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5. ANNEXES

1.1. CASE STUDY

Below are two documents that will help us to deepen, if possible, different key issues
addressed during the agenda.

1.1.1. Marketing, human relations, empowerment and customer service

Employee Empowerment is the Key to Customer Service Success

By: Steven Borg

http://www.business2community.com/customer-experience/employee-
empowerment-key-customer-service-success-01236718#1ljVO6e83Amtuw3h.97

Most organizations understand the basic truth that even the best customer service
strategies can be derailed if customer-facing employees don’t do their part. Your
workforce is the lifeblood of the company and your primary point of contact with
consumers. Employees can make the company, the product and the customer
experience look fantastic—or not. When service suffers, the challenge isn’t in deciding
how valuable your employees are, it’s determining why your employees aren’t
executing the customer service strategy you’ve laid out.

All too often, bad customer service is written off as apathy, laziness or an unwillingness
to comply with company expectations. That may or may not be accurate but the reality
is that these problems are usually symptoms of a different issue entirely—a lack of
employee empowerment. If the people you hire to interface directly with customers
don’t have the authority or the resources to ensure a positive customer experience,
it’s virtually certain they won’t be able to deliver superior service. Conversely, if an
employee is put in a position to succeed and meet the customer’s needs at every touch
point, your chances of maintaining a contented customer base increases exponentially.

All of this begs the question: How does one empower their employees to the point
that they are positioned to deliver excellent customer service? It’s an imprecise

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science that varies depending on your company, product, industry and a host of other
factors. However, there are a few employee empowerment strategies that transcend
industry, product and the like:

1. Authority — The first thing you must evaluate to ensure customer satisfaction
is that your employees truly have the ability and the autonomy to provide the
best service possible. At Nordstrom, for example, the service is fantastic largely
because employees have the power to serve the customer as best they can.
Their official return policy is “We don’t actually have a return policy,” meaning
the employee has the latitude to make a determination and provide the
customer with the best service possible.

2. Training — You won’t provide the best possible experience for your customers
if you haven’t provided excellent training to your employees. A well-trained
employee will feel comfortable, confident, and empowered during customer
interactions. They won’t hesitate to answer questions, fix issues, and
troubleshoot with you because they will feel secure in the training they’ve
received from the organization. Jiffy Lube took the top spot on Training
Magazine’s list of 125 best companies for training after securing a staggering
148,000 certifications for its employees in one year. With that much training,
you can be sure their staff feels comfortable assisting customers and providing
a positive experience.

3. Vision Statement — If your employees have a strong sense of what the

company stands for, what its goals are, and why it exists, they will feel more
connected to the business. That connection will promote confidence and keep
them invested in organizational objectives. Employees who work in a vacuum,
without a true understanding of how one’s actions impact the entire company,
are unlikely to feel empowered to help take the organization to the next level.
The San Diego Zoo is world renowned for their facilities and the way their
animals are treated. They have a clear vision statement: To become a world
leader at connecting people to wildlife and conservation. A statement like that
makes it easy for employees to understand how their positive actions with

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visitors and the animals they care for fit into the overall organization’s vision,
and it empowers them to take part in bringing that vision to fruition.

4. Alignment — Employees with a comprehensive understanding of why customer

policies and strategies are in place, and who are in agreement with these
policies, are empowered to be the best brand advocates and deliver
exceptional customer service. However, successful alignment on the purpose
behind a company’s customer service initiatives with customer-facing
employees requires training on a deeper level than simply explaining processes
and how following a pre-determined blueprint will achieve positive results. If
the organization can convey the larger goal and vision for the brand’s customer
service, then customer-facing employee will feel empowered to back the
company when dealing with customer service concerns, complaints and
requests.

Of course, this alignment must work both ways. Businesses that demonstrate the
highest forms of employee alignment and engagement also encourage employees to
point out where policies and procedures are not customer-centric or end-user friendly.
This not only serves as a safety-valve to ensure procedures that both the employee
and customer will be happy with, but also increases engagement and alignment with
employees putting them in a better position to be empowered.

Employee empowerment is a win-win proposition. Your customers enjoy the benefit of

great service while your employees get better job satisfaction, engagement,
experience and training as a part of your team. Plus, there’s the ultimate benefit of
seeing your business grow and thrive, making the investment in employee
empowerment a win-win-win.

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5.1.2 Empowerment

What Benefits will Your Organization Realize when it Discovers the Importance of
Empowering Employees?

By: Beth Williams

http://www.forwardfocusinc.com/jumpstart-change/the-importance-of-empowering-
employees/

In the modern business world, companies that have ‘the edge’ outperform and
increase market share. In today’s leading organizations, this edge is produced by
empowering employees to be more responsible for their jobs, take decisions, and
control their own destiny at work.

