Managing a Global Team
Managing A Global Team
Team 6
In the “Managing a Global Team” case study, Greg James is the global manager at Sun Microsystems, Inc. who provides companies with complete information technology solutions. He leads a customer implementation team composed of 45 members from India, France, UAE, and the U.S. Greg James assembled this team to solve problems and interact with customers on a global scale, with all of the expected benefits of a cultural diverse team. However, this hastily assembled team has since struggled to work collectively, and continues to struggle connecting with each others’ cultural and work differences. These problems have led to delays and improper handling of customer related issues, specifically the HS Holdings group that is now claiming a breach of contract and service. James’s team provides a prime example for some of the challenges associated with virtual teams. Such challenges range from; time zone differences, compensation, a sense of favorability for host country team members, perceived sense of neglect, and general communication issues that inhibits the ability of team members to effectively and efficiently work with one another. Ultimately the situation showed how mismanaging a multi-cultural global team can prove disastrous, and has left room for suggestions as to how Greg James can move forward with his team to avoid such issues again. While miscommunication between the teams appears to be the primary challenge, diagnosis and solutions are provided below for several other key issues raised.
Compensation differences, mainly between the French and American teams, were a major issue. Both America and France favor individualist ideals, meaning they strive for individual achievement. The discrepancies between compensation and benefits will only increase their unwillingness to work collectively. Therefore, either a “no telling” clause can be developed, or a disclosure of the payment policy. With this, payment and benefit
Team 6
In the “Managing a Global Team” case study, Greg James is the global manager at Sun Microsystems, Inc. who provides companies with complete information technology solutions. He leads a customer implementation team composed of 45 members from India, France, UAE, and the U.S. Greg James assembled this team to solve problems and interact with customers on a global scale, with all of the expected benefits of a cultural diverse team. However, this hastily assembled team has since struggled to work collectively, and continues to struggle connecting with each others’ cultural and work differences. These problems have led to delays and improper handling of customer related issues, specifically the HS Holdings group that is now claiming a breach of contract and service. James’s team provides a prime example for some of the challenges associated with virtual teams. Such challenges range from; time zone differences, compensation, a sense of favorability for host country team members, perceived sense of neglect, and general communication issues that inhibits the ability of team members to effectively and efficiently work with one another. Ultimately the situation showed how mismanaging a multi-cultural global team can prove disastrous, and has left room for suggestions as to how Greg James can move forward with his team to avoid such issues again. While miscommunication between the teams appears to be the primary challenge, diagnosis and solutions are provided below for several other key issues raised.
Compensation differences, mainly between the French and American teams, were a major issue. Both America and France favor individualist ideals, meaning they strive for individual achievement. The discrepancies between compensation and benefits will only increase their unwillingness to work collectively. Therefore, either a “no telling” clause can be developed, or a disclosure of the payment policy. With this, payment and benefit