Lead and Manage Team Effectiveness Report for Apparel Brands

This report, focusing on 'Lead and Manage Team Effectiveness,' analyzes the e-commerce strategy for Apparel Brands Pty Ltd, aiming to expand the business and increase revenue with an initial budget of $30,000. It covers various aspects including determining value propositions, target markets, gathering relevant information, consulting expertise, and outlining steps for setting up an e-commerce venture. The report also delves into team dynamics, addressing issues such as deadline management and team meeting preparation. It discusses strategies for resolving team issues, enhancing team performance, and maintaining open communication. The report includes an analysis of team meetings, participation, and performance, along with recommendations for improvement, emphasizing the importance of clear job roles, short-term goals, and regular follow-ups. The report culminates in a discussion of open communication processes and team performance evolution, providing insights into effective leadership and team management within an e-commerce context.

Running head: LEAD AND MANAGE TEAM EFFECTIVENESS
Lead and Manage Team Effectiveness
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

1LEAD AND MANAGE TEAM EFFECTIVENESS
Table of Contents
Task 1...............................................................................................................................................3
3. Working with the team............................................................................................................3
Determining value proposition....................................................................................................3
Determining the target market.....................................................................................................3
Gathering relevant information for setting up venture................................................................4
Consulting benefits from other expertise.....................................................................................4
Steps for setting e-commerce venture..........................................................................................5
Determining benefits to Apparel Brands.....................................................................................6
Determining cost..........................................................................................................................6
Task 2...............................................................................................................................................7
Q4. Team meeting preparation....................................................................................................7
Achievement of the team.............................................................................................................7
Addressing the issue....................................................................................................................7
Resolving team issues..................................................................................................................8
Developing the aim of the meeting..............................................................................................8
Taking note of solutions and issues.............................................................................................9
Q5. Team meeting participation..................................................................................................9
Encouraging team members........................................................................................................9

2LEAD AND MANAGE TEAM EFFECTIVENESS
Asking questions in the meeting................................................................................................10
Strategies for resolving team issues...........................................................................................10
Recognizing performance related problems and developing solution.......................................11
Issues to be resolved..................................................................................................................11
Task 3.............................................................................................................................................11
Q3 Issues related to team performance......................................................................................11
Q4 Strategies for enhancing team performance.........................................................................12
Feedback and suggestion from managers..................................................................................12
Recommendations to the team members...................................................................................12
Q5 Strategies for resolving issues in team performance...........................................................13
Q6 Report...................................................................................................................................14
Discussing open communication process..................................................................................14
Explaining methods of maintaining open communication........................................................15
Explaining team performance evolution....................................................................................15
Explaining correct actions.........................................................................................................16
References......................................................................................................................................17
Appendices....................................................................................................................................21
Appendix 2: Performance plan..................................................................................................21
Appendix 3: Third-party report.................................................................................................23

3LEAD AND MANAGE TEAM EFFECTIVENESS
Task 1
3. Working with the team
The aim of the team is to present the e-commerce strategy for Apparel Brands Pty Ltd
with an initial budget of $30,000 in order to sustain in the competitive market by expanding the
business, increasing the customer base thereby, generating more revenue.
The objective is to develop an online store and maximise their market share.
Determining value proposition
The e-commerce venture is a new expansion for Apparel Brands Pty Ltd in order to
maximise their market share and become a trendsetter for the Australian market. As commented
by Urde and Koch (2014), targeting the group of customers allows the business organizations to
decide the population to whom products will be sold. For Apparel Brand Pty Ltd, the target
customers for the e-commerce venture will be university and office goers along with the children
and kids. These target customers were selected because the Australian population is largely
dominated by international students and employees that require casual clothing for attending
university and work. Based on the target market income, the company aim towards
implementing penetration pricing strategy. Initially, the price of the clothing will range $15-$20
but will be increased later. The benefits of the products include cotton material, average priced
and the customers will also be able to customize their clothing products.
Determining the target market
The target market is defined as the people, to whom the business organizations sell their
maximum product thereby, ensuring business expansion and revenue or profit generation (Lei &
Moon, 2015). The business organizations tend to develop products based on the needs, demands,

