...Army Crew Team Case Study While reading through this case study it becomes evident as to why JV manages to outperform the Varsity team even though the varsity team consists of the best crew members. We can understand why this happened by first evaluating the actions and behavior of the varsity members. To begin, the varsity team is made up of members who think mostly about themselves rather than being group oriented. It is clear that this causes distrust among the team so when the team encounters failure they revert to blaming one another. This is seen throughout the many emails sent between the crew members. Then during the races the varsity members tend to have no motivation to compete; eventually leading to their defeat. Now the JV team on the other hand manages to avoid many of these difficulties by utilizing their strong team commitment and trust among all members. This can be seen through the JV team’s acceptance of the CEP training and the positive group criticism seen throughout the team email. In a sport like rowing, the soft skills such as team work and communication are just as important as physical skills like strength and endurance. In order for a team to be successful they must have some physical capability but most importantly they absolutely must have coordination and motivation among the crew members. Since the Varsity was picked solely based off their strength and speed they lack many of the required soft skills that the JV team exhibits which allows the JV...
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...Q. How would you compare the Army Crew team to other types of organizational teams? What are the key similarities and differences? What lessons can we learn from the Army Crew team? A. The Army Crew team and other types of organizational teams in companies resemble each other to some extent. Both have a shared goal among team members and have a leader of them. They are based upon trust and cooperation. Motivation or team morale is also significant to achieve their goals. The better the teamwork is, the more they achieve. However, they are quite different from other perspectives. The Army Crew team has a coach, the absolute power existing outside the team, besides a leader inside the team. In the instruction a coach has made, players decide what to do. They have less autonomy to do what they want independently and usually their positions are decided, which is hard to change once it fixed. The Army Crew team has a goal and it is clearly divided into actual race and practice race. They are operated by Coach more strategic than typical organizational teams. On the contrary, other types of organizational teams just a leader inside the team. They do not really have a practice and actual projects and team members have much freedom. They can express their own opinions to be reflected for their strategies. Teamwork in organizational teams is an important factor to achieve goal, but not overwhelming as much as in the Army Crew Team. Also, their roles are not obviously divided because...
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...The Army Crew Team Background of the case, there are two Boats teams which are the Varsity team and Junior Varsity team. The difference between two teams are team members, coach P. selected top members with stronger body and condition, boating technique, and psychological dimension as the Varsity team, on the contrast, the members in the JV team are not as excellent as top eight members. But, the performance of Varity team is even worse than JV team, the Varity team also keeps losing the JV. After careful consideration, coach P. decided to rearrange a new team or other ways to solve the In this case, we may simply make the statement that the result doesn’t equal to the sum of the ability of each team members. As far as I’m concerned, the boat can been interpreted as a project, meanwhile, everyone in the team is the operator who do this project. There are eight rowers in boat. Everyone has their own different advantages and shortcomings. For example, 3th and 4th seats of the boat act the Engine Room, maybe they don’t need as excellent strength as 5th and 6th seats, but better technique is essential for them. Back to this case, perhaps the top members have better strength, more skillful technique and better thought. They may have worse coordination compared with Junior Varity team, when putting them together. The benefits of synergy may be zero or even negative. That’s the key point why JV team has better performance...
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...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...
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...Introduction By looking into the different outcomes for two teams, I answered question from four aspects and made recommendations on each aspect for what we can do when leading a team. Analysis and Recommendations 1. Group Design When Coach P. formed two groups, each member accepted individual analysis from skills to strength. Eight best were put in Varsity team and eight worst in JV. Coach P. didn’t set specified goal for both teams. Different from JV who could easily find target like skill improvement, team performance, Varsity, which already had eight best athletes, automatically standing on high start-line, having more difficult on setting specific target by themselves. Their target was vague – since their victory was merited, waiting for coach to set a goal might be what they were thinking. Therefore, when JV team beat V team, it was unexpected for V team and blaming each other is a normal reaction for such situation. When failure came again, the trust in V team crashed. A clear task can help a group quickly into work state, find the most effective way for communication and build up trust. Although for some group, it’s better for members to find their task by themselves, it’s not guaranteed. My recommendation is providing helpful information for a group setting a goal, monitoring the process and offering help when necessary, especially for a new group. 2. Group Culture As time passed, a culture “nothing to loss” formed within JV. This culture brought a positive attitude...
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...My freshman year of high school, I was on the Junior Varsity Cheerleading squad. In the spring, the time came to try-out for the next year's squad. I ended up making it for the Junior Varsity squad again. I was pretty devastated at first, but then I began to be okay with it because many of my friends didn't move up to varsity either. However, not even a week later, my friends started getting called to the office to be told they got moved up to varsity. I started to wonder how this was even possible since the whole tryout process was very strict. Once you make it for a team, you’re stuck on that team till the next try-outs. This never happens. I went to the principal’s office to see what was going on. Turns out, a senior named Ashley tried out and had made it for the Junior Varsity squad and wasn’t satisfied. Her mom went to the school board and complained that her daughter wasn’t on Varsity and they moved her up along with six other girls that had had higher scoring than her. That put twenty-three girls on the varsity squad and seven on the Junior Varsity squad when the Cheer Constitution rules that the squads are supposed to have sixteen and fourteen. This made the girls who didn’t get moved up upset and also the girls who actually earned their spot on the Varsity squad. I was actually one spot below Ashley, so I didn’t get moved up. My mom and I made several appointments with the school board to go complain about the situation. Every single board member said there wasn’t...
