Henri Tam and the MGI Team : Written Case Analysis
Henry Tam faced a difficult challenge as he began his business plan project with Music Games International (MGI). The root of the problem is that the company culture is not adaptive. This means that the team members do not come together and support change to enhance their productivity. In this instance, it causes the team not to be as effective as they otherwise would.
During the course of the project, Henry encountered several difficulties. The group lacks an effective leader. He has to step in to establish better management of agreements and build unity and encourage collaboration through supporting, empathizing, and harmonizing. Finally, their group lacks greatly in having clear stages of development. He needs a clear understanding of the stages of group development.
In order to advance the group, I recommend that they make changes in their strategy to form the cohesion in their group. First, they need to overlook personality conflicts to facilitate agreement. A group of highly talented people does not mean guaranteed success. They must delegate tasks and be consistent in their decisions. Another recommendation is to establish a clear team leader to develop credibility. This will allow the group to develop focus and influence, and motivate them to greater effort. Third, I recommend they set clear expectations and boundaries. Doing so will increase efficiency and clarify roles and agendas. Finally, they need to establish meeting agendas to maintain focus. Their discussion styles are not effective, and this will allow better communication and help them to increase performance.
Henry Tam
Exhibit 1: Analysis of Henry Tam’s Team
A. Leading Teams are defined by the text as the highly effective teams that are shared and motivated by its team members. Evidence of leading teams from Henry Tam and the Music Games International (MGI) Teams includes:
• Characteristics of the team’s weaknesses relating to the concept of leading teams:
? MGI team members lack interdependence behavior. This means that its member’s behaviors are not cohesive and collaborative. In contrast, each member are adherent to their style or behavior in their own way. For example, the case states that: o Roman stated that the major issue was the tension between Dana and Sasha (as Roman puts it) “Sasha and Dana had negative chemistry. They didn’t work well together. There was a lot of friction between them” (p.8). o “Henry and Dana wanted to see the meetings progress, but the others were more comfortable with brainstorming because that’s what they had always done” (p.8). o Dav stated that his style was very incompatible with the MGI founders. At the meeting, he usually sat there with nothing to say. He stated that he is not very aggressive in group conversations. (p.9). o In contrast with Dav’s style and behavior as described above, Sasha is very aggressive in Alex’s view. Alex also stated that Sasha has very strong ideas about things and is not open to others. (p.8).
In my opinion,Ibelieve that if the MGI team members should come together with a strong sense of consensus and commitment for its team. In other words, if they were more concerned and consider carefully about its members’ behaviors or styles, they would have reduced lots of conflicts and tensions among the team.
? Team members lack to manage agreement and disagreement during the group conversations. For example, the case states that: o “There were times that Dana had to say “no” to further debates in the interest of refocusing the group. Sasha took it badly that Dana kept being so strict” (p.8). o “When the team gathered again for the following week, Henry was surprised to find yet another new member in attendance. Henry and Dana first learned of MGI’s intention to enter the second contest through Dav’s arrival at this meeting. The unexpected development troubled Henry and Dana” (p.9). o “From Dav’s perspective: It was a complex dynamic. All of us were happy to be working together and were motivated, but certain allegiances cropped up, basically around HBS versus the Russians. Within the Russian group, Roman would disagree with the others” (p.10). o Henry and Dana tried to establish process of choosing one alternative out of eight or ten divergent visions, but whenever they seemed to be getting close, one of the others in the group would say “no-let’s change it.” (p. 10-11).
Overall, I think that if team members were more open up to each others’ perspectives and back up any disagreement or tension that they might have, they would have reduced lots of conflicts among the group. Also, knowing how to manage agreements and disagreements will help the team to produce better performance among its task and interpersonal relationship.
? Team members have failed to established clear goal to others. The goal that has been described here means the lack of explaining and giving direction from one to another. Thus, members in the group may get confused and unclear with certain actions arise. For example, the case states that: o “As Dana recalled, “It seemed premature to ask for help from senior people without having done their homework.Iwere not even sure whatIwere selling. Was it a game? A service? A concept?” (p.7). o Dana worried about the team members’ limit experience and their need for leadership. She stated that team members had the right attitude, strong commitment, and hard work. However, no on the team knew the right way to go, or how to decide what direction to take. (p.8).
