The Sedona Management Group (SMG) recognizes the importance of teamwork in the successful completion of projects....

  

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The Sedona Management Group (SMG) recognizes the importance of teamwork in the successful completion of projects. Tim Turnpaugh also believes in building a project team based on both the skills and diversity in background of the project team members. To Turnpaugh, diversity in background adds fresh ideas that can enhance the quality of SMG's products. As an example, the chief programmer at SMG not only has the expected skills in PHP, Ajax, and MySQL, but he is also a professional jazz musician. Another member of SMG's team, a graphic designer, was a physical therapist and an artist prior to joining the team. Turnpaugh believes that such diverse backgrounds allow people to approach problems differently, see issues from different perspectives, and in many ways, enhance the quality of the work environment. All these factors not only result in enhanced project quality but also help the team learn to "think outside the box" and build new products and services that enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty. What does it take to be an employee at SMG? The Sedona team looks for intrinsically motivated individuals, people who enjoy their work, whether it be building applications or interacting with SMG's diverse client base. While these individuals should have the neces- sary technical expertise, such as skills in PHP, Ajax, and MySQL, their ability to work as members of the Sedona team and create a fun work environment are also highly valued. SMG looks for people who strive for perfection in what they do. Turnpaugh believes that these characteristics-while they can be developed to some extent-are highly dependent on the person's basic personality and attitudes. Indi- viduals who enjoy their work and pay attention to details make great employees for a self-managed work team environment, such as that at SMG. While compensation and other forms of extrinsic motiva- tion are always important for any work environment, Turnpaugh seeks employees who are self-motivated to succeed and have fun while working. In several situations, Turnpaugh has trained unskilled employees-what he calls rookies. He emphasizes that if an individual comes from a dif- ferent background, the focus is not on stripping the employee's knowledge and starting over again but rather on finding ways to complement that existing knowledge with the knowledge that will be gained working with the team. In the case of the graphic designer turned web interface designer, the employ- ee's knowledge as an artist augments her ability in designing the interface for the system. As these skills are merged, Turnpaugh calls these people Ninjas, in that they become experts in their areas-beyond the normal black belt. He adds that he would rather have a few Ninjas on his team than a bunch of non-Nin- jas. Central to SMG's personnel philosophy is that recruitment is key. A smart, personable, hard-working individual can, in many instances, acquire the appro- priate skills for his position. The reverse, however, is not true. While skilled, a person who isn't motivated to work hard and cannot enjoy the work environment may never acquire these attributes. SMG's reward and recognition system is set up to reward both individual behavior and teamwork While Turnpaugh recognizes individual members of As you have learned it takes teamwork to successfully complete most projects. The members of your entertainment website development team must work together to achieve the project objectives. For this assignment, you will find out what you need to work as a successful team. 1. As an individual-level assignment, determine at least five things that really work well, and five that do not, when managing teams. the Sedona team who have done something extra to ensure customer satisfaction, rewards are also given for group-level performance to ensure people are pulling together as a team. To further enhance the social fabric and teamwork aspects of his organi- zation, social events are frequently planned after the team has successfully completed a project. Many members of the Sedona team genuinely like each other and share common hobbies and time together after work. Finally, Turnpaugh stresses the importance of smaller teams with three to seven members. Larger teams frequently suffer from problems associated with managing schedules and interteam communi- cation. The Sedona team has found that communi- cation is vital to the management and success of any project and that members of a smaller team tend to be in constant communication with each other. Consequently, these smaller teams can work more effectively toward fulfilling the customer's needs. 2. Get together with your team members and discuss what each of you has written in response to Question 1. 3. Establish a set of ground rules that you will use during the project to manage team interactions. 4. Also determine a responsibility assignment matrix that defines who will perform what work at a very general level. 5. Identify the skills that are most important for the project manager. The Sedona Management Group (SMG) recognizes the importance of teamwork in the successful completion of projects. Tim Turnpaugh also believes in building a project team based on both the skills and diversity in background of the project team members. To Turnpaugh, diversity in background adds fresh ideas that can enhance the quality of SMG's products. As an example, the chief programmer at SMG not only has the expected skills in PHP, Ajax, and MySQL, but he is also a professional jazz musician. Another member of SMG's team, a graphic designer, was a physical therapist and an artist prior to joining the team. Turnpaugh believes that such diverse backgrounds allow people to approach problems differently, see issues from different perspectives, and in many ways, enhance the quality of the work environment. All these factors not only result in enhanced project quality but also help the team learn to "think outside the box" and build new products and services that enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty. What does it take to be an employee at SMG? The Sedona team looks for intrinsically motivated individuals, people who enjoy their work, whether it be building applications or interacting with SMG's diverse client base. While these individuals should have the neces- sary technical expertise, such as skills in PHP, Ajax, and MySQL, their ability to work as members of the Sedona team and create a fun work environment are also highly valued. SMG looks for people who strive for perfection in what they do. Turnpaugh believes that these characteristics-while they can be developed to some extent-are highly dependent on the person's basic personality and attitudes. Indi- viduals who enjoy their work and pay attention to details make great employees for a self-managed work team environment, such as that at SMG. While compensation and other forms of extrinsic motiva- tion are always important for any work environment, Turnpaugh seeks employees who are self-motivated to succeed and have fun while working. In several situations, Turnpaugh has trained unskilled employees-what he calls rookies. He emphasizes that if an individual comes from a dif- ferent background, the focus is not on stripping the employee's knowledge and starting over again but rather on finding ways to complement that existing knowledge with the knowledge that will be gained working with the team. In the case of the graphic designer turned web interface designer, the employ- ee's knowledge as an artist augments her ability in designing the interface for the system. As these skills are merged, Turnpaugh calls these people Ninjas, in that they become experts in their areas-beyond the normal black belt. He adds that he would rather have a few Ninjas on his team than a bunch of non-Nin- jas. Central to SMG's personnel philosophy is that recruitment is key. A smart, personable, hard-working individual can, in many instances, acquire the appro- priate skills for his position. The reverse, however, is not true. While skilled, a person who isn't motivated to work hard and cannot enjoy the work environment may never acquire these attributes. SMG's reward and recognition system is set up to reward both individual behavior and teamwork While Turnpaugh recognizes individual members of As you have learned it takes teamwork to successfully complete most projects. The members of your entertainment website development team must work together to achieve the project objectives. For this assignment, you will find out what you need to work as a successful team. 1. As an individual-level assignment, determine at least five things that really work well, and five that do not, when managing teams. the Sedona team who have done something extra to ensure customer satisfaction, rewards are also given for group-level performance to ensure people are pulling together as a team. To further enhance the social fabric and teamwork aspects of his organi- zation, social events are frequently planned after the team has successfully completed a project. Many members of the Sedona team genuinely like each other and share common hobbies and time together after work. Finally, Turnpaugh stresses the importance of smaller teams with three to seven members. Larger teams frequently suffer from problems associated with managing schedules and interteam communi- cation. The Sedona team has found that communi- cation is vital to the management and success of any project and that members of a smaller team tend to be in constant communication with each other. Consequently, these smaller teams can work more effectively toward fulfilling the customer's needs. 2. Get together with your team members and discuss what each of you has written in response to Question 1. 3. Establish a set of ground rules that you will use during the project to manage team interactions. 4. Also determine a responsibility assignment matrix that defines who will perform what work at a very general level. 5. Identify the skills that are most important for the project manager.