UNDERSTANDING GROUPS AND MANAGING TEAMS2 UNDERSTANDING GROUPS AND MANAGING TEAMS 1.What mistakes did Craig make in leading and managing this team? What should he do to remedy these mistakes? Craig has made many mistakes in leading and managing his team. The first major mistake that he has made is that when his team is in conflict, he does not take the time to meet with them face to face so as to resolve the arising issues. As the leader, it is his responsibility to resolve any conflict that arises and ensure that the team work towards one goal. When the conflict between Allison and Penny arose, he should not have met with them individually or communicate to them via email but instead hold a one on one meeting with them both. This is because communicating through technology is not as effective as one on one. The second mistake is that he has not chosen a team leader (Bloom et al 2012). He should select a leader who will be accountable for the team and also provide clear guidelines on the team hierarchy. This will ensure that every member of the team has well defined roles and that they all report to one central leader hence avoiding any confusion and ensure accountability. He has not developed a clear reporting procedure for the team. He should also not give them a lot of freedom 2. What kind of conflict is evident in this off-site team and what should Craig and Maggie do to resolve it? Conflict is evident in this off-site team. It is clearly seen in the workers as they compete to outdo each other instead of focusing towards meeting the organization goal. It is clear that Penny and Allison do not respect each other opinions and regularly come out with different opinions. This conflict might be due to the fact that the manager-Craig is not on the ground to supervise them himself.Craig and Maggie should ensure that they first resolve the conflicts in
UNDERSTANDING GROUPS AND MANAGING TEAMS3 the team through holding a face to face meeting to talk out the issues (Goetsch et al 2014). Then, they should minimize technological communication and instead ensure they spend more time running the team physically by working part-time. Another conflict is evident by the unhealthy competition and poor relationship between Allison and Penny. 3. What makes this off-site team ineffective and what can be done to improve its effectiveness? Based on the conflicts encountered in this off-site team, it is clear that it not effective, especially based on the relationship between Penny and Allison. We can also see that the campaign clients are being served poorly due to poor communication and misunderstandings in the team. There are several ways to improve the effectiveness of this team. First, Craig and Maggie should ensure there is shared accountability for the success of the campaign and every member will be held responsible for any outcome (Simon et al 2015). This will ensure that they work together for the success of the company and discourage any unhealthy competition in the team. They can also set up a clearly defined hierarchy with one leader to whom every member will report to and he/she will be held responsible for the team performance. They should also develop an agreement on proper governance for the program catering issues such as schedules, tracking process, reporting and also mandatory face time. They should also reconsider the working arrangements for their employees so that they get to together on the company’s project. Generally, this off-site team is ineffective and they lack a mutual agenda centered on the company’s objectives. Identify a major problem (problems) presented in the case study?
UNDERSTANDING GROUPS AND MANAGING TEAMS4 There are several problems presented in this case study. First, the management has given the team too much freedom with no accountability. The management also relies more on communicating electronically with the team instead of holding face to face communication with them. The team also has no clearly defined hierarchal order to ensure accountability. This has led to several problems as everyone acts as if they are in charge. The management is also at fault here. This is because they rely more on communicating through the phone and emails rather than actually communicating with them face to face (Katzenbach et al 2015). The company is also facing problems due to the fact that there is poor communication between the team. This is evident in the poor relationship between Allison and Penny. The clients are also being served poorly due to this poor communication among the employees. Discuss reasons for this problem (or these problems), using team and group-related theories where appropriate? These problems have been brought about by many factors. The case of unhealthy competition and lack of accountability in the team is brought about by the fact that there is no clear hierarchal order in the team. This has resulted in the employees trying to outdo one another and even perform poorly as there is no one to account to (Hobson et al 2018). Also the management- Craig depends more on technological communication with the team instead of doing it face to face. We can see that sometimes he call the employees and they do not answer and he is forced to leave a voicemail. Lack of a managerial figure has given the team a lot of freedom in their hands.
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UNDERSTANDING GROUPS AND MANAGING TEAMS5 Discuss possible solutions to this problem (or these problems), using team and group related theories where appropriate? The first probable solution is that a clear hierarchal order should be established with every member of the team given clear and well-defined roles. This also calls for a good team leader who will be held accountable for the team performance (Drucker 2012). Another solution would be that the management should also ensure they are regular in the workplace even if it’s by working part-time. The company should also ensure they carry out a training program for the team so as to build on their teamwork performance, to mentor the team and also to establish clear communication and openness with the team (Warrick et al 2015). In case a conflict arises among the team members, the management should not try to resolve them individually but rather call on the affected parties to resolve the issues. This will enable it them to clearly understand the problem and come up with an appropriate solution that favors both the parties. Also, the workers such as Penny and Allison should work on their personal conduct, self-discipline and work ethics. Although they work off-site, they should ensure that they adopt better communication means and also visit the intranet chat room more often.
UNDERSTANDING GROUPS AND MANAGING TEAMS6 References Bloom, N., Genakos, C., Sadun, R. and Van Reenen, J., 2012. Management practices across firms and countries. The Academy of Management Perspectives, 26(1), pp.12-33. Drucker, P., 2012. The practice of management. Routledge. Goetsch, D.L. and Davis, S.B., 2014. Quality management for organizational excellence. Upper Saddle River, NJ: pearson. Hobson, C.J., Szoztek, J., Griffin, A., Lusk, D. and Rydecki, K., 2018. Identifying the Specific Behaviors that Define Teamwork–A Review of the Literature and Integrative Meta- Model For Business School Applications. Journal for Excellence in Business Education, 5(1). Katzenbach, J.R. and Smith, D.K., 2015. The wisdom of teams: Creating the high-performance organization. Harvard Business Review Press. Kozlowski, S.W. and Bell, B.S., 2013. Work groups and teams in organizations: Review update. Simon, A., Bartle, C., Stockport, G., Smith, B., Klobas, J.E. and Sohal, A., 2015. Business leaders’ views on the importance of strategic and dynamic capabilities for successful financial and non-financial business performance. International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, 64(7), pp.908-931.
UNDERSTANDING GROUPS AND MANAGING TEAMS7 Warrick, D.D., 2016. What leaders can learn about teamwork and developing high performance teams from organization development practitioners? Performance Improvement, 55(3), pp.13-21.