Case Study on Engstrom

I believe that one of Engstrom’s strengths would be the fact they were able to identify the low morale by the employees and correlate it with the low productivity. I actually commend Bent for doing research and finding a program that has proven to work in many other companies. The Scanlon Plan is the oldest organization-wide incentive plan with proven success still in use in the United States. The first Scanlon Plan was developed in the 1930’s by Joseph Scanlon. Scanlon was a cost accountant by training and a steelworkers’ union official at a steel mi facing bankruptcy. (Beer & Collins 2008). The Scanlon Plan reinforced teamwork and cooperation across work groups while they focus attention on cost savings and motivating employees to “work smarter, not harder”. (Beer & Collins 2008). A problem and weakness in the program came when the employees distrusted the bonus calculations. Some employees felt the company was “playing with” numbers when they changed the

However, if we spent a few moments to get to know each other a bit better, we might find that bonding a positive component in working together in this group and completing assignments. Individuals in group G have expressed their concern with another class group they have and how the communication is not flowing as it does in this group. They are frustrated and overwhelmed with the issues that are problematic in the other groups. There has been descriptions of social loafing and levels of conflict in discussing some of the issues the individual group members have expressed. One of the main complaints is based on how they communicate which is a slow process if only done via email, which one of the group mates has express of how they

With the problems piling up at the Engstrom plant causing it to go downhill, there are solutions to the problems. As work

Therapists must also be aware that members of the group may abuse other members in the group; avoidance of this behavior may be avoided with proper guidelines in place and disclosure at the start of the group process for each member. A close relationship can be built between all group members as well as the therapist, Forsyth (2011) refers to this relationship as group cohesion. Tenbrunsel (2006) mentions social cohesion, as enabling unethical and selfish actions, instead of a positive feature of group life.

There is an older incentive (Scanlon) plan put in place which worked very well for this company and its employees, helping them to rise up from an unproductive state in the 1990’s. Now that it has been in place for quite some time, it is getting stale. No bonuses have been given in months. The employees are not satisfied with the management of the

Instead of jumping to different achievement goals as problems arise, the visions and beliefs should have been determined first and that would help shape the overall goal of the company. While working towards goals such as profitability and growth, the visions and beliefs help keep employees in line and to some extent control the minimum expectations of the development of products, thus possibly lessen or avoid problems that did arise. The incentive scheme were not properly designed to take into account effects of employee actions and the impact it would have on the company as a whole and other stakeholders. It should some what reflect and reiterate these visions instead of promoting and motivating employees to be self interested in their own affairs and achieving the targets at “all costs”. All in all, there were minimal controls and checks in place, it was more of a one way push towards the goals and not looking back

Group member cohesiveness was absent from the group meeting for several reasons, but the primary reasons were due to the fact that the group members did not have a common description of value or structure to the discussion. Each member viewed their own area of involvement within the organization as being more valuable than any other area, and it was this exclusion of other valuable traits that lead the group to begin to clash in such a

There are many factors altering group behavior and effectiveness, such as decision- making, cohesion and communication (Crocker, 2016). The later has also shown a positive relationship with group task cohesion (Smith et al., 2013), and methods of enhancing intrateam

The retreat worked well for building teamwork and trust, but not on the practical side of business. They needed to learn how to address issues when they arise as well as

As I began the Group Process and Dynamics course, I was excited to become educated and experienced with group counseling. Group counseling is a topic I have enjoyed in the past and have continued to be fascinated by. I have learned the elements of a group process through observation and research. The group process consists of several elements that come together when the group begins and ends when the group is terminated. I have observed group norms, group cohesion, the generation of trust, the manifestation of resistance, the emergence of conflict and resolution, healing forces, the reactions of group members, and the various stages a group develops through (Corey, Corey, & Corey, 2010). Throughout this course, I was able to derive a conceptualization of groups. From this course I will take with me the understanding of how effective group counseling can be for individuals. Groups have been known to be as effective as individual therapy and a great source of treatment. Group counseling is designed as a part of a treatment plan that helps individuals and guide them through change. Group counseling is a versatile practice, which can be used in several settings and with different populations (Corey et al., 2010). This course has given me the opportunity to reflect on my own personal leadership style, the challenges that may arise, and an action plan to continue my group leadership knowledge and skills.

Group counseling not only allows for members to learn from their therapist, it also allows for them to learn from personal experiences of other members and to gain insights and ideas on the issues they are confronting. Group counseling also helps in improving social skills among the members as they are able to interact freely in and out of the group. This way members can be more confident and open to interactions during the sessions. Group therapy influences growth and change to those involved. Also, it increases their self-awareness and enables them to gain sustenance from each other. Group counseling is also favorable to the therapist as they are able to gain faster and more efficient results for their members by counseling them simultaneously rather than one at a time. Jacobs, Mason, Harvill and Schimmel (2012) describe group counseling

| |team forums and working together as a team. That is very important as each individual needs |

My feelings about the group process was a little mix at first but, at the end I felt like we actually brought it together. Beginning of the group member were all over the place and had no direction, when we were able to take a breather in just think ideas started to flow. I felt like that took the communicator to make it happen. By reinsuring the other group members that everything will go smoothly if we just don’t overthink everything.

Tuckman proposes that groups develop via five stages; forming, storming, norming, performing and finally adjourning (Archee, Gurney, & Mohan, 2013a). The first stage, known as forming, involves clarifying the task and purpose of the group, and identifying boundaries of both the task and interpersonal behaviour (Archee et al., 2013a). For the presentation task we were randomly allocated into groups. This worried me greatly as I have struggled in the past with group members who do not contribute equally or see the task as important as other group members. To avoid this problem, the group collectively determined and agreed upon a number of ground rules. For example, we decided that all group members were expected to contribute equally to the presentation, all group members were expected to attend and contribute at all group meetings, and all group members would adhere to agreed upon deadlines. Having failed to do this in previous group assignments, this clarification stage

When doing so the other group members were active listener, by using their whole body verbally and nonverbal. Like facing the speaker and giving eye contact and try to avoided interruption. The group also acknowledges the thoughts of the speaker by giving constructive feed back. Due to the effectiveness of the group communication, we were able to build trust, respect and understand the issues and make decision for effective change. We illustrate this by coming together as a group one again to accomplish the goal we initially wanted to accomplish. Since the first organization that we had chosen was incorrect, so we had to make the necessary changes to accomplish our goals. The other effective feature is the purpose of the group. Kozier et al (2010) stated that the effective group purpose is when “goal, task, and outcomes are clarified. Understanding and modified so that members of the group can commit themselves to purposes through cooperation” (p.401). For instance, each individual was assign a task and knew what was to be accomplished. As group we all decided to meet at suitable day and time which was beneficial to all team members, because we could commit to the group and focus on what needed to be achieved.