ITM 423

This Module's Case is about how to develop a successful project team. The core of the case is a description of an actual team development situation:

Poole, C. (2003). Three week project turnaround. Retrieved from http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?ThreeWeekProjectTurnaround or http://www.charliepoole.org/article.php?p=turnaround

Russ Finney's article on "Winning Project Teams" talks about some of the principles Poole reports having implemented:

Finney, R. (2005). Winning project teams. ITMWeb. Retrieved from http://www.itmweb.com/essay003.htm

Essay Tree. (2011). Lessons learned from a three week project turnaround: What went right, what went wrong and why. Retrieved from http://essaytree.com/it-management/lessons-learned-from-the-three-week-project-turnaround-what-went-right-what-went-wrong-and-why/

XProgramming.com. (2011). What is extreme programming? Retrieved from http://xprogramming.com/xpmag/whatisxp

Flynn, A., & Mangione, T. (2011). Five steps to a winning project team. Retrieved from http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/five-steps-to-a-winning-project-team.html

And then there are pieces of "practice wisdom" on the team development process, such as:

PMHut. (2011) Six characteristic stages of team development: The project life cycle. The Project Management Hut. Retrieved from http://www.pmhut.com/six-characteristic-stages-of-team-development

Webster, M. (2011) Six 5 tips to motivate your project team. The project life cycle. The Project Management Hut. Retrieved from http://www.pmhut.com/5-tips-to-motivate-your-project-team

Overall, it seems as though we know a lot about how to create and deploy successful project teams. So why is there such frustration and so many reported failures?

As noted earlier, you should also consult material from the Background Information or related other materials you find yourself (be sure to reference properly whatever specific sources you draw on). You may want to do some further searching in the project management support websites.

Assignment:

When you've read through the articles and related material, scanned the websites, and thought about it carefully, please prepare a short (4-5 page) paper discussing the question:

"What an IT manager must do to create and maintain a successful project team"

You should probably be prepared to address issues such as the definition of "success", costs and benefits involved, and who either receives or pays them, sources of pressure on the team and its management, and responsibilities incurred by the various participants.

Blanchard, K. Carew, D. and Parisi-Carew, E. (1996) How to get your group to perform like a team. Training & Development, 50 (9), 34-37.
Chong, E. (2007) Role balance and team development: A study of team role characteristics underlying high and low performing teams. Journal of Behavioral and Applied Management, 8 (3), 202-217.
Jones, J. E. and Bearley, W. L. (2001) Facilitating team development: A view from the field. Group Facilitation, (3), 56-65.
Tuckman, B. W. (2001) Development Sequence in Small Group. Group Facilitation, Spring (3), 66-81.
Tuckman, B. W. and Jensen, M. A. C. (1977) Stage of Small-group development revisited. Group & Organization, 2 (4), 419-427.

open to all writers!

This is to be a Research Paper with a detailed outline.

Topic: Team Leadership/Conflict Resolution.

1.The following questions must be addressed in the body of the paper:

Why team building is important?
What are the greatest leadership challenges in team building?
How to motivate team members?
What are leadership styles and how are they used in team development?
What is conflict resolution?
Explain how good communications skills might help in a conflict situation?
How to confront conflict within your organization?

2. Include a detailed outline of the paper.
3. Include table of content.
4. Follow Kate L Turabian's A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations (sixth edition).
5. Minimum of 15 pages in length (text)
6. 12-point font
7. Double-spaced
8. Minimum of 20 sources; at least 10 of those from sources other than books (i.e., articles, internet, interviews, etc.)

Please answer these 6 questions individually.
1. Thinking back to a recent group project in which you participated, how effective were you as a team member? What behaviors did you engage in that contributed to your effectiveness and the group?s effectiveness? What were sources of conflict within the group, and how were they resolved? Please be specific. (200 words)
2. The lines between leading and managing are sometimes blurred in practice. What factors (e.g., technology, the economy, etc.) do you believe are responsible for making this distinction so vague? (75 words)
3. Identify the stages of team development. Define the main issues at each stage and the actions that the project can take to assist the team through each stage. (75 words)
4. If you were creating a project team for an organization, what kinds of factors would you take into consideration in deciding the composition of the team? Would these factors be different if you were putting together a problem-solving team? Why, or why not? (75 words)
5. Is there a cause-and-effect relationship between leader behavior and follower performance? What is the nature of the direction of the relationship? How strong is the relationship? Please use examples from personal experience to support your position?
(75 words)
6. What is the difference between functional and dysfunctional conflict? Can conflict that starts off as functional become dysfunctional? Can dysfunctional conflict be changed to functional conflict? (75 words)

Please answer each question in each section with inline citations and reference. See attached additional resouces.

Section 1
What Constitutes a Team (see attached)?
Focusing on the material related to team building, compare and contrast this college classrom with a team that you are familiar with. In what aspects does a college classroom resemble a team? Are there parallels between the stages of team development and the progression of a college classroom? What type of team formation is going on a college classroom? Does the notion of social loafing apply to a college classroom in any respect?
Please be specific in your examples, and support your opinion with evidence from the text.
When you select a team, we are looking for a substantial analysis and discussion of all the relevant issues surrounding selection, cohesion, activity, conflict, and outcomes. Please provide a comprehensive analysis from your OB perspective and be as candid as possible so we can all learn the Good, Bad & Ugly of team formation and dynamics.

Section 2
A Lesson in Team Building(see attached)
One of your Facebook friends has posted this note.

?Help! I have just been assigned to head a new product design team at my company. The division manager has high expectations for the team and for myself, but I have been a technical design engineer for 4 years since graduating from college. I have never managed anyone, let alone led a team. The manager keeps talking about her confidence that I will be very good at creating lots of teamwork. Does anyone out there have any tips to help me master this challenge? Help!? You immediately start to formulate your recommendations. What are the three key things you will advise her to do, and why those three first?
This is an all-too-common occurrence. People are selected to lead with ABSOLUTELY no training, preparation and (assuredly) limited guidance. Here is your chance to comment (in some detail) on what you would do, what THEY should do, and what the org can do - all to make this process work better.
How would you do it?

ADMN 411, Team Skills

Assignment 3,
Senator Barack Obamas speech to his campaign workers

Instructions

1. Watch the speech at http://youtube.com/watch?v=bnhmByYxEIo.

2. Analyze what Senator Obama says to his team in the context of your learning in this course. What task(s) have they completed? What task(s) are next? What does Senator Obama do to prepare them for the next step?

3. Based on what you have learned in the course, was the speech effective? Why?

4. Google 'Stockdale Paradox'. What, if anything, does Senator Obama do in his speech that models the Stockdale Paradox? In light of what you have learned in Team Skills, do you think it worked? Why?

COURSE CONTENT TO HELP ANSWER ABOVE QUESTIONS
Below is presented a list of the learning modules used to achieve the learning outcome(s) for this
course?.
1. Introduction to Teams and Teamwork
Learning Outcome:
Understand the importance of teams and teamwork through history in a variety of contexts,
from ancient societies to modern times.
Objectives:
1.1 Outline the history of teamwork from tribal societies to current corporate structures.
1.2 Explain how teamwork is used to accomplish a common goal.
1.3 Explain the role of teams in the community, business and the petroleum industry.
2. Reasons for Teams
Learning Outcome:
Recognize situations where a team approach is appropriate and understand team fundamentals.
Objectives:
2.1 Specify when a project is suitable for a team approach.
2.2 Identify important team fundamentals.
3. Team Basics
Learning Outcome:
Learners will be able to explain the Team Basics model and apply the model in team projects.
Objectives:
3.1 Explain the team basics model.
4. The Team Performance Curve
Learning Outcome:
Explain how a group of people moves through various phases of team development to become
a High-Performing Team.
Objectives:
4.1 Differentiate between the different types of teams found on the Team Performance
Curve model.
5. Improving Team Performance
Learning Outcome:
Identify the keys to high team performance, the reasons for low team performance, and ways to
improve team performance.
Objectives:
5.1 Describe the role of management in team success or failure.
5.2 Describe the causes of low team performance and how improvements can be made.
6. Obstacles to Teamwork
Learning Outcome:
Apply strategies to overcome obstacles to teamwork and success.
Objectives:
6.1 Describe obstacles to teamwork and success.
6.2 Identify strategies to overcome obstacles to teamwork.
6.3 Describe the human variables that may impede a team
6.4 Describe the human variables that may impede a team
7. Why Teams Don't Work
Learning Outcome:
Describe the factors that cause a team to become ?stuck? and explain the methods to use to
move the team forward.
Objectives:
7.1 Explain how to recognize a stuck team and why it is blocked.
7.2 Explain five ways to get a team unstuck.
8. Team Leadership
Learning Outcome:
Explain the models of team leadership including the qualities necessary in a good leader and
how team decision-making models work.
Objectives:
8.1 Describe the four basic team leadership styles.
8.2 Describe the tasks necessary in being a good team leader.
8.3 Describe how to lead without authority.
8.4 List seven team decision models and explain how they work.
9. High-performance and Quick Change Organizations
Learning Outcome:
Describe how teams of committed people can bring about rapid change and raise performance
standards in an organization.
Objectives:
9.1 Describe the role that teams can play in bringing about major change
9.2 Explain how organizations can be built around teams
9.3 Explain how teams can be used to build future business
10. Building A Team
Learning Outcome:
Discuss how a team is built, when a working group may be more appropriate than a team, and
the role that management can play in building a successful team.
Objectives:
10.1 Explain the requirements for building a successful team.
10.2 Describe the circumstances where a working group is preferable to a team and why.
10.3 Describe how management can positively and negatively affect the formation of a
team.

research report;

Discuss the following statement ?People working in teams always achieve their goals more
efficiently and effectively than people working alone?. Draw on theories of team design and
effectiveness and give practical examples relating to your own organisational/work or
University study experience to discuss the statement above.
Optional: You may like to consider in your answer how particular theories of team
development apply across different cultures.

The report structure is outlined as follows:
1. Executive summary (A summary of the key points in your report including the findings)
2. Table of contents
3. Introduction (an introduction to your report, not to the topic)
4. Key issues/findings from the literature
5. Practical implications
6. Conclusion (a conclusion to your report, not to the topic)
7. References


i will attach the sample example and about 18 sources just use 10 of them

Note: Wikipedia is not an acceptable source.

Paper should include the following:
- Explain the principal theories of leadership and motivation.
- Analyze organizational structure and culture of Apple to determine its approach to team development, and comment on whether that approach helps/hinders relationship skills in the workplace.
- Evaluate the performance of Apple's leader based on his or her ethical conduct and effective communication.Comment on the impact of successfully motivating and empowering employees to improve on work performance.
- Determine three (3) best practices organizational leaders can use to motivate employees and discuss their potential benefits.
- Discuss some of the challenges leaders encounter when managing diversity and how diversity helps business organizations better compete in global markets.
- Develop an effective business strategy to address the challenges and issues you have identified above.
- Analyze the importance of ethical behavior to an organizations culture and the new ethical dilemmas created by globalization.

