Deck 12: Designing and Implementing Team-Based Organizations

Question 1

According to a TEAMS IN THE NEWS box, Google is using the ___ to promote collaboration and cross-functional interaction among employees by having fun and creating a playground-like environment and as a reminder of its roots.

Answer 1

Google Garage

Question 2

The chapter notes that transition to a team-based organization represents a massive organizational change and may meet strong resistance for many reasons. Some of that resistance is likely to come from employees who have spent considerable time in the company. How might you respond to a disgruntled employee who says during the change, "This isn't what I signed up for. This place is turning into a circus and nobody knows what's going to be let loose in the next act."

Answer 2

It may be tempting to dismiss the employee as stuck in the past and unwilling to accept change. As such, students may point out the many general benefits of change and those specific to change to team-based organizations.Still, there is reason for skepticism. As discussed in Chapter 8, Managing Change, employees may have various reasons, personal or not, to resist change. For instance, they for instance, see the change as an unnecessary "flavor of the month," the company's attempt to blindly follow fads. In a Dilbert cartoon, the pointy-haired boss says, "… companies need to embrace change," to which all his employees think, "Uh-oh, it's another management fad. Will it pass quickly or will it linger like the stench of a dead woodchuck under the porch?" When the boss then says, "I think we should do a 'change' newsletter," his employees think together, "Woodchuck." So, it is always important to determine whether change is really appropriate before communicating and implementing it.Part of the reason for the employee's frustration may be that changes often take time for full and successful implementation. During the change process the benefits of change may not be evident at early stages, though problems and difficulties are seen everywhere. As noted by Rosabeth Moss Kanter in Chapter 7, "Facilitating Team Processes," "Everything looks like a failure in the middle." As such, careful attention to the principles for successful implementation of change that were discussed in Chapter 8 is critical. Further, as the employee suggested, the company seems to be (at least in his or her view) violating its "psychological contract." That is, the employee joined the organization to do a certain job in a certain work environment, structure, and organizational culture. Major change, such as to a team-based organization, deviates from that implicit contract, just as would be the case if the employee decided not do the job for which he or she was hired. Whatever the need for the change, the employee's perspective should be recognized and considered. Students may also point out that the disgruntled employee may actually learn to enjoy the new teams-based organization and the opportunities it offers. As noted in Chapter 4, Socializing, Building Trust, Training, Motivating, and Leading Teams, a finding contradicting Maslow's hypotheses regarding his need hierarchy is that the importance of higher order needs such as self actualization actually increases as employees are given chances to satisfy them; growth need strength actually increases with exposure to opportunities for personal growth.

Question 3

Models in the chapter stress the need for integration in team-based organizations. Identify five integrative mechanisms discussed in the chapter.

Answer 3

Some mechanisms discussed in the chapter include (with some overlap):
1. linking teams that facilitate interteam coordination
2. team coordinator roles
3. facilitators
4. overlapping team memberships
5. representative integrating teams
6. liaison roles
7. cross-team integrating teams

Question 4

Identify and define four types of teams in a team-based organization.

Question 5

Identify and define five critical issues that, according to the Forrester & Drexler Team-Based Organization Model, need to be addressed to successfully create a team-based organization.

Question 6

Identify and briefly discuss five challenges associated with implementing team-based organizations.

Question 7

Models presented in this chapter provided many outcome measures. List and define any five such measures.

Question 8

Identify the five key design factors in the Mohrman, Cohen, and Mohrman Team-Based Organization Model.

Question 9

Identify seven benefits of a team-based organization.

Question 10

The chapter discussed several environmental factors that have contributed to the increased emphasis on team-based organizations. Do you think those factors will continue to play key roles in the future?

Question 11

If you were in a team-based organization, would you like to play the role of team coordinator? Why or why not?

Question 12

A TEAMS VIDEO box discusses a pet food manufacturing company's team-based organizational system - revolutionary at the time - that was based on cooperative systems, learning, flexibility, broad skills, cross-functional teams, and self recognition. This became known as the ___ System and caused many other organizations to adopt similar practices.

Question 13

In the sequence of phases of the Trent Model "assess organizational readiness" is the ___ phase.

Question 14

A team-based organizational system requires workers who can make decisions without ___.

Question 15

In a ___ design a financial analyst may have little interaction with, or knowledge of, people in marketing.

Question 16

In the Shonk framework identifying best practices for the successful implementation of team-based organizations, the first stage begins with a ___ goal.

Question 17

A key environmental factor contributing to the increasing emphasis on teams in organizations is the shift from a homogeneous to a ___ workforce.