The importance of empowering employees in the workplace should not be

underestimated: it breeds individual and group confidence, enabling people to work
both more efficiently and more effectively. When people are confident within their
work and with their employer, they are more willing to identify problems and suggest
ways to improve quantity and quality of output. This culture will jumpstart change,
increasing agility in the market and providing the impetus to grow revenues.

Realize the importance of empowering employees with these five benefits

The importance of empowering employees is clear when the benefits of doing so are
understood. While there are many areas in which empowerment provides a positive
impact, the following five are perhaps the most recognizable.

1. Quality of work produced

When given the autonomy that allows them to make a difference to product or service
outcomes, employees will produce higher quality work. The finished product becomes
a matter of personal pride, and the benefits for both the customer and the employee
will become self-evident. The real benefit to the organization of increasing quality is a
respective upturn in customer loyalty, which directly leads to increased revenues.

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2. Satisfied employees

Various studies have shown that empowered employees are more satisfied in their
work, and less likely to seek employment elsewhere. This decreases employment costs
and the need for training of new staff.

Toyota hands over responsibilities of identifying and solving production problems to its
shop-floor employees. They are encouraged to solve cause rather than firefight
symptoms, and management know that workers are best-positioned to do so. This
responsibility runs so deep that any worker can halt the production line.

Toyota conducts an anonymous employee satisfaction survey every two years, and its
latest results show that employee satisfaction in all areas is the highest it has ever
been at between 69.2% (shop floor) and 73.9% (administrative and engineering).

3. Collaboration grows

With increased confidence, employees are more willing to share information and best
practices with others. Honesty and openness increase, and this directly impacts the
ability of people to work as part of a team. Participation becomes more active and
proactive, and this greater collaboration will in itself feed through to organizational
capability to achieve strategic goals.

4. Productivity increases

As confidence and self-esteem grows, and a more quality focused and collaborative
approach takes hold, productivity will increase. People who are accountable for their
work become owners of process and product, and energy to do the job better follows.
Organizations that have discovered the importance of empowering employees find
that waste is eliminated, bureaucracy is reduced, and time is spent more efficiently.

5. Employee empowerment reduces costs

Costs will be reduced across the organization:

• An empowered workforce is more satisfied with their job and career path, and
staff turnover falls accordingly

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• Retention rates rise, training costs fall, and experience remains in-house

• Operations become more efficient and productivity rises

• Solutions to customer complaints are found proactively, and customer loyalty

increases. This reduces the costs of marketing and finding new customers

Summing up

Gallup’s 2013 Employee Engagement survey, which studied nearly 1.4 million
employees across 50,000 work units, found that those companies that understand the
importance of empowering employees and are most active in their employee
engagement practices benefit with:

• Better customer ratings

• 22% better profitability

• 21% more productivity

• Significantly lower staff turnover

• 37% less absenteeism

• 41% fewer quality defects

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5.1.3 Teamwork

Successful teamwork: A case study

By: Pina Terracone and Joe Luca (Edith Cowan University, Perth)

http://www.unice.fr/crookall-cours/teams/docs/team%20Successful%20teamwork.pdf

Abstract: Why are some teams successful and others unsuccessful? What criteria or
attributes are needed for success? Contemporary teaching and learning practice over
the past few years in higher education institutions has seen a proliferation of open-
ended constructivist learning designs that incorporate collaboration. This has
promoted the need for identifying essential attributes needed for successful
teamwork. This study reviews the literature with a view of identifying a framework
that educators can use to help promote effective teamwork in their classes. A case
study is used to investigate two teams of final year multimedia students completing a
project-based unit, in which teamwork was an essential ingredient and immersed in an
authentic context. Attributes gleaned from the literature for successful teamwork was
used to compare the two diverse teams.

Keywords: Teamwork, higher education, authentic environment

Introduction

With the shift from a predominately instructivist to constructivist pedagogy the need
for tertiary educators to use a variety of teaching strategies and methods is becoming
increasingly important. Learning designs need to incorporate student-centred team
based learning pedagogy such as project-based, case-based, inquiry-based and
problem-based scenarios (Oliver, 2001). Students need to be immersed in learning
environments that promote real learning in real contexts. Teams and teamwork help
to promote deep learning that occurs through interaction, problem solving, dialogue,
cooperation and collaboration (Johnson & Johnson, 1995).

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These learning designs promote the construction of knowledge as they are embedded
in a social experience with a team environment (Vygotsky, 1978). Effective teamwork
can affect the successful delivery and implementation of these learning designs.
Tertiary educators cannot assume students will the knowledge, understanding and
skills needed to create and contribute to a synergistic team environment.

Through a review of the literature, this paper identifies a range of attributes

considered necessary for successful teamwork. These are then used to compare two
contrasting teams with a view of confirming their validity through a case study.

