Discussion Question 1

Developing Engaged Teams

Definition

High-functioning teams are necessary in today's business climate due to fast growth and constant change. The needs and wants of consumers change daily. Trends are losing their shortest longevity because of the microwave desire to want new and quick. High-functioning teams collaborate often to ensure proper visibility and planning for change (Stout, Zallman, Arsenault, Sayah, Assaad and Hacker, 2017).

Discussion

There has to be the right tools in place in a timely manner. Customer wants and needs drive proactive leadership to act swiftly with or without a full vision (Starbird and Cavanagh, 2011). The conceptual thought that there is enough time in a day to complete all of the desires of a customer base, does not seem realistic. There has to be a balance between what is important vs. urgent. Apple went from Lean to Agile. Personally, working on a MAC works for me but not the phone. Apple, through transition, continued to cater to a large customer base. Agile allowed for simultaneous deliverables similar to the flow of the eight (8) steps. One major thing to remember is the eight (8) steps do not always happen in the documented order. Change is inevitable. With change, each person and business has to decide how to handle and develop with the change. Apple started with a smaller phone but was considered to have one of the best cameras. Now, they are known for the camera on their newer larger phone. They had a proactive disciplined team. Each team member should be willing to support being a multidisciplinary team. Professional teams with re-envisioning goals, promoting shared decision making, communicating effectively and interprofessionally, clarifying roles, learning from failure and using organization structures makes for success (Sullivan, Ibrahim, Eliner, and Giesen, 2016).

Apple has a team that primary focuses on the industry. This allows for constant change in a timely manner. It demonstrates the need to support change as change arises. Apple has been in the top 10 innovative companies in the technology field. Their investigation and streamline keeps the existing customers while attracting new customers. There is a balance within the balance made public. The public records to show their financial growth in multiple industries. This is accomplished by organizing teams, setting and keeping goals, leading in transition and sustaining the performance (Starbird and Cavanagh, 2011). Apple is one of the leading edge.

Biblical Integration

Joseph predicted years of famine. He began to store food and over time was tracking how much was being stored. Over time, he continued to store but no longer tracked. There was preparations made to continue to store as the growth continued. When the drought affected his family, he was able to send animals and grains. Joseph went from the vision to storing little to reorganizing to store the much.

Joseph was not doing the work himself. There was a team. Joseph had the vision and communicated effectively. They took what was then and made it what was needed for the famine.

References

Developing High-Functioning Teams: Factors Associated With Operating as a "Real Team" and Implications for Patient-Centered Medical Home (2017). Stout, Somava; Zallman, Leah; Arsenault, Lisa; Sayah, Assaad; Hacker, Karen. Inquiry - Excellus Health Plan; Thousand Oaks.

Building Engaged Team Performance (2011). Starbird, Dodd and Cavanagh, Roland. The McGraw Hill Companies.

Management Lessons for High Functioning Primary Care Teams (2016). Sullivan, Erin; Ibrahim, Zara; Eliner, Andrew; and Giesen, Lindsay. Journal of Healthcare Management.

Discussion Question # 2

Ford F-150's Project Leadership Team

In 2014, Ford Motor Company launched the newly redesigned F-150 pickup truck, which quickly gained recognition and secured Ford's continued dominance in that's truck vehicle segment (Motavalli, 2016). The top leadership team, led by Pete Reyes worked on a tight leadership team that produced this successful product. Three cornerstones of the team's success-organize the team, set team goals, and lead the transition-relate to Starbird and Cavanagh's (2011) Engaged Team Performance (ETP) concept.

Ford dedicated over 1,000 people to the 2015 F-150 project, and it was up to team leader Reyes to organize that team to accomplish the necessary tasks ahead (Motavalli, 2016). Starbird and Cavanagh (2011) highlighted that Step 5 of the ETP includes the need to "reorganize and right-size the team for work" (loc: 227). Mao, Mason, Suri, and Watts (2016) acknowledged that much research needs to be done on practical implications of team size and task complexity but argued that performance improves over time and ask the team moves closer to task completion. The implications on Reyes' team are that the size of the team and scope of the project warrant subdividing the large group into specialized teams. Reyes overcame the challenge of coordinating among the various work teams by holding monthly meetings to keep everyone focused on the team's goals (Motavalli, 2016).

Reyes had to prepare the F-150 team for and move them towards accomplishing the company's ambitious goals with the project (Motavalli, 2016). Step 6 of the ETP, "Set Team Goals" includes assessing team performance and setting goals (Starbird & Cavanagh, 2011, loc: 227). Nahrang et al. (2013) discuss the importance of setting goals and their impact on team performance. The major goal for Reyes' team was to "reduce the F-150's overall weight by 700 pounds" (Motavalli, 2016). Throughout the 18-month project (Motavalli, 2016), Reyes would have a need to assess his team's performance and progress in meeting the 700-pound goal and others to revise efforts and keep the team on target. This inspired the team to work together to solve unique challenges, and in doing so the team invented a new process for strengthening automotive-grade aluminum (Motavalli, 2016).

Lastly, Reyes had to lead his team through a plan to reach their desired outcome-developing a new F-150 pickup that met Ford's targets and upheld the reputation of the model with their customers. This is Step 7 in the ETP, "Lead the Transition," and involves "a rational plan, and [to] develop the skills, tools, systems, and knowledge to move the team to the envisioned future state" (loc: 227). For example, the team had to innovate new processes and technologies that resulted in the 700-pound weight loss and six other accomplishments (Motavalli, 2016). The team had to plan these efforts to be successful. Emblemsvåg (2014) discussed that many projects, 59-79% according to several studies, were poorly planned to result in missing all or some goals. The F-150 project required members to collaborate, identify the skills, tools, and systems they needed, and in some cases, create the tools and systems for their unique challenges.

In summary, this successful use of teams demonstrated three practices of effective team dynamics. This matched against Steps 4-6 of Starbird and Cavanagh's ETP. While utilizing these practices, Pete Reyes' team ensured the Ford's F-150 continued to lead in its vehicle segment.

Biblical Integration

Teamwork is referenced throughout the Bible. Ecclesiastes 4:9 states, "Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labor" (KJV). This alludes to the greater impact because of working together. People and teams are brought together by a focus on common goals and rewards.

References

Emblemsvag, J., (2014). Lean project planning: using lean principles in project planning. International Journal of Construction Project Management, 6(2), 185-207.

Mao, A., Mason, W., Suri, S., & Watts, D.J. (2016). An experimental study of team size and performance on a complex task. PLoS ONE, 11(4). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0153048

Motavalli, J. (2016, February 16). 5 inspiring companies that rely on teamwork to be successful.

Nahrgang, J. D., DeRue, D. S., Hollenbeck, J. R., Spitzmuller, M., Jundt, D. K., & Ilgen, D. R. (2013). Goal setting in teams: The impact of learning and performance goals on process and performance. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 122(1), 12-21. 10.1016/j.obhdp.2013.03.008

Starbird, D., & Cavanagh, R. (2011). Building engaged team performance: Align your processes and people to achieve game-changing business results [Kindle version]. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. ISBN: 9780071742269

You must also post replies of at least 200 words to at least 2 classmates' threads. For each thread, you must support your assertions with at least 3 scholarly citations in APA format as well as include at least 1 biblical integration. Each reply must cite at least 1 scholarly source or include 1 biblical integration. Scholarly resources must come from peer-reviewed journals.