Answer the following questions relating to organizational development and change showing a clear understanding of the concepts and the ability to think critically:

1) Organizational renewal and change are conditions that are continuous in organizations today. a) Describe organizational development and each of the components of OD in detail; and b) include the characteristics of OD and what makes OD an important factor for a manager to be familiar with. Be very specific and provide a brief example of an organizational experience in which change occurred using OD.

2) Describe systems theory as it relates to organizational change. a)Compare and contrast the concepts of entrophy and dynamic equilibrium and how "satisficing" management influences change; and b)Include in your discussion the importance of holism to the systems concept and its relationship to sociotechnical systems.

3) A major OD intervention technique that is used for increasing communication, cooperation and cohesiveness of units to make them are productive and effective is team development also know as team building. Compare team development in an organization to sports such as baseball, football, and basketball. a) Explain under which circumstances teamwork may not be appropriate; and b) Explain under what circumstances teamwork is appropriate in organizations.

"An Experimental Approach to Organizational Development, 6th Edition" by Don Harvey and Donald R. Brown (copyrighted by Prentice-Hall, Inc. in 2001)should be used as a major reference.

You work for Nike, a global company. You just learned that you were assigned to a virtual team whose mission is to assess the feasibility of Nike?s making an inexpensive shoe that can be sold in Brazil. The team consists of twelve members. Three of the members work in the United States (two in Beaverton, Oregon, and one in New York City). Two work in England, two in China, two in India, and three in Brazil. All are Nike employees and all were born in the country in which they work. All speak English, though some speak it better than others.

In an essay of 2 pages, please answer the following questions:

In answering these questions, please apply concepts and theories from the Background Materials. For example you could use the Tuckman model of team development to compare virtual with collocated teams, cross-cultural dimensions for question 1, etc.

What challenges do you anticipate the team will face because of its multicultural makeup?
How could these challenges be overcome?
How would you compare the process of developing a virtual work team to developing a team of people who all work together in one place?

My paper is a research project on Teamwork: The Promotion of a Collaborative Work Place. I am requesting chapter two of my 5 chapter research project.

Thank you in advance
First:
Things that I am requesting that is free as stated on the website:
I need reference pages for this in APA
times new roman...12 font on all of paper
double spaced
Email delivery
status updates
rewriting (if does not adhere to specifications of order)
copies of sources

Literature review
An introduction is required, however, this does not require a title. The information in this chapter should show the reader that the writer has examined all literature relevant to the project, and has done the homework on the subject.

Section titles can be used if the writer has several areas to review. Make sure all information is related to the subject and kind of study being conducted. The writer should be comprehensive but avoids using more information than needed.

points to remember!!
minimum of 15 quotes and 16 sources! with a reference page or pages
1. the information in this chapter helps explain the problem.
Earlier in the paper my problem statement includes: minor mishaps that reoccur resulting in lost time of production, agitated employees, hostile work environments, unorganized work setting, not communicating as a team, peoples addiction to lay blame which makes accountability and personal responsiblity nearly impossible, and others only wanting to help others that have helped them.. a reciprocal approach.

2. The information explains why the study is important

3. The information explains why the study has the potential to help solve the problem.

4. The chapter includes information from other studies that is related to the topic reviewed.

some topics to write about in this chapter:
types of teams
characteristics of effective teams
team development
measuring team performance
successful teams

Quotes need to have name date and page # as in APA format

I would like to use HopHead for this paper. This paper needs to follow the guidelines below and each part must be seperate sections of the paper clearly defined. I will send you the article for section 2 of the paper.



1) Your beliefs/values/assumptions about leadership can be presented. Remember to tell me where you got your assumptions about leadership from parents, a former boss or colleague, a friend, a prominent leader you respect, your religion, etc. This information can also be as much about what NOT to do as it is what to do surrounding leadership. Just make sure it is well written:

Double spaced
12-point font
Correct spelling, punctuation, and grammar
Use APA documentation if you have outside sources (not required)
Include introduction and clear sections with concise wrap-up
No less than 1 margins
4-5 pages maximum



2) What does quality look like? I admit that this is rather subjective, but a simple summary of the article or rehashing of other discussion (whether in class or previous posts) is not acceptable. But careful attention to providing new ideas, asking thought-provoking questions, and even offering some disagreement are generally seen as quality contributions.
The team members will review and discuss virtually the article, bringing in new insights from additional sources identified by the team members. (At least one additional source must be documented for each team memberthus each distance team analysis will include not fewer than 5 to 7 sources, in addition to the primary article). Each distance team will highlight the assigned articles relevance/implications for organizations based on primary course topics (leadership/motivation/ ethics/teams). A 2-3 page bulleted summary of the article will be made available to the other section members.


3) students will have the opportunity to explore, analyze and refine his or her leadership, motivation and team development skills in order to optimize personal effectiveness as a team leader and a team member. This project will help you think and write more critically about how you, as a current or soon-to-be leader, will meet these challenges as you endeavor to optimize your personal leadership and team member effectiveness. The purpose of this paper is to enable you to do the following:

Develop and discuss an integrated set of assumptions/ values/beliefs that define your current or future role as a leader in your organization (4-5 double-spaced pages maximum) (Phase I).

Assess your personal leadership and team development strengths and areas of needed development, in light of The Leadership Challenge practices and commitments, other leadership models you are aware of from research or class materials, feedback from those who have experience with your leadership style and other insights and examples. This assessment will be formatted as a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats). (4-5 double-spaced pages maximum) (Phase II)

Write a Leadership Development Plan (LDP) that will address those areas identified above, in the context of your integrated assumptions about leadership, motivation, and team effectiveness (3-4 double-spaced pages maximum) (Phase II).

Please prepare the paper in two phases:
Phase I: Discuss, in not more than four-five, double-spaced pages,
your assumptions, values, and beliefs about leadership
and motivation that define your current or anticipated role as a leader and how these assumptions were derived.
Phase II: In light of The Leadership Challenge practices and commitments and class discussion, identify your personal strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats as well as needed development areas, and prepare a LDP to address those needs. This phase includes, 1) One-half page summary of Phase I assumptions, beliefs, etc., 2) critical areas of strength & weakness as identified by feedback and insights, and 3) Phase II should not exceed eight-nine, double-spaced pages, and must include specific goals and timetables by which the plan will be implemented.
Your paper (Phase I and Phase II) should clearly identify these three sections as key elements of your leadership philosophy. Failure to discuss each of these three emphasis areas will be considered as not meeting the project requirements. This entire paper (Phase I and Phase II) should be no more than 12-14 pages of double-spaced, 12-point font, text organized in clear sections with headings and subheadings.

There are faxes for this order.

Project Management ??" Final Paper
Text - Project Management ??" The Managerial Process ??" 5th Edition- Erik W Larson & Clifford G Gray, 2011 ??" McGraw Hill/Irwin

A final paper that is an analysis of a real world project or a project taken from the literature sources. The paper must contain around 10 to 12 pages of text addressing the following features of the project in an analytical manner. That is to see to what extent the project has addressed these features and, if not, what recommendations are given to make the project plan more effective:

Format of Final paper:
Final paper must have a cover page with the title of your project, your name, faculty, Term/Session and date. The text of the paper must specifically cover the following (6) sub-headings. Each item must be described and explained fully first, using Project Management sources (text and outside sources) and then be applied to your selected project. Both in-text and end citation of sources you us, APA method, is a requirement.
1. Project information, history, intent, and life cycle
2. Project definition: WBS, Responsibility Matrix and Communication Plan
3. Time, cost and quality expectations, use of project network
4. Identification of project stakeholders and their concerns
5. Project Team development
6. Performance measurement and control
Analyses and recommendations must be supported by making reference to Project Management literature sources (at least 4 sources, journals and books, must be used). APA style for both in-text and full end citations are a requirement.

When covering the above 6 areas:
a) Explain and describe key points, models, theories and ideas discussed in each chapter under a separate heading (Chapter One Key Points, for example). Such explanation and description must be elaborate along with analysis to show your good grasp of the material assigned and must accompanied by citing the author and page number, (p. 12) for example, that those concepts are taken or adopted from.
b) A description as how those key concepts or theories you discussed can be applied to a real world situation.
c) Reflection on your learning as how your reading of the material had helped your learning.
d) Every single concept, theory, or idea you adopt form the text or any other source you use must be referred to in the text (in-text citation- author and page number). Immediately after such adoption. The full address of the source (s) you use must be cited under your Reference list at the end, APA method.

PLEASE FOLLOW ALL THE INSTRUCTIONS
There are faxes for this order.

Customer is requesting that (paulsolo3414) completes this order.

1. Paper needs to be in MLA format.
2. 8 pages.
3. A suasive paper with 2 of the 6 virtues of a narrative argument (Herrick style).
3a. Must show originality.

4. Paper must be in a narrative argument form.

5. No abstract, DO NOT WRITE AS A TRADITIONAL RESEARCH PAPER. THIS PAPER MUST BE ARGUMENTATIVE AND SUASIVE TO THE READER.

6. The topic I have chosen is on STRENGTH TRAINING AND ATHLETIC PERFORMANCE.

7. I wrote the paper I will attach to this below for you to use as a reference. It was returned to me and I was told this was too much like a research paper. I need to be more personal and show argument on the topic.

8. The paper should have titles such as : Warm Up, Stretching, Working out, Running, Stretching again for a total fitness program.

9. Personal Experiences must be used: On the information below, I have put in a personal interview with Mike Barwis. Mike is my personal trainer. His training program can be used as "my personal experiences".

10. Works Cited page is required.

11. I am assuming the paper should open up discussing the topic and show some argument, moving into strength training for better athletic performance and show argument that in order to develop an elite athlete, one must condition with weightlifting, running, and strength.

12. Assessment of the paper will be based on the overall success in using a suasive of persuasiveness and the ability to balance personal and academic research. Need to include experience, reflection and appeal to the audience. Delivery of a narrative suasive (argumentive) form throughout the paper with a conclusion.


Thank you.

Below is the first writing I had on the topic -- ended up telling me to start over and that everything was here that I needed to do, just in a different suasive format.

HOPE YOU CAN HELP!

