Skills Practice 7-2: Developing Team Meeting Agendas

• Skills Practice Worksheet 7.2  

Skill Objective

To develop the skills needed to plan, facilitate, and evaluate a team meeting.

Procedure

1. Form groups of 5 to 7 students.
2. Read the following brief overview of tips for running effective team meetings in this chapter and below.

Brief Overview of Tips for Running Effective Team Meetings

1. Assign one person to each of the following roles:

Meeting Leader: This person is responsible for leading the team through the agenda.

Facilitator: This person participates as a regular team member but also pays attention to the group process and ensures that the ground rules are being followed (e.g., making sure everyone participates and that the meeting starts and finishes on time).

Scribe: This person takes notes regarding what was done in the meeting (e.g., issues discussed, decisions made).

2. As a team, set specific ground rules that everyone on the team agrees to follow. These must be enforced consistently!

Examples of Common Ground Rules

• All meetings start and end on time.
• All team members must come prepared.
• One person talks at a time.
• Everyone must participate.
• Differences in opinion should be valued and respected.
3. Criteria for evaluating a team process include:
• Were the objectives of the meeting achieved?
• Did the team stay on the agenda?
• Were the ground rules followed?
• Did all team members contribute to the team meeting?
• Was there balanced participation across team members during the meeting?
• Did all members of the team have a voice in any decisions that were made in the meeting?
• Was the team open to hearing opposing viewpoints on an issue before making a decision?
• Did the team summarize what each team member must do to meet their duties and responsibilities at the end of the meeting?
• Did the team discuss when the next meeting will be and what each team member must come prepared with to the next meeting?
4. Plan an agenda for a brief 15–25-minute meeting to complete a task or achieve an objective that the group selects (e.g., planning a social get-together, creating a study group for an upcoming exam, creating a timeline for a team project in a class, etc.). Make sure your agenda has the following elements:
• Clear objectives
• An itemized listing of the issues to be covered
• A specific amount of time allocated for each agenda item

Note:  You can download a meeting agenda worksheet that has been developed for this exercise from the web site for this book.

5. Conduct the meeting according to your agenda.
6. Evaluate your meeting process, and identify specific actions for improving future team meetings. 

Discussion Questions

1. Why is it critical to plan meetings and to actively manage them?  What is the cost of not doing so?
2. Why is the management of team meetings often much more challenging than it appears to be on the surface? 
3. What do you think are the key things that need to be done in order to conduct an effective team meeting and how will you apply them once you are a manager in a real world organization?

Skill Practice 7.3: Movie Analysis: "Thirteen Days"

• Skills Practice Worksheet 7.3  

Objective

To develop skill in analyzing the nature and complexity of conflict in a major crisis and to understand the types of strategies used to handle this kind of situation.

Procedure

1. Obtain a copy of the movie "Thirteen Days" starring Kevin Costner. It is available on DVD and can be rented or purchased from a local video store or retailer.
2. Watch the movie (this can be done in class or at home on your own).

Note: Download the worksheet that was developed for this exercise from the website for this book. This will help you to develop a list of relevant scenes in the movie for answering the discussion questions below.          

As you watch the film, use the conflict model discussed in the chapter to help you to better understand the causes of the conflict and the strategies that are employed by both sides (the U.S. and the Soviet Union) to handle the situation. Document your notes from the film on your worksheet.

3. Discuss the following questions as a class:
1. What were the causes of the conflict that occurred in the movie?
2. What kinds of strategies were used by the U.S. government to handle the situation? What type of conflict-handling style best describes the approach that was used by the U.S. government? To what extent was the U.S. government effective in resolving the conflict? Why?
3. What kinds of strategies were used by the Soviet Union to handle the situation? What type of conflict-handling style best describes the approach that was used by the Soviet Union? To what extent was the Soviet Union effective in resolving the conflict? Why?
4. What types of negotiating strategies are used by the U.S. and the Soviet Union throughout the film? Were they implemented effectively? Why or why not?
5. What would you have done differently if you were a member of the U.S. government in the situation shown in the movie? What would you have done differently if you were a member of the Soviet Union in this situation?

Skills Practice 7.4: Applying the General Problem-Solving Process

• Skills Practice Worksheet 7.4  

Objective

To develop skill in applying the general problem-solving process to business problems.

Procedure

Note: Download the worksheet that was developed for this exercise from the website for this textbook. This will facilitate your working through this exercise.

1. Identify a problem you are dealing with in your organization or school or something you have heard about in the news. Then, write a one-paragraph statement of the problem you select. Some example problems follow.
1. The Harley Davidson motorcycle manufacturer is experiencing challenges in making its motorbikes more appealing to younger consumers and consumers abroad.
2. The U.S. Armed Forces cannot recruit enough new people to meet its demand for labor.
3. Eastman Kodak, the film and digital camera manufacturer, is experiencing challenges from a shrinking market for traditional camera film and intensified competition from other digital camera manufacturers such as Sony and Canon.
4. Motorola, the wireless phone manufacturer, has been slow to develop new phones that incorporate emerging technologies such as integrated digital cameras into its phones.
5. Ford Motor Company's Mercury division is experiencing problems with its identity and market positioning as luxury brands come out with lower-priced vehicles and less expensive brands come out with more luxurious models. The effect of this is that Mercury, which is supposed to be positioned between the more basic brands and luxury brands, is getting squeezed on both ends.
6. A student organization has a low level of member involvement in the organization’s activities.
7. A business school is struggling to identify what it needs to teach student in preparing them for the “real world.”
8. Traditional retailers are losing market share to Internet-based retailers.
2. Define the problem.

Guidelines (see this chapter for more information):

1. State the problem explicitly.
2. Specify the standard(s) violated.
3. Specify the problem in specific behavioral terms.
4. Specify whose problem it is.
5. Avoid stating the problem merely as an implied solution.
6. Avoid stating the problem as a dilemma.
3. Identify alternative solutions to the problem.
4. Identify the criteria you will use to evaluate your alternative solutions and then evaluate your alternative solutions on the basis of those criteria.
5. Select the best alternative solution to your problem.
6. Identify the action steps you would take to implement your decision and to monitor and control the outcomes associated with the decision.
7. Evaluate your problem solving process.

Discussion Questions

1. What aspect(s) of the problem solving process did you handle effectively in this exercise? Why?
2. What aspect(s) of the problem solving process did you not handle effectively in this exercise? Why?
3. What are the barriers to the problem solving process that you encountered in this exercise? To what extent do these barriers also occur when solving problems in real world business organizations?
4. Why is the problem solving process much more challenging to implement than it is to learn and understand in a textbook?
5. What are the practical implications of this exercise for use as a future team leader or member?

Skills Practice 7.5: Affinity Technique

• Skills Practice Worksheet 7.5  

Objective

To create an agenda for a team meeting.

Procedure

1. Download the accompanying worksheet.
2. Complete the exercise by following the directions on the worksheet.

Critical Thinking Questions

1. Describe how the affinity technique can help a team to make more effective decisions.
2. What are the practical implications of this exercise for you as a team leader or team member?