Chapter 8 Activity – Team Simulation

Your team has been assembled from different departments to develop an emergency preparedness plan
for your mid-size organization.

The Company is a mid-size food processing company with several locations throughout BC. Each location
is in an industrial area near the river. Each location has approximately 100 employees, who normally
work two 8-hour shifts daily.

You will have to present your plan, or at least your progress, to the President in a 5-minute overview.

Working within the specific guidelines (provided by your instructor in the first 5 minutes of the breakout)
for your team. Act as you would in a real situation – i.e. be yourself (within the context of the
guidelines). Your team has 30 minutes to develop your plan. Don't plan to plan - instead, do your best to
come up with an emergency preparedness plan.

1. Organic Team:

Guidelines:

Emphasis on collaboration and open communication.

Encourage each member to contribute their ideas freely.

No strict hierarchy. Decision-making is based on consensus.

Flexibility in roles and responsibilities to accommodate individual strengths.

Regular check-ins to ensure alignment and progress.

Focus on adaptability and creativity in developing the emergency preparedness plan.

2. Hierarchical Team:

Guidelines:

Clear chain of command and reporting structure.

Roles and responsibilities are assigned based on job titles and expertise.

Decision-making is centralized with the team leader or designated authority.

Regular updates and progress reports are submitted to the team leader for review.

Efficient use of resources through centralized coordination.

Task assignments based on job functions and specialized skills.

3. Leader-Focused Team:

Guidelines:

Strong emphasis on the designated leader's vision and direction.

The leader provides guidance and decisions, and the team follows directives.

Regular communication from the leader to keep the team informed and motivated.

Members align their efforts with the leader's goals and priorities.

The leader sets milestones and checkpoints for project progress.

Feedback loops are established to ensure the leader’s expectations are met.

4. Innovation-Driven Team:

Guidelines:

Encourage thinking outside the box and creative problem-solving.

Brainstorming sessions to generate unconventional ideas for the plan.

Experimentation with new approaches and technologies.

Embrace calculated risk-taking for potentially innovative solutions.

Regular reviews of progress to pivot and iterate based on feedback.

Focus on developing a unique emergency preparedness plan that stands out.

5. Task-Oriented Team:

Guidelines:

Focus on clearly defined tasks and objectives for plan development.

Assign roles and responsibilities based on members' specific expertise.

Divide the plan into manageable tasks with clear deadlines.

Regular progress updates to track task completion.

Decision-making based on task-specific requirements and goals.

Aim to create a plan that is thorough and detail-oriented.