For this week’s assignment, you have been assigned the job of leading a very diverse team. After earning your MBA, you have been hired by the VP of Marketing of the North American firm XYZ Beverage Company, a major producer of healthy and natural fruit and vegetables drinks that are sold in grocery stores and other food and beverages retailers in U.S., Europe, and other parts of Asia. However, the organization’s line of beverages is becoming dated, facing changing consumer tastes and stiff competition from both bigger (those firms with the red and blue labels, respectively) and many smaller rivals. You have been assigned to lead a diverse project team of 20 employees to review the product line to find flavors, ingredients, product names, and packaging that best suits the current and even future needs of your firm’s very diverse customer base. Your team has been purposely composed of members from different levels of the organization from management to production-line workers. An effort was also made to make sure the project team is diverse in terms of race, age, gender, and region, including several members from Europe and Asia who will participate virtually using email, phone, and video conference. No one beverage suits everybody, so the firm’s management wants a line that mixes beverages that have mass appeal that cross diverse markets while having other beverages that best suit certain market segments. To accomplish these goals, your team members must strongly bring in their viewpoints while working synergistically with the rest of your team to propose the most effective line of products possible. As a new hire, the Marketing VP wants a preliminary report from you about particular aspects of the program plan. 

In that report, the VP wants you to address the following: 

Provide an initial statement you will make to your team members that emphasizes the goals of the project and how you plan to both respect the diversity of your team members while harnessing that diversity to produce the best results. 

Explain four (4) possible challenges you foresee arising from the diverse nature of your team in the implementation of this project. Recommend specific strategies to address each of the difficulties. One of the important aspects of this report is creating a list of difficulties and solutions that logically and effectively present your ideas to leadership. You want to show your VP that you clearly know the issues and have the know-how it takes to effectively lead this project. When you develop your argument for each challenge and strategy, be sure to consider the context of the company.