In my view, team members should be consistently and effectively managing its goal by planning and establishing clear goal to each others. By doing so, tensions or discomforts would have been much lower among the team.
Characteristics of the team’s strengths relating to the concept of leading teams:
? Team members have used commonality and reciprocity to others. This means that the team members expressed their views those are held in common with others, the others who receive the expression will be more likely to agree with the later statements. Basically, team members express their views to bring the team into harmony and agreeability. .For example, the case states that: o “Alex also pointed out the cultural differences, but noted that there were other distinctions besides nationality demarking the team members. “There was a debate on every issue! Maybe it’s a Russian mentality! Everyone wants to be thorough” (p.10). o Alex took Dana aside at the end of the meeting and explained to her about the difference in mentality. He said that when musicians get together it’s very relaxed. He tried to convince Dana that the time was not being wasted like she has felt because that is just the style of many musicians’ work processes (p.11).
In my opinion,Ithink the team members did a good job of understanding and sharing their opinions or ideas to each others. This concept is essentially vital for the development and stimulation of the relationship and interest among the team
B. Advantageous roles are defined by the text as the powerful and interrelated of task-facilitating and relationship building roles among effective teams. Evidence of advantageous roles of Henry Tam and MGI Teams includes:
• Characteristics of the team’s weaknesses converting to the concept of advantageous roles:
? Team members lack building unity and collaborations among team members. For example, the case states that: o Roman stated that Sasha and Dana had negative chemistry. They didn’t work very well together. There was a lot of friction between them. Whatever Dana said, Sasha didn’t agree, and whatever Sasha said, Dana dismissed (p.8). o As Henry and Dana recalled, “Sasha brought in his ideas too, butIbasically ignored him. It’s wasn’t deliberate. Everyone was looking at my slides and forgot about Sasha. It seemed likeIwere getting buy-in from everyone except Sasha. Sasha felt that his effort were being wasted” (p.9-10) o Henry had also observed that the three founders were not as cohesive a group as he had originally thought (as he puts it) “Sasha and Igor did not always have joint position, and Sasha and Roman had some personal conflicts” (p.13).
As described earlier, team members lacked interdependence behaviors. From that reason, it also leads the team to the barrier of building unity and collaborations. Unity and consensus require a great deal of understanding and blending all different behaviors into one unique team behavior.Ibelieve that if MGI team members were more concern about its behaviors accordingly and consistently, the team would have been more productive and efficient in the performance.
Characteristics of the team’s strengths converting to the concept of advantageous roles:
? Team members have established strong supporting, empathizing, and harmonizing relationship. Supporting in this case shows that team members point out others’ contributions. Empathizing in this case shows that team members express empathy and support for others. Harmonizing in this case shows that team members mediate between differences between others to find the common ground in disputes. For example, the case states that: o Supporting: Alex pointed out that, “Henry and Dana were especially involved to write the business plan for this contest. They were important because they definitely knew better than any of us how to write a successful business plan, how the contest work and so on. (p. 13). o Empathizing: In Dav’s view, “Sasha was the most strongly orientated toward moving forward-getting thing done. He provided a lot of energy, but the exact same traits caused tension. So his strengths could also be considered weaknesses if taken to the extreme. But I think without Sasha, the whole thing never would have happened” (p.13): o Harmonizing: Alex tried to convince and reduce Dana frustration from the thought of time was being wasted He tried to explain the difference in mentality. He stated that when she deals with musicians, she has to understand that their styles are very relaxed. Therefore, time will be likely longer to reach the agreement.
Once again, the team engaged a strength aspect of empathizing, supporting, and harmonizing among the team. MGI team is considered as intercultural team with its members from different cultures. Creating the environment of understanding and bringing each other into harmony will make the team members more energetic and comfortable in their work.
