the team. Memorandum To: Team members of project1 From: Team leader of project1 Date: 12/10/11 Subject: Budget Depletion It has come to my attention that the budget plan for project1 has been depleted quicker than expected. As the team leader of project1, it is my responsibility to make sure that every aspect of project1 stays on tract. I also did some investigation as to which group is over using their budget. Even so my report is not conclusive and I will need to have each team’s report and update to be sure of my findings. Therefore, I am proposing that we all meet together to come up with a plan to rectify this budget depletion situation. I am counting on all of you to help me pull this through, for I cannot fix this alone. I need your full support and corporation to have this situation repair in a speedily fashion. In addition, before we have our meeting, I suggest that each team print out a progress report of your section and see if your budget is on tract. Also, if there is any way to make some budget cut in your section. In that way, when we actually meet your team can share how and where we can repair the budget back on tract. Please keep in mind that failure is not option, we must do our diligent...
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...Lakisha Archie May 17, 2015 Mang. Project Teams For Union Railroad to achieve better measurement of performance, monitoring, and motivational aspects within their team environment, they must first understand how the six key team behaviors effect the project team. The six team behaviors are: mutual trust, interdependency, accountability, valuing individual differences, transparency, learning and recognition. Each team behavior works together to help the project team reach their desired goal and gain the best performance from the team. When used properly they help to enhance the team and maximize performance. Mutual trust is an important aspect to team building and motivating the team. Each member of the team needs to understand their role on the team, while also accepting other member’s strengths’ and weaknesses. They must feel comfortable expressing how they feel about one another’s actions and decision making. When a majority of the team members feel comfortable with each other they will continuously work hard for each other. They feel safe to speak up without criticism and judgement. Interdependency is essential in order to have an effective team that works together. All team members must understand that they are all working toward the same goal. Any ideas are ideas of the team and not any one individual. The team takes ownership of everything that is presented and no person accolades are expected. There is mutual trust among the team members and they remain loyal to one...
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...Project planning in teams is an essential part of team dynamics. At the University of Phoenix on line collage the students are placed in groups of three to six members. After being placed in these groups team members are required to fill out a team charter. Team chartering is the procedure by which a team meets at the beginning of its process (in this case, a University of Phoenix course) to describe its mission or task, set its goals, secure commitment by members to the achievement of those goals, make its plans, and allocate its resources. It is a competency that is as important to ensuring the success of workplace teams as it is for your University of Phoenix Learning Team. By learning this valuable skill, you [SIC] greatly increase the likelihood that your team will reach its objectives in an effective and an efficient manner (University of Phoenix, 2002). After team members finish there team charter they are put to work planning there project. Most of the time, the project that the team will be working on is laid out. This is so the team knows what they are writing about. The team then divides the work up it to sections so that everyone in the team has some responsibility. Even though project planning in teams students have different opinion , project planning in teams is an essential part of team dynamics because teams are able to split the work up into sections so that one person does not do the whole paper and teams are able to work together to form a stronger...
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...High-Performance Project And Process Teams CONTENTS 1. Executive Summary 2 2. Purpose 3 3. Discussions 3 4. Part A 3 4.1. Introduction 3 4.2. Group Theories 4 4.3. Team Theories 9 4.4. Conclusion 11 5. Part B 12 5.1. Introduction 12 5.2. Questionnaire 12 5.3. Questionnaire Scores 14 5.4. Tuckman Model: Johannesburg Central Team Score 15 6. Part C 15 6.1. Introduction 15 6.2. Team demographics 15 6.3. Team Effectiveness 16 7. Bibliography 21 FIGURES Figure 1: Approximation of the Punctuated Equilibrium Model. Figure 2: Asch Comparison Cards. Figure 3: Tuckman Model: Johannesburg Central Team Score TABLES Table 1: Relationship between Group Cohesiveness and Agreement with Organizational Goals. Table 2: Mature Work Group or Team Questionnaire. Table 3: Individual Team Member and Team Scores. 1. Executive Summary Group work and team work have especially become indispensible to the achievement of success in the world. Group work and team work have been used since the beginning of humanity. So what has changed? Competitiveness has forced a substantially, reduced cycle time requirement to turnaround capabilities and products in a much shorter period of time. An individual’s effort to achieve the required cycle time would not meet requirements on a number of levels: the requirement for various knowledge and skills, enhanced decision making by leveraging the strengths of diversity and assurance that the required quality would be met. However, group and team work...
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...In the case of the FIS project team there were several underlying problems that ultimately caused the company enormous problems with its client. The group failed to display the characteristics that showed they were working as a whole team. Further compounding the problem was an issue with the immediate leadership from the project manager and the team leader. These problems caused the group to lack cohesion and were at the root of the company providing substandard work to the client as well as damaging the company’s reputation. We can look at the four stages of social dynamics that influence virtual teams and see how the break down in the FSI team occurred. The four stages are interaction and inclusion, position status and role definition, allocation of resources and power, and interaction and participation. These will affect the unity of the team. We can see from the start that there is little unity in the team. Before the large group of FIS project members showed up there was little discourse in the operation of the team. However once the full component of team members showed up problems started to emerge among the team. There was little interaction and inclusion from the team members. Cliques started to form among members who had worked together in other organizations. In doing this they failed to interact positively with the other members of the team. This would lead to dissension during meetings. The clique would often make suggestions that they had come up with when...
