(Below are some example answers from the professor)

Test 1 - 2 Short Answer Essay Questions – 40% of test

Use the space below to answer the questions and use the back of the paper as needed. Answers should
be concise, utilize proper spelling and grammar, and directly address the question.
A) (25%) In the case study "The Team that Wasn't" (copy attached) Randy (the Sales Manager) was proving to be a
difficult team member. Using the Group Performance Model elements included in Organizational Context, Group
Structure and Group Process terms, identify: a) 3 components of the model that were not being successful with Randy
and explain your reason (rationale) and b) identify what the team leader could do about it (suggested solution) and your
rationale. The Group Performance Model is also attached for your reference.

1) Problem and Rationale:

Lack of Leadership by Eric of Randy – Randy has taken advantage of Eric’s poor leadership by inserting himself in as
the informal leader and through his disruptive behaviors and actions .. More importantly he has not stepped in to resolve
conflicts as they occur, instead allowing them to fester and build. Eric is the formal leader, he was named as the team
leader, and so has the responsibility to manage the group and its dynamics.

Suggested Solution and Rationale:

Eric, the team leader, needs to become a leader – he needs to go back and re-look at group dynamics and team
performance models and identify what needs to be done to lead this team back on track. He needs to establish the
leadership role with Randy – he should have a special meeting with him to establish their roles and position on the team,
encourage Randy to share his brilliant ideas, and ask how he (Eric) as the team leader can help Randy to meet his
personal goals while helping the company be successful. By understanding Randy’s motivations, he can create a good
solution.

If Randy does not want to be part of the group, another alternative Randy work individual, Randy would be able to
express his ideas and also see what good ideas the group came up with (hopefully proving that groups do work)..

2) Problem and Rationale:

Lack of Group Norms – there have been no strong group norms established by the group informally or
formally. This leads to many disruptive behaviors and hurts the group’s performance. While there are no
norms for anyone in the team and so several team members have trouble, Randy with his outlandish
behaviors would benefit most with a set of norms and group re-enforcement of those norms.
Suggested Solution and Rationale:
Eric as the leader should meet with each member individually and discuss their perception of the team problems,
behaviors and norms, and the need for team performance to save the company. He should get agreement from each
that they will hold a meeting to specifically discuss how the team can better perform, agree that they need to establish
group norms and agree on how we will proceed (and “re-start”). Then he could lead the team in establishing the group
norms and reviewing them periodically to see if they are being adhered to or if they need to be changed.

3) Problem and Rationale:

Status – Randy has a perceived higher status in the group, both from his position as well as from his past successes . He
is held in high regard by the President (Jack). Randy knows that he has this higher status and so acts with disregard for
others opinions and emotions, and the team leader, Eric, also fears this higher status.
Suggested Solution and Rationale:
Eric, the team leader, can take several actions – he could get Jack involved by having him come to a meeting and have
him both observe Randy’s behaviors and reinforce Eric’s status. Eric could encourage Jack to say that he brought Eric in
especially because of his past expertise and experiences to help the company be more successful and is counting on
Eric’s leadership along with the entire team’s creativeness to help make the company successful as it takes on the new
competition. Eric could also establish that the team members are all equal in this room and that we need to draw on the
best and brightest from everyone and build on each others ideas and feedback.
B) 15% A project team working on defining and implementing a very expensive new computer system has
decided to perform the Temperament Types indicator survey on all of its members. Upon receiving
the results, the individuals have discussed the results and determined that they do in fact follow the
basic characteristics of their identified Temperament Types. They have learned that all of the team
are either Artisans or Guardians (see attached descriptors). The new system is expected to last for the
next 10-15 years.

Describe what concerns the team should have regarding it's lack of diversity in Temperament Types.
What might the team miss without a larger diversity? Identify 3 major concerns and justify your
answers.

Major Concern and justification #1

The first major concern is that the team will be too short term focused and will not identify or develop a
system that will be flexible into the future to last 10-15 years. They will focus on “present time” and not
explore what are probable changes in the near future, nor will they create a systems infrastructure that
can be more easily adapted and changed. This concern is due to both of these temperament types being
seen as “short term” focus.

