Section 1: Introduction Moving from New York City to the Midwest, Eric Holt has recently taken a new job as the director of strategy at a regional glass manufacturer named FireArt Inc. The CEO of the company, Jack Derry, has tasked Eric with developing a comprehensive plan for the company’s strategic realignment which needs to be implemented and working within the next six months. Eric has put together a team of the top six managers, one from each division, to accomplish this task. Unfortunately for Eric and his team, after the first four meetings, there has been little progress towards their goal. The lack of progress is not due to an insufficient amount of knowledge by each manager, but rather their inability to work together as a …show more content…
However, Eric never introduced this contract to the group, preventing the possibility of mutual agreement or voluntary acceptance, which are key elements of psychological contracts (Rousseau 120-121). Most of the team members accepted a non-formal form of a psychological contract, including expectations of being punctual and acting with respect for one another. However there is considerable evidence of the team not abiding by the rules of this contract, or any meta-contract. One instance occurred when the group did not follow any structured plans for resolving disagreement, but instead chose to publicly confront Randy. Another problem is that this team does not function in the ideal way as depicted in a manner associated with the Model for Managing Psychological Contracts. This team reaches a “pinch point” each time a disruption occurs from Randy. With each disruption, there is anxiety (experienced by Eric), resentment (the team towards Randy), and uncertainty (the entire team not knowing what to expect next from Randy). This process results in a team “crunch point” at which point the team continues to function without addressing the problems (Kolb, Osland and Rubin 9). Eric’s ineffective communication has contributed to the team’s issues as well. Eric missed timely opportunities to meet with each team member individually before calling everyone together as a group. Eric knew that the managers at FireArt were not
Lack of communication (mutual interaction) and dearth of reciprocal influence becomes evident as we go through the case. Also, Team members shared limited information which
Poor leadership and communication are attributable to ineffective communication. For effective communication to occur The Communication Process must occur seamlessly. Communication at Cerner Corporation was perceived as ineffective because those at the receiving end were interpreting messages from managers that were not consistent with the goals of the company. According to Guffey, Rogin, and Rhodes (2010), “Predicting the effect of a message and adapting the message to a receiver are key factors in successful communication” (p.11). This explains the communication challenges at Cerner Corporation.
Throughout the beginning of the book ‘The Five Dysfunction of a Team” by Patrick Lencioni it was apparent that the DecisionTech, Inc. executive team was not a team at all. This group of individuals lacked some of the key attributes that make great teams. One of the most important attributes that was being neglected was that the executive group did not have interdependent members. This attribute was highlighted in the beginning of the book when the author said “Backstabbing among the executives had become an art. There was no sense of unity or camaraderie on the team, which translated into a muted level of commitment” (7). Due to the executive teams lack of interdependence, critical deadlines began to slip and morale deteriorated.
Increasing communication – team have to meet as often as possible to discuss issues of concern. Team has to clearly define methods and channels of communication to ensure that the right information is available at the right time, in the right form through the right channel for effective use and feed backs give timely.
Throughout the readings communication was identified as a vital component for establishing and maintaining relationships. Porter-O Grady sanctioned for leaders to establish firm rules of engagement to help support a positive group dynamic (2013). While Kelly & Tazbir explained that friction and conflict were a normal part of group development and were representative of the Storming stage of group process (2014). Moreover, they explained that with assistance from the team leader the team can overcome these obstacles, strengthen inter-professional relationships, and enter into the Norming stage (Kelly & Tazbir, 2014). Here the team is able to participate in the effective exchange of communication and begin making progress toward goals. This represents progression into the Performing stage of group process (Kelly & Tazbir, 2014). When the team has met its intended target they are ready to anylze the outcomes of their work and enter the final stage of group process—Adjourning (Kelly & Tazbir,
Community Memorial Medical Center (CMMC) is a 250 bed hospital with an employed medical group located in a suburban community. The organization has recently gone through a change in leadership and you have been hired as the Vice President for Planning and Development. CMMC has conducted strategic planning processes in the past, but the general in consensus in the organization is that plans have ineffective and “sit on the shelf”. The new leadership wants to infuse a philosophy of strategic management into the organization. You are meeting with a group of department heads which includes the physician medical directors for the Emergency Department and the Medical Director for the hospital owned clinic. Your job is to explain the strategic management process to the group. Your presentation must include:
Today’s companies are challenged by frequent changes in market demands and consumers’ desires for new products and services. Companies which fail to adapt to these changing conditions often find themselves struggling to survive. This is the situation for the Texas Plant, as described in the case study by Pryor, Humphreys, and Taneja (2011). The Vice President, Human Resources Director, and Organizational Development Manager find themselves not only facing the struggles of transforming the Texas Plant, but also the difficulties of working together to achieve it. The following paper describes these difficulties and examines how the actions of the leaders impacted the change process. Recommendations to assist the plant’s leadership in moving forward will be offered.
