Innovation and Teamwork in Business Management

This article discusses the importance of innovation and teamwork in business management. It covers topics such as team goals, budget planning, potential team members, team ground rules, innovation schedule, and rewards. It also explores the factors that contribute to a team becoming and remaining innovative, as well as the activities that can encourage or hinder innovation in a team. Feedback forms are also included to help team members improve their skills in innovation and teamwork.

Running head: BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
Business Management
Name of the Student
Name of the university
Author note

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Procedure A
● A document describing team goals
The team goals of Home Reinvention are as follows:
1. To use the resources of Home Reinvention efficiently
Fact that the company is lagging behind its major competitor Heartland Heritage, due to lack of
technological inefficiency, the team members should consider investing resources in new
technologies that in turn will facilitate the company to provide faster delivery along with master
manufacturing of the products.
2. To recapture the lost market share of Home Reinvention and to enhance the market shares in
the local market.
Due to lack of technological advances and other environment and supply flow change related
issues, the brand equity as well as consumer loyalty of the company has got reduced (Goetsch
and Davis 2014). Hence the team members should work on enhancing the consumer loyalty of
the company.
3. To reduce the impact of manufacturing the products on the environment.
When it comes to environmental impact, the company must use timber that comes from
sustainable forests. Moreover, appropriate waste management strategies must be implemented in
order to reduce environmental impact resulting from wastes like brass, wood scrap, ceramic,
marble, etc
7. To enhance the quality of the product as well as the overall revenue of the company.

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For this the team members are focusing on enhancing the flow of materials in the organization
and maintain a continuous flow of supplies. The team members are working on enhancing the
communication between the team so that effective information and knowledge can be shared.

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● A draft budget for team activities
Estimation 5000 dollars
Expenditure Low (in Dollars) High (in Dollar)
Investment on technology 1000 2000
Manufacturing Costs 2500 3500
Internal communication 1000 2000
Waste management 500 1000

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● A document describing which potential team members to include
In order to achieve the above mentioned goals, it is highly crucial for the company to select team
members who have the potential and skill as to bring about the necessary changes.
Name Strengths Weaknesses
Li  Extensive
marketing
experience
 Strategic,
conceptual
and holistic.
Lack of computer skills
David  Have
carpentry
and
leadership
experiences
 Innovative
minded
Average amount of
knowledge in Computer
Rafaela  friendly,
supportive,
empathetic,
people-
oriented and
communicati
ve
 experienced
as a
Chartered
accountant
 Has
Leadership
skills
 Love the
work of
home
renovation

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Adnan  Has in-depth
knowledge in
Computer
 Is a trained
barista
 Lacks
commutative
skills
 Lacks
manufacturin
g knowledge
Susan  good at all
functions of
MS Office
 has
extensive
interior
design
experience
 Conservative
minded
 Lacks cultural
competence
John  Posses
managemen
t skills
 has
extensive
experience
in the
financial
sector
 experienced
as a senior
banking
clerk
 has a license
to trade
securities
● A document describing strengths and weakness of current team members
Name Strengths Weaknesses
Ryan  Has Leadership
skills
 friendly, supportive,
Lacks computer skills

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empathetic, people-
oriented and
communicative
 Has experience of
working priory in a
interior designing
industry.
Ann  Has the capacity to
motivate others
 Dedicated to work
 Highly unpunctual
 Conservative
minded
Chris  Very enthusiastic
 Have good
knowledge in
computer
 Possess punctuality
 Lacks cultural
competence
 Turns abusive at
times
● A document describing team ground rules
 We treat each other with respect.
 We intend to develop personal relationships to enhance trust and open communication.
 In case of constructional feedback, we will avid being defensive and use criticism as a tool for
personal development
 We will recognize and celebrate individual and team accomplishment.
 During meeting, one person will talk at a time and no side discussion will be allowed.
 We will be committed to the objective of the team.
● A document describing innovation schedule
Activity Start date Duration
Stake holder communication May 12-19 7 days
Conducting meeting May 20-23 3 days
Decision forecasting May 24-26 2 days