4LEAD AND MANAGE TEAM EFFECTIVENESS
expectations and financial situation of the target customers. Targeting a particular group and
manufacturing products from them for selling is a marketing approach to maximising sales by
increasing the customer base. Thus, Apparel Brand Pty Ltd has selected the individuals attending
universities and regular offices are the target customers. The characteristics of the target
customers include causal, comfortable, trendy yet professional clothing that is easy to wear and
carry daily. The characteristics of the target customers include casual and trendy that can combat
the latest clothing trend globally along with providing an opportunity of using trendy clothing.
The target customer desires to be casually trendy at affordable prices and high quality (Marchi et
al., 2014).
Gathering relevant information for setting up venture
Adequate information is the key that determines the success of the business
organizations. Thus, it is essential for the business organizations to gather required and relevant
information before setting up a new venture. Apparel Brand Pty Ltd has been selling their
products in the Australian market since 1901. The company is aware of the demands and
expectation of the customers about clothing over the years. However, in order to set up the e-
commerce venture, Apparel Brand Pty Ltd needs to collect relevant information about the
present Australian market by analysing the Australian market and determining the need for the
business venture. This can be done by conducting surveys and interviewing the population.
Additionally, relevant information can also be gathered by conducting an internal and external
analysis of organization and the business environment (Akpoyomare, Adeosun & Ganiyu, 2013).
Consulting benefits from other expertise
There are potential risks and challenges associated while initiating a new venture. This is
because there are previously existing competitors that are well established and play to their

5LEAD AND MANAGE TEAM EFFECTIVENESS
strengths. Thus, consulting with an expertise provides an opportunity to assess the potential risks
and mitigate them. One of the benefits of consulting other expertise includes identifying the
potential risks and being prepared. Additionally, the consultants will also help the team in
developing strategies for mitigating and resolving the risks. On the other hand, consulting an
expert also provides an opportunity for the team to stop unnecessary financial expenses due to
lack of in-depth planning. Moreover, consulting an expert will also allow the team members to
gather relevant and adequate knowledge about the industry and new business venture and
develop business strategies accordingly. Consulting an expert also emphasizes in improving the
quality of products and services that will be offered by the company in the new venture to the
target customers (Bjomer, 2013).
Steps for setting e-commerce venture
Apparel Brand Pty Ltd needs to analyse and evaluate potential steps that are essential for
setting up e-commerce venture. E-commerce provides an opportunity for the business
organizations to conduct business electronically on the internet. As Apparel Brand Pty Ltd in
new to the e-commerce venture, it is essential for them to undertake appropriate steps for setting
up the business. Firstly, Apparel Brand Pty Ltd needs to design user-friendly official design. This
will provide an opportunity for the customers to access the products and relevant information on
the website easily and without any technical issues (Ozturk, Joiner & Cavusgil, 2015). On the
other hand, Apparel Brand Pty Ltd needs to ensure effective payment gateway system. This is
because of e-commerce influences transaction electronically that needs security. Thus, Apparel
Brand Pty Ltd needs to ensure effective and tight payment gateway and security in order to
prevent the leakage of customer information. Additionally, it is also important for Apparel Brand

