Transcript All Group Project Questions - mqm221

ALL GROUP PROJECT
QUESTIONS
MQM 221 04 06, 2009
Group Project Questions
(Introduction of Business)
 What
kind of business is your group starting?
 Who, specifically, are your major competitors in
Bloomington/Normal?
 What makes your business potentially more
successful than your competitors? Specifically,
will your business:
 Engage
in a cost leadership strategy by selling your
product/service for less?
 Engage in a differentiation strategy by emphasizing what makes
your product/service different than your competitors?
 Engage in a focus strategy by catering your product/service to
one specific customer segment?
Group Project Questions
(Individual Differences)



Consider the “central job” in your business
List and describe the FOUR most important
individual differences that you believe will make
someone good at that job, and explain exactly why
those individual differences should be an asset
Rank the FOUR in order of importance
Continued on next page…
Group Project Questions
(Individual Differences)

Describe, in painstaking detail, what you will use to
measure those individual differences
 Give
your audience specific examples of your
individual difference measurement strategies, so that
they can judge the quality of your measures. (NOTE:
you cannot use questionnaires for everything.)
 Think
of other selection devices you could use which are
relevant to performance (simulation tests, physical ability
tests, structured interviews, etc.)
Group Project Questions
(Attitudes)

Consider the most important job in your business
 How
will you maintain high levels of job satisfaction for this
job?
 How will you foster organizational commitment?
 Be
sure to distinguish between the three types of organizational
commitment

 Note
Is one more important than the other?
that you may want to revisit these questions when you
cover “motivation”
Group Project Questions
(Emotions)

How will you foster a general mood or emotional
atmosphere in your company?
Procedures?
 Rewards?
 Business layout?



Can you apply the concepts of Emotional contagion,
emotional intelligence, and emotional labor in your
strategic policies?
How will you try to influence the emotions
experienced by your employees and customers?

What? How? Why?
Group project questions
(Emotions)

What, if any, policies will you implement to deal with
the prevention, intervention, or restoration and
recovery of toxic emotions or burnout?

How will you manage emotions?



Feedback systems, emotional release opportunities, etc.? How will you
make sure how breaks are used?
Get creative!
Think about the display rules your core position will
need to follow and how those rules could lead to
burnout and recommend policies that address specific
situations.
Group Project Questions
(Motivation: compensation)


Consider again your central job. Describe, in
painstaking detail, exactly how and on what basis
job holders will be compensated.
Describe exactly how your pay plan makes greed
work for you by fostering motivation and line of
sight.


Are there any potential drawbacks to your pay plan? If
so, describe them.
Remember to use Motivation Theories (e.g., needs,
expectancy, equity, justice, goal-setting) to justify
your compensation and feedback systems
Project Questions
(Motivation: Justice)


Identify some situations in which fostering feelings
of fairness and justice would be particularly
important.
How will your business utilize Equity and Justice
theories to maintain a sense of fairness or justice in
these situations?
Group project questions
(Groups and teams)

How will you use teams or work groups in your
mythical business?



Types, uses, composition, etc…
What type of policies or guidelines will you have in
place to manipulate the context, composition, and
design of your teams. How can you work to increase
process gains and decrease process losses in your
work groups/teams? (See IPO model)
Think about the other policies you’ve already thought
of concerning individual differences, motivation,
attitudes, and emotions….
Threats to group effectiveness

How will you protect your business from Groupthink,
social loafing, and/or the Asch Effect?
Group Project Questions
(Conflict)

Conflict is inevitable. How will you manage conflict
in your business?
 Be
sure to touch on the two types of conflict (task and
non-task).
 Also, be prepared to address other forms of conflict
individuals are facing (e.g., work-family, etc.)
Group Project Questions
(Groups and/or Decision Making)


Identify two or three key decisions for which group
decision-making should be used. Be sure to explain
why you chose these particular decisions.
How will your group avoid the pitfalls of using
group decision-making, while at the same time take
advantage of benefits of group decision-making?
Group Project Questions
(Decision-Making)


Identify two or three programmed decisions and
two or three non-programmed decisions that may
occur during a typical work day.
How will you minimize the common errors that occur
throughout the decision-making process? Give an
example using one of the decisions identified
above.
Project Questions
(Leadership)



What type of leadership strategy (or strategies)
will you employ?
How will use leadership theories to guide you in
confronting various organizational conflicts and
changes?
How will use leadership to complement your other
strategies (e.g., individual differences, attitudes and
emotions, motivation, decision making, etc.)
Group Project Questions
(Stress)

How will your business manage/minimize the
amount of stress that your employees experience?
 This
is a broad/ambiguous question that requires a
comprehensive answer.
 Points will be given for creativity here – thinking outside
the box, but make recommendations based on the
theory.