17.4 End of Chapter Activities
17a. Thinking About the Content
What are your key takeaways from this chapter? What is something you have learned or something you would like to add from your experience?
17b. Discussion Questions
Discussion Questions
- Do you prefer working in a group or team environment, or working individually? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each? Discuss your thoughts with classmates.
- Think of a problem encountered in the past by a group of which you are a member. How did the group solve the problem? How satisfactory was the solution? Discuss your results with your classmates.
- Research one business that you would like to know more about and see if you can learn about how they communicate in groups and teams. Compare your results with those of classmates.
- Think of a decision you will be making some time in the near future. Apply the cost-benefit analysis framework to your decision. Do you find this method helpful? Discuss your results with classmates.
17c. Applying chapter concepts to a situation
Working with Unmotivated Team Members
Sylvia works in a small marketing company that does marketing campaigns for other companies. She joined the company two years ago after completing her post-graduate diploma and believes she has found her dream job. She works on a self-directed team of four, and they have good synergy. The team relies heavily on each other as most of their projects are shared.
A few months ago, Avi became the newest member of the team. During the first three months, while he was on probation, he was hard-working. He would often stay overtime to ensure that his projects are completed promptly. Once his probationary period ended, Avi slacked-off and his commitment to the job decreased significantly. He no longer completes his assignments on time, avoids doing his share of the work and attends team meetings but contributes little to nothing.
This is frustrating for all the members of the team as they each have to increase their workload to ensure that their assignments are completed on time. They need to figure out a strategy to resolve their problem, or they will suffer from burnout, and the quality of their work will be affected.
Since they are a self-directed team and do not have a manager, what should their strategy be to deal with Avi?
17d. Writing Activity
Read this article from GALLUP.com on How to Improve Teamwork in the Workplace. Summarize the most interesting ideas in this article and explain how those ideas are applicable in your professional life.