Case Study: Analyzing Leadership and Team Management Challenges

This case study analyzes the challenges faced by an off-site team, focusing on leadership, conflict resolution, and team effectiveness. The assignment examines the mistakes made by the team leader, Craig, including his failure to address conflicts face-to-face and establish clear team hierarchy. The case highlights the conflicts between team members Penny and Allison, the ineffectiveness of the team due to poor communication and unhealthy competition, and the negative impact on client service. The analysis delves into the problems of lack of accountability, over-reliance on electronic communication, and absence of a clear hierarchical order. Using team and group-related theories, the assignment proposes solutions such as establishing a clear hierarchy, promoting regular face-to-face interaction, and implementing training programs to improve teamwork, communication, and conflict resolution. The assignment references several management and organizational behavior theories and related literature to support its findings and recommendations.

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UNDERSTANDING GROUPS AND MANAGING TEAMS
By
Course
Professor
Institution
City and state
Date

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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

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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?

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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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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.

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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.

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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.