Previously written document:
Strength Training and Athletic Performance
Abstract
The research focuses on determining the degree to which football coaches and trainers employ personalized strength and weight training regimens to assist their athletes in gaining strength, endurance, and overall improvements in conditioning, leading to enhanced performance. A review of literature was employed to answer the two research questions that were asked: 1) to what degree do coaches use strength and weight training programs; and 2) what specific types of programs are employed and what are the benefits of these programs. It was anticipated that strength/weight training programs would be utilized as facilitating sports development and enhanced athletic performance.
Introduction
In recent years weight training or resistance training has become increasingly popular with athletes who are involved in a wide range of sports. Today, many recreational athletes and fitness-oriented individuals have begun to recognize the performance-enhancing, body-shaping and even medicinal value of incorporating weight training into their lives.
Weight training, a term often used synonymously with strength training, is a type of resistance training using barbells, dumbbells, or machines to increase strength (Weight training, 1998). An important principle of weight training is that if all the emphasis is placed upon gaining only muscular strength, the muscle will actually lose power. How can this be, you ask? If a muscle becomes stronger, doesn?t it automatically have more power? The answer is no. Muscle strength refers to the ability of the muscle to lift a given weight a given distance, with no regard to the time it takes to move the weight a given distance. In other words, the more weight you can lift when performing a bench press, the stronger you are. As a rule, when you are lifting really heavy weights to increase your strength, the speed of contraction is very slow due to the heaviness of the weight. However, training with lighter weights won?t make you a strong and muscular as training with heavier weights, it does increase strength and muscle development, but to a lesser degree. At the same time, this type of training increases power which is a vital component of most sports. Trading off a little strength for a gain in power is a smart strategy for recreational and elite athletes.
Athletic coaches are always searching for an edge that will put their teams in an advantageous competitive position; many coaches whose area of expertise is football regard strength training and weight lifting as excellent sources of development for honing the skills and abilities of their athletic teams (Bauer, 1996). Though strength training is only one of several ways to increase an athlete?s proficiency, speed, endurance, and ability to execute plays against an opponent, it has become in recent years a major source of sports team development.
This research will examine the literature on strength training and weight lifting as a means of enhancing athletes? performance. An interview with a strength and conditioning coach will also be considered. The questions will be advanced based on this review. Finally, a brief discussion and conclusion will complete the research.
Major Research Questions
Two research questions were posed. The first question is: to what degree do football coaches employ strength or weight training regimens to help condition football players for performance? The second research question is: what types of strength or weight training regimens do football coaches employ and what specific exercises are used based on the position that the athlete plays?
Literature Review
Football is a sport of power, strength, speed, endurance and finesse. Of all the sports, the need for resistance training in football is probably the most obvious. Conditioning programs and exercises for football must be sport specific (Football strategies, 2000). At whatever level a football player competes, the athlete who adds weight training and strength training to their regiment almost always demonstrates greater aptitude for the game. The weight rooms of high schools, colleges, and professional arenas are filled with football players year round. Coaches and trainers recommend that players use both an off-season strength/weight training program and an in-season Program, with the former structured to be the hardest and most intense, allowing the athlete to gain solid weigh and strength (Football strategies, 2000).
Mannie (1997) asserted that the physical development of football players is a multifaceted endeavor involving several key factors. Inherited attributes are essential, as there is no substitute for genetic potential. However, a year-round training regiment that includes weight/strength training will determine the degree to which a ?naturally talented? player increases his speed, strength, conditioning, and position-specific skills. Mannie (1997) recommends high-tension strength movements that progressively activate the ?fast-twitch? muscle fibers as the athlete approaches the point of momentary muscle fatigue. The rationale for this approach is that the more difficult the repetitions in a set of lifts or presses become, the more force that must be generated to complete the last, very intense repetitions.
In a strength or weight training program, the variables that must be monitored for quality control while training anaerobically in interval fashion include frequency, sets, repetitions, distance, intensity, relief interval, and duration (Mannie, 1997). Mannie (1997, as well as Bauer (1996) and Schoenfeld (1994) contend that football players participating in such training should have their programs designed by skilled trainers who then monitor performance and progress. Strength and weight training for specific body parts, including arms, legs, and trunk, must be included in an effective and comprehensive program (Schoenfeld, 1994).
Development training in football should include: 1) strength training; 2) resisted training; 3) overspeed (assisted) training; 4) pylometric exercises; 5) form running; and 6) interval training (Ebben & Blackard, 1998). Strength training not only builds vital muscle mass; it can also be invaluable in lengthening the athlete?s stride. Ebben and Blackard (1998) reported that all of the National Football League strength and conditioning coaches report the use of speed training, employing strength/power development exercises such as Olympic style lifts, squat, step up, leg press, lunge, and the dead lift for speed enhancement, stride lengthening, and increased muscle mass.
Bouche (1996) recommended that trainers should use a High Intensity Training (HIT) program in weight rooms. Such a program not only minimizes the time spent in training, but also maximizes the use of technologically advanced equipment such as Nautilus and Hammer machines along with free weights. The HIT program, properly implemented, reduces the time spent by players to 50 minutes through the application of forced repetitions and negative repetitions. Moreover, says Bouche (1996), the HIT method is safe because it focuses on the full range of motions and multiple repetitions, as opposed to multiple sets. Typically, an athlete using this approach will do 20 to 25 reps, then decrease the weight by 10 to 20 percent and continue for another 10 to 20 reps. The weightlifter may need help (forced reps) with the final few repetitions. To ensure maximum increases, lifters are required to completely fatigue the muscles.
Bouche (1996) described a typical HIT program as employing Bench, Squat (Oxbo bar), incline press, and dead lift regiments on Monday. On Wednesday, athletes participate in decline press, hang clean, lunges and push press exercises. On Friday, the athlete employs the bench, squat (Oxbo bar), and push press. The reps and percentage of weight used are changed from week to week. For core lifts, a change to multiple sets with high reps at different times of the year to avoid plateauing is recommended.
Bouche (1996) cautions that each athlete must be treated differently, based on his strength. This comment is echoed by Bauer (1996), who believes that individualized strength training and weight training programs must be developed for every football player participating in such programs. Every player, however, can benefit from an overall, full body conditioning program (Football strategies, 2000). This type of program prepares and maintains the muscles for the short, 100 percent intensity required to play the game.
However, it must be recognized that weight and strength training can lead to injuries if not properly programmed and supervised. Reeves, Laskowski, and Smith (1998) noted that over the past twenty years, weight training injuries have accounted for an estimated 43,400 emergency department visits out of a total of 5.6 million visits for all sports. Clearly, weight and strength training methods have the potential to harm as well as improve an athlete?s overall condition. Reeves, et al (1998) support strength gains and training programs, but recommend careful oversight to avoid poor technique and further recommend that younger players should not participate in this kind of training because of skeletal immaturity.
Interview
An interview was conducted with Mike Barwis, Director of Strength and Conditioning at West Virginia University. According to Barwis, the core region of the body has the most significant impact on athletic development and performance. The core (abdominals and low back) is the link between the upper and lower extremities of the body. All actions in athletics require a power transfer and effective stabilization from the core to create movement. They not only allow the transfer of power between the upper and lower body, but also control the body?s balance, stability, and center of gravity. In turn, it has a significant impact on speed, explosion, strength, power, agility, balance, and injury prevention.
Furthermore, Barwis reported that the body is forced to adapt to regularly changing stimuli and environments in multiple planes and at varying intensities during athletics. The ever changing pressures of the environment force the core to adapt and overcome stressors at a high rate of speed. In order to simulate this environment we must train the core utilizing instable apparatus and in multiple planes. The instability of the apparatus promotes sporadic irregular firing of the core in a stabilizing action. These activations occur while stimulating a specified contraction to accomplish a given movement. This directly correlates to actions that take place in the core region during athletics.
The abdominals are postural muscles that require high repetitions and frequent training in order to develop effectively. Exercises for this region should be conducted on instable apparatus and approximately 3-4 times per week. Although the abdominals can sustain greater repetitions and frequency of training, they must also have adequate recovery. 24-hours of recovery between training periods is ample time for full restoration of abdominal function. 6-8 sets of approximately 25-50 repetitions of varying exercises is sufficient for core development. Barwis emphasized that we must always remember that training the abdominals with- out placing an equal emphasis on the back muscle groups will promote muscular imbalance. At WVU, core training is conducted on all lifting days. Typically this ranges from 3-4 days per week. The program varies depending upon the lifting cycle it is coordinated with, as well as the mode of training at the time. Approximately 300 varying core balance and functional movements are conducted to stimulate the necessary results for elite athletes. For the elite athlete or the weekend warrior the core region has the greatest impact on athletic performance.
Discussion and Conclusions
A key component to success in many sports is the ability to repeatedly attain maximum speed and sustain it for an optimal length of time. This is especially vital in sports that have a large playing surface such as football. We?ve all seen the picture of a ball carrier in football slowing down within 10 or 15 years of scoring a touchdown after a 70-80 yard break-away run. After dodging his way and sprinting through the entire team, the ball carrier begins to fatigue and a better conditioned defending player catches up to the ball carrier and makes the tackle, saving a touchdown. Therefore, training your body to do repeated bouts of speed endurance training punctuated by a short recovery period between speed intervals will build the adaptations necessary to enable you to maintain your speed endurance ability well into the latter stages of the game.
It is anticipated that as the size of a football program increases, coaches will report greater use of strength and weight training programs to condition their players. It is further anticipated that all coaches, regardless of the size and scope of their programs and/or facilities, will indicate a positive attitude toward the benefits of HIT and other strength/weight training programs. Finally, it is anticipated that coaches and/or trainers will emphasize the necessity of creating individualized, carefully supervised programs for their athletes.
Summary
The report moves from an introduction of the topic ? the efficacy of strength or weight training in conditioning football players for performance ? to a review of relevant literature that identifies the HIT (high-intensity training) approach as most appropriate for performance and conditioning enhancement. An interview as conducted with a Division I College Director of Strength and Conditioning to review core training being essential to athletes. Two research questions are presented that speak to the questions of how coaches in football programs employ, value, and implement strength/weight training.


WORKS CITED

Barwis, Mike, Director of Strength and Conditioning, West Virginia University,
Personal Interview, 15, June, 2005.

Bauer, G. (1996). B.F.S. isn?t (a) H.I.T. Coach and Athletic Director, 65(8), 70-73.

Bouche, J. (1996). Making a H.I.T. in your weight room. Coach and Athletic Director,
66(3), 28-31.

Ebben, W. P., & Blackard, D. O. (1998). Speed developmental strategies of NFL
strength & conditioning coaches. Coach and Athletic Director, 68(1), 30-34.

Football Strategies. (2001). Be Fit Net Alliance Football Conditioning. Available at
www.befitnet.com/fotball.htm.

Mannie, K. (1997). Five major facts on player development. Coach and Athletic
Director, 66(6), 6-12.

Mosby?s Medical, Nursing & Allied Health Dictionary. (1998). Mosby Year Book, Inc.,
Edition 5.

Reeves, R. K., Laskowski, E. R., & Smith, J. (1998). Weight training injuries: Part 1:
Diagnosing and managing acute conditions. The Physician and Sports Medicine,
26(2). Available at www.physsportsmed.com/issues/1998/02feb/laskow.htm.

