Business 492 Senior Experience Regina Eisenbach, Ph.D. Jim Hamerly, Ph.D.

2 Jim’s family…

3 Some of Jim’s interests…

Regina’s family…

A little bit about Regina…

Expectations of Students Read and follow directions Check WebCT religiously Communicate professionally – both orally and in writing Come to class on time and ready for Quiz Get a great start on your project

Expectations of Jim and Regina Respond promptly to and phone messages Provide guidance and support throughout the process (no hand holding) Provide organization and structure to give you the best start possible Make a productive use of 4 hours of class time

The numbers… This semester we expect to: engage ~220 students complete ~49 projects The program over 10 years Over 1,000 projects Over 4500 students!

emotion numbers first, now…

Quiz 1

Grade Components Weekly quizzes (10% each)30% CSU Business Assessment Test 10% Team Contract 10% Web CT Discussion Board 10% Company & Industry Research Report 30% Draft Letter of Engagement 10%

What you should have accomplished to date… Reviewed materials on WebCT Participated in discussion boards Formed a team Reviewed the available projects

For next week… Team roster and Project Preferences & Avoidances by 9AM Tuesday in WebCT Reading: –chapters 7-11 of text –library.csusm.edu/plagiarism (all 20 pages) Video: view all Discussion: Process Journal Week Two Team contracts due

Tour of WebCT

Matching Companies, Faculty, and Teams

Matching Companies & Faculty Company A Company Candidates Company A Selected Companies Faculty Candidates Faculty expertise and preferences used to match companies Appropriate difficulty level and relevance used to select companies

Matching Individuals into Teams Students self-select into Teams

Matching Companies, Faculty, Teams Company A Selected Companies Matched Faculty Student Preferences & expertise used to match companies

Bus492 & 493 Timelines

BUS 492/493 Timeline Photos due Mon 1/14 Tues 1/22 Team Project Preferences due Thur 1/24 Team Contract due Fri 2/1 Company/Industry Report & Draft Letter of Engagement due Today Fri 1/25 Projects MATCHED one week to complete Company/Industry Report Fri 2/8 Final Letter of Engagement due Mon 2/4 First meeting with Company Teams formed Class 1Class 2Class 3

BUS 493 Suggested Timeline 9 weeks to define & complete research Mon 2/4 First meeting with Company 2/11 8 weeks left 2/18 7 weeks left 2/25 6 weeks left 3/3 5 weeks left 3/10 4 weeks left 3/17 3 weeks left 3/24 2 weeks left 3/31 1 week left 4/7 2 weeks until report due 4/14 1 week until report due 4/21 Draft report due 2 weeks to complete report 4/28 1 week for preso & Final 5/5 Final Report & presos Mon-Thurs 5/15 tradeshow 2 weeks For preso & report

BUS 492 Spring 2008

Team Experience Think of the best teamwork experience you have ever had. What made it work? Think of the worst teamwork experience you have ever had. What made things go wrong?

Five-stages of Group Development 1  Forming: Members get to know each other, establish ground rules  Storming: Members test power structure, resist control of group leaders, can show hostility  Norming: Members work together, relationships and camaraderie develop  Performing: Members work to get the job completed  Adjourning: Group may disband after meeting goals or if members leave 1 Based on Tuckman, B. W., & Jensen, M.A. (1977). Stages of small group development revisited. Group and Organization Studies, 2,

Characteristics of Effective Teams Clear Purpose Participation Civilized disagreement Open communications Shared leadership Style diversity Informality Listening Consensus decisions Clear roles and work assignments External relationships Self-assessment

Why Teams Fail  Team tries to do too much too soon  Conflict over differences in personal work styles  Too much emphasis on results, not enough on team processes and group dynamics  Unanticipated obstacle causes team to give up  Resistance to doing things differently  Poor interpersonal skills (aggressive rather than assertive communication, destructive conflict, win-lose negotiation)  Poor interpersonal chemistry/personality conflicts  Lack of trust

Effective Task Oriented Leader Behaviors Orient the team toward task processes Be sure meetings are organized Discuss and confirm team goals Identify what the team needs for its work Help the team to divide the work Make sure information is shared Provide information and ideas Encourage creativity and critical thinking Test conclusions for ethicality

Effective Relationship- Oriented Leader Behaviors Suggest and encourage positive norms Encourage the involvement of each member Encourage trust and openness Help manage conflicts Make connections Create a sense of “teamness” Work actively to deal with team stress

Key Roles on Teams 2 Adviser – Encourages search for more information Maintainer – Fights external battles Controller – Looks at details, enforces rules Producer – Provides direction and follow through Organizer – Provides structure Assessor – Offers insightful analysis of options Creator – Initiates creative ideas Promoter – Champions ideas after they are created Linker – Coordinates and integrates 2 Based on Margerison, C. and McCann, D. (1990). Team Management: Practical New Approaches.

Team Contract Exercise Assignment – use the information from these slides and your OB courses to develop your own team contract

Team contract discussion Regina placeholder

Advice from prior students Form a good team with good team habits Plan well, and set deadlines for every task Get ahead, stay ahead, don’t procrastinate Deal with conflict early Keep detailed notes from each advisor and sponsor meeting Work hard, enjoy your project, stay positive!

Faculty agreed less than students to statements in the red areas Students agreed less than faculty to statements in the blue areas

Student “Good Practices” At the start of the project: Ensure that your team, faculty adviser, and company contact all have the same understanding of the projects' definition and objectives. Decide upon a dominant communication mechanism with your team mates (face-to-face, WebCT, , blog, IM, phone, etc.). Recognize that the bulk of the project must be completed in ~8 wks, not 16. Throughout the project: Expect communication problems, misunderstandings, and missed commitments and deal with them immediately. A delayed response is the germination of problems to come. Meet weekly with your faculty adviser. Always prepare an agenda for every meeting, in advance of the meeting. Issue meeting minutes immediately afterwards. Communicate weekly with your company sponsor through your designated team contact.

Faculty “Good Practices” At the start of the project: Meet on-site with the sponsor contact before the start of BUS 492, to be clear on roles and expectations. Meet with the team in advance of the first meeting with the sponsor contact, also to be clear on roles and expectations. Go with the team to the company for the first meeting. This is largely to help the team leave that meeting with reasonable goals and objectives, so that the team does not over-promise. Immediately following the initial meeting with the sponsor contact, meet with the team for another half-hour to debrief and ensure that everyone shares a common understanding of what happened and what are next steps. Throughout the project: Meet weekly with the team members. Speak at least monthly with the company contact. Encourage student team to apply "Student Best Practices".

For next week… Team roster and Project Preferences & Avoidances by 9AM Tuesday in WebCT Reading: –chapters 7-11 of text –library.csusm.edu/plagiarism (all 20 pages) Video: view all Discussion: Process Journal Week Two Team contracts due

41 Informal feedback Write a “2 minute” journal to be handed in immediately The journal should briefly summarize: Major points learned Areas not understood or requiring clarification

Class Break Students without team assignments please gather in the front of the room