PM ADVISORY:

Leading Global Project Teams: Barriers & Challenges

Part One of a Six - Part Series

By Jim Waddell, Independent Consultant
Tim Rahschulte, Associate Professor, George Fox University
and
Russ Martinelli, Intel Corporation

USA

What comes to mind when the word globalization is used in your conversations? It may conjure up ideas of off-shoring work from one country to another for the promise of business process efficiencies and lower cost to produce goods and services. Globalization may be perceived as something ‘out there’ that is not applicable to your business let alone you or your life.

Globalization is more than simply off-shoring work or establishing government programs aimed at expanding trade. Pressures from emerging markets, converging markets, technology advances, customer demands, product sourcing options, and resource availability have stimulated globalization as a means to improve business results.1,2,3 Undeniably, our globe is quickly becoming a smaller, flatter, and a more level playing field on which to compete. However, small, flat, and level are not synonyms for easy or effective.

Are you feeling the pressures of globalization? If your answer is “no,” you may not be paying close enough attention to your market, industry, customers, workforce, and the trends associated with each. The pressures caused by competition for global market share and for the world’s most talented people, and the sheer desire for competitive advantage, fuel these occurrences. The intellectual skills necessary for creative thinking and innovation as well as production and operational abilities are available and ready for use for any organization from around the world. Many of them have already been tapped by companies that are successfully executing their globalization strategies, some of these companies might be your direct competitors. So, we ask again, are you feeling the pressures of globalization?

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About the Author Jim Waddell Co - Author Jim Waddell, former director of program management for Tektronix, is currently an independent management consultant in his fields of expertise: program management and mergers and acquisitions. He has held a variety of management positions, has been a speaker at numerous conferences, and is a co-author of Leading Global Project Teams, and Program Management for Improved Business Results. Jim is a co-founder of the Program Management Academy (www.programmanagement-academy.com). Jim can be contacted at jim.waddell@programmanagement-academy.com.

About the Author Tim Rahschulte Co - Author Tim Rahschulte is responsible for international management and leadership studies at George Fox University in Oregon. Additionally, he consults with state governments on matters of organizational change as a business transition architect. He is a co-author of Leading Global Project Teams, and is an executive director at the Program Management Academy (www.programmanagement-academy.com). Tim can be contacted at tim.rahschulte@programmanagement-academy.com.

About the Author Russ Martinelli Co - Author Russ Martinelli, senior program manager at Intel Corporation, has many years of experience leading global product development teams in both the aerospace and computing industries. Russ is also a co-founder of the Program Management Academy (www.programmanagement-academy.com), and co-author of Leading Global Project Teams and the first comprehensive book on program management titled Program Management for Improved Business Results. Russ can be contacted at russ.martinelli@programmanagement-academy.com