SRI KRISHNA COLLEGE OF

TECHNOLOGY
SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT
COIMBATORE – 641402

ASSIGNMENT

Submitted by

K. SAKTHIVEL (20TPMB121)

in partial fulfillment for the award of the course

of

TEAM DYNAMICS AT WORKPLACE

(20PNE025)

in

Master of Business Administration Program

SRI KRISHNA COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY

SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT

COIMBATORE-641402

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 CASE STUDY
Students in Mrs. Rickshaw’s Student Success class are required to do a half hour team
presentation on a topic of their choice. Mrs. Rickshaw randomly assigns students to teams.
Students have approximately four weeks to research and prepare, including two hours of class
time. Marks are given based on an instructor evaluation of the presentation combined with a
peer evaluation by their team members.

Jane, Robert, Danny, Sharon and Liz were assigned to Team 3. During their first team
meeting they introduced themselves and began to decide on a topic. After 45 minutes, they
were still trying to settle on a topic. They finally settled on Money Management, however the
instructor informed them that another team had already chosen that topic but Conflict
Management was still available. During the last 15 minutes of class time, Robert tried to
convince the group that they should present a role-play of conflict. Sharon wanted to do
research and give a more detailed, informational presentation. Jane was excited by the role-
play idea and suggested they make a video presentation of their own play-acting. Danny fell
asleep some time before the topic was chosen and Liz sat quietly listening to the arguments of
her teammates. At the end of the class no work division had occurred but the team agreed to
meet in a study area at 4:15 on the following Monday.

After waiting for Danny until 4:30, the team decided to start without him. Jane announced
she had to leave in twenty minutes because she had to pick up her child at the day care by
5:00. Robert was ready to start script writing but Sharon wanted to discuss the content of
their presentation and assign research – thinking they could write the script once they were
knowledgeable. Liz just listened quietly. An argument ensued, and Jane had to leave before a
decision was reached. The next meeting was to be held during their class time the next week.

Before the next meeting, Robert convinced Jane that a role-play was the way to go, and
together they put together a draft script, working hard to make the skit funny and
entertaining. Robert confronted Danny and warned him to attend the class meeting or he
wouldn’t get a part in the play. In the meantime, Sharon picked up six books from the library
and printed four articles from the Internet. She prepared an outline detailing various aspects
of conflict management. Liz just worried about her role in the whole project.

At the class meeting, all team members were present. Robert informed the group that he and
Jane had decided to do a skit, and they had a script all ready. Then he began to assign parts to
his teammates. Sharon was incensed and insisted the script was short on content and
demanded that they re-build the script around her outline. Robert said he wanted no part in a
boring presentation.

Danny did not show up to the remaining team meetings. Liz agreed to do a small part in the
play. Jane promised to gather props and costumes. Sharon stubbornly insisted on preparing an

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informational presentation. She would have liked to have this integrated into the role-play but
Robert would not agree to change his script. They planned a practice of the role-play during
their math class on the morning of October 16, the day of their presentation.

On the morning of October 16, Danny did not come to school and Liz forgot to bring the
props. The practice ended up being more of an argument session. Danny showed up just
before Student Success was to start and said “You mean it’s today?!” Liz was very nervous
and felt very sick. She wasn’t sure she could do her part. The presentation began with Sharon
reading her lengthy introduction and then the skit began. The skit was five minutes in length.
The whole presentation left the other class members confused and it ran twelve minutes
instead of the required thirty.

QUESTION
1. In your team, each member is to choose one of the characters in the case study.
Complete the evaluation on the reverse of this sheet for your own character first and
then for the other members of the team. This form will be given to you to evaluate your
teammates when your own presentation is completed.

Evaluate the character’s teamwork using the assessment below. This is

the same form you will use later to actually evaluate your team members for this class. Give a
mark from 0 to 5 for each element on the checklist.

 Poor -1
 Fair -2
 Average -3
 Good -4
 Excellent -5

Give a mark of zero if the person did not participate.

Elements of Teamwork Checklist

COMMUNICATION

Excellent: Free, open expression of ideas and feelings at all appropriate times with no fear
of embarrassment or reprisal.

Poor: Stifled, close to the vest, guarded. Lets the other person start the communication.

PARTICIPATION

Excellent: Full contribution, reaches out to lend a hand, readily available.

Poor: Lack of initiative to help the other person? Not around when needed, begrudging
contribution.

GIVE AND TAKE

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Excellent: Open to compromise, flexible? Recognition that it is sometimes better to give in
than be “Right.”

Poor: Stubbornly dug in on own viewpoint, uncompromising, always right, never wrong.

LEADERSHIP

Excellent: Promotes team actions and decisions, recognizes he/she needs the team, and lets
each member know where they stand. Team members support his/her suggestions.

Poor: No leadership initiated. Reacts rather than acts. Poor or reluctant support of ideas.

ORGANIZATION

Excellent: Knows their responsibilities. Provides structure to accomplish team goals.

