Define globalization, outsourcing, and virtual teams and describe how these trends are changing IT project management.
Globalization is the phenomenon that has occurred that allows for everyone in the world to be able to communicate with one another. This is possible thanks to technology. It's affecting IT project management in a few ways. Since things are working in a global scale, it's important for project managers to be mindful of other people's cultures and to adapt their business in accordance to that. Since globalization has allowed for everyone to be connected through technology, software such as Skype and websites like Facebook are things that allows us to be connected.
Outsourcing is the tendency for businesses or organizations to seek help from an outside source such as seeking or using labor from another country outside of where their business is conducted. This is possible thanks to globalization. Outsourcing has happened in a number of big corporations and in fact it is one of the ways these companies try to be competitive. Companies using Chinese labor as it is cheaper due to the avoidance of labor laws and wage laws can be an example of outsourcing.
Virtual teams are people who work together virtually for some common goal. In the example of our blog project, we were assigned in groups. These groups are very much so virtual teams where we are working together for the collective goal to finish this project. This trends has its pros and cons to IT project management.
Pros:
While being able to work together virtually, it allows for flexible scheduling and bypasses some of the costs of having to have office space or even having to visit to an office. The team can even work together from a distance.
Cons:
It can be difficult to establish trust and communication becomes more difficult. Since body language or tone cannot be perceived through electronic communication, communication can sometimes be misunderstood. It makes communication more reliant on technology and some people may not easily adapt to virtual teams.
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