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Business in Action 8th Edition Bovee Solutions
Manual
Chapter 8
ORGANIZATION AND TEAMWORK
Chapter Overview
This chapter covers the important topics of organizational structure and teamwork. It
first discusses how different types of businesses are organized in order to best
achieve their goals. It then highlights the pros and cons of working in teams, what
constitutes effective teams, and how to resolve team conflicts. Lastly it discusses
managing unstructured organizations.
Chapter Outline
V. Fostering Teamwork
A. Teams typically go through five stages of development, as follows:
1. Forming – a period of orientation in which members get to know each
other and what is expected of them
2. Storming – the period in which conflicts may arise as team members
jockey for position or form coalitions
3. Norming – the period in which harmony develops and team members
reach agreement on member roles
4. Performing – the stage in which members are committed to team goals
and the team focuses on task accomplishment
5. Adjourning – the stage after task completion in which issues are wrapped
up and the team is dissolved
B. As the team moves through the stages of development, it develops a certain
level of cohesiveness, a measure of how committed team members are to
their team’s goals
C. Teams will also establish norms, informal standards of conduct that guide
team behavior
D. Teams may also experience conflict
1. Conflict can be constructive or destructive
2. Conflict arises for a variety of reasons, including competing for
resources, disagreement over responsibilities, poor communication,
withholding information, differences in values, power struggles, and
differing goals
Classroom Activities
Goal: Help students better understand the differences between tall and flat
organizations.
Details:
1. Create a list on one side of the blackboard, including the names of different
companies such as Ford Motors, Google, Citi Group, Genentech, Microsoft,
Intuit, Netflix, Walmart, etc.
2. Draw two columns on the other side of the blackboard, one labeled “Tall
Organization” and the other labeled “Flat Organization.”
3. Ask students to pair up and recreate the content of the blackboard on their
notebooks and subsequently assign all of the line items into the correct
columns.
End-of-Chapter
Students’ responses will depend, in large part, on the material currently posted on the
website. (LO: 1, AACSB: Reflective thinking)
8-5. What are the characteristics of tall organizations and flat organizations?
A flat organization has relatively few levels in the management hierarchy,
whereas a tall organization has many hierarchical levels, typically with fewer
people reporting to each manager than is the case in a flat organization. (LO: 1)
Core competencies are the activities in which a company excels and have the
potential to create competitive advantages. Those are precisely the activities that
companies should focus on themselves rather than outsource to other companies.
Therefore companies need to decide on their core competencies, i.e. the activities
they should focus on before they choose an organizational structure. (LO: 1
AACSB: Analytical thinking)
approach the task, and they are starting to splinter into factions, each
pursuing its own goals. What can you do to help the team move forward?
The team leader’s focus at this point should be to resolve the conflict and help
the team become more cohesive. The leader can encourage the disputing parties
to confront the issue by openly discussing it at a special meeting. After both
parties have stated their views, a compromise may be possible. If not, the leader
can suggest that the team vote on the issue, with all parties agreeing to accept the
outcome. If this fails, the leader can turn to a neutral third party to mediate the
dispute. (LO: 5, AACSB: Application of knowledge)
8-15.You’ve recently accepted a job as the U.S. sales manager for a German
manufacturing company. One of your first assignments is serving on a
virtual problem solving team with colleagues from Germany, France,
Japan, and South Korea. Budgets are tight, so you won’t have the
opportunity to meet with your teammates in person to get to know one
another. What steps can you take to help the team develop into a cohesive
and efficient unit?
Students’ answers will vary but some key points to consider include: A) take full
advantage of the diverse viewpoints, experiences, and skills of the various team
members; B) use technology to replicate resources that in-person teams rely on;
C) take extra care to keep the team functioning effectively. (LO: 3, AACSB:
Information technology)
Analyze the chart in terms of span of management. Is your school a flat or a tall
organization? Is this organization structure appropriate for your school? Does
decision making tend to be centralized or decentralized in your school? Do you
agree with this approach to decision making?
