Global Value Chain Team Communication Challenge

Global Value Chain Team Communication Challenge
Name Institution Affiliation Global Value Chain Team Communication Challenge
Global teams have incorporated the concept of members engaging in projects with limited or no direct physical interaction with each other. It’s a major driving force in globalization and it promotes integration. Managers in charge of such teams face stiff challenges due to the diversity of parties involved in terms of location, language, and race as stipulated in McDonough et al., (2000). Communication is a vital tool in managing any global team from the onset of any project. It’s a fundamental tool that assists in maximizing benefits and minimizing risks associated with global value chains. Embracing technology allows for not only efficient but effective communication thus ensuring all stakeholders succeed in their roles.
Question 1
In line with Govindarajan and Gupta (2001) claims, the use of technology is an important way of building an effective global team. The types of technologies used in global teams include coordination tools, communication tools, and information repositories. Group calendars go a long way to assist members in the coordination of meetings to know when they should all avail themselves. Other tools include awareness tools that keep members on toes on what their colleagues are working on. Communication tools include email and texting each other or the entire group especially for quick questions and organizing meetings. Managers can, in turn, keep track of what team members are doing and what strategy needs to be put in place to attain the unachieved objectives.

Other tools include the use of videos and voices in conferences which allows for immediate response, unlike texts or emails. Blogs, chat rooms and forums are also used in cases where large numbers of people are involved. The team often needs to organize and manage information shared through systems such as Google Drive, Microsoft and Google apps.
Question 2
In our global world today, managing a supply chain is the critical key to success; however, this sector remains to be greatly infested by challenges. Supply chain managers face many problems that hinder their ability to work quickly and efficiently. According to Govindarajan and Gupta (2001), there’s high cognitive diversity when team members have distinct skills and competencies and come from different localities. Some of the challenges faced daily when managing global chain teams include globalization, ethical conduct, effective communication, and sustainability. Globalization is simply the interaction process between people, companies, and governments of different states. Managers face stiff completion from a similar company across the street to those across the world. This becomes a challenge especially such that to compete with others one must lower your prices and improve quality. Operations manager must also know how their work affects the welfare, safety, environment and economic sustainability. If one sector is jeopardized there’s need to get a quick and reliable solution. On the other hand, it is difficult being effective and consistent when there is poor communication in an organization. According to McDonough et al., (2000) managers should, therefore, work on their communication skills to be both successful and productive.
Question 3
Whether you choose to embrace the costliest mode of technology or not, the fact is there’s no one technology that can do everything we think off. In fact, McDonough et al., (2000) emphasize the challenges of global team management. To manage teams crossing many countries, time zones and in some cases languages causes need to share the burden. Time separation is one of the greatest challenges as cited in (Govindarajan and Gupta 2001). Rotating meeting schedule is one way of dealing with this issue; this ensures that not just some members stay up late during meetings. Having consistent meetings is critical since it helps members connect and have ample time to share their project work. Technology is good when embraced but can be a huge waste of time when not well used. It’s therefore important that team members pay attention to each other during meetings to save time and improve performance.
Question 4
Technology plays a great role in achieving excellence as it gives numerous ways of improving performance and adjusting achieve set goals. In relation to Govindarajan and Gupta (2001) building an effective global team requires the use of technology. Technology can also be employed to measure global team effectiveness. There is the need to measure progress as a supply chain manager to ensure the team is working effectively. Managers set goals that team members should meet and keep track of how far they have gone during meetings. That is one way to ensure that your team stays on track through the entire session. Missing deadlines is a clear indication that the team is performing poorly and something needs to be done. Another way involves checking individual objectives; each member should have clearly articulated objectives at the beginning of any project. Supply chain manager can also measure the quantity and quality of communication among stakeholders. Optimized communication leads to greater innovation plus a fast and efficient way of solving problems. It also helps in improving the efficiency of meetings making it easier to keep track of time and how each minute is spent.

References
Govindarajan, V., & Gupta, A. K. (2001). Building an effective global business team. MIT Sloan Management Review, 42(4), 63.
McDonough III, E. F., & Cedrone, D. (2000). Managers at Work: Meeting the Challenge of Global Team Management. Research Technology Management, 43(4), 12-17.