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Budget plan May 27-4th June 8 days
Implementation June 5th-August 5th 2-4 months
● A document describing rewards
Reward type Target employee Criteria for reward
Incentive Operation and Management team Best supply chain, most cost
effective negotiation
Appraisal Production department Best innovative idea
Procedure 2
1. Describe innovation in your own words.
a. What different kinds of innovation are there?
Innovation can be defined as an idea which is replicable at an economic cost and must satisfy the
special needs of an organization. Innovation includes deliberate application of imagination,
information and initiative in deriving greater and exceptional values from different type of
resources (Certo 2018).
b. What type/s of innovation did your group show?
One of the chief innovations of the group includes dust wood furniture. In order the team has
developed strategies to manufacture dust wood furniture that is furniture that is made from dust
of woods. Moreover in order to reduce the impact of CO2, and other harmful gas emission from
the manufacturing sector, the team has contacted with a reputable carbon offsetting organization.

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c. What are the benefits of innovation?
The group has developed and implemented innovative ideas for reducing environmental impact
of the manufacturing process. Not only that, these innovative measures has also allowed the
management of the company to recycle the byproducts and manufacture products from them.
d. Explain how innovative proposals decided on or discussed are economical and
practical.
The manufacturing of dust wood furniture is highly economical. Dusts that were otherwise
thrown away is now recycled (Dyer and Dyer 2013). This will reduce the cost of the company to
buy more timber for manufacturing furniture. Hence, this innovation will be helpful for the
environment as well.
2. How do you think you performed in the team meeting?
As a team member, I have encouraged my team mates to be more productive. Moreover, I have
also taken part in group discussion actively. However, due to lack of computer knowledge, I was
not able to help the team for documenting the plan. Thus overall, I think my performance was
quite satisfactory.
a. Did you use feedback from Assessment Task 1 to improve your team
performance? If so, how?
The feedback has improved the performance of the team to a great extent. Since team members
are now aware of their weaknesses, they are working on eradicating them and enhance their
quality and productivity of work.
b. Based on your impressions and feedback received from your team, how would
you improve your performance?

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From the feedback, I have understood that my lack of knowledge in computer is imposing
negative impact on my performance. Hence I have joined an computer learning course to
improve my computer skills
3. How would you build constructive feedback and two-way communication into future
team activities?
a. How would you communicate key issues to colleagues?
To communicate effectively with my colleagues, I will us both online as well as offline
communication tools like intranet or face to face communication.
b. What are the challenges of being innovative in an open and constructive way?
One of the major challenges of being innovative is the acceptability of the consumers as well as
the employees. Since dust wood furniture is a new product, it will take time to drag the
consumers to the product. Moreover, employees may find it difficult to use the tools that are
being implemented by the company to manufacture dust wood furniture.
4. How would you implement the innovative solutions you have come up with as a team?
a. What measures would you take to ensure successful take-up?
1. I will ensure that the only the potential team members have been selected for the project.
2. I will work on reducing work-in-progress.
3. I will schedule regular meetings to access the progress of the project.
4. I will clearly define the project scope to the team member.
b. How would you communicate the changes?
1. While communicating the changes, I will ensure honesty and transparency about what is the
change and why is it happening.

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2. I will inform the employees what is the benefit of the changes for them.
3. I will also consider the emotional impact of the changes on the employees.
5. Describe the internal and external factors that contribute to a team becoming and
remaining innovative including:
a. team characteristics
The characteristic of the team includes
1. Effective formal as well an informal communication and relation between the employees.
2. Employees focus on the goals and the outcomes of the project
3. Everyone contribute their fair share.
b. the role of group dynamics and diversity (for example, cultural background,
religion, gender)
1. Cultural diversity imposes both positive as well as negative impact on the team. While the
mentioned factor improves the creativity and innovative ideas of the team, cultural diversity
often results in conflict in the team.
2. Gender diversity is also important for a group since while female employees are found to have
better skill at managing multiple numbers of tasks at the same time male employees can enhance
the productivity of the team.
c. broader environmental factors, for example, the culture of the workplace, the
wider political, economic, social or technological environment
In order to understand the potentiality as well as consumers of the interior designing market of
Australia, it is highly crucial to understand to assess and evaluate the Political, Economic, Social
and environmental environment of the mentioned industry.
6. Explain how activities can encourage or hinder innovation in a team, including:
a. planning and scheduling of time and activities