Finally, investigate the use of formal and informal teams in your school. Are
there any problem-solving teams, task forces, or committees at work in your
school? Are any teams self-directed or virtual? How much authority do these
teams have to make decisions? What is the purpose of teamwork in your school?
What kinds of goals do these teams have?
Share your team’s findings during a brief classroom presentation and then
compare the findings of all teams. Is there agreement on the appropriate
organization structure for your school?
Universities and community colleges tend to be rich with examples of different types
of organizational structures. There are usually many committees, and task forces, as
well as “tall” organizational structures to examine. This blending of structures is a
good example for students to explore because it demonstrates the ways in which
different types of structures can coexist. Students may tend to overlook the informal
committees, groups, and networks; be sure to encourage them to notice the informal
as well as the formal structures. (LO: 2, AACSB: Application of knowledge)
newspapers (print or online editions) to locate articles about how an organization has
overcome problems with teams.
8-18. Why did the organization originally introduce teams? What types of
teams are being used?
Answers will vary depending on the articles selected. (LO: 3, AACSB:
Interpersonal relations and teamwork)
8-20. Have the teams been successful from management’s perspective? From
the employees’ perspective? What effect has teamwork had on the company, its
customers, and its products?
Answers will vary depending on the articles selected. (LO: 4, AACSB:
Interpersonal relations and teamwork)
Assisted-graded Questions
8-21. What are some possible benefits and risks of having teams compete
against each other, such as having the sales teams from various regions compete
to add the most new customers?
Possible benefits of having teams compete against each other would be a stronger
drive and motivation to succeed. This could lead to some innovative ideas and
solutions that could eventually be shared with all teams throughout the company.
Possible downsides would be losing some of the actual advantages of working in
teams, namely increased diversity of views and lower levels of stress and
destructive behavior. If team members are competing against one another, they
are less likely to share their perspectives and opinions. When people work
together toward a common goal rather than competing for individual recognition,
their efforts and energies tend to focus on the common good. If they are
competing, this will not be the case. And competition could make them lose the
sense of belonging to a group and being involved in a collective effort that is a
source of job satisfaction for most people. (LO: 4, AACSB: Interpersonal
relations and teamwork)
8-22. Review the “Loss of Meaning and Connection” bullet point on page 191
in the discussion of the potential challenges of unstructured organizations.
If you were planning to launch an unstructured organization, what steps
could you take to help ensure that any independent contractors you hire on
a project-by-project basis will have the same pride in their work that a
dedicated, full-time employee would have?
A manager could try to seek out self-motivated people who take pride in their
work for its own sake and hire these kinds of people as independent contractors.
Once hired, the manager could be sure to give credit and praise to independent
contractors for their contributions to projects, so that they feel their work is
acknowledged. (LO: 6, AACSB: Interpersonal relations and teamwork)
CHECKPOINTS
Critical thinking:
(1) What are the risks of a poorly designed organization structure?
A poorly designed structure can create enormous waste, confusion, and frustration for
employees, suppliers, and customers.
(2) How does a flat structure change the responsibilities of individual managers?
A flat structure widens the span of management for individual managers.
Critical thinking:
(1) Should The Container Store use the same organization structure in each of its
stores around the country? Why or why not?
It should since that will give customers all over the country the same shopping
experience and convey a uniform brand image.
(2) Why does a matrix structure create potential problems in the chain of command?
Because in a matrix structure an employee reports to two superiors simultaneously.
(2) How well would you function in a matrix—could you share control with another
manager?
Students’ responses will vary depending on personal opinions.
Critical thinking:
(1) How might the work of a task force or committee disrupt the normal chain of
command in an organization?
Because task forces and committees are cross-functional and they require team
members to take time away from their own departments or divisions to meet and
work on specific activities.
(2) Should new hires with no business experience be assigned to virtual teams? Why
or why not?
They can be assigned to virtual teams as long as they get to meet in person at least
once with other team members before working on the virtual teams.
(2) If you had two similar job offers, one with a company that stresses teamwork and
another with a company that stresses independent accomplishment, which would you
choose? Why?
