Management
See AttachedOn the home page of this module, six different management and team competencies/conditions were described. In this case, you will reflect on how these competencies/conditions act either alone or with others, to create task and interpersonal connection.Case AssignmentRead the following article:Lii, A. T., Alsever, J., Hempel, J., & Roberts, D. (2014). The new teamwork. Fortune, 169(6). Available in the Trident Online Library.Then address the following:Do competencies/conditions act either alone or with others, to create task and interpersonal connection.Discuss how each competency and condition leads to either task and/or personal connection by contributing to goal clarity, loyalty, trust, or information sharing.Explain your reasons with reference to the background materials and examples from the case reading or other research if needed.Assignment ExpectationsYour paper, which should be 4 to 5 pages (excluding title and reference pages) and include at least 3 scholarly sources, will be evaluated using the following five criteria:Assignment-Driven Criteria (Precision and Breadth): Does the paper fully address all assignment expectations? Are the concepts behind the assignment addressed accurately and precisely using sound logic? Does the paper meet minimum length requirements?Critical Thinking (Critical Thinking and Depth): Does the paper demonstrate graduate-level analysis, in which information derived from multiple sources, expert opinions, and assumptions has been critically evaluated and synthesized in the formulation of a logical set of conclusions? Does the paper address the topic with sufficient depth of discussion and analysis?Business Writing (Clarity and Organization): Is the paper well written (clear, developed logically, and well organized)? Are the grammar, spelling, and vocabulary appropriate for graduate-level work? Are section headings included in all papers? Are paraphrasing and synthesis of concepts the primary means of responding to the Keys to the Assignment, or is justification/support instead conveyed through excessive use of direct quotations?Effective Use of Information (Information Literacy and References): Does the paper demonstrate that the student has read, understood, and can apply the background materials for the module? If required, has the student demonstrated effective research, as evidenced by student’s use of relevant and quality sources? Do additional sources used in paper provide strong support for conclusions drawn, and do they help in shaping the overall paper?Citing Sources: Does the student demonstrate an understanding of APA Style of referencing, by the inclusion of proper end references and in-text citations (for paraphrased text and direct quotations) as appropriate? Have all sources (e.g., references used from the Background page, the assignment readings, and outside research) been included, and are these properly cited? Have all end references been included within the body of the paper as in-text citations?This Case Assignment should be turned in by the end of the module. TOYOTA STYLE TO TEST ITS NEW TECH, THE FUEL-CELL GROUP WENT ROAD-TRIPPING. Execs Who Play (and Stay) Together THE FOLKS WHO BUILT HOT GROCER WHOLE FOODS ACTUALLY LIKE ONE ANOTHER. A LOT. WHOLE FOODS’ “e-team” of seven top exec utives possesses a closeness and trust sel dom found in big corporations that keep the C-suite strictly professional. Co-CEO John Mackey has been friends with executive vice president Jim Sud for 47 years, dating back to when they were Houston teenagers, going on double dates together. (Sud’s $5,000 investment helped the company get started.) Chief financial officer Glenda Flanagan joined in 1988, when Whole Foods had just six stores. She and Mackey live in the same Austin neighborhood and often go on morn ing walks together. Though they’re scattered in offices in California, Massachusetts, Maryland, and Texas, the seven executives try to spend time together outside the office. President A.C. Gallo once toured Croatian villages with Flanagan and Mackey. This spring the entire executive team will head OVER THE PAST three years, members of the fuel-cell vehicle group have logged more than 1 million test miles in certifying Toyota’s first-ever production fuel-cell car: a zero-emission, electric drive, four-door sedan that can travel 300 miles and be refueled in three minutes. On trips lasting weeks at a time, the nine member group, based in Tor rance, Calif., has taken the car from Yellowknife, Canada, to Death Valley, Calif., with stops in between in Las Vegas, San Francisco, and the Rockies. Using classic automo tive test protocol, the team installed the fuel-cell com ponents in nondescript older cars known as engineering mules and traveled caravan style with support vehicles. Three technicians handled the driving (technicians are renowned at Toyota for their ability to calibrate suspen sions