You have just been placed on a virtual team that must complete a training plan for new software that will be released in 6 months. Your team consists of six individuals from across the company.
 
Team Member 1 is in the East Coast office and has a background in software development.
 
Team Member 2 is also in the East Coast office and has a background in computer engineering.
 
Team Member 3 is in the Midwest office and has a background in Web development.
 
Team Member 4 is in the Midwest office and has a background in human relations.
 
Team Member 5 is in the West Coast office and has a background in corporate communications.
 
You are team Member 6.
 
The company has devoted a great deal of money and resources to this software, and senior leadership is extremely interested in how the training will roll out. You are a highly experienced virtual team member and have been assigned as a team advisor as well as an assistant in the training plan development.
Your company has scheduled your first team meeting for tomorrow at 7 a.m. (ET) via telephone and has just asked you for suggestions on how to kick off this first meeting.

 

TO DO:

 

Provide detailed suggestions about how the meeting should be planned and executed. (Include any changes to the meeting that may be required.)
Provide a detailed list of activities that will be completed at the meeting and why these activities are necessary.
What work design will be used, and why will this design be beneficial to the team?
What work design would be least beneficial to the team and why?
What leadership structure will work best for the team, and why will this be the best selection?