Major Concern and justification #2

The second major concern is the lack of a clear vision and set of goals and objectives for the system that
incorporates all of the users needs. Guardians need a knowledge of the goal and the steps to get there
and Artesians are known to be risky and want the freedom to do things their way. These two
combinations could be deadly as the Artisans establish “their vision” of what is needed and the
Guardians follow that direction, without question since they also avoid conflict. As a result, the system
features and functions may be what the Artesians decided is needed versus what the company actually
needs.

Major Concern and Justification #3

The third major concern is that the team may not be a cohesive team, since the Artesians can be blunt
and the Guardians tend to ignore interpersonal needs, they may never gel and develop a creative and
powerful team that strives to solve problems and identify opportunities to make things better. A
constructive dialoge may be difficult to have with these types of people and no one else to encourage
team interaction such as an Idealist who enjoys the people orientation of groups.

Upon analysing the case comprehensively, following are the problems that are detected in the team of Fire Art.
No sinergy among team member
There is no synergy among the team members which leads to the inefficiency of performance of the team., because Eric
lacks in making appropriate efforts in order to create a culture of group working
Less  Motivation
The motivational level of the team members is very low. This has caused due to several issues faced by the team. This is
further decreasing the overall efficiency performance of the team to a considerable extent.
Less understanding
There is no mutual understanding among the members of the team. This is because Eric has not used the team building
model effectively, which implies a process of building an effective team in four stages.
The first stage known as “FORMING” implies that the team members should develop a mutual understanding in order to
work efficiently and effectively. Thus, lack in mutual understanding would decrease the overall performance of the team.
Difference in Backgrounds
Eric selected the team members of different contextual backgrounds. This has increased the overall conflicts among the
team members as each members in the team has different cultural and ethical values, which gives rise to conflicts among the
team members and subsequently decreases the overall performance of the team.
Superiority 
The team members selected by Eric are of various levels of hierarchy such as Randy pertains from the top level, whereas,
Ray from lower middle level . Thus, this creates superiority in lower level employees, which further effects negatively on
the overall performance of the team work.
Personal Biasness:
After comprehensively analysing the case, it seems that Randy is only considered about gaining only his personal
advantage, rather than working as a team. This further creates a negative impact on the efficiency of team work
Excessive Criticism on other’s opinion
Randy often criticizeson others’ opinions; this decreases the motivational of the member providing opinion. Thus, this
decreases participation among the team members, which further  the efficiency of the performance of the team.
Didnt have conflict resolution techniques:
Eric cant give the best option to solve the problem among the team members This has caused frustration among the team
members as conflicts remain unresolved.
This also decreases motivation among the members of the team which leads the team work inefficiency.
Unable to meet deadlines
Eric has not properly settasks allocated to the team. In addition to this, Eric has not made and communicated the time
schedule of the tasks to the team members. This decreases the ability of the team to complete their tasks before deadlines,
efficiently and effectively
No rewards
There is no rewarding in the team,this has decreased motivation of team members, which has decreased the commitment
and dedication among the team members. This further poses a negative effect on the overall efficiency of the team work.
Less creativity
There is a lack in creativity among the team members, as they are unable to generate fresh ideas as well as they are also
unable to exploit new and unidentified opportunities. This further decreases the overall efficiency of the team work.
No team learning
The team members unable to learn from each other.Since the most senior member in the team, Randy, is only busy in leg
pulling of other team members and does not share his skills and experience with other team members, therefore, the other
team members are unable to get advantage and learn from his skills and expertise.
Vague roles:
Eric has not appropriately assigned the respective roles to the team members, which has created role ambiguity among the
team members. This has further enhanced the level of frustration among the team members and has subsequently reduced
the overall efficiency of work performed by team members.
 
Difficulty in making decisions:
Eric is unable to formulate effective decisions that team member find difficult in making effective decisions.
Lesscollaboration and coordination among the team members becomes hard in making strategic decisions efficiently and
effectively.
Thus, this decreases motivational among the team members as well as this also creates frustration among the team members.
As a result, this also decreases the overall efficiency of the team effort......................