Challenges Managing Global Teams Student id- APS3116   Table of Contents 1.0 Introduction 3 1.1 Rationale of the Research 3 1.2 Aims of the Research 3 1.3 Objectives of the Research 4 1.4 Research Questions 4 2.0 Literature Review 4 2.1 Concept of Global Team Management 4 2.2 Challenges of Global Team Management 5 2.3 Advantages and Disadvantages of Global Team Management 6 2.5 Mitigating the Challenges of Global Team Management 7 3.0 Research Methodology 7 3.1 Research Approach 7 3.2 Research Design 8 3.3 Sampling Method 8 3.4 Data Analysis 8 Reference List 9   1.0 Introduction Presently the term globalisation occupies the headlines and therefore it can be considered as the most discussed and researched topic among the business tycoons throughout the world. As a result of globalisations almost all the larger conglomerates have expanded their markets enormously and at the same time they rely on an extremely diverse workforce to exceed the present and future needs of the consumers (Mendenhall, 2012). In accordance with this the global teams have proliferated based on the trust that the diverse talents present within each team will in turn help to achieve the organisational goals of reaching the markets overseas and also in the execution of complex strategic frameworks. This research work will solely focus on determining the challenges that the managers may face while managing a global team. This work will also concentrate on determining the plausible methods for mitigating the challenges as well. It is expected that this work will help to bridge the gap between the knowledge and effective implementation of global team management skills which will in turn increase the productivity of the organisations. 1.1 Rationale of the Research Presently in the era of continuous advancements and rigorous changes in the business environment globalisation has become a very popular term. On a more precise note, through the emergence of globalisation the organisations have become able to operate in different countries at ease (Williams, 2013). Now in order to ensure effective operability of these organisations overseas it is necessary to manage global teams effectively. Therefore the global team management has become an interesting issue of research. Presently, as the organisations are expanding their businesses rapidly it isnecessary for them to develop a knowhow of the management skills required for managing global teams. 1.2 Aims of the Research The broader aim of this research work is to determine the key advantages and disadvantages of the global teams and thereby bring out the plausible solution. This will help to bridge the gap between the advantage sand disadvantages and thereby ensure the successful operability of the organisations. 1.3 Objectives of the Research In order achieve the desired outcomes the following will considered as the main objectives of this research work, • To obtain a broader overview of the concept of global teams. • To determine the challenges faced by the global team management process. • To determine the advantages and disadvantages of global team management. • To state a measure through which the challenges faced by the global teams could be mitigated. 1.4 Research Questions In accordance with the research objectives the questions of the research has also been framed which are stated one by one below, • What is the key concept of global team? • What are the challenges faced by the global teams? • What are the advantages and disadvantages of global team management? • What is the precautionary measure through the challenges faced by the global teams could be mitigated? 2.0 Literature Review 2.1 Concept of Global Team Management Global teams which is also known as the multinational work teams can be specifically defined as the work teams in which the members come from at least two or more different geographical locations or countries. However, as argued by Goetsch and Davis(2014), this definition does not imply that the members of the global teams should necessarily be distributed geographically it is a matter of fact that presently a lot of global teams work virtually and they are termed as global virtual teams. As pointed out by Daim et al., (2012) presently the use of global teams by the multinational conglomerates as part of strategic human resource management is evolving. The global teams are constructed across different geographical, cultural and temporal boundaries to grab the pool of extensively talented human resources spread across the globe. The goal of forming these global teams are enhancing the organisational operability through innovations as well as enriching the performance regardless of the culture or location, integrating the diverse knowledge base available at different parts of the organisation so as to enhance the organisational efficiency through the implementation of around the clock work in different time zones and thereby reducing the cost of accessing the local markets (Erez et al., 2013). The global teams may seem to be very prospective while operating in an international scale these teams are also filled with challenges regarding collaboration, knowledge sharing and communication across different time zones and cultures. Over the past few years a number of challenges have been identified by the researchers. However, as stated by Zander et al., (2012), everything has its own advantages and disadvantage and the global teams could be managed efficiently enough so as to mitigate the challenges associated with it. 2.2 Challenges of Global Team Management Reviewing the available literature in this regard has revealed the fact that the global teams face a number of challenges which is a result of the geographical dispersion and technological mediation (Boutellier et al., 2013). The first and foremost challenge arises because of the geographical dispersion and decreasing physical cues gives rise to a lack of mutual knowledge among the team members and this in turn may result in faulty attribute about the remote team members. As pointed out by Heizer and Barry(2013), the distributed team members are found to be more likely to generate faulty attributes about the distance colleagues and this is solely because of the lack of physical cues and the situational awareness. Secondly, the global team members often face challenges regarding the knowledge sharing across different geographical locations (Richardson et al., 2012). As the team members are always working from a distance they are less likely to get a chance to have an informal encounter with each other which cats as a great source of knowledge