Using SDWT for MBA Man Com

1. Using SDWT for MBA Man Com Or, How Self Directed Work Teams Make the Leap from Industry to University Aline Wolff Stern School of Business New York University

2. Teamwork is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results. Wearing the same shirts doesn’t make you a team. The goal is not to have a team, but to increase productivity and employee satisfaction. Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships.

3. Teamwork is the quintessential contradiction of a society grounded in individual achievement. Self-Directed Work Teams rely on impact factors: Self - interest Belief in the team’s vision Support and cooperation Shared goals New member integration Authenticity and recognition Quotes from Grant M. Bright

4. What about organizations today? We used to think that we knew how to run organizations. Now we know better. They need to be global and local…small but big…centralized and decentralized. They expect workers to be … autonomous and more of a team, managers to be more delegating and more controlling. • CB Handy, The Age of Paradox

5. What we know about teams in industry • Fortune 1000 Companies • 87% use teams for functional purposes: quality • 98% use project teams (cross-functional, short and long term) • 47% use permanent work teams as their organizational structure • Source: Lawler and Cohen, 1992!

6. What is a self-directed work team, anyway? • A small number of people (5-9, optimally) • Complementary skills (diversity a plus) • Common purpose (starts with a mission) • Performance goals (establish, track, meet, evaluate) • Common approach (agreement about work style, rules) • Mutual accountability (not the boss but ourselves) • Source: Katzenbach and Smith

7. Applying SDWT to the MC curriculum • Team rights and responsibilities • Assignments for MC goals • Point values for team and individual assignments • Similarities to workplace teams: multi- tasking, diversity, electronic communication • Results?

8. Defining teams: rights andresponsibilities • Rights • Self-defined missions • Ability to ‘fire’ free-loaders • Self-determined meetings: time, place, duration, mode • Responsibilities • Team executive summaries • 30% of grade: teamwork • Rotating leadership • Ongoing communication: team-mates, class, instructor

9. MC goals for class teams • Active listening • Non-verbal communication • Communication climate • Meeting management • Agenda • Pre-meeting documents • Written meeting records • Follow up, minutes, preparation loop • Brainstorming techniques • Electronic meetings and tools

10. How the class works • Course outline: include teams • Team and individual assignments • Team points • Individual points

15. Technology to help teams 6. Here’s the final version -- with a clear readability score

22. Faculty teamwork: walking the talk • Pre-semester meetings • Consensus, cooperation, commitment • Bi-weekly meetings during the semester • Focusing, improving, comparing notes • Constant e-mail dialogue • Bulletin boards and broadcast messages • Idea, assignment and resource sharing

23. Results: the students speak • My overall experience with my team has been very positive. We have not only helped each other become better communicators, but have also become friends outside of class. • I definitely gained the most in this class though the interactions and work with my team members. You have to rely on your teammates. • As a team member, I learned to trust other members. Without this mutual trust, group work would be impossible.

24. I learned how to contribute to my team according to my strengths while allowing others to contribute with their strengths. • In this group, my personal goal was to let the group organize as a team and not always jump in and take charge -- it really made a difference in the team experience. • It is natural for me to be the leader of whatever group I am in. But I wanted my teammates to assert themselves so we could get their ideas. • We taught each other and offered insight for improvement.