Following their past success and the tremendous growth experienced by the West Coast Transit, the company has established itself as one of the biggest airlines in the region. However, they exist in a market environment that is competitive, meaning that they always have to outdo their competitors so as to keep expanding. One of the top competitors has released 50 new flight plans which are traded at fares that are relatively lower than those offered by West Coast Transit. As a result, the sales in West Coast Transit have dropped significantly, and this has raised eyebrows amongst the management. The company has been planning on organizing a celebratory release of their newly acquired Boeing-747 in a period of 6 weeks. Due to the new competitive development, the Vice President of Marketing has put up a team that is charged with coming up with a new marketing campaign to be unveiled alongside the new aircraft. This paper performs an analysis of the team and how effective it would have been.
The Criteria for Evaluating Effective Team/ Group Work
To be able to determine the effectiveness of a team or group of people working together, a three criteria evaluation method is used. The first aspect that is the team be able to meet the expected productive output in terms of standard and quality (Uhl-Bien, Osborn, Schermerhorn, 2014). This implies that there should be a set of goals that the individuals put in place and aim to achieve. The second part of the criteria is the realization of personal needs by team members (Uhl-Bien, Osborn, Schermerhorn, 2014). The self-satisfaction of each member in a group is very fundamental. Each person has a level of satisfaction that they wish to obtain as a result of the teamwork. This aspect of satisfaction results to self-actualization which is one of the core needs of humans. The final element of the criteria is the commitment of members to work together in future endeavors (Uhl-Bien, Osborn, Schermerhorn, 2014). Upon the success of a certain teamwork experience, members could love to work together over and over.
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In looking at the team put up by Pete Denson to provide a new campaign strategy aimed at maintaining a competitive edge, it is visible that it is nowhere close to realizing effectiveness in the completion of the task given. First and foremost, the issue of member satisfaction has clouded the whole marketing campaign agenda given that they are not to be paid for the service. Moreover, they also bring to the table the aspect of personal issues like Lea Jing’s transfer to another department and Tanney’s family problems. As a result of these arising issues, Tanney informs Pete that she would not work with him until he apologized for his statements. All this are hindrances towards team viability, and they render the unit ineffective.
Tuckman’s Five Stages of Group Formation
According to Tuckman, the first stage of team development is the forming stage. This is where different individuals with differing personalities, skills, knowledge, and background come together for a common goal. A lot of questions are asked during this phase as they try to create identities within the group (Uhl-Bien, Osborn, Schermerhorn, 2014). The storming stage follows after formation. This is one of the most problematic phases that could result in the failure of a team. It is characterized by rising conflicts between members due to personal reasons as a result of their diverse nature (Uhl-Bien, Osborn, Schermerhorn, 2014). Some resist taking tasks assigned to them. In analyzing, the team put together by Denson is clearly at this stage. After the storming stage has subsided, the group transitions to the norming stage which is where individual members start recognizing one another, embracing their differences, and identifying authority (Uhl-Bien, Osborn, Schermerhorn, 2014). These new developments and the creation of a collaborative environment leads to the performing stage. This is where members put in hard work to realize the team’s goals. Once the goal has been achieved, they then move to the final stage which is the adjourning stage, where the group is dissolved.
Schein’s Three Behavioural Profile Roles
Edgar Schein, one of the most conclusive researchers in team working, came up with three behavioral profiles to explain the different types of individuals in a team. The first one is the ‘tough battler’ who is described as an individual who feels bad for not being recognized by other team members (French, 2011). This type of individuals are resilient and could oppose authority. The other one is the ‘friendly helper.’ This type of members suffer from insecurity and are always willing to offer support to other team members as a way of developing relationships with them (French, 2011). The last type of individual is the ‘objective thinker’ who is described as an individual who is concerned more about realizing their personal needs when in the group (French, 2011). They are also objective and passive.
