In Cerberus Corporation, a new project had been started in 2 years ago. Susan Steele was appointed to be the project manager for her first time in job and her project was to transit the old-modeled office furniture to the new corporate standard due to ergonomics issue. Susan was formed in a team with 4 other team members who are responsible for different aspects respectively. Recently, Susan had faced a disagreement with the Photographic Chemicals Division’s (PCD) manager, Jon Wood. She rejected Jon’s idea on the movement of the old cabinets as they are not complying with the new corporate standards. Both managers are being obstinate and against to change their view.
Integrating others ideas.
In this case, if I were Susan, I would suspect some the tensions continue increasing in the group meeting; I will leave the office as Jon told and postponing the discussion to the latest possible date that will not affect the operations of PCD.
In order to follow up the issues, I will first gather information about PCD to understand their current situation and difficulties they are facing. Considering cost is the most critical aspect as PCD is running a loss and losing market share. Apparently, asking Jon to spend $2000 more on buying new cabinets with only the wood top different is not cost effective
After that, I will personally call Jon 3 days later to allow for emotions to subside and apologize for the impolite attitudes during the meeting.
Besides, I will ask to arrange another meeting with the same group of members, but this time I will seek help by asking Tom to involve. In the meeting, I will start by briefly introducing myself and my team members again and their roles in the project. This can help to make the atmosphere more ...
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... should also gather information about the process of the project and analysis the team performance from time to time. This can be done interviewing the team members, like Cindy and Richard and asking them about the obstacles their team facing. The management can then use the information to evaluate the team performance, giving feedback and support to the project leader, Susan. Empowering Susan can lead the team to act more effective as she can make some important decision like changing the ground rules during the project process.
In conclusion, both Susan and the management of Cerberus are responsible for the problem. Susan should consider the difficulties Jon’s division facing and the management should step in their discussion when tensions grow. Both of them should take precaution to avoid the problem happens again as this will hamper the project development.
Occasionally, management strife and issues will occur because basic human nature instinct calls for disagreements and social interferences. However, it depends on the upper level of management to deal with problems that occur in a timely and effective manner that benefits all parties involved. There are a number of reasons that management discrepancies may occur, with the leading being various attitude problems. If team members feel underappreciated or taken advantage of they will show their disgruntled feelings, and it can cause serious issues if not handled immediately. The second are communication issues, ...
This approach, may have cleared the air quickly and kept the rest of the unit from being affected, but another useful approach may have been employed. The “constructive communication” worksheet would have been helpful if the initial conversation applying clarity, neutrality didn’t resolve all the issues. Allowing each member involved in the conflict to do perspective taking, share thoughts and feelings and come up with a solutions to resolve the conflict would have stopped the conflict from escalating to a formal complaint.
As soon as the four members of my team entered the breakout room, we had begun the stages of team development. As Bruce Tuckman (1965) observed in his research, teams often undergo a five-stage process of team development: forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning. During my team’s forming stage, we defined what our objective was and planned a general outline of how this was to be accomplished. Because we didn’t know each other very well, a quick introduction was given so we could get to know each other a little better. Next, we had a brief stage of storming which caused a bit of inefficiency. This was our initial five minutes of confusion due to not knowing each other’s strengths and who was better suited to answer which question. Our norming and performing stages melted together as we quickly gained our footing on the task at hand and settled for an execution strategy which would allow us to perform at a fairly efficient speed. Our performing stage was very encouraging and helped the team push through the questions...
"For the first time since the plantation days artists began to touch new material, to understand new tools and to accept eagerly the challenge of Black poetry, Black song and Black scholarship."1
“The team is faced with creating cohesion and unity, differentiating roles, identifying expectations for members, and enhancing commitment. Providing supportive feedback and fostering commitment to a vision are needed from the team leaders (Developing Management Skills).” ... ... middle of paper ... ...
As employees of a non-profit organization (Ace Loan) whose employment is based upon selection by a board of directors, it is imperative that those employees follow the direction of the board regardless of their position. A merger with a slightly larger organization, Widget Loan Organization, was in the works when their senior officers approached Paul President. Although Paul President had been keeping the board informed of the activity surrounding the merger, the board changed their mind instructing Paul President to cease with the merger and forward any contact with Widget to the Board. Vicki Vice-President was also aware of the board decision and therefore should have contacted the board when Paul President made arrangements with senior
2. Christine should understand that the blend of individual personalities and how people related to one another in groups based on their needs to express and receive feelings of inclusion, control and affection are important to the success of the team. By understanding the needs of her team members, she can build group processes to address those needs. For example, since Mike initially revealed himself as a class clown, she could allow him the opportunity to be creative with his contribution to the project and present part of the case in class to let his humor shine through in a manner that compliments the case. For Steve, she could let him draw up an agenda and project plan. Janet could be the one who researches the materials needed for the project. As a result of understanding the needs of the team members, Christine would be able to draw on the strengths of each team member by building group processes that compliment those strengths and as a result, would support positive and, hopefully, successful workgroup performance.