sharing. Moreover, sometimes the team members are again members of another team, which gives rise to different levels of commitment that contributes in different levels of commitment towards knowledge sharing. Thirdly another challenge which is faced by the global teams is regarding the management of time and attention. While the emergence of email facility, instant messaging has facilitated communications across various time zones and allow the team members to communicate with each other as per their convenience, however, the use of excessive email and other technological communications systems may give rise to interruptions and distractions from work (Klitmøller and Lauring, 2013). Finally scholars have also identified that these global teams also face challenges because of the cultural differences. These cultural differences give rise to interruption in communication among the team members (Colomo-Palacios et al., 2014). Moreover, the cultural differences such as individualism-collectivism and their extent high-low seem to possess certain influence over the multidimensional teams. 2.3 Advantages and Disadvantages of Global Team Management The advantages of the global teams can be listed as follows, Cost Savings The first and foremost advantage that the organisations enjoy through these global teams is savings a huge amount of costs. The cost of production reduces because of the reduction in cost associated with accruing raw materials and the lower wages of the employees who are working in their own geographical locations (Colomo-Palacios et al., 2014). Accruing Global Talent Global team enables the organisations to search for talents beyond their country of operations. This brings together the experts and the specialists across the globe on the same project. This in turn increases the innovativeness, knowledge sharing and the overall productivity of the organisations (Colomo-Palacios et al., 2014). Reduced Time for Marketing As the members of the global teams work across different time zones there are different teams who are working 24*7. This means that when one member is not working some other member is working and this in turn reduces the time for product development and generates faster response to market demands. On the contrary, global teams also possess certain disadvantages as well. The key disadvantages are stated one by one below, High Cost of Technology The successful operation of the virtual teams is supported by the efficient use of advanced and expensive technologies such as instant messaging, video conferencing and email. The overall cost associated with the installation of these technologies is quite high (Colomo-Palacios et al., 2014). Social Exclusion Numerous members of the global teams are affected by the lack of physical interactions. A majority of the communications that takes place in this field is regarding work and this sometimes may lead to a social exclusion of these team members as afterwards they don’t feel better while communicating. 2.5 Mitigating the Challenges of Global Team Management Now as suggested by Pinjani and Palvia(2013), in order to manage or mitigate the challenges faced by the global teams a successful and efficient management is necessary. The appropriate leader is the person who can usher and motivate the team towards success. In order to manage the cultural differences the leader may implement an effective communication technique which will reduce the communication gap between the members. As pointed out by Pinjani and Palvia (2013), an autocratic style of leadership will not be able to cope up with these problems on the other hand; the author suggested that a friendly environment will in turn motivate the employees to interact with each other which will enhance the knowledge sharing process. 3.0 Research Methodology 3.1 Research Approach A research work may involve a number of research techniques which will lead to a proper and expected outcome (Taylor et al., 2015). For the present research work pragmatic research approach will be used because this will help to focus on each and every aspect of the research topic. The pragmatic approach to a research will help to take into consideration a mix of research work to reach the actual outcome (Glesne, 2015). The current research will be based on managing global teams. It will take into account bothy positivism and interpretivism. Through which the research work will make use of the graphs and charts on the other hand it will also concentrate on the feeling of the global team managers. 3.2 Research Design This research work will be based on the descriptive research design this is because the hypothesis of the research is fixed from the beginning (Brinkmann, 2014). As well as, the researcher has gained a proper idea about the number of participants who will take part in the survey to carry on the project. 3.3 Sampling Method For the present research work non-probability sampling method will be used and 20 managers will be surveyed and at the same time 80 employees of the global conglomerate who are working as a part of the global team will be surveyed. 3.4 Data Analysis The data analysis will be performed entirely using MS Excel and statistical packages like SPSS.   Reference List Boutellier, R., Gassmann, O. and Von Zedtwitz, M., 2013. Managing global innovation: uncovering the secrets of future competitiveness. Springer Science & Business Media. Brinkmann, S., 2014.Interview.In Encyclopedia of Critical Psychology (pp. 1008-1010).Springer New York. Colomo-Palacios, R., Casado-Lumbreras, C., Soto-Acosta, P., García-Peñalvo, F.J. and Tovar, E., 2014. Project managers in global software development teams: a study of the effects on productivity and performance. Software Quality Journal, 22(1), pp.3-19. Daim, T.U., Ha, A., Reutiman, S., Hughes, B., Pathak, U., Bynum, W. and Bhatla, A., 2012. Exploring the communication breakdown in global virtual teams. International Journal of Project Management, 30(2), pp.199-212. Erez, M., Lisak, A., Harush, R., Glikson, E., Nouri, R. and Shokef, E., 2013.Going global: Developing management students' cultural intelligence and global identity in culturally diverse virtual teams. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 12(3), pp.330-355. Glesne, C., 2015. 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Introduction to qualitative research methods: A guidebook and resource. John Wiley & Sons. Williams, C., 2013. Principles of management.South-Western/Cengage Learning. Zander, L., Mockaitis, A.I. and Butler, C.L., 2012.Leading global teams. Journal of World Business, 47(4), pp.592-603.