Students’ responses will vary depending on personal opinions.
Critical thinking:
(1) Is groupthink similar to peer pressure? Why or why not?
Groupthink is uniformity of thought that occurs when peer pressures cause individual
team members to withhold contrary or unpopular opinions; therefore, groupthink is
definitely related to peer pressure.
(2) Is supporting a group decision you don’t completely agree with always a case of
groupthink? Explain your answer.
Not necessarily. It could be that you believe the group decision is for the good of the
whole firm or group even though it may affect you negatively. In this case, it is
known as a personal sacrifice for the common good rather than groupthink.
(2) How can you apply experience gained on athletic teams and other collaborative
activities to the business world?
Students’ responses will vary depending on personal opinions.
Critical thinking:
1) How can a team leader know when to step in when conflict arises and when to step
back and let the issue work itself out?
(2) What are the risks of not giving new teams the time and opportunity to “storm”
and “norm” before tackling the work they’ve been assigned?
The risks include delaying the potential conflicts (rather than dealing with them first)
until such conflicts prevent them from successful teamwork.
(2) Have you ever had to adapt your regular personality in order to succeed on a
particular team? Was this a positive or negative experience?
Students’ responses will vary depending on personal experiences.
Critical thinking:
(1) “Unstructured” organization is something of a contradiction in terms; are such
companies still “organized” if they have no permanent structure? Why or why not?
Companies with an unstructured organization are indeed organized, but in a very
flexible, nontraditional manner. These companies use digital technologies to form
and reform work patterns almost on a project-by-project basis.
(2) How can workers develop marketable skills if they work as independent
contractors?
Although independent contractors have to assume more responsibility for their career
development – as opposed to progressing through the ranks of an organization – they
also have the opportunity to seek positions in which they can learn new skills.
Independent contractors can pick and choose projects that interest them and that they
believe will assist them in obtaining marketable skills.
(2) Assume that you went to work for a conventional employer and then left to work
as an independent contractor as soon as you developed enough of a skill set to make
it on your own. (Assume as well that you were not violating any sort of employment
contract and were free to leave.) Would you have any ethical concerns about leaving
an employer who had invested in your professional development? Why or why not?
Students’ responses will vary depending on personal experiences.
On a rock-altar stern
In sacrificial fires,
A man goes up to burn
His memories and desires.
She said, “I will hide all the brave books away from him,
With their scarlet letters that burn into the heart;
I will lock their spell and their sovereign sway from him;
I will rear him tenderly, a life apart.”
But the day came and the hour came,
And the foul deed struck him like a spur;
And he felt the shame and the swift flame,
And his eyes were strange to her.
In the dreams of the night had the old Captains come to him,
And the staunch old Admirals that died long ago;
From the old fields of fight came the roll of the drum to him,
With a call that his mother could not know;
It seemed that a Sword gleamed blinding-bright
At the dawn-edge of the sky;
And he said, “O Mother, the Right is the Right:
I must fight for it now though I die!”
MOTHERS OF SOLDIERS
I stood in the summer night, when the hosts of heaven seemed nigh,
And I saw the powdery swirl of stars, where it swept across the sky,
The wide way of the white stars, where it ran up and down,
And my heart was sad for the man who said It was Main Street,
Heaventown.
He knelt down with his fellows, in the warm faith of the throng;
He went forth with his fellows to fight a monstrous Wrong;
He marched away to the true tune that the hearts of brave men beat,
Shoulder to brown shoulder, with the men in the Main Street.
A road runs bright through the night of Time, since ever the world
began,
The wide Way of the White Souls, the Main Street of Man,
The sky-road of the star-souls, beyond all wars and scars;
And there the singing soul of him goes on with the marching stars.
So, as I stand in the summer night, when the hosts of heaven seem
nigh,
And look at the powdery swirl of stars, where it sweeps across the
sky,
The wide way of the white stars, where it runs up and down,
My heart shall be glad for the friend who said It was Main Street,
Heaventown.
RESPITE