y Tatvodwunion ty chemical Engineering Pod for ty diey ad Hrmnewow 3.3. The Use of Teams in Solving Problems 35 Kenneth Sie Wiley Coit) John Hack Avoiding Harassment All professionals, including chemical engineers, are morally obligated to treat their as- sociates with respect, independent of race, gender, and lifestyle. That respect should be ‘manifest in all interpersonal interactions. In addition, all decisions pertaining to advance- ‘ment, salary, and other recognition should be fair and based on professional performance, again without regard to race, gender, and lifestyle. In addition, chemical engineers should be prepared to defend the rights and fair treatment of their colleagues. Ethical Practice Observing the AIChE Code of Ethics summarized above requires that individual profes- sionals and companies are truthfal and responsible in all aspects of their professional ser- vice. While most engineers and companies uphold their ethical responsibilities, there have been notable exceptions. The line between ethical and unethical behavior is sometimes blurred, and decisions can be quite difficult, especially under the influence of pressure by ‘management to take a particular path. Each engineer has the responsibility to aggressively pursue an ethical path and to help others to do the same. The consequences of unethical behavior can be disastrous personally and collectively, while the consequence of ethical choices (even hard ones) ultimately is a clear conscience. You should make the decision now to always practice your profession in an ethical manner. 3.3. THE USE OF TEAMS IN SOLVING PROBLEMS Up to now in this chapter we have discussed several steps that should be utilized by chemical engineers as they solve problems. However, today’s engineer does not work in a comer alone. Rather, most problem-solving is done by teams of engineers working to- gether. These teams are often multidisciplinary, bringing together individuals with a variety of different experiences and training. A key assumption is that the team working together can accomplish more than the sum of the efforts of each individual team member working alone. Unfortunately, not all teams work effectively. Our objective in this section is to pro- vide a very brief introduction to several aspects of teamwork that help teams to function more effectively. 3.3.1. Ingredients for a Successful Team Ingredients that contribute to a successful team include the following!: 1. A clear mission or set of goals 2. A plan for attacking problems 3. Clearly defined roles 4, Clear communication 5, Well-defined decision procedures 6. Balanced participation 7, Established ground rules 8. Awareness of group processes36 Chapter 3 ‘Solving Engineering Problems 3.3.2. Learning to Work Together 3.3.3. Diver Even with important team ingredients (as listed above) in place, assigning a group of people to work together does not make them an effective team. In order to work together effectively, the members of the group must learn to accept each other and to utilize their respective talents for the benefit of the group. How does this work in practice? Researchers. have identified several distinct developmental stages related to groups!. The stages are summarized in Table 3.1 ‘Table 3.1. Stages of Team Development (adapted from ref. 1) 1.Forming Organization of the group, setting of rules and procedures, introductions of members and learning a litle about each other. 2. Storming _ Emergence of conflict caused by different perspectives, experiences, backgrounds and views, This is the time when most groups wil fail. 3. Conforming Coming to the agreement to disagree; tolerance of varying views and opinions and perspectives. Individuals accept the team, their roles on the team, and the individu- ality of the various team members. 4. Performing Utilization of individual differences for the benefit of the group and the work of the group. Varying perspectives and differences are viewed as advantages rather than hindrances The performing stage at the bottom of Table 3.1 is the most productive stage, so the goal is to move a team through the other developmental stages to the performing mode as quickly as possible. Some teams are able to reach the performing stage in just a couple of meetings, while others may take weeks or even months to reach the same level of perfor- mance. Recognition of the stages in group development helps to smooth the transition to the performing stage. One of the real advantages of a team is that it brings people of different talents, abili- ties, and experience together to work on a common objective. Itis this diversity that enables a team to be more than just a sum of the individuals who make up the team. This diversity can also lead to conflict (Storming, Table 3.1) as the team members learn to work together. In order to minimize conflict and fully utilize the potential of the team, each member of the team should have a clearly defined role. Ideally this role should correlate with the strengths. of each individual member of the team. To describe such strengths, the responses of people to a goal or task have been classified into the four general categories® described in Table 3.2. Different individuals have different levels of preference for each of these modes of action. Some people have a strong preference for a single mode (e.g., quick-starting) that dominates their goal-driven actions. An individual may also strongly resist action in a par- ticular mode or modes. Others are able to accommodate all four modes of action, adapting to whatever mode is necessary. This last group of people are referred to as facilitators. Fa- cilitators can play a very important role in team work, since they are able to work with and accommodate individuals with various action-mode preferences.3.3. The Use of Teams in Solving Problems 37 ‘Table 3.2 Characteristic Responses to a Goal or Task (adapted from ref. 2) Fact Finder Precis, judicious and thorough, this mode deals with detail and complexity seeking to be both objective and appropriate. Keen at observing and at gathering informa- tion, sometimes Fact Finders ean be too judicious, seeming overly cautious as they wait for more data. Keyword: probe. Follow Thru Methodical and systematic, this mode is