As the economy becomes more global it will become a necessity for large groups of geographically distributed engineers and manufacturers to work together. This process will involve overcoming stereotypes, different work ethics, and even different cultures. These groups will need to determine ways in which to communicate between members on a daily basis while balancing costs. This paper explores what would happen if a hybrid bus were developed jointly between American, Chinese, Japanese, French, and Brazilian companies. It looks at what makes a hybrid bus, the differences between the cultures that will need to be overcome, and methods that these groups can use to communicate.

The first step in understanding hybrid buses is to understand why they are important in comparison to standard diesel only buses. Buses are heavy duty vehicles and because they weigh fifteen or more tons they have a very low mileage when compared to smaller vehicles like cars[1].
Because these vehicles have a very low miles per gallon (MPG) rating they produce a lot of pollution[1]. By adding an electric motor into the drive system of the bus the fuel economy goes from 3.5 MPG in a standard diesel bus to 4.1 MPG in a hybrid diesel bus, a 17% increase in fuel economy[2]. In addition to the fact that the buses provide a 17% decrease in fuel costs they alsoproduce less pollutants which has become an issue because California Air Resources Board has set a requirement that 15% of new bus purchases by 2010 be Zero Emission Buses[2]. A technology that has provided useful for hybrid type vehicles has been regenerative braking. In regenerative braking while the vehicle is slowing down the energy that would absorbed by the brakes is used to charge the battery[2]. In tests, this has been shown to make a difference and on the same bus without regenerative braking the bus had a MPG rating of 3.6 MPG but with the regenerative braking turned back on it climbed to 4.23 MPG[2].

The technologies and design behind hybrid buses can be very complicated and involve many disciplines of engineering. The main idea behind a hybrid vehicle is the fact that there is an electric motor and some other type of engine that provide power to move the vehicle. There are two ways to couple the motors together: they can either be set up in parallel, where the torque produced by the electric motor and the other engine are coupled together, or in series, where the torque to move the vehicle is provided by the electric motor, and the other engine charges the battery that the electric motor uses[1]. There are also several options for the engine that is working along side the electric motor. In this paper we are talking about using a diesel motor which will allow for both standard diesel as well as bio-diesel which pollutes even less. Natural gas can also be used to drive this engine which is cleaner burning than diesel, but has a lower MPG rating, 2.8 MPG[2]. The last option is to use fuel cells which operate just like a battery and hybrid buses were one of the first applications of fuel cell technology because a fuel cell needs to be very large when it is moving a vehicle[1]. In fact, several cities are already using fuel cell powered buses. Another thing to that must be brought up while designing a hybrid bus is the weight of the vehicle. By lowering the total weight of the bus the engine will be able to be reduced because the engine won’t need to move as much weight which would result in a higher MPG rating[1].

These buses have received wide spread acceptance in the United States. In 2000, the New York City Transit Authority(NYCMTA) purchased three hundred and seventy five hybrid buses[2]. They were given the option of purchasing hybrid buses that ran on natural gas but because of the infrastructure already in place they went with diesel based hybrid buses[2]. The Capital Area Transit Authority (CATA) was the first bus line in the state of Michigan to add hybrid buses to their fleet in 2006[3]. The downside to this all this technology is that hybrid buses can be quite costly and is usually about $500,000 which is more than a traditional bus[3]. To offset this cost some bus companies like CATA are able to apply for this using federal grants[3]. Another way that CATA offset the cost is that they were able to cut 24 mechanics from their maintenance crew which will save money[3].

One of the biggest things to keep in mind while working on a global distributed project as this one is the different cultures that will be involved with the project. Each country that is involved in building a piece of the vehicle has a very distinct and rich set of cultural norms and work ethics which may cause problems. There are also different stereotypes that may have to be overcome by the other teams before they can work together as equals.

The partner in China is responsible for manufacturing the bus body and assembling the components that are made by the other partners. The Chinese industry is quite new in comparison to the European and American industries and has really only started to flourish after a liberalization of policies in the late 1970s[4]. After the fall of the USSR the Chinese state-owned enterprises avoided the collapse that befell other state-owned businesses[4]. Their goal was to create companies that were powerful and could compete on the global market[4].

The Japanese partner is working on supplying and developing the batteries needed to store the energy generated by the engine that the electric motor is unable to use immediately. World War II was a major turning point for Japan economically. The industry of Japan really started to develop from 1950 to 1970 and today Japan has more than one hundred companies in the Fortune 500[4]. One of the stereotypes of the Japanese business man is that he works late six or seven days a week but this is no longer the case[5]. After World War II because so much of the infrastructure of the country was destroyed men would work seven days a week but over the last half century this is no longer needed and workers from the current generation seek more free time[5]. Another stereotype is that businesses in Japan are very efficient and there is extreme loyalty to the company[6]. In reality, there are very few companies in Japan that are globally competitive and because of social reasons companies are reluctant to fire employees that are no longer needed[6]. This may result in the fact that Japanese workers are less efficient that Americans by 40% [6].