In application to the West Coast Transit case, Leah Jing can be identified as the objective thinker as she is quiet in the largest part of the meeting and contributes least. Katarina Tanney, on the other end, can be viewed as the tough battle as she is seemingly feeling unrecognized by the rest as they make conclusions which result in her opposition to Denson, who is the authority. Mahonney, who is the most silent in the conversation can be categorized as the friendly helper. He seeks to show both Lea and Tanney that they have to forego their interests for the bettering of the organization.
Was the Communication Effective?
The communication between Denson, Jing, Tanney, and Mahonney was not effective at all. Even though they start off in an organized manner with the hierarchical flow of communication from the Vice President to the other managers, their conversation is clouded by a lot of barriers. For instance, Mahonney and Tanney have not looked into the agenda fully but have come up with conclusions that it is “massive and unattainable.” Instead of coming up with other propositions, they start resenting it. Again, Tanney disrupts Denson as he tries to make sentiments and even leaves in the middle of the meeting.
Types of Conflict
The Organizational Behaviour textbook points out two types of conflict that may arise from teams: substantive and emotional conflicts. Substantive conflict comes about as people resent the methods put in place to accomplish a specific goal by the organization (Uhl-Bien, Osborn, Schermerhorn, 2014). On the other side, emotional conflict is as a result of anger feelings or dislike of someone or something (Uhl-Bien, Osborn, Schermerhorn, 2014). Both types of conflict are reflected in the West Coast Transit team. Initially, all members show resentment to the task being given because it involves working overtime (which is the way of accomplishing) with no pay. Emotional conflict is seen in the way Tanney feels offended by Denson’s categorizing of her familial problems as a complaint.
How Denson can manage the Conflict
Denson can manage this conflict directly by use of the compromising strategy. This is the aspect of giving something to gain something. In this case, for him to realize the goal of coming up with a viable marketing campaign he has to offer the team members compensation. This provides a win-win situation for both parties. Alternatively, he can resolve the conflict indirectly by choosing to avoid it. He can decide not to address the issue at all and carry on with his leadership role by expecting the members to integrate with the strategy later on. However, this method of conflict management is risky and could result in a more intensified conflict which could disrupt the realization of the goal set aside.
Task Leadership and Maintenance Activity
As the overall leader of the team, Denson has the role to take action to ensure that the team comes together and finds a ground on which to work together. He can first do this by initiating a discussion between the members (Uhl-Bien, Osborn, Schermerhorn, 2014). This way, they will all present their claims and work towards finding an all-around solution that suits all of their needs. Until he creates this platform as the leader, no significant change will be realized. Again, he also needs to initiate a maintenance activity that aims at boosting interpersonal relationships between the members (Uhl-Bien, Osborn, Schermerhorn, 2014). This can be done through the appreciation of the contribution that each makes to the team. This way, every member feels like they are an indispensable part of the team and thus remain committed and productive. The most disruptive behavior that should be highlighted is the failure of a member to put in much effort as a result of dissatisfaction which is unmentioned. This causes other members to overwork as they cover up for one’s laziness.
Motivational Problems of the Team Members and Mitigation Strategies
Tanney, who is the most problematic of all, is seemingly lacking work motivation as she blames it for being the cause of her family woes. As a result, Denson could apply the Herzberg’s two-factor theory of motivation which states that job satisfaction comes as a result of job content and dissatisfaction as a result of job context. By making her focus more on the content than the context, Tanney is able to develop a positive attitude towards work. As for Mahonney, she might have a motivational problem in working without the coordination of her fellow members. In this case, Denson should make application of the Vroom Expectance Theory which states that the motivation of one towards work is as a result of their individual beliefs in matters relationships and outcomes. This way, Mahonney will work towards actualizing of the goal without being disrupted by what the rest of the members perceive of it. Jing, on the other side, is not motivated to work with the team because she will be gone to another department in a month’s time. Denson can thus only motivate her by giving tokens and rewards for her contributions. This will lift her spirit, and she will become productive to the team.
References
French, Ray. (2011). Organizational Behaviour . Hoboken, NJ: Wiley
Uhl-Bien, M., Osborn, R., Schermerhorn, J. (2014). Organizational Behaviour . Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
