Business without boundaries : an action framework for collaborating across time, distance, organization, and culture / Don Mankin, Susan G. Cohen.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 209-210) and index.

Introduction: business without boundaries in the new global economy -- Across organizations: the John Deere Construction & Forestry Technology Program -- Across time, distance, and culture: the case of Radica Games Group, Inc -- What the Radica projects tell us about collaboration across time, distance, and culture -- Across the supply chain: the Solectron case -- What the Solectron initiatives tell us about collaboration across the supply chain -- The action framework, part I: from setting the stage to getting started -- The action framework, part II: from creating the infrastructure to doing the work.

In this era of global commerce, virtual organizations, and e-business, the ability to span functions, levels, and organizations leads to ever more diverse and wide-ranging relationships. Knowledge is the key to success in this economy, and collaboration is the means for gathering and applying this knowledge to achieve success. Traditional forms of collaboration are not sufficient for competing effectively in the more complex and dynamic environment of today's business world. Face-to-face meetings between people of similar backgrounds have given way to increasingly complex working relationships. Organizations must be able to gain rapid access to knowledgeable people to meet constantly changing conditions and demands. More fluid, flexible, and easily reconfigurable collaborative relationships are necessary to produce the innovations that can make or break organizations-even entire industries-and provide the opportunities that attract the talented and motivated employees who will make the difference between success and failure. [This book] helps managers address these challenges. The authors explore a number of wide-ranging, real-world cases to identify hands-on principles for successful collaboration. They offer managers and executives practical steps and tools for creating, facilitating, and supporting complex collaborations throughout their organizations. And they explain how to "team" across boundaries in the new global economy. The recommendations are specific enough to apply to particular forms of complex collaboration (for example supply chains, global product development teams, interorganizational alliances) but general enough to apply to new forms that have yet to emerge.