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Case Study

Professor Richard Hackman from Harvard University has studied teams for years. He believes that failing to establish the proper groundwork for effective team performance often leads teams to be less effective than individuals working separately. Hackman identified several key factors for effective teams: keeping teams small with consistent membership to minimize coordination tasks, clearly defining group responsibilities and rewards, and having assertive leaders who can provide direction even when the team resists. A case study of Ghana Airways found that frequent changes in top management disrupted consistent leadership and strategic vision, contributing to the airline's bankruptcy after 40 years. While teams are sometimes necessary, organizations must consider Hackman's advice to ensure teams achieve more than individuals and aren't less than the sum of their parts.

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126 views1 page

Case Study

Professor Richard Hackman from Harvard University has studied teams for years. He believes that failing to establish the proper groundwork for effective team performance often leads teams to be less effective than individuals working separately. Hackman identified several key factors for effective teams: keeping teams small with consistent membership to minimize coordination tasks, clearly defining group responsibilities and rewards, and having assertive leaders who can provide direction even when the team resists. A case study of Ghana Airways found that frequent changes in top management disrupted consistent leadership and strategic vision, contributing to the airline's bankruptcy after 40 years. While teams are sometimes necessary, organizations must consider Hackman's advice to ensure teams achieve more than individuals and aren't less than the sum of their parts.

Uploaded by

chamini karunadasa
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We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Why don’t Teams work like they’re supposed to work?

Group & Team Behaviour: Case Study

Despite years of promises that teamwork will serve as a cure-all for the problems of business, many
managers have found that even teams with highly motivated, skilled, and committed members can fail to
achieve the expected results. Professor Richard Hackman from Harvard University has been studying
teams for years and believes that more often than not, failing to establish the groundwork for effective
team performance leads teams to be less effective than if the leader simply divided up tasks and had each
individual work on his or her assigned part. As Hackman notes, “I have no question that a team can
generate magic. But don’t count on it.”

What are the main factors Hackman has identified that lead to effective teams? Teams should be kept
small and have consistent membership to minimize the types of coordination tasks that take up valuable
time. Too often, organizations set up project-based teams and then reconfigure them, without
considering the stages of group development that might have to occur before the team can achieve full
performance. Supports need to be in place, like group-based rewards and clearly defined group
responsibilities. Surprisingly, in his study of 120 senior management teams, Hackman found fewer than
10 percent of members agreed about who was even on the team!

Successful teams also have assertive, courageous leaders who can invoke authority even when the team
resists direction. Similar lessons were derived from the failure of Ghana Airways, a state-run organization
that experienced frequent changes in top management that were disruptive to establishing a consistent
leadership team. As a result of excessive turbulence and lack of strategic vision, the 40-year-old air carrier
that was once an emblem for the country went bankrupt.

Do these weaknesses mean teams are never the answer to a business problem? Obviously, it is often
necessary to bring together and coordinate individuals with a diverse set of skills and abilities to solve a
problem. It would be impossible for all the management tasks of a complex organization like Ghana
Airways to be done by disconnected individuals. And often there is more work to be done in a compressed
time period than any one individual can possibly accomplish. In these cases, it is wise to consider how to
best heed the advice provided above and ensure your team isn’t less than the sum of its parts.

Questions

1. What do you think of the elements of successful teamwork Hackman has identified? Do you believe
these elements are necessary for effective team performance?

2. Can you think of other conditions necessary for teams to be effective?

3. Imagine you’ve been asked to assemble and lead a team of high-potential new hires to work on the
development of an international marketing campaign. What specific steps might you take early in the
team’s life to ensure that the new team is able to avoid some of the problems Hackman identified? Is
there any way to break down the overall group goal into subtasks so individual accountability can be
enhanced?

{Robins & Judge, 2013)

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