Tutorial 2
Question:
As a newly-appointed Project Manager of a research team, you believe that you will be able to manage the project virtually from your office in London, even though the other six members are located in Munich. This will solve your personal dilemma as your family does not want to be relocated. The project has a six-month deadline. What factors should you consider in order to make this virtual assignment effective?
Answer:
First of all, virtual assignments is where the employees and managers are located in different areas as in this case, the Project Manager’s office is in London whereas the other six team members are in Munich. Thus, the Project Manager has to rely heavily on communication technologies such as telephone, email or video conference. In my opinion, the factors that has to be taken into consideration include effective use of technology, invest time in building relationships and trust, provide specific intercultural training and arrange face-to-face meeting occasionally. To bring a success to virtual assignments, I will need to be aware of the full range of technology tools available to us and become practices and proficient in their use. Without familiarizing the technology, it is difficult for managers to keep in touch with the team and it might end up slowing down the team performance. For instance, it will be a waste of time discovering the function of Skype tools during the virtual meeting. Besides that, as a newly-appointed Project Manager, trust and a comfortable level of social or personal interaction are enormously important for effective virtual assignments. It is crucial for me to find ways to engage with my members and create an appropriate and effective dynamic within the team. Initially, I will need to find out what is trustworthy behavior means to the team in terms of credibility, sincerity, caring,