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...individual efforts is required to reach synchronization in rowing. Therefore, winning teams are those that are the most synchronized, exhibiting exemplary collaboration among their rowers. The Varsity boat consistently loses to JV because its members don’t work together as a team. Coach P did not sufficiently facilitate the kind of team building necessary for success: discussing team goals, establishing a sense of trust or leadership, and recognizing the potential for disruptive behaviour and conflict. According to the Five-Stage Team Development Model, groups develop into effective teams through a sequence of stages: forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning. Applying this model to the progress of the Army crew boats makes clear that while the Varsity team is still storming and has yet to create structure or norms, the JV team demonstrates the clear communication and mature problem solving associated with a team in the performing stage. Contrary to expectations, JV members would rather remain with their teammates than be promoted to the Varsity boat, evidence of a truly cohesive team. The Varsity boat is suffering from internal and external problems and members blame themselves and others for the team’s poor performance. Some expressed resentment towards the coach for making them compete against the JV boat while others blamed the river on which they practiced. The negative attitude of the Varsity...
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...Brandon J. Nowak 11/19/2015 Organizational Behavior – MBA545 The Army Crew Team Case Analysis Team Overview: This analysis is based on a crew team at West Point coached by Colonel Stas Preczewski. He has been a crewing coach for 9 years for both the Varsity and Junior Varsity Teams. This particular crew team races shells that are narrow and 60 feet long. The crew is made up of 8 rowers; one of the rowers is the “Coxswain” that steers the boat. The Coxswain is considered the leader of the team. His/Her responsibility is to carry out the strategic plan that the coach lays out. The top 8 individuals are chosen for the Varsity Team and the bottom 8 for the Junior Varsity Team. Current Situation: This sport consists of unique mental and physical attributes. The best teams have a balance of the following attributes: * Individual Strength * Rowing Technique * Psychological dimensions * Program organization Crew originated in 1856 with the first race being between Harvard and Yale. Races are typically 3.5 miles long and usually consist between 20 and 60 shells. They race against the clock instead of head to head, due to the amount of shells competing and the course. In order for a team to be successful they need to work as one. Individual strength and endurance is a key to success; however, team work is the essential success factor. If a team doesn’t work as one throughout the race, the smallest detail can inhibit them from success...
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...Problem Statement Coach Stas Preczewski (Coach P.) of the Army Crew team for the United States Military Academy at West Point believes that he has a championship caliber team. His rowers worked hard throughout the entire off-season, focusing on their physical abilities and rowing technique, and were eager to begin training camp at the Atlanta Retreat. Here, Coach P. implemented a number of commonly employed methods for objectively ranking the rowers from top to bottom. The top eight would form the Varsity team, and the bottom eight would form the Junior Varsity (JV) team. While at training camp, Coach P. made his selections for each team. He then confirmed his results by pitting the Varsity and JV boats in a race that Varsity won handily. Upon leaving Atlanta, the coach was unaware of the challenges to soon arrive. To Coach P.’s dismay, the Varsity boat’s impressive initial performance wasn’t an indicator for their future success. As the season progressed, his Varsity boat, consisting of the statistically highest quality rowers, would routinely lose in races against the JV boat. Since all the facts supported that the Varsity boat was comprised of the best rowers, the coach was dumbfounded as to what course of action was to be taken. As the JV team continued to defeat the Varsity throughout the season, the Varsity team struggled with various issues. The stress of their low performance combined with the humiliation of losing to an inferior team was a recipe for a disaster. As...
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...The Army Crew Team – Case Analysis Scott Sung-Won Kim This is a good example to show how teamwork is important. If the teamwork is not built and the members don’t trust each other, then any good performance couldn’t be achieved. The Varsity team keeps losing its race against the Junior Varsity team even though they were selected by the several objective tests like the seat racing and they proved they have better physical condition than JV team members. The National championship, a culmination of the season is just four days away and a Coach Preczewski has to decide how to solve this critical issue Here are some points on why they failed to build good teamwork * Coach P. mainly focused on physical ability rather than balancing with psychological variables * Coach P. didn’t try to consolidate the Varsity team to one team and couldn’t lead them to communicate each other with respectful attitude * There is no leader in the Varsity team * They blamed each other on the low performance as “touchy-feely” * There is no session to encourage the Varsity team even after losing races Coach P. should have focused more on the psychological points in the earlier stage as the US Olympic Committee’s research showed. During the seat race in the Atlanta, he should have considered the attitude and personality of each members as well. To build strong teamwork, I’d like to propose ‘Advocate Feedback’ communication which is to force the team members only to advocate the others...