focused and structured, and brings order and efficiency. Follow Thru people are meticulous at planning, programming, and designing, and predictability is essential to their being. Keyword: pattern Quick Stat With an affinity toward risk, this mode is spontaneous and intuitive, flexible, and fluent with ideas. Quick Starters are deadline- and crisis-oriented. They need an at- ‘mosphere of challenge and change, and sometimes they can be impatient, Keyword: innovane, Implementer Hands-on, craft-oriented, this mode brings tangible quality to actions. Implementers, hhave a strong sense of three-dimensional form and substance and the ability to deal ‘with the concrete, Keyword: demonstrate. ‘There are several important points that can now be made. First, people are different. Not everyone will respond to a task in the same fashion. Understanding this fact is critical to your success in working on teams, Second, there is not one “right” or correct mode of ac- tion. The different modes of action represent different talents and preferences. A team pro- vides the opportunity for these different talents to be used together to accomplish a shared objective. Third, an attempt should be made to match an individual's talents with his or her role on the team. It is not very productive to send someone who strongly prefers the Quick Start mode on a fact-finding mission. Similarly, an individual who acts dominantly in the Fact Finder mode cannot be expected to make spontaneous intuitive decisions. Ideally, teams should be structured to take full advantage of everyone's talents. Table 3.3 outlines ‘Table 33. Roles within a Team Structure Leader/Coordinator The leader is responsible for calling group meetings, handling or assigning administrative details, planning team activities, and overseeing preparation Of reports and presentations. Observer/Summarizer This individual is responsible for observing the operation of the group and ‘summarizing key issues. Data Gatherer ‘This individual or group of individuals is responsible for gathering data ‘needed for the team to accomplish its goals, Data gathering is typically ac- ‘complished between team meetings. It may take the form of gathering quan- titative data or may consist of qualitative observations, and the like. Devil's Advocate Having a devils advocate on the team is useful in probing and evaluating the work of the team, Formal recognition and use ofthis role turns what might be perceived as a negative contribution into a positive and important part of the total group effort Recorder ‘The recorder writes down the group’s decisions and edits the group's report38° Chapter 3 Solving Engineering Problems examples of roles that team members may have within that structure. Other tasks, such ‘as preparation of presentations and reports, charting data, and so forth, are assigned to ‘members of the team as needed. ‘One of the important messages of this discussion is that engineering involves the col- lective contributions of teams, and that those contributions are affected by the differences between people and their ability to mold their team into a cooperative unit. It is useful to illustrate how such differences and team dynamics might work. Let’s imagine that you were part of a team that was assigned to address the acid-disposal problem and that your team arrived at thie decision to add base to our acid as described earlier in this chapter. The following is a scenario of how that interaction might have taken place: Meeting 1: Your team of four engineers (with you appointed as team leader) was called together to begin forging a solution to the problem of the acid waste. You took some time in the first meeting to have each team member introduce himself or herself before getting started. You also summarized the problem and the time frame allotted by management for completion of the project. Having defined the problem, you then initiated a brainstorming session to generate a list of possible solutions. ‘One of the team members, Allyson (a relatively new engineer hired about 3 years ‘ago) was particularly good at generating ideas. In contrast, Peter (an experienced engineer nearing retirement) was openly negative about many of the suggestions and kept trying to close the discussion so that analysis could begin on the sugges- tions that were already on the board. You found yourself getting a litle irritated with his disruptive influence. You also wondered if he was one of those engineers who always wanted (o analyze everything to death and never seemed to get any thing done. Finally, you felt satisfied with the list of possible solutions and you asked the group how they would like to proceed. Lee (a mid-career engineer and ‘meticulous planner) suggested that the team meet the next day to perform a prelim- inary evaluation of the ideas, after which it would be easier to define specific tasks ‘and set a regular meeting time. Everyone agreed and the meeting was adjourned. Meeting 2: The preliminary evaluation began well with evidence that both Allyson and Lee had spent some time preparing for the meeting. However, Peter was openly critical of everyone and everything. He also boasted of his experience and even began to belittle Allyson in an attempt to be humorous, She finally told him to “shut his mouth,” and the conversation between the two became heated. It was clear that the meeting was going nowhere, so you quickly adjourned before things, got out of control. ‘Your Office: After allowing things to cool off overnight, you called Peter into your office. You assured him that his experience and abilities were important to the ‘success of the team. However, his negative comments and criticism were destroying the ability of the group to work together. Therefore, it was important that such behavior stop immediately. You reviewed the stages of team development with him ‘and pointed out that the team was now at a critical stage. In a very real sense, the success of the team depended on his willingness to make a positive contribution. He assured you that he would make the necessary changes. You also encouraged him to apologize to Allyson. You also met briefly with Allyson, thanking her for her important contributions to the group and requesting her continued efforts and patience.