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Pty Ltd to develop appropriate web search engines, as this will lead the target customers to their
products directly by mitigating hindrances (Sarker & Begum, 2013).
Determining benefits to Apparel Brands
Apparel Brand Pty Ltd will be highly benefitted by venturing into e-commerce. This is
because the company will be able to communicate with the customers directly thereby, saving
the intermediate cost of suppliers and retailers. Moreover, the company will also be able to the
customers' demand and expectations better and develop business strategies accordingly (Khan,
2013). On the other hand, establishing e-commerce will also provide an opportunity for
convenient shopping for the target customers of Apparel Brand Pty Ltd. As a result, the company
will be able to provide an exquisite shopping experience to the customers thereby, maximizing
their customer base. Thus, customer maximization will help in increment of market share for
Apparel Brand Pty Ltd. This is because the company will be able to develop their own brands
and products and sell to the target customers directly as well as reduces distribution cost for the
company thereby, increasing the profit margins (Chowdhury, 2013).
Determining cost
It is essential for Apparel Brand Pty Ltd to determine the cost of the new e-commerce, as
it provides an opportunity for the company to plan their resources wisely and accordingly.
Apparel Brand Pty Ltd needs to be aware initially in the e-commerce venture. This will help in
determining the average cost that is required for setting up the e-commerce venture successfully
(Winston & Weinstein, 2016). Additionally, Apparel Brand Pty Ltd can also evaluate and
analyse the costing of the other clothing online companies and strategise their cost. This allows
the business organizations to implement changes that are feasible for their business. E-commerce
for Apparel Brand Pty Ltd tend to involve limitation in packages, transaction fees, annual

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revenue limitation, set up fee, storage allowance, and support fees. Additionally, Apparel Brand
Pty Ltd also needs to determine the material cost that is essential for setting up the e-commerce
clothing business.
Task 2
Q4. Team meeting preparation
Achievement of the team
After determining the value proposition and target market for Apparel Brand Pty Ltd e-
commerce venture, it is essential for the team to ensure mutual coordination in order to
achieve the goals. Additionally, the team members need to strike a balance among them by
sharing ideas and risks. The aforementioned qualities among the team members will help in
proper functioning of the team members by building trust and relationship among them.
However, the team members have failed to meet the organizational and team goals. For
instance, the team members have failed to complete jobs within the deadline (Jennings &
Stahl-Wert, 2016). Thus, it is essential for the management team of Apparel Brand Pty Ltd to
ensure that the team members achieve their tasks within the deadline and sustain in the
competitive market.
Addressing the issue
The team encountered some issues while achieving the goal of setting up an online
business that provides an opportunity for the customers to customize their own t-shirt that
hindered the progress of the team progress. Nevertheless, the team was able to cope up with
the encountered issues partially and completely. The major issue identified by the team was
deadline issue. As commented by Parolia et al., (2015), it is essential for the business

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organization to complete the task within the deadline for meeting up the customer
expectation and compete in the market. Thus, the team needs to ensure that they complete
their job roles and responsibilities within the time in order to ensure successful e-commerce
venture.
Resolving team issues
The deadline issue identified by the team members is a major issue identified by the team
members that need to be resolved effectively for successful e-commerce venture by Apparel
Brand Pty Ltd. The managers of Apparel Brand Pty Ltd need to develop strategies for
overcoming the identified issues and guiding them towards success. Firstly, the managers
need to help the team members in clarifying their job roles and responsibilities. Having a
clear idea will help the team members to work without being confused (Deshpande et al.,
2013). After, having a clear idea of the goal, the team members can create short-term goals
and break down their tasks. This will help the team members to complete the short-term
goals with easy steps. Thus, achieving the short-term goals will motivate the team members
and push them to work harder to achieve the ultimate goal (Wegner & Teubel, 2014).
Additionally, the managers can ensure a daily follow-up from the team members in order to
keep track of the work that has been completed and work that needs to be completed.
Developing the aim of the meeting
It is essential to have an agenda of the meeting, as this helps in providing a brief
overview of the topic of discussion and allows the people attending the meeting to come
prepared. As mentioned by Jeston and Nelis (2014), having a meeting agenda helps in
formulating strategies in order to mitigate the currently identified issues. Having an agenda
for the meeting provides an opportunity for the team members to share their issues and

