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Answer to #1
Answer: 1. How big should my team be? Create teams of three to five people, which are typically more productive than larger ones. Research in teamwork has shown that as teams grow larger, individuals contribute less effort. Appoint an odd number of people to eliminate the possibility of a 50/50 split if the team votes on a decision. Break into subteams to complete different parts of the project if you need more people on a team to complete a more complex project.
2. What are the skills needed to complete this team project effectively? Identify the work that needs to be done and the skills necessary for doing it. For example, if your project involves market research, identify who has experience conducting surveys.
3. Who has the time and resources to contribute effectively to the team project? Ask colleagues with area expertise to join the team or to recommend a substitute. You may have someone in mind, but if that person is too busy to do a good job on your team, get a personal recommendation for an alternative.
4. Who may be most interested in this topic (and therefore motivated to participate)? Consider prior experience and professional development. You may know someone who has worked on the topic before, or you might consider a new employee who you know is eager to learn about the topic.
5. Who is easy to work with? Consider interpersonal skills as well as project-specific skills. To do their project well, team members need more than just skills and knowledge. They also need to know how to work with others and be able to identify, confront, and resolve issues as they arise.
Answer to #2
Answer: Power distance is the term Hofstede developed to describe how cultures perceive inequality and authority. In cultures with high power distance, organizations are formal and hierarchical, with a clear separation between superiors and subordinates. People are granted respect based on their position alone. In high-power-distance cultures, people typically expect to conduct business with others of equal rank. To send a junior executive to meet with a CEO would be considered an insult to the CEO.
By contrast, cultures with low power distance believe in social equality and therefore have a more relaxed attitude about title and status. Seniority and age alone do not earn someone respect. Younger workers expect to be taken seriously and respected for the quality of their work despite their lower status. In low-power-distance cultures, people progress to a first-name basis much more quickly than in high-power-distance cultures.
Although there is often a correlation between power distance and context, this is not always the case. For example, French culture is relatively low context and direct. However, the French have more respect for formality and authority than people from other low-context cultures, such as Canadians.
Answer to #3
Answer: Teams are integral to an organization's success largely because one individual does not have all the skills needed to compete in today's business world. In addition, if a company needs to bring a product to market before a competitor does, it cannot wait for one or two people to do all the work involved. Instead, the company must rely on a well-coordinated team, with each person doing his or her part to achieve the common goal. Individuals benefit from teamwork, too. By working on a team, you will improve your interpersonal skills, expand your personal network, and use your best individual strengths while learning new skills from others.
Answer to #4
Answer: Conflict can include differences in opinion, disagreements about how to handle issues, complaints about performance or fairness, criticism about the behavior of others, and personality conflicts between people who just do not get along. Conflict is one of the most significant and costly problems in a workplace. A study by CPP, Inc., a company that specializes in conflict management, found that U.S. companies spend more than 2.8 hours per week addressing workplace conflict, which adds up to approximately 359 billion in paid hours per year. When companies do not effectively address conflict and work-place incivility, the negative emotions result in wasted time, loss of productivity, poor work performance, and decreased work effort, which are also costly to an organization. They may also lead to people leaving their jobs. In fact, a study of exit interviews from people who voluntarily left jobs found that more than 50 percent of all resignations resulted from unresolved interpersonal conflict. For every employee who leaves, a business needs to hire and train a new employee, which costs at least 1.5 times that employee's salary.
Answer to #5
Answer: Apple faced an ethical dilemma with one overseas partner. Like many other electronics and computer companies, Apple contracted with manufacturing facilities in countries, including China, where laborers are paid less than in the United States. This wage difference is not unethical. However, reports emerged that the people were forced to work seven days a week and often more than 10 hours a day. In addition, working conditions in these factories were unsafe, which led to explosions in two iPad factories in China, killing 4 people and injuring 77.
Was Apple responsible for the abusive working conditions and safety violations at these overseas facilities? Were the company's local contractors responsible? The ethical issues in this situation are complex. Apple has a supplier code of conduct that all suppliers agree to follow. And following the explosions in the two Chinese factories, Apple made a commitment to monitor the plants more closely. However, the abuses continued and critics accused Apple of ignoring reports of unsafe working conditions and of taking advantage of different ethical practices to increase profits. As Nicholas Ashford, a former chair of the National Advisory Committee on Occupational Health and Safety, said, What's morally repugnant in one country is accepted business practices in another, and companies take advantage of that. Apple, however, contends that it does not want to take advantage of workers. CEO Tim Cook said that We believe that workers everywhere have the right to a safe and fair work environment. To ensure this safe work environment, Apple engaged an intermediarythe independent Fair Labor Associationto conduct voluntary audits of all suppliers' facilities in China by inspecting the plants and interviewing workers. Apple's suppliers have agreed to abide by the results of the audits and to make changes in wages and working conditions.
Answer to #6
Answer: Your colleague is focusing on something else, which will likely prevent him from listening carefully. If you begin by describing your project in great detail, he will probably tune you out. Instead, briefly describe what you want in such a manner that he understands why you are communicating. To prevent him from objecting that he is too busy, you may also add I don't think it will take much time, but if it does, I'll be glad to help you on your project, too. Offering to return the favor by helping him on his current project or at some future point will help overcome his resistance. At this point, your colleague will be ready to listen.
Answer to #7
Answer: Relational differences will not simply go away if you ignore them, so avoidance is not a recommended option. If you are involved in an affective conflictone that focuses on relationships or ego you will need to address the emotional issues before you can productively discuss the content of your work. When you do have a personality conflict with someone, explore the ways that you can resolve it. Pick your battles, and argue only about things that make a real difference. Ask if you can meet to discuss the cause of the conflict, being sure to listen actively by focusing on content rather than personality issues. Paraphrasing may be helpful here, since by restating what you think the person is saying, you may get clarification on what he really means. The other person may also see how what he intended by his words is not how they were perceived by the listener. Use neutral rather than accusatory language, so as not to put the other person on the defensive or shut down the discussion altogether. Framing some of your comments in I language will focus on how you feel about the other person's behavior. This can open the other person's eyes to things he wasn't aware of and may help improve the situation.
Answer to #8
Answer: Nonverbal communication refers to messages that are conveyed through something other than words, like tone of voice, emphasis on words, facial expressions, gestures, body language, or other behavior. The question Did you finish the report yet? is direct but nonthreatening, if asked in a calm tone of voice with an indifferent expression on the face. When asked in an angry tone, with a frown, emphasizing the word yet, while shaking the head, it becomes much more inflammatory. The nonverbal cues suggest a tone of judgment that the report should have already been completed, as well as scorn and anger that this is not yet done.
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