Although there is a plethora of possible sources of conflict in any workplace, the ones in this case are rather explicit. These include personal differences, Informal deficiencies’, role incompatibility, environment stress, perceptions, and expectations. Personal differences could be related to personal values, physiognomies, family bonds or ties, and material belongings.
All three group members were present in the library to work on the presentation together and rehearse before the presentation. At the time of the conflict. I was confused as to why the group member who didn't agree with the final product and the direction in which the presentation went did not voice her opinions or disagreements. I was worried that we were so disorganized at a time when we should be ready for the presentation. Fortunately for all group members we did read our notes and do our research on dementia care in relation to wandering, elopement, rummaging and hoarding and we did understand that wandering and elopement was a big concern for dementia patients and was a big safety concern, because we had this knowledge damage control was possible and we stayed focused on our presentation and collaborated as a group in the little time we had left. Other team members seemed to be emotional and tearful and I believe this was because they were worried at this point we wouldn't be able to present the material as a
Since first taking the quiz “How Good Are Your Project Management Skills?” until now, can you identify areas of growth or knowledge regarding project management specifically, or leadership in general? Do you find yourself giving more consideration to particular areas, principles, or practices (e.g. scheduling, scope management, communication styles, etc.)?
- Rockart, J.F., 1979, "Chief executives define their own data needs", Harvard Business Review, 57, 2, 81-93.
In any disagreement, individuals understandably aim to achieve the best possible outcome for their position (or perhaps an organization they represent). However, the principles of fairness, seeking mutual benefit and maintaining a relationship are the keys to a successful outcome.
This is done through the two commitments of fostering collaboration by building trust and facilitating relationships and strengthening others by increasing self-determination and developing competence. This is another practice that Sally could use being a senior manager because she is in charge of getting her team members to work together. As she works with them and they work with each other, relationships are being formed and trust is being built. There are many ways Sally could increase the self-determination of her employees. She could provide them with choices in their projects and hold them accountable for their projects. Sally also used this practice with David when she made it known to him that he was held accountable for not completing his projects by the required due dates. This is beneficial to use because it allows the teammates to get to know each other better and collaborate to come up with new and different ideas. It also encourages workers to try their best when they are held accountable for their
I’m tired, a little stressed and disappointed with some of the group members this week. This has been the most challenging time in group so far. Everything is usually fine, but something is off this week. Although, we have group chats, our group cohesion is off. After, deciding to do the outline one way, we ended up doing it another way. That was cool until individuals brought the confusion. One person thought this way, the other thought that way. It was a mess. Our group dynamics were all over the place. The impact this had on me was very negative. With your help Mrs. Evans, we eventually decided to keep the outline simple. The other group members picked their duties, while mine were assigned to me. It did not bother me that I was assigned duties. Actually, my absence from the meeting helped to decide what I was to do. When it comes to the norming and forming of this group, I find myself at a loss for words. The norming process is off. There is less cohesion than usual; we have not been as effect this week. Also, relationships do not seem to be strengthening. This makes me angry because it affects us all. Unlike the norming stage, the forming stage is pretty solid. All of us are comfortable (in my opinion) giving our opinions, and we understand what is required of us. There is no need to form rules they are already in place. In my opinion, some of the members did not follow the rules. I for one broke a rule.
In the workplace, disagreement or arguments may arise due to several reasons. This can further result into a state of antagonism or opposition, resentment, avoidance, verbal assaults, and inability to work together. Such may arise due to personality clashes, differences in style, differences in leadership, interdependence conflicts and differences in the background or gender. With reference to the conflict between Norm and Norma, disagreement arose due to differences in styles. This is because Norma was after quick result from the initiated project while Norm believed he could work from home and still meet the expected standard. However, Norma expected full commitment from all the staff under her. For good working relations, conflicts should always be resolved and hence improve good working relationship among the employees both the juniors and seniors. Professionally, conflicts can be solved via two models; circle of conflict and triangle of satisfaction (Susan Holton, 1998).