A631.4.4CM INSEAD Reflection

In light of the video and the readings from your textbook;

• What do you see as some of the major benefits and drawbacks of self-managed teams?

A few major benefits of a self managed team would be

1. There is no formal manager who instructs the team on what to do and when to do it. Self managed teams have the flexibility and ability to decide how they would like to structure themselves and how they go about organizing their workflow processes

2. Having a team that has the ability to fucnction in all areas and at all levels including production, engineering, quality, profitability, etc.

3. Teams are able to zoom in and out of specific goals and objectives. Their general goals are incorporating success at all levels to ensure the greater focus of organizational objectives are being met.

4. Teams are innovative and resourceful by finding ways to do more with less.

5. The ability of team members to shift roles and responsibilities.

6. Teams have the ability to detect weaknessess and address and strengthen those weaknesses.

7. Team members may experince more job satisfaction as they are directly involved with the running of the organization.

8. Teams have a greater commitment to company goals which in turn leads to improved productivity and loyalty.


A few drawbacks of a self managed team would be

1. Teams are not easy or cheap to implement into an organization and may also take alot of extensive training.

2. The constant issue of self direction and group monitoring may cause stress and burnout in team members.

3. Group processes and values need to be understood by all team members for the group to be successful. The group must be on the same page on the goals of the organization and how they will achieve those goals.

4. May work well in competitive, ever changing organizational environments but may not work well in organizational environments where tasks are simple, easily attainable or where supervision is necessary.

5. Conflict between team members may increase as everyone has a say in how the team is being run and there is no direct supervision on the group.

6. Team members are specialist in a variety of areas allowing for the doomed "too many chefs in one kitchen" effect.

7. Diversity of team members knowledge and talents may potentially slow down the teams progress and refrain from allowing it to reach its full potential.

8. Trust and communication between team members is a must. All members must be able to cooperate with one anothewr, hear each other out and be able to take the "back seat" when needed.

• Would you like to work within such a team?

I think that I would like to work on a self managed team given that the environment suits it. I strongly believe that there is a time and a place for self directed teams and feel as though they can be extremely successful when used and placed in the correct environment to achieve specific goals, however I would never want to be on a self managed team that did not have clearly defined goals or team members who were not dedicated to the task or objectives at hand. If I worked for the govenment or a company such as Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Grumman, etc. I feel as though I could learn a ton from a self managed team and would love to be part of a team like that, however if my current department was run as a self managed team I do not think it would be very successful. I believe that my department runs very well under the supervision of my manager and director and frankly do not believe that my specific department call for a self managed team.

• What competencies would you need to develop to be an effective external manager of a self-managed work team?

1. Development of my communication skills to be sure that I am clearly defining goals and objectives of the team and organization

2. Ability to understand cross functional teams and environments.

3. Ability to deal with conflict in a constructive manner.

4. Comprhension of all internal and external elements of an organization such as competitors, finances, production, etc..

5. Have a discipline and focus on achieving organizational goals and objectives.

6. Ability to maintain versatility and flexibility especially during difficult stages of a process.

7. Staying dedicated to acheiving organizational goals and committed to the team that helps us get there.

8. Allowing flexibility without forgetting to maintain structure.

9. Maintaining confidence, creativity and optimism to ensure positive reinforcment to the team.

10. Being dependable, reliable and self motivated and expecting the same from the team members.

11. Ensuring active listening and constructive feedback.

12. Always be a team player, respect and collaborate with team members and treat everyone as an equal.

13. Provide resources when necessary.