Jason Jones has been asked to assemble an eight-member self-managed work team of experienced employees to work on a project that combines the functional areas of research, production, marketing, and distribution. Jason is apprehensive about managing a team so large; he knows from prior experience that larger teams do not always result in greater productivity. Jason has also been informed by the management that this team is being established as the project must progress according to the predetermined timeline. The work lagging behind by one division will cause a cumulative delay in all the successive stages of the project's execution. Which of the following measures, if adopted by Jason, would best ensure that the team members are working efficiently?
A) implementing a training program to provide the team members with the necessary technical and human relations skills for the project
B) discouraging team members from restricting themselves to their own functional areas by experimenting with and learning the jobs done by other members of the team
C) instructing the team members to finalize the plan for the project right at the beginning and ensuring that it is implemented without any changes
D) assigning the specific tasks of the project to each team member by keeping in mind their preferences and abilities
E) implementing a group-based incentive he has planned for this team

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Implementing a training program for experienced employees is not directly going to help ensure efficiency. Discouraging team members from restricting themselves to their own functional areas is not going to contribute to team efficiency directly; it may reduce efficiency in actuality. Instructing the team members to finalize the plan for the project right at the beginning and ensuring that it is implemented without any changes may actually hamper team efficiency because of the lack of reflexivity. Assigning the specific tasks of the project to each team member by keeping in mind their preferences and abilities is likely to ensure that team members are working efficiently. Implementing a group-based incentive for this team is likely to provide greater opportunity for some employees of the group to coast on the group's effort because of the lack of individual roles and accountability.

Jason Jones Has Been Asked to Assemble an Eight-Member Self-Managed