Attributes of Effective Teamwork

Teamwork is defined by Scarnati (2001, p. 5) “as a cooperative process that allows

ordinary people to achieve extraordinary results”. Harris & Harris (1996) also explain
that a team has a common goal or purpose where team members can develop
effective, mutual relationships to achieve team goals. Teamwork replies upon
individuals working together in a cooperative environment to achieve common team
goals through sharing knowledge and skills. The literature consistently highlights that
one of the essential elements of a team is its focus toward a common goal and a clear
purpose (Fisher, Hunter, & Macrosson, 1997; Johnson & Johnson, 1995, 1999; Parker,
1990; Harris & Harris, 1996). Teams are an integral part of many organizations and
should be incorporated as part of the delivery of tertiary units. Successful teamwork
relies upon synergism existing between all team members creating an environment
where they are all willing to contribute and participate in order to promote and
nurture a positive, effective team environment. Team members must be flexible
enough to adapt to cooperative working environments where goals are achieved
through collaboration and social interdependence rather than individualised,
competitive goals (Luca & Tarricone, 2001).

Research has provided a number of attributes required for successful teamwork. Many
of these attributes have been consistently identified in the literature. Table 1 provides
a summary of literature on the successful attributes needed for effective teamwork as
follows:

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• Commitment to team success and shared goals - team members are committed
to the success of the team and their shared goals for the project. Successful
teams are motivated, engaged and aim to achieve at the highest level;

• Interdependence - team members need to create an environment where

together they can contribute far more than as individuals. A positive
interdependent team environment brings out the best in each person enabling
the team to achieve their goals at a far superior level (Johnson & Johnson,
1995, 1999). Individuals promote and encourage their fellow team members to
achieve, contribute, and learn;

• Interpersonal Skills includes the ability to discuss issues openly with team
members, be honest, trustworthy, supportive and show respect and
commitment to the team and to its individuals. Fostering a caring work
environment is important including the ability to work effectively with other
team members;

• Open Communication and positive feedback - actively listening to the concerns

and needs of team members and valuing their contribution and expressing this
helps to create an effective work environment. Team members should be
willing to give and receive constructive criticism and provide authentic
feedback;

• Appropriate team composition is essential in the creation of a successful team.

Team members need to be fully aware of their specific team role and
understand what is expected of them in terms of their contribution to the team
and the project; and

• Commitment to team processes, leadership & accountability - team members

need to be accountable for their contribution to the team and the project. They
need to be aware of team processes, best practice and new ideas. Effective
leadership is essential for team success including shared decision-making and
problem solving.

Case Study

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Final year students enrolled in the Interactive Multimedia course at Edith Cowan
University are required to develop skills and expertise in managing the design and
development of client web sites. The unit IMM 3228/4228 – “Project Management
Methodologies”, uses teams of four or five students to utilise their specialist skills to
meet a “real need” for an industry client. Team roles include programmers, graphic
designers and project managers. There were 82 students (20 teams) completing this
unit. The aim was to have students experience project management issues that occur
when dealing with “real” clients in “real” projects and was heavily focused on
teamwork and problem solving. The environment was based on the learning principles
of authenticity, self-regulation and reflection (Luca & Oliver, 2001). Features included
student contracts, journals (for self/peer assessment & reflection), “Conference
Centre” for problem solving, bulletin boards, time management tools, syllabus and
assessment materials, lecture notes, legal/QA templates, relevant URL’s, web sites and
assignments developed by previous students and a student details database.

Within this setting, two teams were selected for investigation. One team was highly
successful in developing a quality product, and collaborated in a highly successful
manner. Another team, experienced severe team problems, which caused it to
become dysfunctional and had to be split. Data was collected on both of these teams
from focus groups sessions, interviews and questionnaires that were recorded and
transcribed for analysis. A summary of the results is discussed below with reference to
key attributes needed for successful teamwork as outlined in Table 1.

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Successful Team

This team of students was highly successful in developing a quality product, as well as
being highly collaborative. Their journal entries continually reflected positive
comments about other team members, and at no stage during the semester was there
a request or requirement to transfer marks from one team member to another. Team
meetings were always friendly, and at no stage were team issues discussed as being
problematic. The team always focused on the project and how the process of
development could be improved by exploring expectations of the tutor, client and end
users. An analysis of the data collected from this team indicated that they showed the
attributes needed for successful teamwork. In almost all of their responses in

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interviews, focus group meetings and questionnaires it was evident that this team was
committed to:

• Commitment to team success and shared goals - the team was highly focused on
delivering a quality product, and not pre-occupied by personal issues that might have
interrupted this objective. They facilitated and nurtured positive, cooperative-working
relationships based upon the focus of developing a quality final product that would
impress their client tutor, peers and end users. The whole team was strongly
motivated to out-perform other teams and shared a strong common goal of wanting to
develop a product that would support their chances of gaining employment at the end
of the course. This was evident in almost all of their responses;

• Interdependence – the team members felt that they had a responsibility

towards the other members of the team and that the success of the project
was based upon each team member’s contribution. Team members were
always happy to help peers when they were experiencing difficulties. The team
would proactively brainstorm problems individuals team members were having
and offer assistance if needed;

• Interpersonal skills – the team recognised that team members had different
personalities and experienced problems at different stages. They showed
consideration for each other, respected and supported others in difficult times.