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...within a team environment is necessary to the success of all projects. The project leader must have the appropriate skill set to successfully understand how to lead diverse teams and identify, lead conflict in a positive manner and communicate appropriately to our customers. We want to ensure that our customers are receiving what product that they have requested. The project leader will also ensure the customer is full satisfied with all status updates and agrees with the timelines the project team has assembled. We want to ensure that the project team and the customer clearly understand the end result and the timeline needed. The problem is project team does not have a single goal and the customer is changing the requirements each week. The customer does not understand the changes being requested will delay the project timeline and other deliverables that are dependent upon each phase. As the project leader I have identified some issues that need to be addressed immediately to ensure the project phases and timelines are being met for our customer: 1. Define single goal for customer and project team to be in sync 2. Understand phase requirements and timelines 3. Provide written communication confirming goal, requirements, phases and timelines to customer and project team The first phase of the project was not completed within the timeframe the customer requested for the following reasons: • The project team did not have a project leader to...
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...infrastructure and overall networking capabilities to create a shopping program for our dedicated customers. A system analysis team has been created to meet this challenge led by Daniel W. Burgess, Vice President of Operations, Richard Rives, Director of Information Technology, Darrell Crosson, Director of Human Resources, Warren Johnson, IT Specialist, and Antoin Jenkins, Program Coordinator. The goal of the project is to provide our customers with the best processing methodology to complete error free transactions; generate feedback from users; and address any issues from customers by upgrading our customer service operations. The scope of the Frequent Flyer Program (Service Request Form, SR-kf-013) will entail low-level processes that focus on the business aspects of our IT department and the processes that involve a RAD (Rapid Application Development) system. The program will be able to operate on a global scale with operations in Asia, China, Japan, and South America. Upgrades to our systems will represent different approaches that streamline and improve the system and design processes identified from different perspectives that affect the overall operations of our company. The scope of the project will also include several requirements that affect the design of the system specifically “project requirements and “process requirements”. The “project requirements” will describe the characteristics of the program. The requirements will focus on the...
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...C Project Management Team roles C.1 Project Board The Project Board is appointed by corporate or Programme management to provide overall direction and management of the project. The Project Board is accountable for the success of the project, and has responsibility and authority for the project within the remit (the Project Mandate) set by corporate or Programme management. The Project Board is the project’s ‘voice’ to the outside world and is responsible for any publicity or other dissemination of information about the project. C.1.1 Specific responsibilities The Project Board approves all major plans and authorises any major deviation from agreed stage plans. It is the authority which signs off the completion of each stage as well as authorises the start of the next stage. It ensures that required resources are committed and arbitrates on any conflicts within the project or negotiates a solution to any problems between the project and external bodies. In addition, it approves the appointment and responsibilities of the Project Manager and any delegation of its project assurance responsibilities. The Project Board has the following responsibilities. It is a general list and will need tailoring for a specific project. At the beginning of the project: assurance that the Project Initiation Document complies with relevant Customer standards and policies, plus any associated contract with the Supplier agreement with the Project Manager on that person’s responsibilities...
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...sciencedirect.com International Journal of Project Management 28 (2010) 422–427 www.elsevier.com/locate/ijproman Effect of a virtual project team environment on communication-related project risk April H. Reed *, Linda V. Knight 1 Department of Management Information Systems, College of Business, East Carolina University, United States College of Computing and Digital Media, DePaul University, United States Received 25 March 2009; received in revised form 13 July 2009; accepted 4 August 2009 Abstract Over 150 Information Technology practitioners participated in a study of differences in communication risk between traditional project teams and those that operate virtually, with some team members physically remote. Contrary to prior research, results indicate the level of risk from inadequate communication is not significantly greater when team members are not grouped in one location. Further, despite increased dependence of virtual teams on technology for communication, there was no evidence of significantly more project risk due to technological failure. However, virtual team projects exhibited notably more risk due to insufficient knowledge transfer. A plausible explanation is decreased implicit or informal knowledge transfer in virtual environments. We conclude that the possibility of insufficient knowledge transfer should be included in virtual project risk management plans, and consideration should be given in such projects to the extent to which knowledge that is traditionally...
