Teamwork Turmoil Case Study

Cooperation and coordination within a group are very crucial. Group members usually engage in collective activities aimed at achieving a certain goal or objective. Typically, each member can be assigned a specific role which at times must be coordinated with other tasks by other members. The relationship between the group members must be productive; otherwise, the set aims might not be achieved. The team leader must oversee that every member is undertaking their duties to the later and mediate any conflict that may arise between them, to ensure the group is productive and properly functioning. The setting of the case is in a learning institution such as a college or university. Tony Marshall is stated as a second-year at the beginning of the case study. Also, he was undergoing an MBA program at the school located somewhere in the eastern United States. The case involves a study group of different students. The members include Sandeep Prasad, Jennifer Martin, Daren Onyealisi, Rob Delery and Jason Cooper.

The communication between the team members is poor and sharing of information is inadequate. Onyeliasi had not been communicating with the group members on his whereabouts. When he enters the room, Delery is shocked to see him and remarks that he was not aware that Onyeliasi would be in attendance. Onyeliasi had been to D.C. for an interview which he failed to inform other group members. Also, he asks who was going to lead the marketing case in the meeting. This shows that he was not well informed about the team's undertakings in the previous sessions. The group also seems to be unaware of the different stronghold of the members.

When the group starts their discussion, they realize that they did not have a member who was well acquainted with marketing studies. Cooper remarks that since none of the members could help in this field, they all had to struggle with the problem. This shows lack of adequate information sharing. Clearly, the members are not aware of what each of them was capable of doing. Also, the team does not seem to share information on the problems that each is supposed to tackle. There is lack of prior organization and the sequence of activities to be followed. For instance, Griffin volunteers to talk about his response to some questions he had addressed. He goes on until he starts repeating himself, and that's when Prasad interrupts.

It is evident that there is poor-decision making between the group members. When Martin addresses the group and talks about taking takeaways, Delery is not happy with that idea. He says that the group had not agreed to take takeaways every day. This is a clear indication that the group members do not make the necessary time to discuss on the agenda of their next meetings or other issues. Also, the team is conflicted on the subject of takeaways. Delery says that the takeaways take much time in every session. He remarks that the time they use with the takeaways could be directed towards other more important issues. On the other hand, cooper is advocating for the group to have takeaways in their meetings. He says that they may prove to be very helpful to the group members when the time exams come.

The notion put forward by Cooper is supported by Prasad and Griffin. But Onyealisi is not decided on whether the takeaways are good for the team or not. When asked about it by Martin, he says that it did not matter to him. The group decides to be having the takeaways not by mutual agreement by all, but by Delery being outvoted. The decision-making on this issue is poor as all the members need to agree on what to do; otherwise, the objective might not be achieved. The activities of the group seem to be forced on some members.

The team seems to have no set rules that must be adhered to during their meetings. For instance, Prasad's phone went off while Cooper was drawing on the board and she goes outside to answer it. This disrupts the entire session as everybody else halts what they were doing to check their e-mails while waiting for her. The group had not decided how their meetings were to be held uninterrupted, for instance, by everyone switching off their electrical gadgets. Also, the team seems to have no assigned work to be handled by different members and the discussed as a team. Only a few of the members dominate the discussions and provide relevant materials to share with others.

Different team norms are evident from the members. One of the identifiable norms is asking for forgiveness or repentance. When Prasad walks back into the meeting after going outside to receive a call, she apologizes for interrupting it. Laziness and lack of commitment can also be termed some of the teams' norms. For instance, when Martin asks Onyealisi if he had any contributions to the meeting, he had nothing to say. It indicates that Onyealisis is not adequately engaged in the teams' undertakings and did nothing to help them. Having no input during the meetings shows some degree of laziness and lack of commitment. Lack of concentration is another norm for this group. When Griffin is talking about his responses to the questions, only Martin and Cooper respond to him. All other members failed to acknowledge his efforts. Respect in this team is another issue. The team members raise their voice at each other for having different views and opinions, instead of calmly talking them through.

The team does not seem to have a defined organizational design. Each of the members focuses on sharing the views and opinions without following any communication channel or adhering to any authority. However, some of the team members such as Griffin and Martin seem to be more focused and productive than the others. They lead the team in various discussions and have more to offer. Trust is an element that appears to be scarce in this team. Others question most of the inputs by some of the members. For instance, Martin asks whether selling OnStar via other groups would be a good idea, which is criticized by Onyealisi who calls it a dumb idea. It indicates that the members do not trust the views or opinions of each other.

In such a situation, I would take total control. Leadership is crucial for teams to achieve their set goals. I would enforce that people take turns in voicing their views or opinions and to stop interrupting others. Every member would have a chance to provide their input, which would then be discussed by the others (Heathfield, 2017). Also, I would assign specific tasks to all the members (Berkeley Human Resources, 2018). Each one would have a piece of work from the overall assignment. This would ensure that every member contributes to the meetings and the discussions. It would also help prevent lack of concentration during discussions by members. I would have some set rules for every session the team had to avoid disruptions. For instance, every member would have their cell phones switched off, and each had to stay focused during all the sessions. Furthermore, every group meeting would have to adhere to an agenda prepared in the previous sessions. This would ensure that the meeting and the discussion have a flow.

References

Berkeley Human Resources (2018). 'Steps to Building an Effective Team.' Retrieved June 29, 2018 from https://hr.berkeley.edu/hr-network/central-guide-managing-hr/managing-hr/interaction/team-building/steps

Heathfield, S.M. (2017). '10 Tips for Better Teamwork.' Retrieved June 29, 2018 from https://www.thebalancecareers.com/tips-for-better-teamwork-1919225