Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel has sought to move his team beyond past behavior problems into a new era. To do so, he made senior players accountable for making sure teammates act properly at all times.

Determine whether you agree or disagree with his approach. Support your reasoning. Propose ways that those without formal authority can manage others.

Making senior players responsible for making sure team players act as a team, can work if the senior player display effective leadership abilities and all other team members’ work effectively together in order to function as a team. As a senior, you are expected to act a certain way and hold teammates accountable for their play on the field. Seniors can lift their team by giving pep talks, holding team only meetings and support each other when one get into trouble. Through communication and substantial planning the team should be able to function as a great team.

Examine two different ways of managing group behavior problems. Determine which method you believe to be the most effective. Provide a rationale for your selection.

The first involves the individuals that make up the group and addressing responsibilities and rules. The goal of this is to insure that there is overload, underload, or conflict present within each individual’s perception of his or her role.

The second approach involves team building, focusing on identifying problems/opportunities, analyzing, planning, executing, and evaluating the results. Team building is aimed at improving team effectiveness and promoting a cohesive environment. All the team-building exercises in the world will not be successful if the fundamental building blocks of the team are not in line.