Wanda has been running Salty Pawz out of her home with the help of just a few friends. She is now considering expanding the business, which means hiring new people and delegating tasks. She read a magazine article about how effective “teams” have been in the workplace, and she has decided to create teams as soon as she hires her new staff. However, the only “teams” Wanda knows much about are NFL teams.

She has provided you with a list of the positions she is thinking of adding as she expands Salty Pawz, and is asking you to recommend a structure and organize her employees into teams, since she doesn’t think letting them pick which team they want to be on is a good idea.

1 full-time treat baker

2 part-time baking assistants

1 full-time sales manager

2 part-time retail clerks

1 part-time bookkeeper

1 full-time office/administrative assistant

1 customer service representative

1 part-time marketing and promotions manager

1 part-time shipping/receiving clerk

1 part-time “web master” and tech support technician

Explain to Wanda the team structure options she can consider once she expands the business, and make specific suggestions about how you would organize her workforce based on the type/structure of teams you recommend. Describe who would report to who, and why.

Give Wanda concrete and specific information about the developmental stages she should expect her new teams to go through once they are established. Be sure to consider the types of work each employee will be performing and how he or she will need to interact to become high-functioning teams when describing the stages of team development.

When providing Wanda with the information above, also be certain to point out the consequences of poor teamwork and give her specific ways she can support these teams to make them successful.