Dublin Business School ‘Communication Management within Virtual Teams in Global Projects’ By Aneta Bilczynska – Wojcik Student registration number: 1691002 A dissertation submitted to Dublin Business School and Liverpool John Moores University in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award degree of Masters of Business Administration in Project Management under the supervision of Mr Paul Taaffe Dublin, May 2014 Number of words: 22074 Declaration I, Aneta Bilczynska – Wojcik, declare that this dissertation is a presentation of my own original research work. It is being submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the MBA in Project Management Degree at Dublin Business School, in conjunction with Liverpool John Moores University. Regarding contributions from others, working in this field: every effort has been made to reference their ideas and scholarship, and acknowledge collaborative research and discussion, within the main body of this dissertation and in the bibliography. The research was done under the guidance of Mr Paul Taaffe, at Dublin Business School. Signed: Aneta Bilczynska – Wojcik Dublin, May 2014 1 Table of Contents Table of Contents ....................................................................................................................... 2 Table of Figures ......................................................................................................................... 6 Table of Tables .......................................................................................................................... 6 Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................... 7 Abstract ...................................................................................................................................... 8 Chapter 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 9 1.1 Research Background and Rationale........................................................................... 9 1.2 Research Problem ...................................................................................................... 11 1.3 Research Objectives .................................................................................................. 11 1.4 Research Questions ................................................................................................... 12 1.5 Suitability of the Researcher and Interest in the Topic ............................................. 13 1.6 Outline of the Dissertation ........................................................................................ 14 1.7 Recipients of this Research ....................................................................................... 15 1.8 Limitations of this Research ...................................................................................... 15 1.9 Benefits of this Research ........................................................................................... 15 Chapter 2 Literature Review .................................................................................................. 16 2.1 Project, Project Management, Project Life Cycle and Project Types ....................... 16 2.1.1 Projects and Project Management ...................................................................... 16 2.1.2 The Global Project ............................................................................................. 19 2.2 Teams, Project Teams and Virtual Teams ................................................................ 21 2.2.1 Teams and Project Teams .................................................................................. 21 2.2.2 Virtual Teams..................................................................................................... 21 2.3 Benefits and Challenges of Managing Virtual Teams .............................................. 23 2.3.1 General Benefits and Challenges ....................................................................... 23 2.3.2 Communication .................................................................................................. 24 2.3.3 Cultural Differences in Virtual Teams ............................................................... 25 2.3.4 Trust in Virtual Teams ....................................................................................... 25 2.3.5 Time Zones Differences ..................................................................................... 26 2.4 Communication Management ................................................................................... 26 2.4.1 Communication in a project and Communication in virtual project teams ....... 26 2.4.2 A Communication Model .................................................................................. 28 2 2.5 Communication Management ................................................................................... 29 2.5.1 Communication Methods ................................................................................... 29 2.5.2 Project Communication Management................................................................ 30 2.5.3 Virtual Project Manager Role ............................................................................ 31 2.6 Communication Management Plan and Managing Communication within Virtual Teams 32 2.7 Communication Technology and Tools for Virtual Teams ...................................... 33 2.8 Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 34 Chapter 3 The case company: Optimus Ireland - IT industry ................................................ 35 Chapter 4 Research Methodology .......................................................................................... 36 4.1 Introduction to Methodology Chapter ....................................................................... 36 4.2 Research Objectives and Research Questions ........................................................... 36 4.2.1 Research Objectives ........................................................................................... 36 4.2.2 Research Questions ............................................................................................ 37 4.3 General Theories of Methodology ............................................................................ 37 4.3.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 37 4.3.2 Research Philosophy .......................................................................................... 38 4.3.3 Research approach ............................................................................................. 39 4.3.4 Research Choices ............................................................................................... 39 4.4 Research Strategy ...................................................................................................... 40 4.4.1 The Approach..................................................................................................... 40 4.4.2 Case Study ......................................................................................................... 41 4.4.3 Sampling ............................................................................................................ 41 4.4.4 Time horizon ...................................................................................................... 42 4.5 Data Collection Procedures ....................................................................................... 43 4.5.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 43 4.5.2 Primary Data - Interviews .................................................................................. 43 4.5.3 Primary Data - Observations .............................................................................. 44 4.5.4 Transcriptions .................................................................................................... 44 4.5.6 Secondary data ................................................................................................... 45 4.5.7 Ethics.................................................................................................................. 45 4.6 Verification and Validity ........................................................................................... 46 4.6.1 The Problem ....................................................................................................... 46 4.6.2 The role of the researcher .................................................................................. 47 3 4.6.3 Validity and Verification Strategy ..................................................................... 47 4.7 Research Timetable Plan and Resources ................................................................... 48 Chapter 5 Data Analysis and Findings ................................................................................... 49 5.1 Data analysis and findings......................................................................................... 49 5.2 Research Question 1 .................................................................................................. 51 5.3 Research Question 2 .................................................................................................. 57 5.3.1 Context