Schoenfeld, B. (1994). Steel wheels. Men?s Health, 9(9), 100-102.

don't need until 20 Dec

how to develop a successful project team. The core of the case is a description of an actual team development situation:


Poole, C. (2003). Three week project turnaround. Retrieved from http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?ThreeWeekProjectTurnaround or http://www.charliepoole.org/article.php?p=turnaround

Russ Finney's article on "Winning Project Teams" talks about some of the principles Poole reports having implemented:

Finney, R. (2005). Winning project teams. ITMWeb. Retrieved from http://www.itmweb.com/essay003.htm

Essay Tree. (2011). Lessons learned from a three week project turnaround: What went right, what went wrong and why. Retrieved from http://essaytree.com/it-management/lessons-learned-from-the-three-week-project-turnaround-what-went-right-what-went-wrong-and-why/

XProgramming.com. (2011). What is extreme programming? Retrieved from http://xprogramming.com/xpmag/whatisxp

Flynn, A., & Mangione, T. (2011). Five steps to a winning project team. Retrieved from http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/five-steps-to-a-winning-project-team.html

And then there are pieces of "practice wisdom" on the team development process, such as:

Sherrer, A. (2011, May 31). Six characteristic stages of team development. The Project Management Hut. Retrieved from http://www.pmhut.com/six-characteristic-stages-of-team-development.

Webster, M.. (2011, June 13). Six 5 tips to motivate your project team. The Project Management Hut. Retrieved from http://www.pmhut.com/5-tips-to-motivate-your-project-team.

Overall, it seems as though we know a lot about how to create and deploy successful project teams. So why is there such frustration and so many reported failures?

As noted earlier, you should also consult material from the Background Information or related other materials you find yourself (be sure to reference properly whatever specific sources you draw on). You may want to do some further searching in the project management support websites.


When you've read through the articles and related material, scanned the websites, and thought about it carefully, please prepare a short (4 page) paper discussing the question:


"What an IT manager must do to create and maintain a successful project team"

Select five to seven leadership concepts that were presented in class (listed below) to describe and evaluate for this assignment. (Personal leadership development plan)

?Personal mission statement
?Personal vision Statement
?Leadership qualities
?Leadership traits
?Behavior approaches
?Leadership Style (select one of the following) ?Situational Leadership
?Servant Leadership
?Transformational Leadership
?Transactional Leadership
?Charismatic Leadership
?Coalitional Leadership
?Personal Mastery
?Emotional Intelligence
?Motivation
?Empowerment
?Communication
?Team development
?Conflict management
?Leading change
?Leadership and diversity
?Strategic leadership
?Culture
1. Discuss the different ethical aspects of each of the five to seven concepts you selected as they relate to your individual leadership style.

2. Describe how you currently, or plan to, incorporate these elements into your leadership style/development.

I would like the writer (username "obsidiankc") do the work for me.

I would like you to do the work just like you see the Point Breakdown with the same Titles and the same Subtitles with well detailed and elaborated information from what you see within the Point Breakdown, more importantly use words from the text book no other reference just the text book.
Text book:
(LEAD) Northouse, P.G. Introduction to Leadership: Concepts and Practice. (Third Edition) CA: Sage Publications, 2015. (LEAD). ISBN: 9781452259666

Report on your experience in the leadership role for the class team project and analyze/evaluate your leadership and the team process and success of the Project due: Apply material from the entire semester to analyze your leadership behaviors and characteristics, reflect on the vLeader takeaways, and use the headings provided.

I know that you?ll do a perfect job by makeshifting the questions with no real evident info.



FIVE PAGES, SINGLE SPACE, FONT 10. THANK YOU.


To notice this is due in four days but I will pay for 5 days because I have one day grace.


























Point Breakdown

o Leadership and leadership styles:
o Include an analysis of your Leadership scores and team member feedback (e.g., traits, skills, style, tasks and relationships, vision, tone, response to out-group members, path goal [overcoming obstacles], handling conflict, ethics) from Northhouse questionnaires and teammates (details of Northouse scores and team feedback session for your leadership phase to be listed in the appendix)
? Analysis of vLeader feedback
o Follower response to you

o Leader strengths and weaknesses (both are required for a critical analysis; reflect on instructor feedback for your phase):
o E.g., VLA, LEAD

o Emotional Intelligence:
o E.g., VLA, LEAD

o Dealing with conflict and tension; Communication and participation:
o E.g., Supplementary notes, VLA, LEAD

o Power and Interactions; Motivating each other, internal politics, influence:
o E.g., Supplementary notes, VLA, LEAD (various)

o Personal Decision Making and group tone:
o E.g., VLA, LEAD

o Team Development and Enforcing ground rules:
o Team structure; culture; process; role of leadership
? E.g., Supplementary notes, LEAD (various)

o Developing creativity, motivation techniques employed:
? E.g., Supplementary notes, VLA

o Team Effectiveness:
o Being a more successful leader - Plan for leadership development
o Issues that could have been avoided or handled differently
? E.g., VLA and LEAD (various)

o What you learned and how your skills have been enhanced:
o E.g., Supplementary notes, VLA, LEAD

o Appendices (that should be interpreted and applied in discussing your leadership and success/learning in your phase of the project):
o Summarize Self-assessment scores on questionnaires from LEAD textbook (for those I have done some good, some average, and some very good)
o Evaluation of teamwork (e.g. feedback session) (the evaluation was very good)
o Evaluation of performance (class) (this one wasn?t that good, but above of the passing grade)
o Motivational posts/emails to team members (the team-members have worked like independently and gather all the information together and synchronized them; emailed each other quite often and kept on motivated)
o vLeader scores
Scores provided: (vL pre: 10/10pts) (vL1: 7/10pts, vL2: 9/10pts, vL3: 10/10pts)

***Effective communication skills and initial group formation and progress***

A. Effective communication skills are essential in team development and equally important in your personal and professional development. The way you communicate is a reflection of who you are and the way you establish relationships with those around you. After some thoughtful self-reflection on your communication skills, discuss your communication style and address the following items below:

1. what listening style do you primarily use? (p. 146-147- see additional resource) Please elaborate.
2. Discuss and provide examples of your knowledge and experience with barriers to effective listening.
3. How do you want others to perceive you and what communication strategies can you use to achieve this perception;
4. Discuss and provide examples of your knowledge and experience with overcoming different communication styles;
5. Discuss and provide examples of your knowledge and experience with understanding nonverbal communication as discussed in chapter 7

B. Reflect on your initial observations about the group dynamics of your team, including:
(please refer additional material )
1. what are your team's strength;
2. what areas need improvement or attention among the team and what action steps will you take to help improve the group dynamics?

***Instruction***
1. Utilize APA style and formatting guidelines, including reference page. ( while not APA format, please include author, year, and page for all in-text citations.)
2. Conceptions from the textbook readings must be included in the paper, and must be properly placed and fully referenced. A MINIMUM of 4 TEXTBOOK REFERENCES ("Communicating in small groups: principles and practices 10th edition. Pearson",) are required.
3. Also additional you may include additional references from other sources, if appropriate (however additional references are not in place of the required 4 textbook references)

***Textbook information***
Communicating in small groups: principles and practices 10th edition. Pearson, Author: Steven A. Beebe, John T. Masterson

The paper should be apa style. I will include some reference material but you may use any reference source you like to completely answer the question. Below are the instructions I was given:

Instructions: Create an argumentative theoretical essay for each of the sections below. Include theories to back up your answers.

A. Compare and contrast at least two major theories or a particular contracting/consulting process issue underlying the areas below. What are their strengths and weaknesses? Under what circumstance would the plan and theories be indicated?
*leadership transition plan
*merger transition plan
*goal-setting/incentive plan
*team development plan
*talent management plan
*performance evaluation restructure plan
*change management plan *diversity plan
*individual leader or professional assessment plan

B. You have been hired to diagnose a company dealing with excessive employee absenteeism. What methods would you use to diagnose the problem and what intervention methods would you use? Describe the steps you would take to implement an intervention.

C. Organizational leaders are responsible for creating a work environment that enables people to thrive. You have been hired by a company where the employees work in cross functional, virtual teams across the United States. Turf wars, disagreements, and differences of opinion escalate into interpersonal conflict on a regular basis. You must intervene immediately. Describe your intervention approach

Part one
Kodak and Fujifilm

Write a seven (7) page paper in which you describe
1) Describe the history and core business of each company.
2) Compare and contrast the approach to management that each company has pursued in order to embrace innovation.
3) Determine what other management differences have impacted the relative success of Kodak and Fujifilm. Provide specific examples to support your response.
4) Evaluate each company's approach to ethics and social responsibilty and the impact those approaches have had on each company's profitability.
5) Discuss the extent to which management of both companies adapted to changing market conditions.
6) Reccommed three (3) ways any company should build in flexibility to back up its decision making process in order to adapt to changing market conditions
NO WIKIPEDIA NO.COM ALLOWED
Either .gov, .net, .edu or books with page numbers. At least 5 references

PART TWO
LEADERSHIP ASSESSMENT
Write a seven(7) page paper in which:
1) Analyze the leadership style(s) of a senior executive (CEO, CFO, COO, Director, etc) in your current or previous organization who made a positive or negative impact on you.
2) Analyze the organizational structure and culture of the company for which you work (or would like to work) to determine its approach to team development, and whether that approach helped to enhance your relationship skills in the workplace.
3)Evaluate the performance of your selected leader based on his or her ethical conduct and effective communication to determine if this leader was succesful in motivating and empowering you to improve on your work performance. Explain your answer.
4) Determine three (3) best practices organizational leaders can use to motivate employees and discuss their potential benefits.
5)Discuss some of the challenges leaders encounter when managing diversity and how diversity helps business organizations better compete in global markets.
6) Develop an effective business startegy to address the challenges and issues you have identified above.
NO WIKIPEDIA NO.COM ALLOWED
Either .net, .gov .edu or books with page numbers At least 5 references

PART THREE
Presentation of part two LEADERSHIP ASSESSMENT

Write a nine (9) slide presentation in which:
1) Provide a tilte slide (as indicated in the format requirements below) followed by a slide with an introduction to your presentation.
2) Summarize your response to each of the criteria in Assignment 2-one (1) slide per criteron, for a total of six (6) slides.
3)Provide a summary slide which addresses key points of your paper.

Format the PowerPoint presenattion with headings on each slde and three to four (3-4) relevant graphics (photographs, graphs, clip art, etc). ensuring that the presentation is visually appealing and readable.
Include a title slide conatining the title of the assignment.
NO WIKIPEDIA NO .COM ALLOWED
Either .gov, .net.edu or books with page numbers

Will need to e mail additional information
sUGGEST USE MOTIVATIOANL QUOTES

1500 WORDS need in motivational call centre language upbeat enthusastic and told as a story I need to e mail the additional information for a better understanding.

APPLICATION FOR BEST SMALL OR GROWING CONTACT OR SHARED SERVICES CENTRE

PLEASE ADDRESS THE FOLLOWING CRITERIA IN SUBMISSON

BRIEF OVERVIEW OF CONTACT OR SHARED SERVICE CENTRE
RESULTS AGAINST SLAS
GROWTH AND IMPROVEMNET OF THE CNTRE AS A UNIT SINCE 1ST SEPTEMBER 2008.
QUALITY MONITORING AND COMPLAINT HANDLING
TEAM DEVELOPMENT STRAGTEGY AND DETAILS OF HOW THIS INTERGRATES WITH GROWTH PLANS FOR THE ORGANISATION
CUSTOMER TESITMNIALS - WHICH WE HAVE AND CAN ADD

cAN YOU ALSO COPY ME ON [email protected] please e mail both address please.



