Teams and Groups

Deseret Communication Inc. is facing the situation of declining profits; it is changing its course of action by expanding its services to customers. A manager needs to increase the output of the team by making changes like expanding the role and responsibilities of the team members. These changes in a team can result in socioemotional conflicts detrimental to a team’s success negating the performance of the team members. It is critical to take strategic measures to weed out the socioemotional conflicts.

Reward system that recognizes the efforts of the entire team, in this scenario boosting the sales of expanded services is a possible remedy. Manager can endow individual contributions through appreciation certificates and awards, but the major perks like profit sharing should be a return equally acknowledging the team effort. Stringent measures targeting non-performing team members are instrumental to retain the team morale and creativity. Clear guidelines defining individual and team accountability are critical for a team’s success.

Manager can engage team members in constructive conflicts in training sessions. Constructive feedback and considering different perspectives for achieving the common goal helps to create a team culture with high trust and norms of openness. Some of the culprits responsible for conflicts are incompatible goals, different values and beliefs, ambiguous rules, scarce resources, communication problems, and tasks interdependence (McShane, Glinow, 2005, p. 391). Goals of this team are to maximize profits and also enhance customer satisfaction. Setting a realistic expectation of increasing sales by 5% the first month and providing optimal customer satisfaction may seem achievable and consistent to every team member and periodically advancing targets, say 10% next month.

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