1. Wayne Smith, Ph.D. Department of Management CSU Northridge ws@csun.edu
BUS 302 “Gateway”:
A case study for MGT 360
Wayne Smith, Ph.D.
Department of Management
CSU Northridge

2. Structure
(i.e., why and how individuals in an organizational context exhibit such wide variation matters greatly)

3. Descriptive Statistics: Typical BUS 302 Class
Mean
Standard Deviation
Start of Class
(using incoming GPA)
2.801
.4765
End of Class
(using final letter grade)
2.618
.9772

4. Teams
(i.e., why and how individuals change team performance over time matters greatly)

5. Teams and Performance Team Assignment Issues Team Performance Issues
I tried my best to make all teams as equal as I can.
I split up Sex and Major; Also, I made each team have the same GPA
As part of a team, do men and women offer different qualities to succeed approximately equally? Or are any differences more stereotype than substance?
As part of a team, do students with different majors contribute and consume different perspectives to succeed approximately equally? Can anyone know at this early point?
As team members, does GPA (most of which was at the individual-level) explain or predict performance? What about Native v. Transfer? What about aspirations?
Also, what about diverse work experiences and diverse cultural backgrounds?
Team Performance Issues
In the “real world”, rewards vary:
Professionals are primarily rewarded for their own work.
Managers are primarily rewarded for the work of others.
In BUS 302, rewards vary:
Each student needs to start strong and stay strong at the individual-level.
Each student needs to start strong and stay strong at the team-level.

6. Summary of Learning Intensity from Peer, Qualitative Evaluations
(i.e., the breadth and depth of skill-based learning within a team by the end of the semester)
“What did you learn from another team member?”

7. Learning Intensity Evaluatee (Contributor) Evaluator (Learner)
Student1
Student1
Student2
Student2
Student3
Student3
Student4
Student4
Student5
Student5
Student6
Student6

8. Learning Intensity–Least Successful Team
Evaluatee
(Contributor)
Evaluator
(Learner)
Student1
Student1
Student2
Student2
Be creative
Student3
Student3
Write better
Student4
Student4
Hard work is key
Student5
Student5
Student6
Student6

9. Learning Intensity–Most Successful Team
Time management
Evaluatee
(Contributor)
Evaluator
(Learner)
Mix hard work w/ fun
Student1
Student1
Always be prepared
Student2
Improved my writing
Student2
Ask good questions
Student3
Student3
Leadership
Student4
Student4
Don’t get frustrated
Student5
Student5
Be organized
Student6
Math/Stat/Excel
Student6
Positive Attitude

10. Team Characteristics Contributing to the Team’s Work
Strong: Does more or higher-quality work than expected.
Weak: Does not assist teammates. Quits if the work becomes difficult.
Interacting with Teammates
Strong: Asks for and shows an interest in teammates’ ideas and contributions.
Weak: Complains, makes excuses, or does not interact with teammates.
Keeping the Team on Track
Strong: Watches conditions affecting the team and monitors its progress.
Weak: Avoids discussing team problems, even when they are obvious.
Expecting Quality
Strong: Motivates the team to do excellent work.
Weak: Doubts that the team can meet its requirements.
Having Relevant Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
Strong: Demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities to do excellent work.
Weak: Unable to perform any of the duties of other team members.

11. Conflict
(i.e., why and how individuals develop discussions and resolve challenges matters greatly)

12. Managing Conflict Conflict is… Two types of conflict are…
A disagreement between people on:
Substantive issues regarding goals and tasks, allocation of resources, distribution of rewards, policies and procedures, and job assignments
Emotional issues arising from feelings of anger, distrust, dislike, fear, and resentment, as well as personality clashes
Two types of conflict are…
Functional Conflict
vigorous discussion and debate that is well managed can help promote creativity and high performance
Dysfunctional Conflict
unproductive arguments and unresolved issues that aren’t well managed can lead to a substantively less-cohesive team (and weak performance and lost points for the entire team)

13. Resolving Conflict

14. Communication
(i.e., why and how individuals in an organizational context design and develop discourse matters greatly)

15. Avoiding “Process Losses” and “Fault Lines” in Teams
The simplest tips prevent small problems from becoming large problems.
“Free-riding”
Review your trust and contract assignments
Team-based feedback—objective and subjective
Manage “air time”
Does everyone have a chance to speak and contribute?
“social—professional—social” —> 5%—85%—10%
Information Processing
Discuss non-common, privately-held, non-agreed-upon data too
Inadvertent filtering by perceived status or cognitive biases

16. Difficult Conversations
Professionals don’t need much help when things are going well.
But everyone needs help when things aren’t going well. Teams need to learn to discuss—openly and honestly—topics such as:
Clarifying Expectations
Review the Team Trust assignment (and expand upon it as necessary).
Perhaps revisit the Team Contract assignment (and extend it as needed).
Evaluating Performance
Understand how the work of even a single individual (in-class or out-of-class) can negatively impact the team and reduce the scores of all team members.
Help others create a culture of ownership.
Adjusting Behavior
Focus on recurring behavioral issues fist.
Link individual attitudes with demonstrable action.
Learn how to be objective even on topics involving personality and perspective.
Remember….it is possible to be “voted off the island (team)”
The team needs to keep good documentation for the instructor.
The student(s) will then earn an automatic “F”.

17. Communication Channels and Information Richness

18. Motivation
(i.e., why and how individuals initiate and respond to feedback and incentives matters greatly)

19. How do you learn to improve yourself?
You need to learn to ask others (subordinates, professional peers, and bosses/managers/faculty) to provide you with constructive feedback.
You initiate that dialogue.
You need to learn how to 1) learn from others’ constructive feedback, 2), develop a action plan, and 3), change your behavior based on that action plan.
You are responsible for evaluating the changes and results of your plan.
You need to learn how to provide constructive feedback to others (especially professional peers and teammates).
You 1), choose the right time and place, 2), ensure that the feedback is reliable (is consistent) and valid (reflects reality), 3), make it direct and specific, and, 4), provide it in relatively small doses.
You need to learn to ask others (especially professional peers and teammates) how you can help them?

20. (i.e., how individuals change team performance over time)
Leadership
(i.e., how individuals change team performance over time)

21. Situational Leadership