The traction motor, generator, and power electronics are the responsibility of the French partner. One very important thing to keep in mind while working with French companies is their views on paid vacations. Workers who work full time are legally guaranteed to receive at least five weeks of vacation every year[7]. These vacations aren’t scheduled around work they are just taken and it has been reported that the most popular ice-cream parlor in Paris was closed during the peak of the tourist months[7]. They also only have a 35 hour work week with no paid overtime but their productivity is among the highest in the world[7].

The diesel engine and the air conditioning are being provided by a partner in Brazil. There are several stereotypes of Brazil and Brazilians that are both accurate and inaccurate. Brazil has a reputation for being a very dangerous country and seems to be reinforced by the fact that buildings have iron gates in the entrance way[8]. Another stereotype is that people in Brazil are all beautiful and spend most of their time at the beach. This has elements of truth to it but this hides the fact that these people are the affluent while there are poor people who are not able to afford this kind of life style[8]. Brazilians are also viewed as lazy people who only want to party and play soccer but this is not the case and many people are workaholics[8].

Because the partners are working in different areas of the world good communication will be a necessity for completing a project of this size and complexity. One large problem with groups that are this spread out is changes in time zones because when it is 3:30 in the afternoon in Tokyo it is 1:30 in the morning in New York. This large time difference will make it difficult for workers to contact each other during the normal eight to five business day. Traditionally the only way to pass large amounts of information between these groups would be shipping the information and in order to hold meetings using a telephone would be required. In recent years technology has provided many new ways in which teams can share information and hold Online meetings.

Travel is one way in which employees of one company can meet with another. This allows for actual face to face meetings which will provide better teamwork and understanding. There are however several downsides to travel. According the Travelocity a single adult can fly nonstop from New York to Tokyo, Japan for $1,176 and takes a little over 14 hours for the entire flight. This is expensive for meetings that may need to occur weekly or even monthly to get status updates and will affect the employee’s interactions with their family. However this cost can be justified at the beginning of the project to let the leaders of the teams meet.

There are several options that technology provides that have both positives and negatives. One option is videoconferencing. In videoconferencing video can be streamed over the Internet which allows people in many different locations to see each other at the same time[9]. Equipment for videoconferencing can be low cost add-ons to existing on site computers or expensive dedicated systems with large monitors and can even be rented by the hour from companies such as FedEx Kinko’s[9]. Another technology that is taking hold is web conferencing which allows users to use the web to broadcast the contents of a users desktop to other team members[9]. The largest plus to this technology is that the people who are involved only need to have Internet access and a phone[9]. Unfortunately, this technology has downsides and details like facial expressions and body language are lost that would have been seen using videoconferencing[9]. A third option is teleconferencing which allows for multiple people to call a single number and be connected to each other[9]. This is a very easy and low cost solution that would allow for many sites to be connected to each other[9]. The downside is that more complicated topics of discussion might be better done using web conferencing due to the need to display information dynamically[9]. The last option is using Online collaboration tools like Microsoft SharePoint to share documents and post messages on a discussion board [9]. The costs for this type of system can be quite low in comparison to the other options put forward but this system does not make it easy for users to have real time communication[9].

Getting these large distributed groups working together efficiently may prove to be difficult without a lot of communication. There needs to be some kind of system set up for meetings and document sharing that will allow everyone who is involved to quickly access the information that they need. The first thing that should be done is that an Online collaboration tool, like SharePoint, needs to be installed. This will allow for all the mission critical project files to be stored in a single repository from the start and won’t rely on each individual partner to publish information to a website. Direct communication also needs to be addressed because of the time zone differences between the partners. The use of e-mail will be critical to the success of the project because it allows employees in one time zone to discuss things with employees in other time zones without having to have them stay up late or get up early. That being said it will also be necessary for a common time to be agreed on so teleconferences or web conferences can be held between members. Lastly, travel will also need to be utilized so partners can check in to promote better communication and teamwork.

References

1. Dawood, V. and A. Emadi. Performance and Fuel Economy Comparative Analysis of Conventional, Hybrid, and Fuel Cell Heavy-Duty Transit Buses. Vehicular Technology Conference, 2003. VTC 2003-Fall. 2003 IEEE 58th Volume 5, Issue , 6-9 Oct. 2003 Page(s): 3310 – 3315 Vol.5.
2. Burke, A.F. and M. Miller. Fuel Efficiency Comparisons of Advanced Transit Buses using Fuel Cell and Engine Hybrid Electric Drivelines. Energy Conversion Engineering Conference and Exhibit, 2000. (IECEC) 35th Intersociety.
3. Pence, Karly. Hybrid buses fuse more than electricity, gasoline. EJ magazine Fall 2006.
4. Nolan, Peter. China and the Global Business Revolution. Cambridge Journal of Economics 2002 Volume 26 pp 116-137
5. Brull, Steven. A Tale of Two Work Ethics By Many Yardsticks, the U.S. Tops Japan. International Herald Tribune. Published Febuary 7, 1992.
6. Bartlett, Duncan. Japanese Work Ethic Hides Inefficiencies. BBC World Service. October 7, 2004.
7. Logan, Lara. France: Less Work, More Time Off. CBS news online. .
8. Brunova, Alena. About Brazilian Sterotypes. Studentsky List. Published October 7, 2003.
9. Enbysk, Monte. Virtual meetings cut travel costs. Microsoft.com. .