C. MGI Teams’ stages of team development (forming, norming, storming, and performing.
• Understanding of the stages of group development can assist Henry in leadership situations such as this one. o Henry is a member of a formal group because their group is not based on friendship or self-interest that holds them together as a group. They have come together in order to complete a task. Henry expresses concern regarding the group’s dynamics, which are the forces operating in the group that affect the way members relate to and work with one another. If the dynamics were more positive, the outcome would be positive, as well. o Forming stage: This stage is an initial entry of members to a group. During this stage, individuals begin to identify with other group members and with the group itself. Members are interested in getting to know each other and discovering what is considered accepted behavior in determining the real task of the group, and in determining group rules (pg. 462). Dana explains that “Everyone was open to each other and eager to start work “(pg. 6). Sasha expresses a little about the different characteristics of different group members. Sasha seems quite hesitant as he replies “if things work out”, when asked about Henry’s role after post graduation. Dana and Henry were the Americans and were looked as interns by Russian Sasha instead of team leaders. o Norming stage: After the group is formed, the team culture and informal relationships among members must be developed (pg. 463). The team begins to form a culture of its own. The group really begins to come together as a coordinated unit. The teams become contented with team membership and begin to value the team’s goals (pg. 463). Alex acted as a mediator between the HBS students and the musicians. Henry and Dana, after a series of disagreements between their team members—tried to establish a process of choosing one alternative out of eight or ten divergent visions (pg. 10). Sasha needs to be put on the same page with everyone. Sasha should try to accommodate his needs regarding group meetings and group activity. Henry describes that he had developed bonds with his team members, and he didn’t want to let them down (pg. 14). o Storming stage: This is a period of high emotionality and tension among the group members. Hostility and infighting may occur, and the group typically experiences many changes. “They experience a certain amount of pressure to conform to the expectations of other teams members, so the team begins to develop a culture of its own” (pg. 463). This is the case with the incidents with Sasha. There is tension between him and the group. He is not fitting in as Henry would like. Roman and Igor are from Ukraine, whereas Sasha is from St. Petersburg (pg. 4). Sasha seems to be much Americanized as their preferences of languages suggest (pg. 4). Sasha was very unfocused and always jumped from one idea to another. Sasha was someone that the team would have to work as a challenge in the storming stage (pg. 6). Alex also felt in the second meeting that the group was very unorganized. Sasha, probably of his self interest to join the MIT business plan contest invited Dav without the prior consent of the team. “Dav’s entry into the team heightened tension in some ways” (pg. 9). There was a lot of friction between Sasha and Dana (pg. 8). There was no clear leader; whoever had the most energy at the time provided leadership (pg. 13). o Performing stage: This stage of development represents the highly effective and efficient team functioning. Team members in this stage exhibit a sense of mutual responsibility and concern for one another as they carry out their work (pg. 467). This marks the emergence of a mature, organized, and well functioning group. They are able to deal with the complex disagreements in creative ways. This stage develops when the group is mature. When Henry’s group reaches this stage, Sasha will be satisfied because they will be working together according to his standards. He expresses to have high standards for himself as well as for the group. Henry hopes that the experience would turn out to be worthwhile (pg. 14). As Henry recalls, “I was learning a lot about dealing with different kinds of people. I also felt an obligation to see this thing through”, it can be implied that he was more coherent with the team then (pg. 14). He was wiling to pursue the challenge if he had known the team better then. o Hopefully, the group will separate with the idea that they can work together again if the need arises. At the introduction of the case, Henry is described as a devoted, hard-working student. Henry’s job as the group leader may prove more challenging than the schoolwork he is accustomed to.
? Henry has to understand that just as human beings grow out of stages in their life, so will his groups o If Henry understood the stages, he would not get so stressed out over his group’s development and would allow the natural progression of the stages. It may be presumed that for the most part, people would rather work individually because it is less complex when there is no need to compromise. One of the many components of the professional world is collaborative effort. The challenge is learning how to deal with the predicaments that occur throughout the different stages of group development.