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...Good Day Willy, Welcome back, I hope your trip went fine! Please forget the rain this is unusual here ;-) I have been on-board to ASV looking for you but perhaps was not my lucky day! Unfortunately since few days we are on Yellow Alert due to the bad weather conditions. In preparation of this, they have swap several people between the ASV and the FLNG including myself yesterday evening, I hope the situation will be back soon. Although I still have few more days to spend on board, I would very much appreciated if could put down a good pieces of information in a word documents in order for us to made clear all the process for the Verification tracker, TO.xp, Closure punch, Check sheets, Contact points etc. never know something happen again!...
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...Alisa Ali Dr. Jennifer Gliere Introduction to Music 5 December 2016 Final Project: Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing” Journey is an American rock and roll band that was formed in 1973. It consists of guitarist and backing vocalist Neal Schon, bass player and backing vocalist Ross Valory, keyboard player and backing vocalist Jonathan Cain, drummer Steve Smith, and finally the leading vocalist Arnel Pineda (The Band). The band’s first album was released in 1975 but it was not a big hit. The following seven albums were not so lucky either. “After 1978, when big-voiced, feather-haired lead singer Steve Perry joined Journey, the group became a dominant force in what’s sometimes derisively referred to as “corporate rock”” (Murray). Hence, many contend that the band only became famous when Perry joined. However, it was only their eighth album, 1981’s Escape, which gave the band its popularity with its three top hits: “Who’s Crying Now”, “Don’t Stop Believing”, and “Open Arms”. Their next album, known as 1983's Frontiers, heightened their popularity even further and received number 2 on the album charts. The band was even given a contract with NFL Films for a documentary on the group members. The band broke up in 1984 and it wasn’t until 1995 that they reunited again. Additionally, the lead singer was replaced in 1998 and again in 2006 (Smith). Hence, this band was not a very stable one. However, they still had hope and were determined to make the band a success. The hit “Don’t Stop...
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...When Charlotte was in trial, Captain Jaggery consistently points out how Charlotte joining the crew was ‘unnatural’, “‘Is being a crew member not unnatural for a girl?’ ‘Unusual,’ I insisted. Not unnatural,” (Avi 169). The emphasised phrase of ‘unnatural’ adds the dramatic effect of him trying to convince the crew that Charlotte being a part of the crew is unnatural. He makes the crew believe it progressively as he adds facts to back it up. Ever since Charlotte joined the crew, Captain Jaggery was 100 percent against the idea. He uses his argument in the trial, “‘Miss Doyle, let me then put then put the question to you. Have you ever heard of a girl joining a crew,’” (Avi 167). Captain Jaggery uses a rhetorical question to make the crew and...
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...Phillips was really an inspiring movie, considering the fact that it was based on true incident in 2009. I wasn’t aware about this incident before watching the movie. Captain Phillips was indeed brave and a true leader who held himself hostage in order to keep his crew and ship safe from the pirates and getting himself rescued in the end. After the movie and the class discussion, I got to learn some important learning which are important in day to day life of a leader. Captain Phillip’s anticipating and preparing himself before any incident took place ensuring the ship doors were locked and the crew was ready for any unseen event. This shows he learnt from his experience and prepared for the worst. Also staying calm and focused and not creating a panic is important during attacks and disaster. He inspired me how he was protective about his crew even though he dint knew everyone in person. This made him earn their trust. He also was smart to let the crew know where he was moving with the pirates in the ships and also giving them clues as to how the crew could fight with the pirates making their weakness as the crew’s strength. He let the pirates take him as hostage in order to make sure being a captain, his ship and crew would be safe. There were two leaders in the movie, one was Captain Phillip’s and other was Musa. Both were different kind of leaders. Captain Phillip’s was more planned and knew what he was doing. But, Musa was an aggressive leader and took decision in haste. Captain...
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...LAYOUT OF A TYPICAL 18YH CENTURY PLANTATION According to Claypole plantation lands were divided into several sections: cane fields, pastures lands, woodlands, provision grounds, work yards and living quarters for managers and labourers. Most plantations had from three to five cane fields, each surrounded by closely trimmed trees and walls made of lumber or stone wall to protect the crop from cattle. Each field was divided by narrow roads into smaller square plots of 6-9 hectares. This made it easier to manage the gangs that were cutting the cane and the movement to the work yard. According to Hamilton Wille the pastures lands were areas that was reserved for animals, mainly cattle, horses and mules ,and were extremely important. They provided manure for the cane fields and vegetable plots, and some could be even slaughtered to provide meat for supplement the diet of the estate population. The woodland provided lumber for the estate. Lumber was used for a various purposes such as the construction of buildings as well as fuel for the boilers and for cooking. Provisions grounds were unused lands and were generally cultivated on marginal lands, and were extremely important to both the planters and to the slaves. Caribbean history for cxc, Provisions grounds were poor lands on the plantation given to the slaves so that they may grow their own food, working the ground in whatever free time they were given and on Sundays. This was meant to decrease the cost...
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