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This will help the team to keep the costs under control and prepare the team for the unexpected
consequences.
b. modeling behavior
This provides guidance to the employees and reduces the chances of mistake.
c. providing rewards and recognition
These activities will provide encouragement and motivation to the employees and enhance their
loyalty to the Organization.
d. planning communications
Effective communication between the employees as well as between the supervisors and the
employees enhances the consistency of how the project will be handled. It also results in
productivity of the employees. Planned communication also results in better outcome of the
project.
e. Providing feedback
Constructive feedbacks helped the employees of the Home Reinvention to understand their
weaknesses and work on eradicating them (Ndulue et al. 2012). Not only that, positive feedbacks
also motivates the employees and as a result enhance their enthusiasms.

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Feedback forms
Team member’s name: Ryan
Your name: ......................................................................................................................
Your role:  Team member
Rate this team member using a 5-point scale
1
Strongly disagree
2
Disagree
3
Neither agree nor
disagree
4
Agree
5
Strongly agree
3.......Discussed bringing people into the team based on what needed to be achieved and the
potential for sharing ideas.
4....... Worked well with team members to establish ground rules.
4....... Followed team ground rules.
3....... Discussed team roles and responsibilities constructively.
4....... Participated proactively in team discussions.
5.......Listened to others and showed respect for different viewpoints.
4....... Demonstrated effective communication skills.
4....... Shared information, knowledge and experiences with other team members.
3....... Challenged and tested ideas within the team in a positive and collaborative way.
4....... Encouraged innovation among teammates.

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2....... Encouraged innovation by discussing training and learning opportunities.
5....... Encouraged the fair sharing of workload.
5....... Demonstrated supportive and respectful communication.
4....... Helped plan and scheduled activities to allow time for thinking, challenging and
collaboration.
4....... Acknowledged and respected diversity within the team.
4....... Helped establish reward and recognition system as an integral part of the team's way of
working.
4....... Encouraged the team to reflect on the activity and discuss opportunities for improvement
and innovation.
Identify any areas that the team member could improve to add more
value to the teamwork process.
Considering the fact that Ryan poses leadership skills, He could have provided more motivation to
his peer team member. Motivation provided by a team member is highly beneficial for a team since it
develops the feeling of healthy competition among the team members.
Identify opportunities for team members to improve their skills in
innovation.
During the meeting, Ryan had the opportunity to develop her imaginative skills as well as

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implementing his practical experience of working previously in an interior designing organization.
During implementation stage, Ryan will be able to learn, various ways of managing waste which has
further improved his working skills.
What are the major strengths of this team member?
 Has Leadership skills
 friendly, supportive, empathetic, people-oriented and
communicative
 Has experience of working priory in a interior designing industry.
Provide any other comments that you may have regarding the
performance of the team member.
Being an experienced employee, the performance of Ryan was better than a majority of his team
members.

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Team member’s name: Ann
Your name: ......................................................................................................................
Your role:  Team member
Rate this team member using a 5-point scale
1
Strongly disagree
2
Disagree
3
Neither agree nor
disagree
4
Agree
5
Strongly agree
4.......Discussed bringing people into the team based on what needed to be achieved and the
potential for sharing ideas.
4....... Worked well with team members to establish ground rules.
4....... Followed team ground rules.
3....... Discussed team roles and responsibilities constructively.
4....... Participated proactively in team discussions.
5.......Listened to others and showed respect for different viewpoints.
4....... Demonstrated effective communication skills.
4....... Shared information, knowledge and experiences with other team members.
3....... Challenged and tested ideas within the team in a positive and collaborative way.
2....... Encouraged innovation among teammates.

