When East Meets West

ASSIGNMENT 4

Part 1

Question 1

The packaging department is clearly in need of a leader. The current two supervisors are only working part time in the packaging department and are spending the rest of their time in their respected departments. No one is there to motivate the employees or resolve any possible conflicts. Social loafing is becoming a serious problem as employee are extending their breaks as well as starting their shifts late. There is no cohesion among the team. The less successful the team is, the less chance of cohesion. Nobody is monitoring productivity or keeping the workers on track. Team norms have turned into negative work habits. Team roles do not seem to be defined which is causing the pack of productivity. There doesn’t seem to be any signs of team building which could also contribute to the success of the team.

Question 2

There are several steps could be taken to improve productive norms. Identifying a leader seems to be the most important factor. Guidance from a leader can include training and instructing team members and taking corrective actions when necessary. Guidance also involves responding to questions and resolving problems that can hinder job perform. A highly cohesive group that is given positive leadership may have the highest possible productivity. On the other side of the coin, a highly cohesive group that is given poor leadership may have the lowest possible productivity. The direction, in which the highly cohesive group goes, breaking production records or severely restricting output, depends on how it is led. When new direction is given by business ownership, team leaders make sure that team members understand the information and how it impacts their specific roles. The packaging department did not seem to have any visible goals. For example an agenda could have been in place for managing time to complete goals. Employee roles and responsibility should be clearly defined. Disciplinary action needed to be enforced for tardiness. Team norms need to be established amongst the employees in the packaging department.

Norms are used to assess how well team members are interacting. Team norms enable team members to call each other out on any behavior that is dysfunctional or that is negatively impacting the success of the team. Social loafing could have been avoided if better leadership was present.

PART 2

QUESTION 1

Time Constraints. Teams take more time to make decisions then individuals do. The more groups involved in the project the more time it takes each group to communicate to each other. Groups require extra time to organize, coordinate and maintain relationships with group members. Production blocking becomes an issue since only one person