with their posteriors) while four engineers moni tored the powertrain. FORTUNE.COM 80 Due to be introduced in the U.S. next year, the car, which as yet has no official name, will initially be sold in California with a subsequent rollout to the Northeast, and Toyota, optimistically, has already boosted its production targets. The carmaker has been working on fuel cells since 2001 and now believes they have greater poten tial for development than similar battery-powered cars. Powertrain costs have been reduced 95% over the past 10 years, partly by includ ing the use of parts already developed for Toyota hybrids. Packaging the bulky compo nents has been significantly streamlined. Team leader Matt McClory says the fuel-cell car has already passed one key test: In the bitter –30° cold at Yellowknife, a conventional gas-powered rental car being used as a support vehicle failed to start after a cold night. The fuel-cell car fired up flawlessly. —Alex Taylor III to the Virgin Islands for a beach vacation. “We just like hanging out together,” says Mackey. How does this translate into good business? Mackey says their high degree of trust means better communication and a willingness to work things out when prob lems and disagreements arise. With 33 to 38 new stores opening this year and revenue expected to climb 11% to 12% this year, it is hard to argue with his approach. (For more, see previous story.) —Jennifer Alsever whCFO Glenda Flanagan and co-CEO John oMackey are also neighbors. They talk busi- ness and more on regular morning walks. le foods: redux photograph by MATTHEW MAHONHomejoy: Just Add Water From left: Mark Linsey, VP of engineering; LaNae Nix, VP of client services and platform support; Adora Cheung, CEO; Aaron Cheung, VP of growth; Deborah Lightfoot THE ERA WHEN startup teams would toil together in obscurity for years before launching a product or seeking funding is long gone. In 2010, Homejoy founders and siblings Adora and Aaron Cheung, now 30 and 25, respectively, brought a startup idea to mentoring program Y Combinator. It didn’t work, but they left the incubator with enough seed funding to try different ideas. When their software-driven housecleaning business plan caught on in 2012, Andreessen Horo witz led a $1.7 million investment; just seven months later Redpoint Ventures, along with Google Ventures, injected $38 million. Because of its high-profile backers, Homejoy has been able to assemble a dream team of seasoned vets, such as finance director Deborah Lightfoot, who had the same gig at gaming giant Electronic Arts. —Jessi Hempel How IBM Corralled an Unwieldy Team SURPRISE! AN OLD-SCHOOL ORGANIZATIONAL TECHNIQUE (NOT SOFTWARE) SAVED THE DAY. IBM IS ONE of the most technologically advanced companies in the world, but when one of its executives needed to organize a sprawling team of more than 200 of the brightest scientists at eight different IBM labs, two government laboratories, and five university campuses with diverse areas of expertise, he turned to a book written in 1985. IBM Fellow and chief scientist Dharmendra Modha, charged with oversee ing an ambitious government-funded project to develop a chip that would mimic the human brain, used a method called six thinking hats, described in a book of the same name by inventor Edward de Bono. He told the team members, who struggled to find consensus in their email and digital communi cations, to characterize with colors their argu ments: white for facts, black for discernment, red for emotions, green for investigating an idea, and yellow for optimism. The idea: Drive objectivity by separating fact from emotion. a znetop nivagphotograph by CODY PICKENSModha says the method worked to en courage quieter participants with good ideas to speak up and allowed everyone to recon cile diversity of thought. To ensure a common direction, Modha created a contract, outlining the technical specs of what each party would build. It eliminated the ambiguity of whether a key piece of technology would fit with the work done by others. “It kept us working in complete synchronization,” says Modha. When groups differed on the best way to tackle a particular technical challenge, he split people into two groups. Each group pursued their approach and measured the results objectively at the end of a set period. The idea: Ensure that failure was never a mark against anyone’s reputation but rather a learning experience for everyone. In 2011, Modha’s team success fully demonstrated a brain-inspired chip architecture, and the project continues to develop technology that helps computers think more like humans. No word yet on whether the computers divide their argu ments by color. —J.A. April 28, 2014 TEAMWORK From left: Dan Fogarty, chief marketing officer; Kevin Reddy, CEO; and Keith Kinsey, president, at a Noodles & Co. restaurant in Aurora, Colo. A Restaurant’s Team of Rivals NOODLES & CO. USES CONFLICT TO SPICE UP