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develop strategies for overcoming them. Thus, the deadline issue needs to be the agenda of
the meeting that will help in understanding the main reason for deadline miss by the team
members. Moreover, having a meeting agenda highlights a more comprehensive manner of
resolving issues and planning better for achieving the organizational goals and objectives.
The team members are able to share their ideas and viewpoints in relation to the meeting
agenda for resolving the issues (Sekaran & Bougie, 2016).
Taking note of solutions and issues
The current deadline issue encountered by Apparel Brand Pty Ltd is a threat for Apparel
Brand Pty Ltd, as the organization is unable to achieve the goal of setting up the e-commerce
within the estimated time. The issue is increasing as the team members are lacking
coordination and cooperation among them that is hampering those achieving tasks within a
deadline. The team members working on setting the e-commerce for Apparel Brand Pty Ltd
needs to complete tasks within the deadline, as it is essential for the company to establish
them in the Australian market and sustain success. Taking notes of the solutions of the
identified issues will help the team members to consider them while working and completing
tasks within the deadline (Drucker, 2017).
Q5. Team meeting participation
Encouraging team members
Motivation is significant in encouraging the team members to work effectively and
achieve their goals. As commented by Tseng and Yeh (2013), individuals can be motivated by
both monetary and non-monetary factors. For example, the feedback provided by the managers
to the individual team members upon fulfilling their roles and responsibilities helps in

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encouraging the team members to perform even better. The team members develop the urge to
perform better by completing their tasks within deadline due to the encouraging feedback
received from the managers.
Asking questions in the meeting
Asking questions while attending meetings highlights active participation from the team
members. It is considered as one of the active learning methods in the professional career (Mayer
et al., 2013). Asking questions while attending meetings provides an opportunity for each of the
individuals to share their ideas as well as clarify their doubts. The experience gathered in the
team meeting allows the team members to acquire knowledge for mitigating their individual
drawbacks and methods of mitigating them. On the other hand, asking questions in team meeting
also enables the individual team members to improve their existing knowledge (Bens, 2017).
Thus, the team members associated with launching the e-commerce for Apparel Brand Pty Ltd
can improve their existing knowledge by actively participating in the team meeting and ask
questions.
Strategies for resolving team issues
Issues are evident while working as a part of a team, as it consists of different individuals
with their significant individuality. Thus, it is essential for the managers to mitigate the issues
that team members identify while working together. The managers can use a theoretical
framework such as Belbin’s team roles for mitigating team issues. Using this model will provide
an opportunity to divide the tasks to the team members according to their strengths and mitigate
the issues. In this case, the roles are divided to the team members according to their ability to
perform them. As a result, it is easier to understand the attitude of the team members and work
together (Batenburg, Van Walbeek & In Der Maur, 2013).

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Recognizing performance related problems and developing solution
Ineffective performance is the major issue identified by the team members responsible for
opening the e-commerce for Apparel Brand Pty Ltd. Ineffective performance of the team
members prohibited them in achieving tasks within deadline thereby, hampering the initiation of
the e-commerce start-up. Upon identification, it is necessary to mitigate the issue. This can be
done by providing regular training to the team members and deriving the best out of them.
Training the team members will make them able to perform their task on time and achieve them
successfully (Kwon, Clarke & Wodak, 2014).
Issues to be resolved
The identified issue can be resolved by ensuring verbal communication among the team
members. This will help in building coordination among the team members and share their ideas.
For example, giving a particular topic and asking the team members to share their opinions and
viewpoints. Arranging some debates will provide an opportunity for the team members to ensure
coordination and effective communication thereby, improving their verbal and non-verbal
communication (Schymanski et al., 2014).
Task 3
Q3 Issues related to team performance
It is evident that working together as a team gives rise to issues, as individuals with
distinctive personality and characteristics form a team. Thus, it is essential for the managers to
resolving performance related issues within the team. After analysing the current situation of
Apparel Brand Pty Ltd, coordination among the team members is a most prevalent issue that is
hampering them in achieving the organizational goals and achievements. Lack of coordination