Working Virtually: Challenges Of Virtual Teams [Hardcover]

Robert Jones (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1591405858 | ISBN-13: 978-1591405856 | Publication Date: June 2005

Virtual teams have been used to leverage scarce and distributed resources for many years. Expense reductions, health epidemics, air travel safety, and complex supply chains have only intensified this need. General best practices for leading and participating in virtual teams are well known but why are there still misconceptions about their effectiveness? What drives the notion that “face to face is always better”? How can groups and individuals take the most advantage of virtual teams through the appropriate use of technology? Working Virtually: Challenges of Virtual Teams provides an in-depth, practical perspective on the growing dependence of virtual teams and how to best exploit them. Based on years of direct experience in managing and participating in virtual teams, as well as developing solutions to help virtual teams be more effective, the authors have provided unique insight that can be leveraged to help you get the most of your virtual teams.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Robert Jones works for the Enterprise Architecture Group of HP Corporate IT, where he is the team lead for a group which facilitates cooperation and communication between over 150 enterprise architects from many different countries and organizations. Past assignments included being the chief strategist for Hewlett-Packard's internal desktop management environment, which serves over 120,000 PC clients, as well as being involved in companywide initiatives for collaboration, knowledge management, and mobile commuting. Robert is located in Atlanta, Georgia, where he has spent 15 of his 19 years with Hewlett-Packard. He has been a full-time telecommuter for the last six years, and has worked on a virtual, geographically-dispersed team for the last 10 years.

Rob Oyung is currently an R&D Lab Manager at Hewlett-Packard. He has over 13 years of experience in Information Technology. He has held global management, strategy, and engineering roles in mobility, telecommunications, messaging, collaboration, and IT infrastructure services. Rob has managed and participated on virtual teams for the past 8 years. Rob is located in Palo Alto, California and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from the University of California at Berkeley.

Lise Shade Pace works for the Enterprise Architecture Group of HP Corporate IT. She has worked for HP for over fifteen years, and her current areas of focus include Knowledge Management, peer-to-peer computing, and IT infrastructure evolution models. Past assignments have included company wide-initiatives in information management, collaboration and service-centric computing. Lise is a full time telecommuter and has worked on a virtual, geographically distributed team for the past 9 years. Lise is located in Atlanta and is a graduate of the Georgia Institute of Technology and Oglethorpe University.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 194 pages
• Publisher: IRM Press (June 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591405858
• ISBN-13: 978-1591405856
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 7.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,478,431 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars perils of virtual teams, August 5, 2005

By 

W Boudville (Terra, Sol 3) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Working Virtually: Challenges Of Virtual Teams (Hardcover)

In case you are wondering, this book is no puff piece for Hewlett Packard, though all three authors hail from it. Instead, they present cogent explanations of why and how you might have a virtual team in your company. A common reason is to reduce expenses. As offshoring continues, it might make sense to have some members be from and in a country like India or China. Plus, having a project being worked on 24 hours a day can mean a quicker time to market. And that can be more important than the salary savings.

The authors point out many practical problems that can arise when you try having a virtual team. All these might be resolvable. But that is by no means guaranteed. The book's suggestions do offer aid, that may be germane to your company.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Why the federal government--which employs 2.7 million people worldwide--needs to embrace the book's virtual teaming concepts, November 8, 2005

By 

Barbara Burch - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Working Virtually: Challenges of Virtual Teams (Paperback)

Working Virtually: Challenges of Virtual Teams
Editor: Robert Jones et al.

As I read this book, I became aware of the need for the federal government (I work for the U.S. Department of State) to get behind the ideas espoused here. The federal government, with its 2.7 million employees worldwide, could achieve cost savings in the billions of dollars by adopting and implementing the virtual work concepts described in Working Virtually. It is time that the feds. came to realize what many corporate entities
already know: that with a phone, fax and computer, many thousands of federal employees are able to do their job anywhere. Calamities such as 9/11 and natural and health disasters such as Katrina and avian flu and the rapidly growing cost of gasoline make being able to work virtually a critical issue. And as baby-boomers retire, it will be essential for federal agencies to offer working virtually as a recruitment tool or risk losing the best candidates to the private sector.

I read with special interest Chapter XIV about where an organization lies on the virtual team continuum. The problem in most federal agencies is that the managers are not comfortable with the concept of working virtually or are concerned that employees who work at home may be less productive. But if management is to address its other considerations: productive and satisfied workers, environmental issues such as reduced traffic congestion and improved air quality, and quality of life considerations such as accommodating the short- or long-term health needs of employees, it is essential that virtual work programs be made available to the majority of government workers.

Currently, there is a federal mandate requiring several of the largest fed agencies to demonstrate a greater commitment to expanding telecommuting options for their workers or risk losing a percentage of their operating budget. Working Virtually should be used as a primer for all government officials looking for ways to reduce their organization's operating costs. There have been many studies done that show the benefits of working virtually, including happier and more productive employees, reduced traffic, environmental savings and business continuity-related benefits. The government should be leading the way when it comes to working virtually, since there would be a payoff to all of us in the form of reduced operating budget costs of running the government.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Practical ideas based on real-world experience, September 14, 2005

By 

Charles Sieloff (California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Working Virtually: Challenges of Virtual Teams (Paperback)

Like it or not, working in virtual teams or organizations is becoming increasingly common for knowledge workers throughout the global economy. This book offers ideas, examples, and practical techniques for making virtual work more productive and more enjoyable for everyone.

It should be especially valuable for team leaders and managers who find themselves working increasingly, and perhaps somewhat reluctantly, with geographically distributed groups of people. The authors fill the book with practical examples from their own virtual work experiences. While recognizing the value of technological enablers, they also emphasize the critical importance of such intangible factors as building trust and operating within a supportive corporate culture.