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4....... Encouraged innovation by discussing training and learning opportunities.
5....... Encouraged the fair sharing of workload.
5....... Demonstrated supportive and respectful communication.
4....... Helped plan and scheduled activities to allow time for thinking, challenging and
collaboration.
4....... Acknowledged and respected diversity within the team.
4....... Helped establish reward and recognition system as an integral part of the team's way of
working.
4....... Encouraged the team to reflect on the activity and discuss opportunities for improvement
and innovation.
Identify any areas that the team member could improve to add more
value to the teamwork process.
Unlike other members, ann being highly conservative was unable to interact with his team members
freely. As a result of this, his productivity was lower than what was expected. If ann could express
himself and his ideas in front of his team mates and develop a effective communication with his team
mates, he could have achieved more than what he has.

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Identify opportunities for team members to improve their skills in
innovation.
Like Ryan, Ann had the opportunity to enhance his communication skills by communicating
effectively with other team members. Besides that, he also had the opportunity to motivate other
team members and enhance the overall productivity of the team.
What are the major strengths of this team member?
 Has the capacity to motivate others
 Dedicated to work

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Provide any other comments that you may have regarding the
performance of the team member.
Being an experienced employee, ann was dedicated to his work. However, lack of communication
skills has resulted in decrement in his productivity.
Team member’s name: Chris
Your name: ......................................................................................................................
Your role:  Team member
Rate this team member using a 5-point scale
1
Strongly disagree
2
Disagree
3
Neither agree nor
disagree
4
Agree
5
Strongly agree
2.......Discussed bringing people into the team based on what needed to be achieved and the
potential for sharing ideas.
3....... Worked well with team members to establish ground rules.
3....... Followed team ground rules.

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2....... Discussed team roles and responsibilities constructively.
1....... Participated proactively in team discussions.
1.......Listened to others and showed respect for different viewpoints.
1....... Demonstrated effective communication skills.
2....... Shared information, knowledge and experiences with other team members.
3....... Challenged and tested ideas within the team in a positive and collaborative way.
2....... Encouraged innovation among teammates.
2....... Encouraged innovation by discussing training and learning opportunities.
2....... Encouraged the fair sharing of workload.
2....... Demonstrated supportive and respectful communication.
3....... Helped plan and scheduled activities to allow time for thinking, challenging and
collaboration.
2....... Acknowledged and respected diversity within the team.
2....... Helped establish reward and recognition system as an integral part of the team's way of
working.
2....... Encouraged the team to reflect on the activity and discuss opportunities for improvement
and innovation.

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Identify any areas that the team member could improve to add more
value to the teamwork process.
The lack of appropriate behaviour in
Chris has resulted in severe decrement in his performance. Being highly enthusiastic and possessing
knowledge about computer could have taken his performance to a good level.
Identify opportunities for team members to improve their skills in
innovation.
Chris to develop effective communication skills while working with his team members.
He could also develops bondage with his team members while working for the company
Moreover, he could enhance his computer skills during the implementation process.

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What are the major strengths of this team member?
 Very enthusiastic
 Have good knowledge in computer
 Possess punctuality
Provide any other comments that you may have regarding the
performance of the team member.
While being enthusiastic and punctual are two major strength of Chris. He should walk on his
abusive nature in order to enhance hid productivity and relation with the other team members.

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Reference List
Certo, S.C., 2018. Supervision: Concepts and skill-building. McGraw-Hill Education.
Dyer, W.G. and Dyer, J.H., 2013. Team building: Proven strategies for improving team
performance. John Wiley & Sons.
Goetsch, D.L. and Davis, S.B., 2014. Quality management for organizational excellence. Upper
Saddle River, NJ: pearson.
Ndulue, U., Peréa, F.C., Kayou, B. and Martinez, L.S., 2012. Team-building activities as
strategies for improving community-university partnerships: Lessons learned from Nuestro
Futuro Saludable. Progress in community health partnerships: research, education, and
action, 6(2), pp.213-218.