Question 1 Case Study Cross-Boundary Teaming for Innovation: Integrating Research on Teams and Knowledge in Organizations In a growing number of cases, teams span organisational boundaries, not just functional ones, to pursue innovation. For example, professionals from IT services giant Fujitsu worked with specialists from TechShop, a chain of makerspaces that provide individual customers access to professional equipment, software, and other materials, to develop the first-ever mobile makerspace for schools and other community members. In the economic development context, specialists in agriculture, economics, finance, marketing, supply chain management and project management from Coca-Cola, the United States Agency for International Development, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the nonprofit organisation TechnoServe teamed up on an ambitious project to improve Haitian mango farmers' business practices and incomes. Meanwhile, individuals from several multinational corporations, local government agencies, and start-ups formed a consortium to develop a run-down Paris suburb into an ecologically and technologically "smart" neighbourhood. In each of these cases of innovation, individual participants had to work across knowledge boundaries - boundaries associated with differences in expertise and organisation in novel settings. They had joined a newly formed temporary team, with fluid membership, which needed to develop rapidly into a high-performing unit to take on an unfamiliar project. This phenomenon is what we call "cross-boundary teaming". Cross-boundary teaming is a team with members from different expertise and organisation. It presents a sharp contrast with teams that are well-bounded, reasonably stable, and functionally homogenous such as salespeople on sales teams at an insurance company or researchers on drug development teams at a pharmaceutical firm. Research on team diversity in organisational behaviour provides useful insights that inform the topic of cross-boundary teaming. There are two broad categories of attributes that define diversity. The first is surface-level attributes, or readily detectable differences such as gender, age, and ethnicity. The second, deep-level attributes, includes less visible, underlying differences related to knowledge and work, such as functional or educational background. The effects of deep-level attributes on teaming, can be term as "knowledge diversity." These differences pertain directly to team knowledge and, through integration, comprise crucial inputs to innovation. Knowledge diversity expands the range of perspectives that teams can draw upon to innovate. Yet, when organisations convene groups of individuals with diverse knowledge to develop a new product or service or solve a complex problem, the challenges of teamwork are particularly intense. Despite notable successes, case studies often reveal how difficult teaming across boundaries can be in practice. Tapping the potential performance advantages of integrating diverse knowledge is not simply a matter of getting a diverse group of experts into the same room. Most people take the norms and values within their own professions, organizations, or industries for granted, sharing largely unquestioned assumptions that can thwart communication across boundaries. The case study is adapted from: Edmondson, Amy C., and Jean-François Harvey. "Cross-Boundary Teaming for Innovation: Integrating Research on Teams and Knowledge in Organizations." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 17-013, August 2016. (Revised February 2017.) Question 1 The case study highlights how organisations use teams in different situations. However, it is important for managers to understand the characteristics of work teams to make sure that teams are an effective part of an organisation. Identify and explain one team characteristic which you think is essential in making teams an effective part of an organisation. Explain also why you think this team characteristic is essential in making teams an effective part of an organisation, and how you would establish or manage this characteristic in a cross-boundary team. Question 2 As mentioned in the case study, diversity is bound to exist in cross-boundary teaming. As management of an organisation with cross-boundary teaming, discuss how you can use the learning and effectiveness diversity paradigm to manage diversity within the organisation. Question 3 "To pursue innovation, team members work across knowledge boundaries associated with differences in expertise and organisation in novel settings. They join a newly formed temporary group, with fluid membership, which needed to develop rapidly into a high-performing unit to take on an unfamiliar project" - This describes some attributes of an organic organisation. What are the characteristics of an organic organisation? In which environment does the organic organisation work best?