There are faxes for this order.

From the textbook Organizational Behavior by Don Hellriegel and John Slocum, chapter 11, read the case: Patrice Zagame?s Team Leadership of Novartis Brazil. (Lecture on Introduction to Groups and Teams; Types of Teams including Functional, Problem-Solving, Cross-Functional, Self-Managed, Virtual, and Global teams; Stages of Team Development; and Potential Team Dysfunction).
Then, respond to the following questions:
1. What team dysfunctions appeared to exist at Novartis Brazil when Patrice Zagame arrived as the president?
2. What norms appeared to exist upon Zagame arrival and what norms did he work on changing and adding?
3. Why is Zagame an effective team leader?
4. How was member diversity valued by Patrice Zagame and Ney Suva, the head of human resources?
Thank you

There are faxes for this order.

Please answer each question individually, with inline citation and list references.


I. Case Study: Finding the Emotional Intelligence
Read the case study-Finding the Emotional Intelligence
1. What are the differences between leaders and managers? Can anyone be a leader? Which would you prefer to work for and why?
2. Share an example from your work or school experience with working through the five stages of team development.
3. Select one of the characteristics of an effective project manager and tell why it is important.

II. Quality Management Processes
1. Why are measurements critical to quality management? What types of measures are available for quality?
2. How important is it to include a quality assessment in your project WBS? What can happen if quality is overlooked?
3. Let?s do a little research on Six Sigma. What is it and why is it important to quality management?

Use Chicago Manual of Style. I need the bibliography and work cited information along with my order for free. I provided 11 reference materials to use. Along with that add at least 20 other references. I need minimum of 15 quotations. I have provided the Introduction of the research paper. Based on the introduction please write the body and conclusion. NOTE Keep my introduction and use that as a base to write the body and conclusion. I am ordering 12 pages in total write 10 pages for the body and 2 pages for conclusion based on my introduction. I am not paying to write an introduction as I would like to use my own introduction. So please write the body and conclusion only and make sure it flows with my introduction. The paper should be based on my introduction and answer the last three topic of the introduction, which are:
- Online cross-cultural communication is more prone to misunderstanding and distrust than face-to-face communication because some of the nonverbal communication cues like body language are missing.
- The building of trust between individuals can lead to successful on-line cross-cultural communication.
- There is a need to understand how the meaning of word may vary between cultures in order to eliminate any potential misunderstanding and distrust between individuals.


Subject: Interpretation across Culture in on-line communication

Introduction:

I have been using my second language, English, since I was two years old. I have been living in the U.S. for nine years and still some words do not portray the same meaning to me as they do to people over here. I have found that the meanings of words can change; I notice this particularly at my workplace. When I started my job, I was given a project, and in an e-mail communication I wrote, "I am working on resolving the problem. I will keep you posted with my findings. In the meantime, if you have any further problems please feel free to contact me again." The word "problem" created a big situation in my department. My manager and my co-workers thought the word "problem" sounded negative and that I should use the word "issue" instead. I explained to them that where I come from, Bangladesh, "issue" sounds very harsh. It makes me feel as if I am attacking someone personally. After much discussion, I stepped aside to think from their perspective and decided to change the word. These made me realize that communicating in the workplace in my second language, even if my colleagues and I do not always understand words the same way, we can eventually understand each other well enough to achieve our tasks at work.

Language is the key factor for communication. The English language is being used globally to communicate through online media. While most people are using the same language to interact, not everyone is communicating with the same cultural values and understanding. Effective communication with people of different culture is especially challenging. There are no established procedures or rules for us to follow to be efficient communicators across cultures. The Internet has caused an explosion in the variety of communication methods and has opened an extraordinary level of communication without boundaries. This is causing an unprecedented possibility for misinterpretation, misunderstanding, and distrust. Trust is a vital element in team development and efficiency building within a traditional team context. Any kind of communication we engage in has our cultural values intermingled in it. Culture teaches us values and principles that direct our thoughts and actions toward anything we encounter. This cultural understanding dictates the way we learned how to speak, write, and interact with others. It creates a challenge in understanding each other. Along with the regular face-t-face cross-cultural communication challenges now we need to pay attention to the cross-cultural communication via on-line media.

To keep costs down and remain competitive in the global economy many organizations are choosing to convert traditional teams to virtual teams and forming Geographically Dispersed Teams (GDT). It is easy to setup virtual teams, but the challenge is in establishing trust among virtual team members to work collaboratively. Individuals in a virtual team not only depend on the use of information technology but also create rapport through on-line communication. In a research done by Dr. Zhou she revealed that virtual team also needs to trust their team members for their work. Because they are dependent on each others assigned task to deliver a successful project. When there is s strong trust built within the team, it is easier for the team members to work efficiently because they are able to depend on each other. It also helps them to have open communication within the group and maintain a collaborative environment. Trust is a vital element in team development and efficiency building within a traditional face-to-face communication of team context. So, we also need to pay attention on how to build trust through on-line communication.

It is phenomenal how people can communicate with each other while connected only by computers. Today, online media has shortened the time span of international communication to a matter of seconds. According to Internet World Stats, on June 30, 2008 the Internet was used by 21.9% of the world population, which is a 5.19% increase since 2006. The increase of Internet usage has brought with it a mixture of new settings and concerns that affect how the world interacts with in cyberspace. It has become a melting pot of different languages, cultural values, laws, regulations, and individual expectations. These factors need to be considered while using the online media to network with people of different cultures around the globe. A majority of work teams now spend at least 25% of their time working in a virtual environment, according to a recent survey by the Institute for Corporate Productivity.

It can also be said that the on-line media is also influencing people to take on new habits from other cultures. Consider the following simple scenario that Satinder Gill, talks about in his article "The Cultural Interface: The Role of Self." Usually, in Japanese culture, everyone addresses their colleagues at work by their last name. When communicating via email they tend to address their colleagues by their first name, which they do not normally do in person (1). Here we can see how online communication changes how Japanese communicators address each other differently online rather than face-to-face. This is just one example of global communication causing unconscious changes to occur in users' communication styles and how we need to pay attention to online communication protocols between cultures.

The emergence of cyberspace is pushing everyone in the workplace to grow an understanding of how different cultural values can play a role in online communication. Online cross-cultural communication in can be unconsciously affected by cultural values. This factor can affect how employees from different countries engage in online communications. All of these issues can play a positive or negative role in our life. If we do not pay attention to potential misunderstanding, then we are more likely to become victims of miscommunication. It will take more than just awareness to overcome these issues and communicate online across culture. On-line cross-cultural communication is a vital element in todays communication at workplace for team development and efficiency. In this study I plan to explore some of the potential reasons for misunderstanding and distrust in on-line communication. I believe to address this question I need to tackle the following issues listed below:

- Online cross-cultural communication is more prone to misunderstanding and distrust than face-to-face communication because some of the nonverbal communication cues like body language are missing.
- The building of trust between individuals can lead to successful on-line cross-cultural communication.
- There is aneed to understand how the meaning of word may vary between cultures in order to eliminate any potential misunderstanding and distrust between individuals.


Some Resources to use in the paper Annotated Bibliography


Nastri, J., Pea, J., and Hancock, J. T. (2006). The construction of away messages: A speech act analysis. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 11.4, article 7.
This research study focuses on away messages in IM and how it can be used for better communication. A total of 483 away messages written by 44 individuals were studied. The messages were broken down indo different categories. They are primarily assertives, followed by expressives and commissives, but rarely with directives. These findings are discussed in terms of computer-mediated discourse and online self-presentation.
Coppola, N. W., Hiltz, S. R., & Rotter, N G. (2004). Building trust in virtual teams. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication. 47.2, 95-104
The authors, researchers at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark uses Debra Meyersons concept, swift trust at the beginning of an on-line course to build trust between temporary teams in online courses. The industry is moving towards a virtual world and along with it the academia is also preparing the students to work in a virtual world. As the students are meeting for a short time they can be compared to the temporary groups at workplace how everyone is pressured to become familiar in a limited amount of time. It shows the faculty members who were able to build trust between the team within the first week of the class were able provide successful learning community. The same phenomenon works within virtual teams at work place. Trust needs to be present between team members so they can count on each other and work more effectively towards their task without additional worries.
Suchan, J. & Hayzak, G. (2001). The communication characteristics of virtual teams: a case study. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication; 44.3, 174-186
The authors, researchers are from the Naval Postgraduate School and the U.S. Army explores on how there is greater need by the industry to deliver to their client in the most efficient way and how they are turning towards virtual team to give them the nimbleness to leverage their resources. They research analyzed the communication technologies like Customer Support Virtual Team (CST) for a Fortune 500 organization. Advanced electronic media provide the primary means of interaction between the virtual team members. For an effective team they found the great need for self driven team members and a great deal of trust along with the most efficient communication tools. In contrast they also found that organizations need to have staff to support these technologies for virtual team to perform effectively. As the industry is getting more demanding with the turnaround time of their project this study shows how managing a productive virtual team directly depends on a reliable communication systems. They show an interlinked relationship connecting the need to maintenance the uptime of these systems which helps the virtual team to be productive and as a result support their clients.
Zhou, L., & Zhang D. (2005). A heuristic approach to establishing punctuation convention in instant messaging. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication. 48.4, 391-400
The author, researcher at the University of Maryland, MD explores the behavioral indicators of deception in virtual group when using instant messaging as a media of communication through qualitative study. He also discovered the difference in linguistic behavior between deceivers and the truth teller. This study is crucial for industries as most are instant messaging or synchronous computer mediated communication now pervades in daily life of the workplace. The study also compares the research on deception in face-to-face communication based on the clue theory with the deception via instant messaging. The interpersonal deception theory from social science was also used to guide the deception research in the group studied using instant messaging. Compared to face-to-face interaction instant messaging is influenced by the lack of incoming social cues as the communicators doesnt get to see the facial expressions. It is important identify these deceptions as organizations interact with each other virtually to reduce project failures. The results from this research can be used to understand knowledge of deception behavior in human communication and be aware of deceptions in the virtual world.

Grosse, C. U. (2002). Managing communication within virtual intercultural teams. Business Communication Quarterly. 65.4, 22-38.
This study was based on the findings from a graduate level business communication class assignment and interviews with four executives from France, United Kingdom, and US. The study focuses on how to build a strong virtual team through technology at the same time keep the interaction more humanized. It is a challenge for the traditional workers to work with teammates where there is no face-to-face interaction so there is a greater need for human touch to make them comfortable. There is also a need to have awareness of cultural diversity in the global virtual team to avoid unnecessary misunderstanding. The study also troughs the idea of a first face-to-face interaction between the team before forming them into virtual team but this is not always feasible due to geographical location and cost. The organization need to encourage open communication from the beginning between the virtual team members to grow trust and understanding. In the long run this will help the team to be more efficient and productive.

