Team Green was ecstatic. Their analysis of the firm's latest investment projects had been chosen over the Blue and Red teams yet again, for the sixth time in a row. The competition, the brainchild of CEO Roger Cannon, had been going on for three years, once every quarter. The teams were to analyze the projects under consideration and present their analyses and recommendations to the top management and any board members who wanted to attend. Managers and directors were all together for quarterly corporate retreats in remote locations, so the presentations were accomplished via videoconference from the company to the location of the retreat. For the first year and a half, the teams were fairly competitive, but then Team Green had dominated the competition and earned the reward: time off and three-day paid vacations at a Destin, Florida, resort. The members of the other two teams had become disgruntled, and Team Red seemed to have given up, turning in a marginal analysis and a short, minimal presentation. Rather than foster a cooperative and edifying mood, the competition had taken a turn for the worse, creating hostility and suppressing communication among the groups. Roger had noticed the trend away from the analysts debating and negotiating with one another, but he did not want to fail in his rewarding of excellence. The competition, he felt, had greatly enhanced the quality of the firm’s capital investment decisions. Prior to the establishment of the competition, the analysts had been one big group, arguing back and forth about the best way to analyze the firm’s projects and about the best decision. Roger wanted to enjoy the benefits of both systems but wondered if that was possible given the current state of affairs.

1. Was the competition a good idea? What are the benefits and drawbacks?

2. How does the use of videoconferencing technology affect participants’ attitudes toward the other teams and teamwork in general?

3. Suppose you are hired as a communication consultant, with the task of coming up with a system to reward excellence but avoid hard feelings and discouragement. What would you change?