Raising global competition increasing customer demand requests to deliver just-in-time and
an increasing pressure to cut costs are only a few examples to express the need for more
flexibility speed and agility of organizations. Companies in different industry segments can
achieve this requirement by flexible organizational structures a knowledgeable and motivated
workforce and the application of technology and communication media. In this context the
composition of teams plays an important role because it has proven to be a fast and
comprehensive way to solve problems to fulfil customer demand and to develop new products and
processes. Over the past decade the construct of teams has further developed into so called
virtual teams. Virtual teams are teams which include team members who work together remotely
from various locations around the globe. The modality of working in virtual teams becomes more
popular as the world s population becomes more connected. Research proposes that virtual teams
are as effective as traditional teams. Virtual teams offer the opportunity to meet the
challenges of cost effectiveness product quality and speed in an international setting that
is driven by customer orientation and a rapidly changing economy. Furthermore people with the
most experience and knowledge for a specific business topic can be brought together no matter
where they are located in the world. In a virtual team setting modern communication technology
plays an important role because it brings together the virtual team members that are located in
various places around the globe. Formerly members of a traditional team had many opportunities
to meet in-person to discuss business and project issues. But with team members working from
distributed locations meeting in-person is hindered. In such cases a team depends heavily on
communication technology that offers some kind of substitution for meeting in-person. Video
conferencing has long been known as one option to meet distributed team members face-to-face.
Because traditional video conferencing had its limitations vendors lately have introduced
telepresence systems. These systems are designed to counteract the hindrances of traditional
video conferencing. Thus the purpose of this book is to investigate whether or not the modern
communication technology has the capability to support managing from a geographical distance.
Furthermore it is to find out whether telepresence can facilitate virtual team work in the
major tasks.