Without trust among team members and having fear of conflict due to the ability to engage in unfiltered debate leads to no commitment in the team. Without these first steps team members have no base to hold each other accountable for their actions. Causing team members to put their individual needs first.
However, change can be a risky process that can have negative, instead of positive, consequences for the company’s future. In fact, it has been estimated that only about half of the large scale interventions succeed. With the above in mind Bruch, Gerber and Maier (2005) aimed at identifying the characteristics of a successful strategic change program by using the case of German aviation Group Deutsche Lufthansa. Lufthansa succeeded several times in successfully implementing change, as a response to the turbulent aviation market conditions between 1991 and 2004. Lufthansa’s last, and most successful, strategic change program was the D-Check. Part of what made D-Check so successful was the fact that Lufthansa’s management made a distinction between leading decisions and managing decisions. Leading decision deals with conceiving a clear goal – in other words, what would be right. Managing decision deals with finding the way to achieve the goal – in other words, how do we do it right. Therefore, before implementing change a company should clearly and conclusively resolve the issue of what change would be right and how can be done right. Key questions are the following:
The final aspect of a dysfunctional team was the avoidance of accountability. In the book it was said that teams setting low standards for one another are less likely to be accountable. If they set high standards, teams are more willing to hit bench marks. I found this concept to be very intriguing
The purpose of this book is to make us see that nearly all-operating prescriptions for creating large-scale corporate change are nothing but myths and that changes do not happen from one day to another by a miracle, the change from good to great is the result of a successful plan who
Following spring break, varsity team members became unhappy and critical of one another. These behaviors were an early indication of a lack of trust needed to be addressed immediately. Trust is paramount in crew. It is important for team members to trust others to correct mistakes, allowing the boat to regain balance and maximum speed (Snook & Polzer, 2004). The early lack of trust among Varsity team members later resulted in a fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoidance of accountability, and inattention to results by team members. This was verified by a diagnostic tool described Lencioni’s book The Five Dysfunctions of a Team. In order to have been successful, the Varsity team would have to trust one another, engage in unfiltered conflict around team issues, commit to decisions and plans of action, hold one another accountable, and focus on the achievement of collective results (Lencioni, 2002).
In addition, ineffective management is also a problem category. To begin with, the span of management is out of control. In order to maximize the efficiency, the managers need to think about how many staff that they are able to supervise directly. Johnson, the director of the camp, was directly responsible for managing the whole super staff. The efficiency of management would decline. Moreover, Cameron was the only employee in program director part of the super staff team, and it was difficult for only one person to develop the entire program.
Present day managers have an obligation to their employees and organization to be effective and efficient leaders. Leaders are expected to create an atmosphere that values a supportive work environment and transparent communication. In the case of Two Tough Calls, Susan frequently criticizes Phil’s and Terry’s work performance due to poor work performance. However, Susan outlines several managerial imperfections throughout the entire case; weaknesses such as irreverence, unequivocal personality, and a lack of motivational skills.
The case study Renovating Home Depot was the case of a leader who joined a successful business only to discover that the company was running out of growth opportunities and also did not have the basic systems needed for increased growth in place. Robert “Bob” Nardelli was chosen as the CEO of Home Depot based on his proven ability to reenergize slow-growth businesses. He was a leader that went all out to achieve his goals and was identified as someone who was “comfortable in his own suit”, and believes in being successful his own way. He made several innovations which were used in General Electric (GE) where he recorded past successes. We see the success demonstrated in the growth of revenue in Home Depot, as well as opening