ALL GROUP PROJECT QUESTIONS MQM , 2009

Group Project Questions (Introduction of Business)  What kind of business is your group starting?  Who, specifically, are your major competitors in Bloomington/Normal?  What makes your business potentially more successful than your competitors? Specifically, will your business: Engage in a cost leadership strategy by selling your product/service for less? Engage in a differentiation strategy by emphasizing what makes your product/service different than your competitors? Engage in a focus strategy by catering your product/service to one specific customer segment?

Group Project Questions (Individual Differences)  Consider the “central job” in your business  List and describe the FOUR most important individual differences that you believe will make someone good at that job, and explain exactly why those individual differences should be an asset  Rank the FOUR in order of importance Continued on next page…

Group Project Questions (Individual Differences)  Describe, in painstaking detail, what you will use to measure those individual differences  Give your audience specific examples of your individual difference measurement strategies, so that they can judge the quality of your measures. (NOTE: you cannot use questionnaires for everything.) Think of other selection devices you could use which are relevant to performance (simulation tests, physical ability tests, structured interviews, etc.)

Group Project Questions (Attitudes)  Consider the most important job in your business  How will you maintain high levels of job satisfaction for this job?  How will you foster organizational commitment? Be sure to distinguish between the three types of organizational commitment Is one more important than the other?  Note that you may want to revisit these questions when you cover “motivation”

Group Project Questions (Emotions)  How will you foster a general mood or emotional atmosphere in your company?  Procedures?  Rewards?  Business layout?  Can you apply the concepts of Emotional contagion, emotional intelligence, and emotional labor in your strategic policies?  How will you try to influence the emotions experienced by your employees and customers?  What? How? Why?

Group project questions (Emotions)  What, if any, policies will you implement to deal with the prevention, intervention, or restoration and recovery of toxic emotions or burnout?  How will you manage emotions? Feedback systems, emotional release opportunities, etc.? How will you make sure how breaks are used? Get creative!  Think about the display rules your core position will need to follow and how those rules could lead to burnout and recommend policies that address specific situations.

Group Project Questions (Motivation: compensation)  Consider again your central job. Describe, in painstaking detail, exactly how and on what basis job holders will be compensated.  Describe exactly how your pay plan makes greed work for you by fostering motivation and line of sight.  Are there any potential drawbacks to your pay plan? If so, describe them.  Remember to use Motivation Theories (e.g., needs, expectancy, equity, justice, goal-setting) to justify your compensation and feedback systems

Project Questions (Motivation: Justice)  Identify some situations in which fostering feelings of fairness and justice would be particularly important.  How will your business utilize Equity and Justice theories to maintain a sense of fairness or justice in these situations?

Group project questions (Groups and teams)  How will you use teams or work groups in your mythical business?  Types, uses, composition, etc…  What type of policies or guidelines will you have in place to manipulate the context, composition, and design of your teams. How can you work to increase process gains and decrease process losses in your work groups/teams? (See IPO model)  Think about the other policies you’ve already thought of concerning individual differences, motivation, attitudes, and emotions….

Threats to group effectiveness  How will you protect your business from Groupthink, social loafing, and/or the Asch Effect?

Group Project Questions (Conflict)  Conflict is inevitable. How will you manage conflict in your business?  Be sure to touch on the two types of conflict (task and non-task).  Also, be prepared to address other forms of conflict individuals are facing (e.g., work-family, etc.)

Group Project Questions (Groups and/or Decision Making)  Identify two or three key decisions for which group decision-making should be used. Be sure to explain why you chose these particular decisions.  How will your group avoid the pitfalls of using group decision-making, while at the same time take advantage of benefits of group decision-making?

Group Project Questions (Decision-Making)  Identify two or three programmed decisions and two or three non-programmed decisions that may occur during a typical work day.  How will you minimize the common errors that occur throughout the decision-making process? Give an example using one of the decisions identified above.

Project Questions (Leadership)  What type of leadership strategy (or strategies) will you employ?  How will use leadership theories to guide you in confronting various organizational conflicts and changes?  How will use leadership to complement your other strategies (e.g., individual differences, attitudes and emotions, motivation, decision making, etc.)

Group Project Questions (Stress)  How will your business manage/minimize the amount of stress that your employees experience?  This is a broad/ambiguous question that requires a comprehensive answer.  Points will be given for creativity here – thinking outside the box, but make recommendations based on the theory.