Part B: Case Study

Read the case study below and then answer the questions.

You are a management consultant who has been employed by TC Industries to assess

the performance of their team in meetings. The team consists of James, Jim, Sarah,

Tom and Steve. All team members are at the same hierarchical level and are required

to contribute equally to the project at hand. Although they are at the same level James

has been with TC industries the longest, so he has been appointed to take on more of

a leadership role. The team has just been recently appointed to the project and you

have been asked to observe their second team meeting.

After attending the team meeting you recorded the following notes:

The meeting was scheduled to start at 9am. James and Jim were present at

8.50, Sarah arrived at 8.55am, Tom at 9.05am and Steve at 9.15.

James chaired the meeting and distributed the agenda to the group as they

walked in the door.

As soon as Jim received the agenda, he quickly ran off to his desk realising

that he was required to present some information. He complained under his

breath as he did so obviously annoyed that he hadnt known earlier.

James had started reading through the agenda when Tom walked in and Tom

instantly took over saying that the agenda wasnt necessary and that he had

something important he wanted to discuss.

All attendees checked their mobile phone at some point throughout the

meeting and at one-point Steves phone rang interrupting the conversation.

The meeting was scheduled to go for 1 hour but ended up taking 2 hours. The

group seemed to get stuck arguing on one point for some time. It appeared

that they didnt necessarily disagree but had difficulty in communicating their

opinions. They seemed to be going around in circles in the conversation not

getting anywhere. Eventually Tom just forcibly changed the subject.

Sarah arrived early for the meeting and although appeared conscientious by

her early arrival time did not speak at all during the meeting. It may have been

because Tom was talking nonstop.

Although James was the official chair of the meeting it seemed as though Tom

was dictating the direction of the conversation changing topics when he felt it

was appropriate.

The agenda was followed for the first point but quickly veered off topic. At one

point, Tom and Steve spent 15 minutes debating whether iPhones or

Samsungs were better.

Steve left the meeting earlier than everyone else while the team was in the

middle of an important decision. When questioned for his opinion his response

was you all decide and just email me your decision.

Jim spent the entire time taking notes and didnt contribute his opinion.

Although it appeared like he wanted to, he never shared the document that he

ran back to his desk to get.

Question B1

1. What strategies would you suggest to achieve the following:

a. Engage Sarah and Jim in the discussion

b. Prevent Tom from dominating the meeting

c. Improve the structure of the meeting

d. Prevent disruptions and increase productivity