1. What advantages will Lockheed Martin gain by using virtual teams? Explain.
2. Identify and discuss potential problems with using virtual teams—for example, interpersonal, technical, or geographical concerns.
3. Discuss specific training that virtual teams could receive.

On October 26, 2001, defense contractor Lockheed Martin Aeronautics of Fort Worth, Texas, won its largest manufacturing contract ever—a whopping $200 million. The contract, received from the U.S. Department of Defense, is to build a new family of supersonic stealth fighter planes. Success of the megaproject will hinge greatly on intricate teamwork. For example, more than eighty suppliers will be working at 187 locations worldwide to design and build components of the Joint Strike Fighter. A seventy-five-member technology group at Lockheed’s aeronautics division will link the suppliers, along with the U.S. Air Force, Navy, and Marines, to Britain’s Defense Ministry to track progress and make midstream design and production changes if necessary. Individuals working at more than 40,000 computer stations will collaborate to get the first plane airborne in just four years. Speaking of the teamwork involved, Mark Peden, vice president for information systems at Lockheed Aeronautics, said, “It’s the true virtual connection.”