Question 18

In the Trent model, "facilitate team interaction" is an element of the ___ phase.

Question 19

A formal assessment of whether a company is at a stage where it is ready for the transition to a team-based organization is called a ___ .

Question 20

In the Forrester and Drexler model, which is useful in identifying critical issues teams-based organizations must address, the crucial factors required for success are termed keys and potential barriers or issues that may be encountered at various landmarks during the process are called ___.

Question 21

Identify seven environmental factors that have contributed to the increasing emphasis on team-based organizations.

Question 22

What are the four phases in the Trent Model for becoming an effective teaming organization?

Question 23

What are the three transitions that distinguish team-based organizations from those with traditional organizational structures.

Question 24

To the surprise of many observers, team-based organizations have been found in several empirical studies to be surprisingly easy to implement.

Question 25

A criticism of the team-based models presented in this chapter is that they focus only on productivity as a team outcome.

Question 26

If an organization's basic tasks are simple, routine, and not interdependent, a team-based organization may not be appropriate.

Question 27

One good reason for converting to a team-based organization is that potential in the workforce is being wasted or used inefficiently.

Question 28

John Kotter estimates that 70% of changes in organizations, both small and large, will fail to achieve their objectives.

Question 29

Google program manager Mamie Rheingold said the success of Google's use of a commons area where employees of different backgrounds, interests, and roles come together to learn and create was due to the fact that, "We packed too many people into this space; they were literally elbow to elbow."

Question 30

According to Stephen Covey, good people can get good results even in bad systems; they just need the proper reinforcement.

Question 31

A common problem with implementation of team-based organizations is that several team members often want to be chosen for the team coordinator role, sometimes leading to conflict.

Question 32

Facilitators play important roles in the Mohrman, Cohen, and Mohrman Effectiveness Framework for Team-Based Organizations.

Question 33

This chapter focuses on which component of the High Performance Teams Model used as the framework of this text?

A)designing the team system
B)facilitating the team
C)team context
D)developing the team
E)none of the above

Question 34

Which of the following is not a negative indicator of readiness for teams-based organizations?

A)Weak or unsupportive human resources or labor relations departments.
B)A history of top management inability to stay focused on change long enough to see results.
C)A recent downsizing.
D)A continuing history of management-labor strife.
E)None of the above.

Question 35

Which of the following is not true of claims about team-based organizations in this chapter?

A)They state that in team-based organizations the team, rather than an individual, is the fundamental work unit.
B)They argue that team-based organizations are always appropriate and desirable, subject to tailoring to the organizational environment.
C)They focus on designing an infrastructure that will support the development and deployment of teams throughout the organization
D)They view growing focus on quality and customer satisfaction as a factor driving movement toward team-based organizations.
E)none of the above

Question 36

Which of the following is not part of the perform phase of the Trent Model?

A)establish team-based performance goals
B)promote member effort and commitment
C)assess progress toward stated goals
D)facilitate internal team interaction
E)none of the above

Question 37

Which of the following is not an effectiveness criterion in the Mohrman, Cohen, and Mohrman model?

A)integration
B)team performance
C)improvement/learning
D)satisfaction
E)None of the above.

Question 38

The Forrester and Drexler team-based organization model depicts critical issues as relating to oneness of mind and which of the following?

A)strategic purpose
B)mission
C)clarifying management
D)unity of action
E)None of the above.

Question 39

A company with a CEO and VPs of finance, marketing, operations, HR, and IT would represent which of the following designs?

A)rational
B)functional
C)basic
D)discrete
E)None of the above.

Question 40

Which of the following is a poor reason for converting to a teams-based organization?

A)Competition has increased in the industry.
B)The organization has downsized and lacks supervisors to effectively supervise everyone.
C)Potential in the workforce is being wasted or used inefficiently.
D)d) There is a visible need for stronger management-employee partnerships.
E)None of the above.

Question 41

In the Moorman, Cohen, and Mohrman team-based organization model, Key Design features include clustering decisions and which of the following?

A)linking decisions
B)tactical decisions
C)strategic decisions
D)discharging decisions
E)None of the above.

Question 42

In the Forrester and Drexler Team-Based Organization Model, secrecy, team isolation, uncertainty, apathy, and rigidity are all considered to be:

A)padlocks
B)dissuaders
C)disintegrators
D)off/keys
E)None of the above.

Question 43

A study of the 100 most innovative companies in the United States found that, following only compensation, organizational change, and training, senior management's key concern was how to create and sustain team-based organizations to support innovation as the organization's competitive advantage.