Sustainable Project Management Using Reference Models of Organizational Behavior

Abstract

Advances in broadband Internet technology can today deliver high definition video and audio at relatively lowcost. This makes it possible to leverage cost-effective labor around the world to work on development and maintenance projects. The age of the virtual worker has well and truly arrived (Herbsleb & Moitra, 2001). While virtual teams have solved a number of organizational problems in the developed world (i.e. how to keep overheads to a minimum) it has broader benefits for the world at large, in particular for the developing world. Virtual teaming and the associated governance model is therefore presented in the context of assisting developing countries to gain access to the labor markets of the developed world while simultaneously enabling more environmentally sustainable project management practices.

This article explores the question; can the governance of virtual teams be optimized through the use of Reference Models of Organizational Behavior (RMOB). Two subordinate questions will be discussed; (a) might the RMOB thus be a viable option for developing nations to reap the economic benefits of greater participation in the global economy, and (b) to do so in an environmentally sustainable way? Exploring this complex question contributes to the project management literature, particularly in relation to the governance of virtual teams, and the evolution of sustainable project management practices.