SECTION A-GROUP 6

INSTITUTE OF RURAL MANAGEMENT, ANAND

Case Analysis of
“MediSys Corp:
The IntensCare product development team”
Individual and Group Behavior (IGB)
Group Assignment

SUBMITTED BY- Group:6

P42045 Shravani Kemppanna
P42056 Yash Chouhan
P42231 Sujata Rajiv Patel
P42049 Suvojit Roy
P42021 Harsh Baronia
P42016 Dharampreet Singh
F2001 Salil Sharma

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MediSys Corp:
The IntensCare product development team

I. Executive Summary:

In light of the problem that MediSys Corp. is facing, we believe that the best course
of action is for the company to explain basic team performance, align goals, and
synergize all individual efforts. In summary, MediSys is experiencing a number of
issues that could jeopardize its ability to effectively deliver the IntensCare patient
evaluation system. However, due to a lack of efficient leadership at the top, the
institution's fundamental problem is incompatibility between members of six
teams responsible for product development. Their lack of communication is a
primary cause of deficiencies. In addition to their communication gap, what little
communication they do have is badly portrayed, leading even more problems.
Even inside the case, we witness occasions where communication is purposely
withheld from specific people, such as when O'Brien and Fogel leave Merz out of
a crucial assignment. Finally, the squad is rated as underperforming due to Merz's
lack of organization and managerial direction. Beaumont, in theory, has
established a management style that promotes teamwork, but he has failed to
acknowledge himself as the team's leader. As such, the managers in MediSys Corp
were unable to make any changes in the organization and to craft out teams which
can be pulled together in the direction of productivity.

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II. Situation Analysis:

MediSys, a U.S.-based medical equipment maker, has been developing IntensCare,

a new medical system for monitoring intensive-care patients. MediSys has
invested heavily in IntensCare, which is eagerly awaited by the market. The
product development team, representing several functional areas of the company,
has been working on the product for six months but is now running into significant
problems with the product design, the schedule, and their own group dynamics.
Recently, pressure increased when they learned that two more powerful
competitors had begun work on their own products for this market. Several team
members are concerned about meeting the team's targets. Struggling especially
hard to overcome the various problems is the marketing manager who has profit-
and-loss responsibility for IntensCare. For that the board of MediSys hired an
aggressive President, Art Beaumont. The strategy made for the completion of the
product on time was to create a cross functional team so that every executive from
R&D to Production department were included to accelerate the development and
the production by simultaneously communicating with team members.

This though made the offshore software development team a time delay on which
the team could hold their thoughts. With increase in pressure from the market to
introduce a new module function in the system will require another unit to be
produced from the scratch. Aaron believes in his product which was firstly
introduced in an informal group which required more brainstorming for the idea to
became reality and make the company generate more revenue. But the catch is
Merz is accountant on this project for 3 years down the line with this an only
project given to her to manage its P&L of IntensCare product till the launch.
Valerie Merz thinks that modular design is critical to IntensCare's effective market
implementation and long-term success as the new rivals work on the same. So, she
was very disappointed when she heard Bret O'Brien speaking to Jack about this
issue because of this fresh shift she wishes in the project and her aggressive
conduct made other executives annoyed and they outgroup her. In the specified
situation, therefore, Valerie should speak to all executives at the post-lunch
conference and attempt to demonstrate them the significance of modular design
and could be implemented in the second edition and attempt to create excellent
team dynamics with other executives. She had her own critical path to follow for
the product launch but she didn’t connect with her peers in the team for the
concerned of developing more pressure on them as the launch date is arriving soon.

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III. Statement of Objective:

To accelerate the production objective of IntensCare and launch the product

before any other competitor launch the alternate product in the market.

IV. Problem Statement

1. Inappropriate team structure – cross functional team & parallel

development creates challenges as team members still act as a part of
particular department and not the whole process
2. Lack of leadership -ineffective leadership, deviation from the path and
personal conflicts
3. Delay in delivery – due to time constraint
4. Lack of trust among team members.

V. Defining Criteria:

1. Absence of Norms within the group formed.

2. Slow in decision making process.
3. Focused more on the individuality rather than a team.
4. Introduction to new market requirement delayed the production process

VI. Generating Alternatives:

1. The new modular program could be developed into 2nd version of the
IntensCare and the initial product could be launched.
2. The team should redefine its criteria on regular meetings and should focus
on IntensCare as the product of the team.
3. MediSys could develop any reward structure for the team, so that every
team member could get equal and better output.
4. MediSys can put a suggestion box in the office so that employees can tell
their issues clearly.

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VII. Evaluation of Alternatives:

• The new modular program could be developed into 2nd version of the
IntensCare and the initial product could be launched.

Benefits: This could accelerate the on-going project of the team and regulatory
assessment could be done to ensure the safety of the product before launching
date and a newer version of IntensCare would be in market after successful
launch of the 1st version.
Cost: The competitors might manage to launch the system same as IntensCare
with modular program according to the market need which results showing the
MediSys as second-rate.

• The team should redefine its criteria on regular meetings and should focus
on IntensCare as the product of the team.

Benefits: This would result in better engagement of the team members and
clearing the doubts or any issue regarding the project and develop the crucial
decision without including the bosses.
Cost: The hierarchy of the team status would be disturbed as someone has to
lead them towards the initial idea which was pitched under the MediSys corp.

• MediSys could develop a reward structure for the team, so that every team
member could get equal and better output.

Benefits: This could decrease the social loafing generated during the initial
development of the team and to increment by adjusting the business targets to
representative prize.
Cost: This could be less beneficial for those who had equity concerned or a
diffusion of responsibility as those who are working hard on the idea will be
given same amount to the free riders as well.

• MediSys can put a suggestion box in the office so that employees can tell
their issues clearly.

Benefits: This could induce new way of forming the team to increase the
cohesiveness among the team members which in terms provides the speed and
increase in the overall performance.
Cost: The adjourning the of previous teams and forming a new team will
consume time and the member has to accept the new norms of the group during
the forming process.
VIII. Action Plan

After the discussion and brainstorming within the group, we have decided to that
the team should redefine their criteria by regular interval of the meetings, As for
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Merz she should step on the hierarchy of the team to develop more clear
understanding on the critical path she chosen for the timeline introduced by the
president. This could lead to better cohesiveness in the teams and show the
reflexivity for the product design. Leadership effort could be made from any of the
member of the team with consensus in multi-team system as the individual still
report to their departmental mangers which need reduces or not required as it
reduces the information flow within the team itself.

IX. Contingency Plan

If the plan did not work to meet the deadline for the project, then they have to
introduce a new reward system for the team to focus more on the acceleration of
the production of IntensCare system to launch in the market. This would ensure
that if the team is provided an incentive the cooping strategy and climate of trust
within the cross functional team will increase and everyone would be involved for
the grater revenue generation of the MediSys Corp.

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