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...Siemens USA This document provides Siemens decision making personnel with the necessary guidelines to select and manage its project management portfolio within the company. It will stand as a reference for executives to follow during the project selection process which is driven by company objectives. The criteria set forth in this document will assess each individual project and rate it according to the standardized evaluation scale. This will further contribute to the decision making process for Siemens internal Project Management Organization team. A brief description of the industry and the key aspects of the environment of that industry: Siemens Industry, Inc. currently has over 400,000 employees worldwide to develop and manufacture products, design and install complex systems, and tailor a wide range of solutions for individual requirements. The company started with the invention of the telegraph and continued to grow and diversity their product line with the production of alternators, electric trains, light bulbs, computers, and washing machines to name a few. Siemens has always stood for technical achievements, innovation, quality, and reliability. They have been synonymous with international focus and worldwide presence for over 160 years. With its U.S. corporate headquarters in Washington, DC, Siemens in the USA reported sales of $19.9 billion and employs more than 60,000 people throughout all 50 states and Puerto Rico. They continue to be one of the most innovative...
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...Ecommerce Team Project: This class provides the theoretical foundations necessary for understanding Ecommerce, how it is being conducted and managed, and what the major opportunities, limitations, issues and risks are in terms of assessing opportunities in the marketplace and managing everyday commerce. In order for the marketing student to grasp the complexities of these issues in the real business world, each student will be assigned to a special project group that will design and create an integrated Ecommerce business plan for a newly developed online company. Each team will be assigned a specific type of online business model. Project Concept: Each special project group will function as a marketing design team that will meet on several occasions to determine project requirements. Each group will be responsible for creating the appropriate Ecommerce business model, as part of the integrated Ecommerce marketing plan. Strategic market planning is a process directed towards making decisions with tomorrow in mind. As such, strategic market planning is a means of preparing for future decisions so that a firm can rapidly and economically, start and move forward with as little disruption to the business as possible. Proper strategic market planning can provide considerable benefits to start up firms, especially those firms requiring substantial financial backing or are involved in highly turbulent or changing environments online. Proper strategic market planning can act as a...
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...Project Plan Statement of Scope and Goals: Scope: The scope of this project is to provide Kudler Fine Foods with the ability to track individual customer purchases. These purchases are to be monitored as Loyalty Points for later redemption by the customer. The purpose of this project is to develop a system that tracks customer purchases through a Frequent Shopper Program thereby increasing revenue. Stakeholders: • The Customer: The entire process begins with someone who would like to purchase from KFF a product of service offered • The Employee: The employees make it possible for Kudler Fine Foods to meet the demands of their customers • Financial Institution: The financial institutions help by providing financial assistance as needed • Suppliers: The suppliers provide the wares that KFF sales to their customers • Distribution: The distribution team work together to get the products that customers have purchased to where they need to go Functions included in the project: • Finance and Accounting: Keeps track of the ledgers, vendor codes, retail sales, accounts, asset management, and information security for the business. • Sales and Marketing: Handles advertising, accounting, inventory management, and merchandise selection and pricing. • Frequent Shopper Program: Tracks and maintains records of individual shoppers for the purposes of rewarding those that increase their purchasing with loyalty points. The goal for this program is to provide the loyal customer...
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...2011 Planning & Assessing RX 330 Productions for Toyota North America Team Charlie Oscar Oscar Lima AMBA 640, Section 9044 8/9/2011 Section I II III Executive summary Introduction Exercise 1: Toyota Production System (TPS) today TPS term definitions & practical examples IV Exercise 1: TPS as a total entity Advantages Limitations Evolution TPS use among other companies V Exercise 2: Grid analysis (Weighted scoring model) Exogenous factors & assumptions Endogenous factors & assumptions Constraints VI VII Exercise 2: Location recommendation Exercise 3: Decision tree analysis TMMC production capacity recommendation Limitations Past performance: RX 330/350 VIII Exercise 4: Current regional production strategy Assessment Change recommendations IX Summary Appendix A References Page 2 3 4 4 7 7 8 8 9 10 11 13 16 16 17 17 18 19 19 19 21 21 23 24 1 I. Executive Summary Toyota Motor Corporation is leading the way to future mobility through innovation, productivity, quality and efficiency. Toyota uses a self-developed strategy known as the Toyota Production System (TPS) to guide business process improvements. This strategy applies principles of “just-in-time” production, also called “lean”, to align supply closely with consumer demand while avoiding surplus inventory. The report defines eight TPS terms, i.e. jidoka, just-intime, hoshin, heijunka, muda, kaizen, standardized work, and pokayoke; and gives examples of how terms are applied in other industries...
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...requirement. May be counted toward the independent inquiry flag requirement. Course Description This course is restricted to students in a McCombs School of Business major. It is designed to enable students to analyze business situations from the point of view of the practicing general manager. Addresses key tasks involved in general management, including strategic decisions that ensure the longterm health of the entire firm or a major division. Writing Flag This course carries the Writing Flag as well as the Independent Inquiry Flag. Writing Flag courses are designed to give students experience with writing in an academic discipline. In this class, you can expect to write regularly during the semester, complete substantial writing projects, and receive feedback from your instructor to help you improve your writing. You will also have the opportunity to revise one or more assignments, and you may be...
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