Silicon Valley Technologies, a simulation of a technology based corporation, gathered their top twenty managers for an off site management meeting. The top management teams included The President, Director of Special Projects, three Vice Presidents, eight Directors and seven Managers. The purpose of this simulation was to handle diverse problems within Silicon Valley Technologies with all the real life complexities that arise when running an organization.
My position was as the Director of Special Projects and I was part of Group VI. All the members of my team and I had one hour to collect and read all the information provided by the individuals who coordinated the simulated project. The next two and one half hours were dedicated to finding all “relevant” members of the team, gathering as much information as possible, and presenting the results to the President so he or she could make a company presentation. The presentation dealt with what our team considered to be the most important issues that facing the productivity and successful performance of Silicon Valley Technologies in the future.
Communication While part of the Silicon Valley Technologies simulation, I found that our team experienced many interpersonal communication problems that challenged the effectiveness of our productivity.
Communications is defined by The American Heritage Dictionary as “The exchange of thoughts, messages, or information, as by speech, signals, writing, or behavior.” By definition, then, communication necessarily involves one’s self-concept, feelings about and perceptions of others, and emotions surrounding the subject being discussed. Among the most significant areas that negatively affected our team were: 1. Levels of exchange between speakers and listeners · Feelings about subject matter · Subject matter · Feelings about one another · Feelings about self 2. Trust and dealing with blind spots 1 The levels of exchange within our group were initially a problem because of the foreign nature of the information provided to individuals about Silicon Valley Technologies.
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Our group had only one hour to read and utilize information so that we could make major decisions about the future goals and actions of the company. We felt the amount of time we had to study the information and prepare a strategic company plan was not realistic. The information, which was not easily absorbed, created blind spots and inhibited our team from forming a solid analysis of the company’s problems in order to ensure future growth.
My feelings about the subject matter were very confusing especially regarding when and where I was going to conduct informational and organizational meetings with all the members of my team. It was difficult to prioritize what was truly the most important issue. The members of our team felt very uncomfortable, similar to how they might feel working the first day on a new job. We all had similar confused feelings about the subject matter, felt we had no real direction, and could see no resolutions to the problems presented.
Though I was Director of Special Projects, I had no clear idea of my role in the organization. This caused me to doubt my own ability. I felt I had no real power, as my position, while directly connected to the President of the company, was not related to other divisions. The Director of Special Organizations seemed more like an administrative assistant to the President. Every time I tried to organize a meeting, my efforts were ignored and members looked to others within the organization for direction. Needless to say, this caused me to lose confidence and I felt I was not able to be an effective leader. This resulted in a further erosion of trust among members of our team.
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Leadership/Influence Problems of leadership were also evident. The leadership was definitely situational, that is, the President assumed his responsibilities temporarily for this simulation. The net leadership and influence was a result of the distribution of responsibilities between the President and subordinates. There were many examples of influence that affected the leadership of our team. The types of influence that were present were: · Formal: The formal influence was pre-determined information that was provided within the guidelines of the packet we analyzed before starting the Silicon Valley Technologies workshop.
· Informal: The informal influence was not truly a factor since no one had the expertise or experience relating to the products and services provided by Silicon Valley Technologies.
· Illegitimate: The Influence within the simulation seemed to fit this description. Nobody felt that the President, Vice -Presidents, Directors, and Management had the right to exert their influence among members of the group.2 Temporary Groups The formation of temporary groups was a factor affecting the outcomes of the simulation as well. Temporary groups had both a positive a negative affect on our team. The different groups were supposed to be cohesive and functioning. The members of the team and I did not seem to be able to get past the idea that this was a simulation and our groups were temporary.
The concepts of temporary groups that we utilized were: · The group was used for an unusual project where diversity of opinion and expertise were needed such as in the formation of task forces.
· The job was temporary and the members were expected to disperse among other groups to perform other tasks.3 The concepts of temporary groups that we had problems with were: · Members acted as representatives not independent problem solvers.
· Difficulty in achieving a common goal. Members of the group maneuvered for advantage with certain hidden agendas.
· Members were less committed to group and withheld time, energy and expertise.
· A sense of working with strangers and taking time building relationships rather than solving problems.
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· Self governing and individuals seeking contact with other people from different parts of the organization. Meeting with President to “grandstand” while focusing on audience not problems.4 Group Processes The last issue that affected our team was the appropriateness of group processes. The factors that affected the appropriateness of group processes for our team were: · Size: Due to the size of our team, it was very difficult to coordinate meetings with our group as a whole and our sub groups as well. The information that was crucial for our team was difficult to determine because we were unable to coordinate our efforts efficiently.
· Distribution of Resources: Even though the members of each group were to pretend they were expert in their fields, the true problem solvers and information suppliers were the members of the team that had a real knowledge of the problems and technology provided by Silicon Valley Technologies.
· Time Pressure: Our team was allotted only two and one half hours to complete the seminar before our President made a company presentation on all the information provided by the team. It was extremely difficult. to organize, understand, and resolve the problems within our company given this time constraint.5 Outcome At the end of the seminar our team was ranked on a scale from 1-10 based on our understanding of the problems facing Silicon Valley Technologies and the future direction of the company; 1 being the best while 10 being the worst. Team VI received a 9. The reason we received such a low score was because of lack of communication, influences, our feelings of a temporary groups and appropriateness of group processes.
The seminar was very successful in that it made me realize the importance of all the issues and what affect they can have on an organization. The application of real-life issues helped me correlate the strategies to scenarios that have taken place in my actual work experience. The Silicon Valley Technologies simulation was helpful in further developing my understanding of management 501 but the members of out team and myself did not play the expected parts that we were assigned. We depended on our own knowledge, expertise and experiences in trying to solve the problems of this organization.
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