Global Teams

Global teams are typically project-focused, connected through the power of technology and brought together to solve complex problems and promote organizational sustainability. Gluesing and Gibson (2003) note five different dimensions that all global teams face: task, context, people, time, and technology. Each of these areas aids in the understanding of the unique differences associated with global teams. A global team is first and foremost a task-oriented team organized according to the complexity of their tasks. Context refers to the unique conditions, cultural assumptions, and history associated with the geographic region in which the team does business. One of the inherent strengths associated with the creation of a global team is the diversity of the people, who possess various skills, experience, and motivation levels. Groups that function under a tight time constraint might be unable to meld and therefore function as an effective team. Controlled Vocabulary Terms Constraints; Project team