Shaw, B. , Scheufele, D. and Catalano, S. "The Role of Instant Messaging as a Tool for Organizational Communication: An Exploratory Field Experiment" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the International Communication Association, Sheraton New York, New York City, NY Online Retrieved 2008-06-20 from http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p14438_index.html
Millions of adults currently use instant messaging (IM) in the workplace and yet there is very little research examining how use and perceptions of this new medium affect intra-organizational communication. While one of the characteristics of instant messaging is the ability to exchange real-time communication, what truly distinguishes instant messaging from other widely adopted forms of mediated communication is the integration of presence technology, which allows parties to detect if others are online and available to communicate. In this paper, we propose a theory of productivity benefits of presence-aware communication technology, building upon past research. Based on this model, we use a quasi-experimental longitudinal research design with quantitative and qualitative methods to test how providing instant messaging to selected workgroups at a Fortune 1000 company impacts employees attitudes and work behavior. Results suggest that IM use had a positive effect on improving productivity with participants citing reductions in voice mail and phone tag, improvements to how easy it was to see if colleagues were online and available to communicate as well as increased productivity served by back-channel communications conducted via IM. Results and future research directions are discussed.

Panteli, N. & Davison, M. R. (2005). The role of subgroups in the communication patterns of global virtual teams. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication. 48.2, 191-220
This study was collaboration between the University of Bath, UK, and the City University of Hong Kong, China. The author, researchers represents both the universities and led a group of 47 students by dividing them into 8 subgroups. The research explores the emergence of subgroups in global virtual and the communication pattern of teams in virtual settings. Extensive observation was made for 8 months to analyze the way all the teams communicated on the same projects by using on-line file exchanges, chats, and discussion forum. The study was very close to real life scenario because of the geographical proximity and the organizational homogeneity of the members in two different locations. The study shows how misunderstand between team members caused lack in team cohesiveness thus creating boundaries. Although the end result of the task between the team were very good but interestingly the study show there is greater need to have highly skilled team leader to maintain the serenity between the subgroups and to help taking ownership of faults, thus reducing misunderstanding. The study does a great job in discussing the insinuations of the findings and how to apply in practice. As businesses are moving toward outsourcing this study can be used as source in understanding some of the shortcomings of virtual teams and ways to overcome them.

Burn, J. & Barnett, M. (1999). Communicating for advantage in the virtual organization. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication. 42.4, 215-222
The authors, researchers at the Edith Cowan University, Australia studies six virtual organizational models and explores how the electronic network of virtual organizations rises above the conventional organizations. All these models have some common needs. They all seek for innovative way to come up with low-cost communications technology and employ rich functionality. The models also explore how virtual organizations are dynamic and are going through constant changes. The most stable virtual organization that run most efficiently are the ones that treat communication knowledge as their core need for their infrastructure. The trend to the formation of virtual organizations industry and a lot can be learned from their communication structure which can be applied to the traditional organization and to the formation of their virtual teams.

Zhou, L. (2005). An empirical investigation of deception behavior in instant messaging. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication. 48.2, 147-160
The author, researcher at the University of Maryland, MD explores the behavioral indicators of deception in virtual group when using instant messaging as a media of communication through qualitative study. He also discovered the difference in linguistic behavior between deceivers and the truth teller. This study is crucial for industries as most are instant messaging or synchronous computer mediated communication now pervades in daily life of the workplace. The study also compares the research on deception in face-to-face communication based on the clue theory with the deception via instant messaging. The interpersonal deception theory from social science was also used to guide the deception research in the group studied using instant messaging. Compared to face-to-face interaction instant messaging is influenced by the lack of incoming social cues as the communicators doesnt get to see the facial expressions. It is important identify these deceptions as organizations interact with each other virtually to reduce project failures. The results from this research can be used to understand knowledge of deception behavior in human communication and be aware of deceptions in the virtual world.

Judith A. H. (2005). Building trust and collaboration in a virtual team. Team Performance Management. 7.3, 36-48
The author from the Holland College, Canada focuses on how building and having trust in virtual organization is important for it to be productive. Organization are moving toward a virtual team environment and to have effective virtual team there needs to me seamless communication between team members and they need to be able to rely on each other without any doubts. She studied six members in a virtual team to find the out how level of trust is important in team effectiveness. She suggest the application of Jung's theory of personality types to assess virtual teams in a positive and laissez-faire way to highlight value of diversity so the team members are at ease to share their personal and work style preferences, thus creating a circle of trust. Trust is need between all kinds of team but it is crucial for virtual team as there is no face-to-face interaction between team members and there is vulnerability for deception.

Jarvenpaa L. S. & Leidner E. D. (1999). Communication and trust in global virtual teams. Organization Science. 10.6, 791-816
The authors, researchers, at the University of Texas at Austin, TX studied three hundred and fifty master's students from 28 universities for six weeks in virtual team setting to explore the how trust was developed through virtual interaction. The study show communication challenges dues o cultural in interpersonal differences and thus creating misunderstanding between team members. The presence of the SIDE theory was found in the study as there were pauses between the members during their interactions which influence individuals to build stereotypical intuitions about each other. In this study we also see the application of Debra Meyersons theory of swift trust but between the team members were very fragile and temporary. There are challenges in virtual team due to geographical distance so organizations need to focus on open communications between the virtual team members so there is less misunderstanding. A productive virtual team cannot be built just with the proper communication tools but there is need for trust, respect, and relationship between team members.