• Open communication and positive feedback – the team recognised that it was a
“healthy thing” to discuss problems or difficult issues and try to offer
constructive help/criticism in trying to resolve these. They strongly valued open
dialogue that enabled team members to express their concerns in a non-
defensive manner. They were open and truthful about all aspects of the
project;

• Appropriate team composition – this team was proactive in selecting their team
members well in advance for this unit. They had carefully considered the skills
needed for each team member, and also the type of personality for each team

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member. These were carefully discussed and considered by two team members
four months before the unit commenced;

• Commitment to team processes, leadership & accountability - team members

were all aware of the importance of everyone’s role within the team and the
process used by the team to plan and track the timing and quality of required
tasks. The project manager was well respected by the team, and always
consulted the team before making any major decisions. Also, the team had a
number of quality assurance procedures which helped monitor activities as well
as individual team members’ accountabilities;

Unsuccessful Team

Another team of students experienced severe team problems, which caused it to

become dysfunctional and had to be split. At the first peer assessment session, marks
were transferred between team members, as it was perceived that some team
members weren’t contributing. Even though agreement was made at this meeting that
marks should be transferred, and suggestions were made about how to improve the
situation, resentment amongst team members escalated. This was clearly evident from
the comments being made through the confidential on-line journal entries each week.
The tutor had several meetings with the project manager and individuals to help try to
resolve issues, but to no avail. At one of the team meetings a serious disagreement
occurred, in which one of the team members verbally berated another, from which
point there was no reconciliation. After this altercation, team members felt they could
no longer work together, so even though they would experience a heavier workload,
they unanimously agreed to split and form two separate teams. An analysis of the
responses given by the successful team indicated that this team had a strong
awareness of the attributes needed for successful teamwork. Comparing responses
from this team against the key attributes needed for successful teams shown in Table
1, it was evident that this team was not congruent with these criteria:

• Commitment to team success and shared goals – one team member was highly
motivated to achieve a high quality product, though two others were content
with merely just gaining a pass i.e. they were happy to put in minimal effort.

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This mismatch of expectations caused many problems and frustration for team
members early in the semester;

• Interdependence – two team members were highly competitive in this team

that negated the development of a synergistic team environment. They were
highly focused on our own tasks, and were not interested in helping others who
may have been having problems. If others weren’t performing, then the
attitude was that peer assessment should be applied, rather than trying to
support and help the individual. This caused a lack of team cohesion and
cooperation, a feeling of disempowerment, and resulting in the eventual split
of the team;

• Interpersonal skills – the team showed little consideration for each other and
gave almost no support for others in difficult times. Team members seemed
unaware and very surprised that they had upset other team members by their
comments. They seemed to have not detected they were hurting others
feelings by their comments and the approaches taken to solve team problems;

• Open communication and positive feedback – comments made by team

members indicated that peers were inconsiderate of their situation and
problems, and were not inclined to discuss problems, as they would only
attract criticism and negative feedback. This resulted in team members not
communicating freely or discussing their problems that had potentially
damaging effect on the team;

• Appropriate team composition– this team was formed haphazardly. Three of

the original team members had a quick discussion in the class and decided to
make a team, and another team member arrived a week later, so the team
agreed to accept them in their team, as they needed to make a team of four.
Expectations and skill were not carefully considered;

• Commitment to team processes, leadership & accountability – the project

manager happened to be the youngest in the team, and didn’t command the
respect needed. Team members often complained about team meetings being

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a waste of time, and also of team members being late or contributing

effectively. One team member felt that he was not included in decision-making
and did not receive all communication regarding the progress and development
of the project from the project manager. The overall management of this team
was perceived to be ineffective by most of the team members;

Summary and Conclusions

This study compared how well two teams performed by comparing attributes
identified for successful teamwork, as shown in Table 1. From the results it is evident
that these attributes played an important role in determining the success of these
teams. The results show a compelling relationship between how the teams embraced
these six attributes, and how successful the team was in collaborating and developing
a quality product.

The results from this study indicate that these key attributes need to be carefully
considered by both tutors and students when teamwork activities are proposed.
Further research needs to be considered on how best to implement these strategies in
a methodological fashion to ensure tutors and students acknowledge and understand
the importance of how to implement each attribute i.e. a template outlining
implications for best practice when designing and implementing constructivist learning
designs which incorporate teamwork activities.

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