Case Activity: Chapter $13$: Managing Work Groups and Teams

Tough Mudder is committed to teamwork. The managers know that selecting the right type of team with the right characteristics is essential for the success of teams.

The company is gearing up for next year's events and determining where to hold them. Customer feedback, logistics$,$ and pricing of sites and supplies all play a role in the decision. Tough Mudder hosts events in North America, Europe, and Asia, so detailed country knowledge is necessary as well. Using a

of employees would result in the best decisions.

Hiring team members who are diverse in terms of gender and race is likely to $$ the team's productivity.

The CEO of Tough Mudder believes that teams in his company are not working as effectively as they could, and he is asking you for advice. Provide the best answer to his question.

"One of our longstanding cross$-$functional teams is being led by Ingrid. She is very knowledgeable and highly organized, so we would like to keep her in a leadership role. However, when there is disagreement on the team, she puts forward her ideas very emphatically and flatly rejects other team members' contributions. Everyone on the team needs to buy in to the final decision so they work hard to implement it$.$ What guidance should I give Ingrid?"

$$ Ingrid should learn to avoid conflict because it is costly in terms of both time and wear and tear on relationships.

Ingrid should learn to compromise and give other people on the team half of what they want.

Ingrid should learn to accommodate the other people on the team because she needs positive relationships with them over the long term.

$$ Ingrid should learn to collaborate, using a high degree of both her natural assertiveness and cooperation.