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Published by Soundview Executive Book Summaries, P.O. Box 1053, Concordville, Pennsylvania 19331 USA
?2003 Soundview Executive Book Summaries ? All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part is prohibited.
Managing Executive Conflict
To Build a More Dynamic Organization
WHEN GOLIATHS
CLASH
THE SUMMARY IN BRIEF
Working in fast-paced, stressful conditions with different types of people,
all with their own beliefs, values, cultures and work ethics, can cause
conflict in even the most basic business relationships. Unresolved conflict in
organizations, especially at the highest level, can have dire consequences,
such as low productivity, employees? anger and hostility, increased costs,
and increased absenteeism and turnover. It?s important to realize that conflict
handled properly can actually be a great asset to a company. When
conflict is managed well, it can lead to new ideas, improved teamwork and
commitment, and a better understanding of the people who work alongside
you day in and day out. When managers, especially at the highest levels,
understand the root causes of conflict, they can be effective in using the
conflict as a springboard to greater production and higher achievement.
Concentrated Knowledge? for the Busy Executive ? www.summary.com Vol. 25, No. 7 (3 parts) Part 3, July 2003 ? Order # 25-18
CONTENTS
Anatomy of Conflict
Pages 2, 3
Test Your Conflict-
Management IQ
Page 2
Why Goliaths Clash
Pages 3, 4, 5
Alignment at
Johnson & Johnson
Page 4
High-Performance Teams
and Conflict Management
Pages 5, 6
The Road to High
Performance
Pages 6, 7
Conflict Management as
Art and Skill
Pages 7, 8
Leadership in Conflict
Management
Page 8
By Howard M. Guttman
FILE: LEADERSHIP
?
What You?ll Learn In This Summary
? The causes of conflict. Knowing the telltale signs of conflict can help
managers analyze what?s causing it and deal with it effectively.
? How to align your group to work together. Forming a group that agrees
on strategic and operational goals makes it easier for group members to
agree on ground rules and their roles for the project.
? How to prevent conflicts from occurring. Avoiding personal attacks,
respecting the opinions of others and resolving conflict as quickly as possible
are a few of the techniques described.
? Changing the ?me? to ?we.? Take the steps necessary to emulate
high-performance work teams who focus on the team?s goals and not individual
goals.
? Effective leadership manages conflict. The management style and
interpersonal skills of an organization?s senior management dictates how
conflict affects the company.
Anatomy of Conflict
Many companies become paralyzed by unresolved
conflict. For these organizations, it is important to
understand that putting an end to conflict is not a desirable
goal. Conflict should be managed, not eliminated.
Conflict is destructive when it:
? Leads to a win-lose game in which one side wins at
the other?s expense.
? Diverts energy from important activities or issues.
? Destroys people?s morale.
? Polarizes groups and destroys cooperation.
? Produces irresponsible or regrettable behavior (e.g.,
personal attacks).
? Leads to stalemates rather than decisions.
Observing and accepting differences is helpful and
necessary. Discussing employees? disagreements can
improve problem-solving and be an asset for decision
making. Airing opposing viewpoints can bring about
new ideas and strategies.
Though most people are not aware of it, conflict
keeps a company alive and flourishing when it:
? Stimulates healthy interaction among employees
collaborating on a task.
? Opens up discussion about important issues.
? Strengthens team spirit and commitment to group
goals.
? Results in better solutions to a problem.
? Improves the quality of a group?s work.
Whether conflict works for or against an organization
depends on one vital thing: how it is managed.
Through words and actions, effective managers send
the message that conflicting opinions must not be swept
under the rug. Those opinions can encourage workers to
have open, productive dialogue that can benefit the
entire organization.
The Roots of Conflict
Conflict occurs when the needs and desires of two or
more parties are incompatible. When those parties strive
for the same thing ? whether it is money, materials,
space, time or any other resource ? they are in conflict.
The word conflict comes from the Latin fligere (?to
strike?) and com (?together?), so it is not surprising that
common terms used to describe conflict are ?clashing?
or ?butting heads.?
When people who have individual needs work together,
there is always the potential for disagreement. At
some point in all personal relationships, conflict is
inevitable, and the same is true of business relationships.
In what situation other than business are people
with different cultural backgrounds, values, beliefs, and
WHEN GOLIATHS CLASH
by Howard M. Guttman
? THE COMPLETE SUMMARY
For Additional Information on the authors, go to:
http://my.summary.com
Published by Soundview Executive Book Summaries (ISSN 0747-2196), P.O. Box 1053, Concordville, PA 19331
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Soundview
Executive Book Summaries?
KEVIN GAULT ? Senior Contributing Editor
DEBRA A. DEPRINZIO ? Art and Design
CHRIS LAUER ? Managing Editor
CHRISTOPHER G. MURRAY ? Editor-in-Chief
GEORGE Y. CLEMENT ? Publisher
2 Soundview Executive Book Summaries?
The author: Howard M. Guttman is the principal of
Guttman Development Strategies Inc., a management consulting
firm that works with clients internationally to build
high-performance teams, align strategy and operations, and
manage conflict.
Copyright? 2003 by Guttman Development Strategies,
Inc. Summarized by permission of the publisher, AMACOM,
a division of American Management Association,
1601 Broadway, New York, N.Y. 10019. 250 pages.
$27.95. 0-8144-0749-8.
(continued on page 3)
Test Your Conflict-Management IQ
How effectively does your organization manage
conflict? The more questions below to which you
answer ?yes,? the greater your company?s need to
examine its conflict-management procedures:
? Is your business strategy fuzzy or unclear? Does
your senior management team often debate its
meaning?
? Do people in your company arrive late for meetings
or not at all?
? Do meetings often deteriorate into chaos?
? Do you need to have more meetings than you
should because closure is never reached?
? Does the atmosphere become tense when a certain
executive enters the room or a particular
issue is raised?
? Are priorities constantly changing? Are people
unclear about who owns issues?
? Are discussion and debate discouraged? Is silent
agreement the norm?
psychological and emotional needs forced to work
together for eight or more hours a day, year after year,
trying to achieve a set of common goals?
Business conflict is not only found among the
Goliaths at the top. It permeates organizations regardless
of function or level on the corporate hierarchy.
More than ever, senior executives must be adept at
managing conflict throughout their organizations. To do
this, they must understand more about the roots of conflict,
the reasons why conflict is essential to the human
condition.
What Causes Conflict?
There are two main sources of conflict among people
in both personal and business relationships: individual
differences and stylistic clashes.
Individual Differences. No two human beings ? not
even identical twins ? are alike in all aspects. Because
we are all unique, we all have differences with one
another. We all bring to relationships different:
? Wants and needs
? Values and beliefs
? Assumptions and interpretations
? Degrees of knowledge and information
? Expectations
? Cultures
When we interact with people whose wants, needs, values,
beliefs, assumptions and interpretations differ from
our own, we might find ourselves in conflict with them.
But that does not mean we have to butt heads with them.
People can have different opinions without taking those
differences personally. One of the keys to successfully
managing conflict is learning to depersonalize it, or simply
view it as a business situation to be handled.
Stylistic Clashes. In a business context, style means
the ways each individual approaches interpersonal communication.
Some people are comfortable revealing
their innermost thoughts and feelings, while others find
it extremely awkward and embarrassing to open up,
especially in front of a group.
Effective communication is critical for resolving differences,
and we all must be aware of how we communicate.
What is our primary style? Do we use it some,
all or most of the time? Do we vary our style depending
on the situation? Do we vary it depending on the person
with whom we are communicating or the issue that is
confronting us?
Although human behavior cannot be separated into
neat categories, it is helpful to think about communication
methods in three broad styles: nonassertive,
assertive and aggressive. It is very difficult to accurately
identify your own personal style.
Options for Coping With Conflict
There are four ways in which people in a conflictladen
situation can deal with it:
1. Play the victim. Say nothing, act powerless and
complain.
2. Leave. Physically move away from involvement.
3. Change yourself. Move from your original position,
change your view of the other parties, or just ?let
the situation go.?
4. Confront. Address the issue openly, candidly and
objectively by communicating with the other party.
Confronting conflict head-on is one of the hardest
things for an organization to do. To accomplish this,
executives must start by debunking the many myths
about conflict.
Most people believe that conflict is caused by difficult,
quarrelsome people who simply can?t or won?t change;
that successful teamwork requires a conflict-free environment;
that people can?t separate disagreements over business
issues from personal attacks; and that confronting
another person or group always leaves bad feelings. But
not one of these myths addresses a fundamental truth
about conflict: It is and always will be. ?
Why Goliaths Clash
Senior executive teams have a strong, steady effect on
the psyche of an organization. They are highly visible
role models who deliver a powerful, implied message to
others: My behavior shows how a senior executive operates
? do likewise.
Strategic conflict ? disagreement at the top over the
future direction of the organization ? is conflict at its
deadliest and is the hardest type of conflict to resolve.
Resolving Strategic Conflict
Guaranteeing the success of a company?s business
strategy should be the top priority of every senior management
team. Strategy is the way an organization
defines its future. Disagreements among senior executives
about future products, key capabilities, financial
targets and growth expectations create friction among
the group that can weaken the foundation of a company.
How can a senior team resolve conflict that prevents it
from delivering the results its board members and stockholders
expect?
Effective conflict management begins with alignment.
To operate at peak performance, a senior team must be
aligned and reach agreement in four distinct areas:
? Strategic and operational goals must be clear, spe-
3
When Goliaths Clash? SUMMARY
Soundview Executive Book Summaries?
(continued on page 4)
Anatomy of Conflict
(continued from page 2)
cific and agreed-upon.
? Team members? roles must be carefully defined so
each member knows exactly what he or she is responsible
for and what he or she is authorized to do.
? Ground rules must be established to guide group
behavior.
? The broad range of personal styles that team members
use when interacting with one another must be
understood and managed.
Individual Roles and Accountability
One approach to dealing with lack of alignment is to
hold a formal session on the subject with the senior
team. Before beginning the alignment session, it is useful
to ask participants the following two questions:
?How clear are you about your role and accountability
on the team?? and ?How clear are you about your role
and accountability in the organization??
Many CEOs are surprised to learn that many people
on their staff cannot answer these questions well. What
these leaders don?t realize is that none of their workers
operates in a vacuum ? workers are constantly interacting
with one another. Chances are they have not discussed
what their roles are and what they expect from
one another.
Rules of Engagement
Having goals and rules clearly set out will get you
only so far. Procedures for resolving conflicts ? think
of them as ground rules for behavior both within the
team and outside of it ? are key elements in the conflict-
management process: ? Don?t ?triangulate.? Triangulation is bringing an
issue to a third-party mediator for resolution.
Triangulation is an attempt to avoid responsibility by
using the third party to handle an issue that should be
resolved head-on between two people.
? Don?t recruit supporters to your point of view. We
all know people whose main mission in life is advancing
their own cause. They are always looking for opportunities
to win people over to their side, and they make private
disagreements public by bad-mouthing anyone who
dares to contradict them. This form of third-party recruiting
doesn?t bring about positive changes in behavior; it
tears apart, rather than unites, the team.
? Resolve it or let it go. The longer conflict remains
unresolved, the greater the chance that it will grow,
spreading negative feelings throughout the team. To cut
off conflict before it spreads, some teams establish a
deadline (e.g., the conflict must be resolved in 24 or 48
hours). When two members of a team have a conflict,
When Goliaths Clash? SUMMARY
4 Soundview Executive Book Summaries?
Alignment at
Johnson & Johnson
How can a huge, multinational company made up
of many subsidiaries keep everyone in all those business
units on the same page?
Johnson & Johnson (J&J) knows how. Health care
giant J&J is a ?portfolio organization? that consists of
195 subsidiary companies. The companies are organized
into 20 ?franchise groups? that make products
for many different uses: skin and feminine health
care, wound management and closure, analgesics,
anti-infectives and painkillers to name only a few.
Because each franchise must have the same business
focus as the parent company, each year J&J?s
senior team asks franchise leaders to develop their
own strategic plans and submit them to the team for
review and approval. Once a plan is approved, it?s up
to each franchise to translate its strategy into operational
goals and action plans at every level.
According to Michael Carey, corporate vice president
for human resources for J&J, the franchise
strategies are tied together by the parent company?s
clear, common goals and values that reduce the possibility
of misunderstandings.
These goals are clearly stated in two ways. The
first is J&J?s Statement of Strategic Direction, which
explains that it will capitalize on its decentralized form
of management and manage for the long term. The
second is a list of four company-wide goals identified
by the executive committee: innovation, process
excellence, e-business and flawless execution.
Key alignment factors
STRATEGY
Goals/Business Priorities/Focus
Individual Roles/Accountabilities
Protocols/Rules of Engagement
Business Relationships/
Mutual Expectations
Why Goliaths Clash
(continued from page 3)
(continued on page 5)
the team leader gives them a deadline to resolve it. If
they cannot resolve the issue by the deadline, they must
drop the issue and move on.
? Don?t accuse in absentia. At a team meeting, if
someone brings up an issue that involves another team
member who is not at the meeting, the discussion should
stop immediately. The team owes it to the missing team
member to postpone further debate until he or she can be
present.
? Don?t personalize issues. John Stuart Mill once
observed that the key to progress is letting all ideas start
off even in the race, and eventually the truth will prevail.
In business, differences of opinion can stimulate new
ideas and lead to a favorable outcome for all parties. ?
High-Performance Teams and
Conflict Management
The one competitive advantage that cannot be bought,
copied or made obsolete is excellent management of
people and processes, including the management of
conflict. The best way for an organization to achieve
this advantage is by creating and nurturing high-performance
teams from the top down.
High-performance teams are powerful because they
bring together diverse viewpoints, experiences, judgments
and capabilities. Diversity can often create damaging
conflict, but not in high-performance teams,
where open and direct conflict is actually valued.
High-performance teams do not follow the traditional