? Group members tend to act and behave differently as they come from different cultures. oIbelieve that Henry should understand that his individual group members think and act differently. This is not a problematic situation; in fact it could actually be advantageous. In a homogeneous group the members are very similar and find it easy to work together. But when it comes to the performance the group itself may suffer because of the limitations in their collective skills, perspectives, and experience. Diverse groups that vary in age, race, experience, culture, and gender coupled with different talents and viewpoints will progress greatly in problem-solving situations. Lately, Henry thinks of his group as a diverse group of individuals; he was learning a lot about these people and how they could contribute to his team if they come collectively.
D. Henry’s leadership towards the group development.
• An effective group is one that achieves high levels of task performance, member satisfaction and team viability. o Overall I do not believe that Henry is an effective group leader. A group leader should guide the group to satisfy these criterions. It has been many weeks since the group wanted to come up with a business plan. In evaluating the case, it is evident the group has not made effective progress (pg. 12). o The goal was to write a business plan for the HBS contest. The group failed even to draft the first paper when the deadline was approaching (pg. 12). Therefore, the group fails to achieve timeliness. If Henry was an effective group leader he would have planned better. Dana and Sasha were also sharing a negative chemistry, as Roman recalls (pg. 8). o It is obvious that Henry and Dana are not too pleased about working with Sasha. He feels out of control when it comes to group work (pg. 9).
Summary of Team analysis
Based on my analysis,I believe that the MGI team comprises of people with different background, and are also elites. However, they struggle to reach to a consensus to find a way to develop a strong business plan. Instead of utilizing the full resources that they have, they are in serious disagreements, and also less focused.
Problem statement:
Cultural differences and different background created friction between the team members. The case states this as too much diversification within team.
Exhibit 2: Recommendations
1. Henry needs to eliminate personality conflicts among the team, and get everyone to agree on a joint team decision.
Rationale
There would also be heated discussions in regarding how to proceed. The first action that Henry should do is giving team members autonomy and independence to work freely to generate new and bright ideas. Teams are interdependent in the tasks they perform; in short team work and a joint effort are a must for any team to be successful. Team work requires both independent work and team collaboration. Team work requires the ability to successfully collaborate with each other without any biases.
Benefits:
• Henry should successfully foster greater interdependence among team members.
• Strong communication skills are important for joint team project to succeed. A group of highly talented people in the team does not mean that the team would do well.
• Henry also should identify an effective leader who has the respect and trust of other team members. A leader is an individual who takes effort and works and participates with everyone and to whom personal goals are subservient to the accomplishment of the team goal. An effective leader is skillful in leading teams.
• Articulate a motivating vision for the team. This would set out to evoke greater meaning and deeper commitment among the team members.
• Be clear and consistent in expressing ideas and be optimistic. A clear understanding of what has to be accomplished.
Barriers:
• MGI is composed of independent people who feel they each serve a separate purpose.
• Language barrier exist preventing clear communication.
• Nobody wants to, or is qualified to take the leadership position.
Conclusion
Creating unity among the different personalities present in the MGI group is an imperative recommendation that will have a huge impact. However, it will be very hard to implement. The members think their personalities are effective in the group, and will not be eager to change.
2. Establish a clear team leader with the capacity to influence team members that will develop credibility within the team. Articulating goals and giving directions on a task are not going to work if the leader has failed to establish credibility and respect.
Rationale
Dana states, “There was no clear leader. Whoever had the most energy at the time provided leadership,” (13). The team’s lack of success was due to its lack of obtaining an effective leader. The blurring roles caused to team to remain inefficient. Without a leader, the team struggled with developing credibility and influence among team members and establishing a motivating vision. The textbook states, “Express certainty about what you want and where you are going, without being dogmatic or stubborn, helps produce confidence on the part of others (512).” Many times, team members resisted with conforming to others ideas. The three founders failed to establish leadership roles according to Henry, “Sasha and Igor did not always have a joint position, and Sasha and Roman had some personal conflicts. I felt I had to handle them at the same time that I had this pivotal role in producing the business plan (13).” This would have been an opportunity for Henry to establish himself as a leader using positive energy to actively influence to most important team members. Motivating others towards greater effort and assisting others to learn, grow and achieve, orienting and coaching members of the team will allow the leader to increase team productivity.