Poor: Unclear of responsibilities or doesn’t care about responsibilities.

PREPARATION

Excellent: Did their homework. Research was thorough, especially as it affects other team
members.

Poor: Team progress was held up because of participant’s lack of preparation. Consistently
dropped the ball.

PROCEDURE

Excellent: Lives by the ground rules and procedures. Functions smoothly, works with the
team.

Poor: Absence of order, operates on their own rules, progresses from crisis to crisis.

CAPABILITY

Excellent: Members have confidence in participant and can rely on performance.

Poor: Mediocre “Class C” player not interested in becoming “Class A.”

COMMITMENT

Excellent: Participant rallies to the goals. Goals clearly defined in his/her mind.

Poor: Lack of awareness of, or resistance to, team goals.

PROGRESS

Excellent: An attitude of action and momentum, makes suggestions of steps forward.

Poor: Dead in the water ? “Everything is a drag” attitude.

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2. In your character groups, discuss the strengths and weaknesses displayed by your
character. Make a list of at least three suggestions that could have improved that
character’s input to the team project. Return to your home team and summarize the
discussion for each character.

One of the interesting things about human beings is that personality traits
can cut both ways. What might be a strength could also manifest as a weakness depending on
the situation or whether the character is unable to manage it. A character might be brave, but
that also could lead them to be reckless. They might be idealistic, but also naive.

Strength Weakness

Brave Reckless

Idealistic Unserious

Confident Stubborn

Open-minded Passive

Humble Unproductive

Patient Exhausting

Energetic Unrealistic

SUGGESTIONS TO IMPROVE YOUR CHARACTER

1. Builds your self-awareness

Self-awareness is crucial in a variety of personal and interpersonal settings. When you spend
time reflecting on and identifying your strengths and weaknesses, it allows you to consider
the various situations where you shine and where you don’t.This level of awareness means
you can play to your strengths and seek support in situations where you are weakest.

2. Helps you understand other perspectives

Knowing your strengths and weaknesses also enables you to understand others’ strengths and
weaknesses and increases your capacity for empathy. Better self-awareness increases your
confidence in your capabilities, resulting in reduced self-seeking and self-gratifying
mentalities, freeing you up to listen to others and understand their perspectives.

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3. Allows you to identify areas for improvement

Sometimes we might know intuitively where we need to improve, but never actually go one
step further to proactively make those changes. Actively and creatively reflecting and
problem solving around your strengths and weaknesses can motivate you to pursue
improvements. The process of writing these things down can instigate the identification of the
micro-actions that can create the positive changes you might want to see.

4. Increases your positive vocabulary and positive self-talk

Another benefit of actively writing down your strengths is that it allows you to flex your
vocabulary muscles and develop the language needed to talk positively about yourself. Self-
talk is vital for our overall feelings of contentment. Positive self-talk has been linked to
effective positive cognitive and behavioral changes.

5. Greater appreciation for areas you may have previously undervalued

How do you know which aspects of yourself to value if you’re unsure what they are?
Sometimes we view particular behaviors as negative or ‘weird’ when, in fact, they are linked
to personal strengths. Identifying your strengths and weaknesses also allows you to begin
connecting them to specific behaviors and habits. In doing so, you can begin to decide which
ones are beneficial and contribute to who you want to be, and which ones aren’t. This process
of listing your strengths and weaknesses isn’t a one-time exercise. Make sure you revisit your
list often to review your progress. Your ideas of your strengths and weaknesses will almost
certainly fluctuate over time, so this exercise can be great to see what direction you’re
heading in.

GUIDELINES FOR THE TEAM TO FOLLOW

Commitment to team success and shared goals

 Participants understand their purpose and share their goals – the combination achieves
 Mission
 Members must share a strong common goal
 Groups provide each member of the team with prestige and recognition
 Successful teams are motivated to succeed
 There is strong team commitment to succeed
 Members have strong shared values and beliefs
 Engaged in and satisfied with their work
 Creation of a team atmosphere that is informal, relaxed, comfortable and non-
judgemental
 Promote group cohesion
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  People enjoy regular interaction with individuals who have similar interests and goals

Interpersonal skills

 People must care for each other

 Members must protect and support each other
 Feelings can be expressed freely
 Members must be respectful and supportive of one another, and realistic in mutual
expectations
 There is a high level of trust
 Members respect and trust each other
 Foster trust, confidence and commitment within the group
Interdependence

 One cannot succeed unless the other members of the group succeed (Smith, 1996)
 Together the group can deliver more than the individuals who compromise it could do
in isolation
 Team members must work together effectively to produce successful systems
 Team members interact to help each other accomplish the task and promote one
another’s success
 Team members build on the capabilities of their fellows – the combinations energised
through synergy
 Team members must take an interest in both the group and each individuals
achievement
 Team members must never be fully self-directed or completely independent
 Teams are often empowered to accomplish tasks not available to individuals
 Individuals experience a wide range of new ideas and skills when interacting with
team members
 Team members learn together so that they can subsequently perform better as
individuals

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