corporate hierarchy. Employees are asked, often for the
first time, to assume individual and collective responsibility
for business results. These teams focus on the customer
instead of their bosses, and they view their work efforts as
benefiting the group, not just their own departments.
The High-Performance Team
B.W. Tuckman, a pioneer of group-development theory,
summarized the results of more than 50 studies conducted
on team development into a four-stage model:
forming, storming, norming and performing. An
expanded version of the Tuckman model makes it more
relevant to the new performance environment of the horizontal
organization.
Looking closely at the behaviors that characterize
teams at each stage of the model can help a team understand
the obstacles it must overcome to reach stage four.
Stage one of the expanded model is ?testing.? In stage
one, many teams are made up of individuals working
together for the first time. Their initial behaviors include
testing and assessing each other to determine the level
of candor that will be accepted by the team and the
team leader. Tensions run high. Conflict is often suppressed
rather than addressed, and there is a fear of confronting
issues and individuals.
Stage two is ?infighting.? Stage two often begins after
teams have been working together for a while and have
fallen into a set behavioral routine. It is where viewpoints
are aggressively advanced. It is filled with accusations,
finger-pointing and backbiting. Executives feel
vulnerable and on the line. It is also where many breakthroughs
in conflict resolution take place.
Getting Organized
Stage three is ?getting organized.? Stage-three teams
have realized that to become high performers, they cannot
continue to bury conflict or allow it to run rampant.
They must transform conflict into dynamic energy that
produces results. Teams in stage three are in a learning
mode. They are in the process of clarifying roles and
goals while they develop skills and establish procedures.
At this point they are confronting issues, not people,
and giving feedback.
Stage four is ?the high-performance team.? In stage
four, the team translates into action the lessons it has
learned during its evolution through the previous three
stages. Stage-four teams share eight key attributes that
separate high-performance teams from their less-effective
counterparts:
1. The mission, goals and business priorities of the
team are clear to all team members. For a team to
operate at peak performance, these standards must be
clear to all members.
2. The team is comprised of the ?right? players. As
individuals further down in the organization begin to
serve on teams, it becomes essential that all employees
have three competencies. They must be technically proficient
in their particular function; they must have the
communication skills to build support for their project
across functions; and they must be able to understand
their organization?s strategy and how it affects their dayto-
day actions.
Waiting Compounds Conflict
3. The roles and responsibilities of each player are
clear to that person and to all team members. The
team leader should step in as soon as it becomes apparent
that there is confusion in this area. Waiting only
compounds the conflict.
4. Team members are committed to the team ?winning?
? achieving business goals ? over their own
self-interest. When teams focus on common goals and
become comfortable sharing their opinions, individual
When Goliaths Clash? SUMMARY
Soundview Executive Book Summaries? 5
(continued on page 6)
Why Goliaths Clash
(continued from page 4)
members begin seeing themselves as serving two roles
in the organization. They are no longer only conduits
between their departments and the team; they are also
active members of a team committed to helping the
group achieve its goals.
5. The decision-making process that the team
employs is understood and accepted by all team
members. When a team meets, there are three ways it
can make decisions: unilaterally, consultatively or by
consensus. It is often best to use different decision-making
processes to handle different issues.
6. Every team member feels a sense of ownership
or accountability for the business results that the
team must achieve. The notion of shared accountability
is an important and unique aspect of high-performance
teams.
Comfortable With Conflict
7. All team members are comfortable dealing with
team conflict. Candor and depersonalization become
second nature. When team members realize that they
will be applauded rather than punished for expressing
opinions honestly and constructively, they no longer
hold back.
8. The team periodically evaluates its progress,
focusing on how it functions as a cohesive group. To
ensure that a high-performance team keeps its edge, it
must be in a continuous learning mode, acquiring and
honing the skills it needs to do a project well. ?
The Road to High Performance
Teams that have been working together in a state of
dysfunction for a long time carry a lot of interpersonal
conflict. When team members comment on the way they
work together, they usually feel a great deal of discomfort.
It takes tremendous courage to stand up in front of
your business associates and admit that you are making
mistakes now and then. During discussions aimed at diffusing
conflicts, it is important to talk about issues
openly without making personal attacks.
Some typical behaviors that can damage the team
effort are:
? Not sharing information.
? Being aloof from the rest of the group.
? Going ?underground? with complaints.
? Listening to and commiserating with co-workers?
complaints instead of encouraging them to resolve them.
? Triangulating by trying to get support for their own
interests from their superiors and others.
Becoming a High-Performance Organization
Alignment does not stop with the Goliaths of senior
management. They exert tremendous influence over the
organization, but the Davids in every function must also
play their part.
To become a high-performance team, most organizations
must pass through five major steps, or phases:
Phase One: Defining the Business Need
An organization?s journey to high performance begins
with a business need ? specifically, the need to take
performance to a new level. The move from Stage One
to Stage Five requires an intense desire to win in the
marketplace.
Phase Two: Structuring the Teams
At this point, most senior teams must answer some
basic questions about the business teams that are going
to be formed:
? How many members will be on each of the teams?
? Which individuals will be on the teams?
? Who will be the team leader of each team?
? What will the teams be accountable for?
? How will each team?s success be measured?
? How will team members be rewarded for success?
In a company where new teams are being set up, getting
answers to these questions usually requires a long
period of discussion before agreement is reached.
Phase Three: Aligning the Teams
At this point, the focus shifts to the senior team to
ensure that its goals, roles, processes and business relationships
are consistent with high-performance requirements.
Every individual on a team plays a dual role: gatekeeper
to his or her function and team member. The
leader of the team has even trickier tasks to perform:
? Confronting the team with candid observations of
group and individual behavior and the potential consequences
to the team?s performance.
? Soliciting team members? comments to clarify their
goals and intentions.
? Guiding the team as it begins to collaborate.
? Negotiating and recording contracts that define
agreements about how the team will work together.
? Displaying two behaviors that are important to
effective teamwork: candid disclosure and openness to
feedback.
When Goliaths Clash? SUMMARY
6 Soundview Executive Book Summaries?
(continued on page 7)
For Additional Information on how an intimidating leader ?toned
down?, go to: http://my.summary.com
High-Performance Teams and
Conflict Management
(continued from page 5)
Phase Four: Moving the Message
As with any major organizational change, successfully
creating high-performance teams requires effective communication
and the buy-in of all employees involved.
High performance is not just talking. It involves
explaining the transformation of the team, testing the
understanding of group members, relating back to
everyone?s job, and then answering the question everyone
wants to ask: What?s in it for me?
To give everyone a satisfactory answer, team discussions
must center around the amount of decision-making
authority the team has, how often senior management
will meet with the team to review results, and how
conflicts within the team will be resolved.
Phase Five: Maintaining the Momentum
Moving to the ?performing? part of the process, a
team must put into practice the things it discussed during
alignment sessions. Promises must be kept to
change destructive behaviors such as letting go of damaging
or mean-spirited criticisms, being candid and
encouraging candor in others, refusing to triangulate,
and putting loyalty to the team above self-interest. The
written and verbal contracts made among team members
about business relationships and responsibilities must
become working documents. ?
Conflict Management
As Art and Skill
In the ?old? organization with many levels of authority,
power ruled. Teams were a collection of individuals, usually
from the same function, who were led by the person
occupying the ?power position? in the chain of command.
Although subordinates on the team were allowed
to express themselves, they usually functioned as information
sources who served the leader or decision maker.
Later, the ?horizontal? organization swept away much
of the old-order remnants of power. In the new paradigm,
the one who wins is not the person with the most
clout, but the one who has the right combination of
strategic instinct, technical capability, people skills and
the ability to persuade.
Assessing Where You Stand
The second basic capability a leader must have is an
understanding of how he or she deals with conflict. This
involves being crystal clear on where you stand in terms
of the two personality dimensions ? assertiveness and
cooperativeness.
Assertiveness is the extent to which a person attempts
to satisfy his or her own needs. Cooperativeness is the
extent to which an individual attempts to satisfy another
person?s needs. Examining these two basic dimensions
of behavior in one?s own personality makes it possible
to assess the balance that exists between the concern for
oneself and a concern for others.
It also becomes possible to identify five distinct methods
that people employ when dealing with conflict. The
Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument in the figure
on the next page is a graphic representation of these
five methods.
Thomas and Kilmann define each method as follows:
? Competing implies being assertive and uncooperative.
A person who chooses this method is more interested
in pursuing his or her own interests at the expense
of others, and using whatever power is necessary to win.
? Accommodating means being unassertive and
cooperative. This method, which is the opposite of
competing, implies self-sacrifice. The accommodating
person chooses to neglect his or her own concerns to
satisfy the concerns of others. This method requires giving
in to another?s point of view when you prefer not to.
? Avoiding is being unassertive and uncooperative.
A person using this method chooses not to take action at
When Goliaths Clash? SUMMARY
Soundview Executive Book Summaries? 7
(continued on page 8)
E-Mail Etiquette
According to Disney?s Michael Eisner, ?E-mail?s
very virtues also make it dangerous ? it is instant,
global, quick and easy. It becomes easy to be rude,
easy to use language incorrectly, easy to make stupid
mistakes, easy to do irreparable harm.?
Here are some tips on how to avoid conflicts from
misuse of e-mail:
? Use the right medium for the message. E-mail
is an effective tool for one-way communication, but it
doesn?t lend itself to situations that require interactive
communication.
? Deliver your messages clearly. When you send
an e-mail message, identify the goal of your message
and get right to the point.
? Practice the ?Golden Rule.? Put yourself in the
recipient?s shoes and ask yourself how you?d feel if
you received the message you?re about to send.
? Respect confidentiality. You?ll lose the trust of
others if you pass confidential e-mails along to people
not authorized to read them.
? When in doubt, DON?T. If you are angry or
upset, don?t send your message. Save it and read it
again after you have calmed down to make sure it is
appropriate for the situation.
The Road to High Performance
(continued from page 6)
this time, either for himself or herself or for others. As a
result, the conflict is not addressed. The avoidance
behavior may involve sidestepping discussion of a past
issue, postponing it, or withdrawing from what the person
feels is a threatening situation.
? Compromising involves being square in the middle
in terms of both assertiveness and cooperativeness.
This method is often efficient. Both parties try to
quickly arrive at a middle ground by ?splitting the difference.?
The end result might be a solution that is mutually
acceptable yet only partially satisfying to each side.
? Collaborating means both assertive and cooperative.
Collaborating requires that both sides work together
to find a solution that fully satisfies the concerns of
each side. It involves listening, empathizing and exploring
each other?s strategic goals and concerns.
Using Assertion Skills
When your needs are pressing, assertion skills are the
solution. The trick here is maintaining the delicate balance
between standing up for what you need while
respecting the needs of others.
The nonassertive individual, in effect, says, ?I?ve got
needs and so do you, but I?m not telling you what mine
are. And if you don?t guess them, I?m going to hold it
against you.? The nonassertive individual is a volcano
waiting to erupt. At the other extreme, the aggressive
person proceeds on the basis that ?I?ve got needs and so
do you, but mine count more.? The aggressive person is
the schoolyard bully in business attire.
People who are nonassertive must learn how to protect
their boundaries ? whether physical or psychological ?
and express their agenda without crossing the line to
aggression. The aggressive individual, in contrast, must
learn not to violate the boundaries of other people.
Each type of behavior has payoffs, and each exacts a
price. For the nonassertive executive, the payoff is avoiding
arguments and coming across as a team player, but the
price is steep in terms of unmet needs and reduced effectiveness.
Aggressive executives tend to get their way and
benefit from their bullying behavior. They pay the price,
however, by alienating other people, stifling input and
feedback, and failing to gain commitment, especially in
the new knowledge-based organization. ?
Leadership in Conflict
Management
A leader?s style is very important to successful conflict
management. The continuum along which behavior
ranges goes from nonassertive to assertive to aggressive.
When the behavior of the most senior executive falls
into one of the two extremes on the continuum, there is
certain to be fallout.
The nice-guy model of leadership doesn?t work
because such a leader will try to avoid confrontation,
when in many instances, constructive confrontation is
exactly what is needed. Neither does the aggressive
approach. The tough-guy leader typically carries baggage
that is unsuited for building a high-performance
team, such as being controlling, unreceptive to feedback,
and intimidating.
Methods of Improvement
The following guidelines will help any manager
improve his or her conflict-management skills:
? Be candid. When issues surface, bring them out in
the open for discussion.
? Be receptive. Discuss all competing points of view.
Let everyone on your team know that it is not only safe
to disagree, it is expected.
? Depersonalize. Look at each issue that surfaces as a
business case, rather than as a personal indictment.
? Be clear about the decision-making rules of the
game. Will the issue under discussion be decided unilaterally,
consultatively or by consensus?
? Learn to listen. A key skill here is decoding and
feeding back the messages you think you are hearing.
? Recognize and reward successful conflict management
when you see it. ?
When Goliaths Clash? SUMMARY
8 Soundview Executive Book Summaries?
Conflict Managements as Art and Skill
(continued from page 7)
For Additional Information on active listening, go to:
http://my.summary.com
The Thomas-Kilmann conflict mode instrument
Competing
Compromising
Collaborating
Avoiding Accommodating
cooperative
uncooperative
unassertive
assertive
Cooperativeness
Assertiveness