Should This Team Be Saved?
(MN102 – Case 3)
This case describes a three-person team attempting to rejuvenate a skincare division of a large North American company. The once successful team is flagging and the team leader must decide whether to keep the team together.
From my reading of this case, I can clearly see three main issues facing the team involved. The first issue facing the team is a generational difference which can be seen in the different attitudes and motivations of the team members. Josh Bartola, the thirty-year-old team member is a perfect stereotype of a member of Generation Y with his “Dr. Martens boots and a faded Clash T-shirt” (Heimbouch et al. 2001), he craves excitement, finding meaning in his work and feeling important. …show more content…
The lack of team members can be seen in two distinct ways, there is simply too much work for three people leading to the team becoming burned out and there is not enough variation in skills leaving Peter to complete tasks that could easily be delegated. The team has been working on the Ageless Vigor line for four years and it is clear that as time has passed their enthusiasm has waned. Peter describes spending “more time with Sandy and Josh than he did with his wife” and he also notes that he fears Sandy has become “burned out by the pace of the last four years” (Heimbouch et al., 2001). The team needs to be increased in size in order for it to be successful again, a team can only work extreme hours for so long and the team has exceeded this time limit. New team members could also reignite the current team members’ passion for their jobs and leave them room to utilise their skills in the best possible manner, there is more variety of Belbin’s team roles needed. This would allow Peter, Sandy and Josh to specialise and to spend less time on unfulfilling tasks such as attending meetings with the manufacturing director which could be completed by team members that are better suited to these …show more content…
Peter describes each team member “exceeding his or her own abilities” as a member of the team and from this it is clear that the team’s combination of skills has created a great synergy between them and therefore should not be separated. Josh provides unique entrepreneurial ideas and the enthusiasm to keep the team going when they feel overwhelmed; Sandy provides insight into headquarters’ politics and how best to navigate them through her lengthy experience with the company; and Peter uses his sales skills to approach sell the new ideas to headquarters. Together, they make a formidable team but as the Ageless Vigor line has progressed past the idea-stage where the team excelled, this team would be better placed on a new project which needs their entrepreneurial skills. Sandy and Josh find excitement in “spinning out wild ideas for the future” and Peter misses “the creative processes of working out strategies with his team”. The team has also gone through the difficult but valuable forming, storming, norming and performing processes; they have built strong bonds and know each other’s strength and weaknesses. This team can clearly be successful but they need to be motivated to do so and they each find motivation in the creative process of product development. This team is too valuable to separate but should be used only in the beginning stages of a
(MN102 – Case 3)
This case describes a three-person team attempting to rejuvenate a skincare division of a large North American company. The once successful team is flagging and the team leader must decide whether to keep the team together.
From my reading of this case, I can clearly see three main issues facing the team involved. The first issue facing the team is a generational difference which can be seen in the different attitudes and motivations of the team members. Josh Bartola, the thirty-year-old team member is a perfect stereotype of a member of Generation Y with his “Dr. Martens boots and a faded Clash T-shirt” (Heimbouch et al. 2001), he craves excitement, finding meaning in his work and feeling important. …show more content…
The lack of team members can be seen in two distinct ways, there is simply too much work for three people leading to the team becoming burned out and there is not enough variation in skills leaving Peter to complete tasks that could easily be delegated. The team has been working on the Ageless Vigor line for four years and it is clear that as time has passed their enthusiasm has waned. Peter describes spending “more time with Sandy and Josh than he did with his wife” and he also notes that he fears Sandy has become “burned out by the pace of the last four years” (Heimbouch et al., 2001). The team needs to be increased in size in order for it to be successful again, a team can only work extreme hours for so long and the team has exceeded this time limit. New team members could also reignite the current team members’ passion for their jobs and leave them room to utilise their skills in the best possible manner, there is more variety of Belbin’s team roles needed. This would allow Peter, Sandy and Josh to specialise and to spend less time on unfulfilling tasks such as attending meetings with the manufacturing director which could be completed by team members that are better suited to these …show more content…
Peter describes each team member “exceeding his or her own abilities” as a member of the team and from this it is clear that the team’s combination of skills has created a great synergy between them and therefore should not be separated. Josh provides unique entrepreneurial ideas and the enthusiasm to keep the team going when they feel overwhelmed; Sandy provides insight into headquarters’ politics and how best to navigate them through her lengthy experience with the company; and Peter uses his sales skills to approach sell the new ideas to headquarters. Together, they make a formidable team but as the Ageless Vigor line has progressed past the idea-stage where the team excelled, this team would be better placed on a new project which needs their entrepreneurial skills. Sandy and Josh find excitement in “spinning out wild ideas for the future” and Peter misses “the creative processes of working out strategies with his team”. The team has also gone through the difficult but valuable forming, storming, norming and performing processes; they have built strong bonds and know each other’s strength and weaknesses. This team can clearly be successful but they need to be motivated to do so and they each find motivation in the creative process of product development. This team is too valuable to separate but should be used only in the beginning stages of a