THE C-SUITE. LACROSSE’S QUIET TRIO THE THOMPSONS OF THE UNIVERSITY AT ALBANY ARE SO IN SYNC THEY DON’T NEED WORDS TO COMMUNICATE. SOME TEAMMATES meet or practice so frequently that they develop a sort of magical rapport. University at Albany lacrosse stars Miles, Lyle, and Ty Thompson take this transcendent rhythm to another level. “They almost don’t even have to communicate sometimes— they can make things happen by a head nod or a stick fake or just a shoulder shrug that tips the other guy, and they’re able to find each other,” says Albany men’s lacrosse head coach Scott Marr. “This is stuff you can’t get from normal practice.” It may help that the Thompsons are family. Miles, a senior, and Lyle, a junior, are brothers; Ty, a senior, is their cousin. (The brothers are members of the Onondaga tribe, while Ty is Mohawk. They grew up on Native American reservations in upstate New York; all three are “attack,” or strictly offense, players.) Miles traces their on-field chemistry to playing box lacrosse, an indoor version of the sport, together since they were children. “Growing up, playing with each other, it carries out on the field really well because we know each other’s tendencies and know each other’s strengths,” says Miles. Ty adds, “Our KEVIN REDDY craves a good debate. So in 2009 the CEO of restaurant chain Noodles & Co. hired Dan Fogarty as chief marketing officer— even though Fogarty famously clashed with Noodles president Keith Kinsey when the two worked together years earlier at Chipotle Mexican Grill. The two were op posite in personality, skill, and style. Kinsey, a former accountant, is predictable; he eats the same lunch every day. He’s also pragmatic, grounding every idea in financial and logistical reality. Fogarty, meanwhile, grew up in advertising. For him, no idea is too crazy. He loathes routine and seeks out variety, whether it’s in fine dining, Scotch, or travel. Not surprisingly, Reddy had to referee many heated debates between his lieutenants, who ultimately achieved détente on a road trip visiting the company’s restaurants. “It was kind of like couples therapy,” says Fogarty. “Now we understand the common goal.” Reddy believes that executives who chal lenge one another— rather than validating each others’ ideas— produce the best thinking. “I don’t mind if it gets a little bloody as long as it’s merely a flesh wound,” he jokes. Given Noodles & Co.’s per formance—same-store sales have grown in 31 of the past 32 quarters— Reddy can accept the squabbling. —J.A. lacrosse IQ is so high because we’ve been playing since we could walk.” So how to compete against the Thompsons, or any set of teammates that exhibits a similar brand of innate collaboration? Rivals have responded by double-team ing Lyle and Miles or trying to deny them the ball—with some success. (Albany’s record is 5–5; last year it fin ished 13–5.) But even when Albany loses, the Thomp sons’ play is thrilling—“a thing of beauty,” Marr notes. Sometimes the best way to deal with a transcendent team is simply to watch and learn. —Daniel Roberts thompsons: greg wallFrom left: Miles, Lyle, and Ty Thompson have a —potent combination of terrific lacrosse skills and inon-field chemistry. side lacrosse FEEDBACK letters@fortune.com Visit fortune.com/teamwork for five tips on building a great team, and a look at the best founding teams in history. FORTUNE.COM 82 photograph by BENJAMIN RASMUSSENIf you’re in the binoculars and buoys business, so are we. If you’re in the binoculars and buoys business, so are we. We may be in shipping, but your business is our business. From our expert sales and support We may be in shipping, but your business is our business. From our expert sales and support teams to our careful drivers and dock workers, our people keep a constant watch over your teams to our careful drivers and dock workers, our people keep a constant watch over your shipments so you can keep your promises. So whether you’re shipping Domestic, Expedited shipments so you can keep your promises. So whether you’re shipping Domestic, Expedited or Global, your product’s safe with us. odpromises.com/people or Global, your product’s safe with us. odpromises.com/people ®OD•DOMESTIC OD•EXPEDITED OD•PEOPLE OD•GLOBAL OD•TECHNOLOGY HELPING THE WORLD OD•DOMESTIC OD•EXPEDITED OD•PEOPLE OD•GLOBAL OD•TECHNOLOGY KEEP PROMISES.® Old Dominion Freight Line, the Old Dominion logo and Helping The World Keep Promises are service marks or registered service marks of Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. All other trademarks and service marks identifi ed herein are the intellectual property of their respective owners. © 2014 Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc., Thomasville, N.C. All rights reserved. This content is for personal, non-commercial use, and can only be shared with other authorized users of the EBSCO products and databases for their personal, non-commercial use.