Benefits:
• Share information with team members to encourage more participation and greater involvement.
• The MGI Team can improve performance by the skills and capacities of an efficient leader (510).
• Their will be clarity and consistent in the teams goals set by the leader (511).
• Helping interactions to be smooth and encourage agreement and reflecting group feelings and expressing encouragement for team members.
• Henry will gain credibility by creating positive energy by being optimistic and complimentary (511).
• Encouragement and coaching team members will help the MGI team improve (511).
• Henry will build a base agreement among team members before moving on, with a focus on task accomplishment (511).
Barriers:
• Language barriers exist which creates more channels for conflict.
• No accountability exists between team members, which can cause more difficult problems.
• Group members are all very independent.
• May create conflict or threatening environment.
• Establishing a leader may also cause the group to avoid participating as a whole and rely on a single team member. “The team, rather than the leader or a single person, takes responsibility for solving problems, confronting and correcting mistakes, and ensuring success,” (504).
Conclusion
While this recommendation is important, it is also conservative. This is something that should have been done at the formation of their group, so damage is already done. More drastic steps could be taken, but would require much more change. Therefore, this will have an important but minimal impact.
3. Expectations and Boundaries must be set.
Rationale:
As previously mentioned, in the very first meeting, the team seemed to have problems developing a close relationship or any sense of trust. “The first task is to ensure all team members know one another and that their questions are answered (503).” The MGI Team needs to understand what boundaries and individual expectations to feel like a “cohesive unit”. An important recommendation for Henry would include establishing expectations and boundaries for the group. Dana stated, “We were all committed and willing to work hard-but no one knew the right way to go, or how to decide what direction to take (8)”. In order for the group to achieve its agenda, expectations and boundaries must be set for team members creating a clear direction. Certain jobs should have been broken down from a MGI Team decision into subgroup decisions. Henry expressed his concern stating, “I don’t thinkIwere very clear with the respect to the role that I took on initially. We each served as facilitator, moderator, task manager, and strategic thinker (12)”. The teams’ efficiency began to decline, as roles remained unclear. The MGI Team needs to understand what boundaries and individual expectations to feel like a “cohesive unit”.
Benefits:
• Team members become contented with team membership and begin to value the team’s values more than their own personal goals (504).
• Team members will be able to decide what role to accept. “Without having at least one team member displaying task-facilitating behaviors, teams tend to take longer to achieve their objectives and have difficulty staying focused (518).”
Barriers:
The MGI team may still remain “unidimensional”. Too much emphasis on certain roles may cause the team to be dominated and under-perform. “Elaborating may be disruptive if the team is trying to reach a quick decision; tension relieving may be annoying if the team is trying to be serious; enforcing may create resistance when the team is already experiencing high levels of pressure; consensus building may mask real differences of opinion and tension and team members (519).”
4. Establish Meeting Agendas to maintain goal focus
Rationale:
The MGI Team meetings and discussion styles are not effective, failing to produce positive results. The case states that, “Henry worried that the meetings had become too long, and unmanageable, and that they were not accomplishing anything (11).” Henry may consider introducing a meeting format, to organize specific meeting agendas and establish time and task efficiency. According to case, Alex and Dana would have been in favor. Although the team differed in meeting style ideas, it was important to stay goal focused with the business plan deadline rapidly approaching. It is obviously that the indecisive and time-consuming meetings were not effective when the team “did not even have a first draft of the business plan that was due in just three weeks (12)”.
Benefits:
• Goals will increase performance. “…when people are given no goals, their performance tends to be low (513).”
• Will help the team meet deadlines efficiently
• May eliminate blocking roles
Barriers:
The MGI team may become more concerned with efficiency, making ill-informed decisions. This is where task-facilitating roles become important to help the group stay focused on the team’s objectives