SECTION A: SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS

[40 MARKS]

Answer ALL questions.

Case Study

Teams are used extensively and successfully in every aspect of industrial R&D. Despite little

formal training, both the team members and their sponsors find that the team's output usually

meets, and often exceeds, expectations. Clear and important goals, clean communications and

supportive management are key factors leading to team success. Meddling managers and fuzzy

goals tend to lead to failure. Training, team rewards and recognition do not seem to be central to

team effectiveness. Teams like their managers to be accessible and to provide resources and

support, but not to dictate how the team should function. These requirements can be difficult to

balance, but management nonetheless got pretty good grades from the teams in this study, and

the teams got pretty good grades from their managers and sponsors.

1. Mention four (4) points of the importance of a team. (8 marks)

2. A self-managed team ensures that members have collective responsibility for the team to

effectively operate and meet its target. Discuss in detail any six (6) benefits of self-managed

teams. (12 marks)

3. As a manager it is crucial to make informed decisions concerning conflict, therefore state the

differences between dysfunctional and functional conflict. (10 marks)

4. Wenger has identified characteristics of a group that are crucial to a group being a

community of practice, discuss five (5) of those characteristics. (10 marks).

SECTION B: ESSAY TYPE QUESTIONS

[60 MARKS]

Answer ALL questions

History teaches us that in order for teams to be successful, the conditions must be right.

Nurturing management styles, and awareness of others working styles are just some of the

contributing factors that aid the creation of a high-performance team.

Google's "Project Aristotle" has highlighted the fact that when individuals join an organizational

team, they do not want to leave their individuality and personality at home. People want to be

their true selves and feel that they are free to share ideas and thoughts in a psychologically safe

environment.

Communication, empathy and mutual understanding all create a productive environment for

increased performance and job satisfaction.

By understanding each other's work styles, strengths and attributes, work stops becoming an act of labour and becomes a collective goal or mission.

No man is an island. Business is a team sport!

Case questions:

Question 1 [20 marks]

Roles that individuals are skilled at and in order for a team to be effective these roles are to be

evident, explain these roles in detail. (20 Marks)

Question 2 [40 marks]

Case Study:

Martha has been assigned a team of 10 people to help her plan a major customer appreciation

event. They have been working together for over a month now and they just haven't really come

together as a team. She was sure she started off well. She contacted each individual on the team and let them know their responsibilities on the project.

Each of the members gets the tasks completed, but don't seem concerned with the others on the team. If someone needs help, no one pitches in to assist. If a team member has a problem, no one helps him to solve that problem. Just yesterday one of the team members had an emergency and asked if someone on the team could have a call with the sales team so she could leave early. No one offered to help so Martha jumped in to assist. Martha had to do something. This was a bad experience for everyone frankly and some folks already were talking about getting off the project. Plus, she felt the event won't be as good as it could if they just came together as a team.

Case questions:

i.As Martha it can be confusing to work in a group of people and in a team. As an expert

explain the difference between the two, supporting with relevant examples. (10 Marks)

ii. Discuss any five (5) mistakes that Martha may make that can lead to unsuccessful teams. (10 marks)

iii. Discuss in detail any ten (10) factors that Martha can use to yield team performance. (20 marks)