Communications and Technology Case Study

Preparation

To prepare for this assessment, complete the following:

• Research examples of team charters that are used in an organizational setting.
• Research the different types of virtual communication technologies currently available in the workplace, including both synchronous and asynchronous options.

Deliverable

Consider the following scenario:

You are a human resource manager for a national organization with offices in all four U.S. time zones. You have been tasked with facilitating the launch of a virtual team that will collaborate on an important and highly confidential project. Team members will come from all major business units of the organization, and will be made up primarily of senior managers and directors. The team is expected to have its orientation meeting in two weeks, and will present the finished project to executive management 90 days after the orientation meeting.

You are expected to provide this team with guidance that will help with the launch. Your deliverables for this task are to provide specific guidance in two areas:

1. Recommendations for the team charter: Offer guidance on the development of this team’s contract as a group. What ground rules would you recommend? What counsel do you have to offer in terms of team members setting expectations with each other? How do you recommend that conflicts be resolved? How do you suggest the team leadership concerns be addressed?
2. Recommendations for communications and collaboration technology: Recommend technology choices that will support this team’s virtual collaboration. Be specific in your recommendations about the use of synchronous and asynchronous technologies. Highlight the advantages and disadvantages of each, and give examples of the appropriate and inappropriate uses of both types of technologies. Provide recommendations of technologies for brainstorming and problem-solving. Offer advice on shared work platforms that are appropriate to the technologies. For example, what form of communication is best for resolving conflicts?

Write an assessment that offers your thorough and detailed recommendations for each of these two topics, while being as concise as possible. Support each of your recommendations with references from your research.

Formatting Requirements

Your assessment should contain two distinct sections: Team Charter Recommendations and Communications and Collaboration Technology Recommendations. Include the following:

• Title page.
• Introduction (include a brief overview of the scenario).
• Team Charter Recommendations:
  • Executive Summary (1–2 paragraphs).
  • Recommendations.
• Communications and Collaboration Technology Recommendations:
  • Executive Summary (1–2 paragraphs).
  • Recommendations.
• Conclusion (in 1–2 paragraphs, summarize your recommendations and the results you expect).
• References page, including a minimum of three research resources. Follow APA guidelines for formatting and citing your resources.