Team Effectiveness Analysis: West Coast Transit Case Study
This paper analyzes the West Coast Transit case study through the lens of organizational behavior and team development theory. It evaluates the marketing team led by Pete Denson against established criteria for team effectiveness, including productivity, personal satisfaction, and mutual commitment. Using Tuckman's five stages of group development, the paper traces where the team currently stands and what must happen for it to progress. It also examines Schein's behavioral profile roles, effective communication, types of conflict and conflict management approaches, task and maintenance leadership activities, and motivation theory—including Maslow's hierarchy of needs—to offer a comprehensive diagnosis of the team's dysfunction and a path toward improvement.
- Effective Teams: Criteria for team effectiveness applied to West Coast Transit
- Tuckman's Five Stages of Group Development: Mapping the team's progress through Tuckman's stages
- Behavioral Roles: Schein's behavioral profiles and team members' roles
- Effective Communication and Types of Conflict: Communication failures and conflict types in the case
- Conflict Management Approaches: Direct and indirect strategies for resolving team conflict
- Task, Maintenance, and Dysfunctional Activities: Leadership activities to encourage and behaviors to discourage
- Motivation Issues and Conclusion: Motivation theory and final diagnosis of team dysfunction
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What makes this paper effective
- It grounds each analytical point in a named theoretical framework—Tuckman's stages, Schein's behavioral roles, Maslow's hierarchy—and then immediately applies that framework to specific characters and events in the case study, creating a consistent evidence-to-theory loop.
- The paper moves logically from diagnosing the problem (team dysfunction) to prescribing solutions (direct and indirect conflict management, task and maintenance activities), giving the argument a clear problem-solution shape.
- Character-specific analysis (Denson, Jing, Tanney, Mahonney) keeps the discussion concrete and prevents it from drifting into abstraction, making the theoretical content easier to follow.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates applied theory analysis: each theoretical concept (e.g., Tuckman's forming stage, Schein's tough-battler profile) is first defined briefly using cited sources, then mapped directly onto case-study evidence. This technique shows examiners that the student can translate abstract frameworks into real-world organizational diagnosis—a core skill in business and management coursework.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with an introduction that summarizes the case and previews the analytical framework. It then moves through discrete thematic sections—team effectiveness criteria, Tuckman's five stages, behavioral roles, communication, conflict types, conflict management strategies (direct and indirect treated separately), task/maintenance activities, and motivation theory—before closing with a brief integrated conclusion embedded in the final section. Each section is self-contained yet contributes to the cumulative diagnosis of the team's dysfunction.
Effective Teams
An effective team is one that is productive, personally satisfied, and committed to its members (Schermerhorn & Uhl-Bien, 2014). Teams should be motivated, united by a shared sense of values, emotionally stable and supportive, and dedicated to achieving performance benchmarks (Schermerhorn & Uhl-Bien, 2014). Denson's team in the West Coast Transit case study is not operating effectively. The team is overwhelmed with too many projects to perform at the level required. There is no sense of team members taking personal satisfaction in a job well done, and the members are clearly not committed to one another: Jing is leaving at the end of the month; Tanney is sidelined by personal issues; Denson is insensitive to what Tanney is going through at home; and Mahonney weakly attempts to rally the group while appearing to expect the others to carry the load. There is no willingness to serve, to personally sacrifice for colleagues experiencing difficulties, to empathize, to demonstrate emotional and social intelligence, or to inspire.
Tuckman's Five Stages of Group Development
Tuckman's five stages consist of forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning. The forming stage is the first stage and represents the moment when the group comes together. This is often where anxiety, fears, doubts, and questions are expressed. The West Coast Transit team is clearly in the forming stage. The goal of this stage is for members to become focused on one another rather than on work tasks. The problem the team faces is that they quickly lose sight of this goal because they are overwhelmed by competing pressures. They need to focus on one another more thoughtfully before they can progress to the next stage.
The second stage—and what should follow for the West Coast Transit team—is the storming stage. This is where dominant members of the group emerge to lead, and questions of duty and leadership are resolved. If the forming stage is adequately completed, the storming stage is passed through more easily. If it is not, the storming stage becomes a serious roadblock. The West Coast Transit team is in danger of exactly this outcome.
Norming is where the group begins to act cohesively as all members settle into their roles. The performing stage follows, during which the team executes at a high level to achieve its objective. The adjourning stage is the final stage, in which the team has fulfilled its responsibilities and members acknowledge one another's contributions and commitment.
Behavioral Roles
Behavioral roles play an important part in a team's success. Schein's three behavioral profile roles during team entry that may block team operations from progressing smoothly are: (1) tough battler, (2) friendly helper, and (3) objective thinker (Schermerhorn, 2014). Pete clearly fits the tough battler profile, which only pushes Tanney further away. Mahonney attempts to be the friendly helper but falls short because he offers flattery rather than genuine assistance. Jing is the objective thinker, but this only heightens the tension—at this moment the team is seeking emotional support, not detached objectivity.
References
[University]. (2016). West Coast Transit case study (pp. 1–2).
Maslow, A. H. (1943). A theory of human motivation. Psychological Review, 50(4), 370.
Sanchez-Nunez, M., Patti, J., & Holzer, A. (2015). Effectiveness of a leadership development program that incorporates social and emotional intelligence for aspiring school leaders. Journal of Educational Issues, 1(1), 5–9.
Schermerhorn, J. (2014). Exploring management (4th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons.
Schermerhorn, J., & Uhl-Bien, M. (2014). Organizational behavior (13th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons.
Schyns, B., & Schilling, J. (2013). How bad are the effects of bad leaders? A meta-analysis of destructive leadership and its outcomes. The Leadership Quarterly, 24, 138–158.
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