Strategic Human Resource Management

Section Two

Virtual Teams

Virtual teams have members who work closely together even
though they are based at different locations, including different
countries, and may even be in different time zones. They
typically have members from different functions and work
across organizational boundaries as well. Advances in
telecommunications, such as the Internet, e-mail, cell phones,
and videoconferencing, have made virtual teams a possibility.
In turn, market factors such as shorter product life cycles,
rapidly shifting customer tastes, and international competitive
pressures have provided the driving force for the use of
technology to develop virtual teams.^54 A team at a Johnson &
Johnson unit pro vides a good example of a virtual team. This
team has been assigned the task of developing a new surgical
product and bringing it into production. The team consists of
representatives of various functions and has members in
Arlington, Texas, and Juarez, Mexico, where production
facilities are located. Team members communicate frequently
with each other using e-mail, fax, and telephone, and the team
leader also makes frequent trips between the different
locations.