Team 2 Case Analysis: The Army Crew Team

Team Members Course •

Key Strategic Issue:

The main issue is that the coach lacks of timeliness in response to the Varsity team’s internal issues. The coach noticed there were issues between the team members based on past indications, but he chose not to act on it in a timely manner. His choice of intervention should’ve been sooner in order to prevent further disruptions within the Varsity team.

Alternative Courses of Action:

Intervene to improve the Varsity boat’s performance:
The coach can interject his opinions on why the performance is lacking such as by showing the errors. Moreover, since the members are low on morale the coach could implement group-based activities to encourage bonding and unity within the team.

Switch individual boat members:
The coach can replace members that show lack of performance to race in the competition. Furthermore, he can create a new team (from both Varsity and Varsity Junior members) based on personality test so he can be sure that every member on the team is compatible with each other.

Switch the Varsity and Junior Varsity boats:
Since the Junior Varsity team is more confident in their ability to perform for the upcoming competition; the coach should use them as the main team. This allows the Varsity to recover and regain their confidence as competitors for the next year competition.

Recommended Course of Action:

Our recommended course of action is to switch the teams. Since there are only four days left before the National Championship Race, we decided to promote JV team to Varsity team and put Army in better position to succeed at the championship. The reason we decided to switch teams is that the current Varsity team is dysfunctional and members blame themselves and others for team’s poor performance. The lack of team cohesion and trust among the members as well as Coach P’s failure to discuss team goals, created disruptive behavior among the team members, and caused the Varsity team to fail.

Rowing is a team sport and it requires a high level of trust and synchronization. All members have to trust and have confidence in each other. This is exactly what Coach P has failed to achieve with the Varsity team and it is highly unlikely that Coach P can do that and make the team more effective in such a short time. Instead of trying to fix the broken wheel, Coach P has to promote the JV team and fine-tune their performance in the available four days, since the JV team has done a better job in all aspects of the team and constantly outperformed the Varsity team.

Implementation:

The next day at the start of practice, Coach P. needs to sit down alone with the Varsity team and discuss the disagreements from the night before. The Varsity team showed that they were not working well together and that they need more time than four days to resolve their conflicts. Coach P. will need to tell the Varsity team that they will not be competing in the National championship race. This is going to be a very tough conversation because he will risk damaging the team’s ego, which could cause the team to lose motivation in the future.

Coach P. will start the meeting by explaining his reasoning for switching the teams and educating the Varsity team so they can better understand his decision. He will need to reiterate the importance of team spirit and remind them that they play for the United States Military Academy at West Point, not for their individual selves. It will be important for Coach P. to remind them that they need to compete against other schools, not against their own teammates. He will need to show them how their “shell” is broken and they have slowed down because they are working against each other and not with each other. Coach P. will need to ask for approval from everyone on the Varsity team and require them to be mentors to the Junior Varsity team for the next four days. The Varsity team has strength; experience and technique that can help the Junior Varsity team improve greatly before the National championship race.

After the decision has been communicated, the focus will need to turn to the Junior Varsity team. A training plan will need to be implemented for the four days before the National championship race. Coach P. will need to focus on the four distinct categories 1) strength and conditioning, 2) rowing technique, 3) psychological dimensions, and 4) program organization (Polzer & Snook, 2).

The first day of training will focus on strength and conditioning, focusing on weightlifting exercises and the rowing “Ergometer.” The Varsity team will be there to help educate the Junior Varsity team on conditioning routines that will help them gain strength and endurance for the race. The next days of training will need to focus on their rowing technique and psychological dimensions. One drill that helps improve synergy is to practice rowing as a team with their eyes closed, so they can feel the “swing” coordination (Polzer & Snook, 4). The Varsity team can help them practice their error strokes and teach them the techniques needed so they can quickly adapt and recover from any imperfect strokes. The final day will need to focus on trust and team bonding to ensure that their team spirit and morale stays positive and strong before and during the race.

The initial conversation with the Varsity team will be difficult, but they will learn from their mistakes and will be able to grow for the next season. Mentoring the Junior Varsity team will help them realize the value of their team and show that they are all hard working individuals. The Varsity team can share their experience and knowledge with the Junior Varsity team and the Junior Varsity team will show them the value of working together as a team.

Critique of case-- what is missing?

From the beginning, Coach P. did not sufficiently facilitate the team building which is necessary for success; this vividly shows his lack of leadership. Mostly the author is concentrating on the Varsity team rather than the Junior Varsity so the reader is not able to get much information about the Junior Varsity. This could be one of the missing information in the case.
Regarding the team, overall team spirit is missing in the Varsity team, each team members acted individually rather than as a group. They have lack of trust with each other because of this they are not able to rely on his teammates to put forth their best effort. No leader in the team, so nobody to control the team members or to develop the team spirit. In addition to, there is a communication barrier, most individuals in the Varsity team doesn't want to admit to their mistakes, everyone in the team has an ego of "I am the one carrying the boat" One incident in the case clearly portrays how the team is splatted among themselves. For instance, when Coach invited at the picnic table, the crew wouldn't sit each other instead everybody were scattered, some knelt on the grass, others were standing, one lay flat, and the other took the four ends of the table. Silence is dominated among the team instead of cheering up. Besides, the coach downplayed the importance of constructive leadership and this allowed disrupters to lead the team into dysfunction team. First, he needs to help the team establish to have a clear common purpose and then articulate specific, attainable goals that will help them realize that purpose. As the team achieves their goal, they will begin to gain confidence in one another and their team’s ability will succeed, because of this absence of established group norms, it leads to confusion in the team’s sense of purpose. Throughout the case there are numerous examples of what defines a successful and winning team. Moreover, the author persuasive style persuades and convinces the readers.

References:

Polzer, J. T., Snook, S. (2004). The Army Crew. HBS No. 9-806-105. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Publishing