Ace Caldy Work Plan

ACE CALDY TEAM WORK PLAN

OMBA 606 Section 9027

March 9, 2003

Team Goals

Primary Team Goal

To ace the material covered in this course and learn new skills from other team members and classmates.

Secondary Team Goal

To timely complete each assignment by communicating effectively with each team member, personally committing to the assignments, and showing the team’s knowledge, skills and hard work with a sound, cohesive work product.

Ace Caldy Team Members

Catherine

Aihua

Louise

David

Yitshak

Our name is comprised of two words, Ace and Caldy. The word ACE reflects our intent to ACE the material covered in this class. The word CALDY is the first letter of each team member's name to represent our individual and collective commitment to the team's work product.

Team Strategy

The individual team members bring a team attitude to the online learning environment. Personally committed to shared goals, team members trust that each member will contribute to team learning. The team’s strategy is to utilize all of its resources in order to create a collaborative work product that reflects the skills and strengths of all team members. The team creates value when everyone participates in the collaborative process. Members focus on support rather than on blame. Critical analysis and creative thought are welcomed.

Team Behaviors

Team members are committed to the following team behaviors:

Behaviors:

1. Accountability:

Review/follow-up/edit on group submissions. One person may not see something that another does and vice/versa. We act as a check and balance for each other;
Check team conference area regularly in weeks when team assignments are due;
Participate in team activities;
Respond promptly to emails;
Provide feedback to team members;
Notify team members of difficulty with deadlines and/or the need for assistance; and
Inform fellow team members of any time or scheduling conflicts that will affect team performance.

2. Communication:

Comply with netiquette guidelines listed in the course syllabus;
Communicate primarily through e-mail and instant messenger, less often through team conference area (see work plan for submission guidelines), occasionally through chat room and telephone (when possible);
Listen to understand. For example, showing interest, assess meaning, do not rush judgment, ask questions for clarification, avoid defensiveness, and think before you respond;
Regulate personal emotions; refrain from arguing; empathize;
Write/speak to be understood;
Ask questions and propose any ideas. There is no such thing as a dumb question or idea; and
Communicate freely by trusting each other. Seek to understand and respect the work habits of each other.

3. Cooperation and collaboration:

Help each other overcome obstacles and find solutions;
Cooperate with all team members. Cooperation is a core value of the team;
Complete all assignments in accordance with the time schedule designated by the assignment coordinator;
Proofread carefully and offer edits for all team assignments. If you have no edits, send an email that says you have no edits;
Exhibit team-building skills. Develop self-awareness by recognizing strengths and weaknesses and respecting individual differences; and
Deliver skills freely where and when needed.

Learning Objectives

1. Meet the seminar objectives listed in the syllabus.

2. Evaluate the business environment of Chile and Mexico, including their social and economic infrastructure, government and regulatory practices, business and labor force culture.

3. Increase knowledge and understanding of risks and opportunities that 3M and other companies face in an environment external to their countries of origin.

4. Build teamwork skills. For example, learn to avoid Groupthink. Groupthink symptoms include the illusion of invulnerability, morality; unanimity, and self censorship. These symptoms pressure groups to reach a consensus and in the process interfere with critical thinking. For a description of these symptoms, go to (http://web.cba.neu.edu/~ewertheim/teams/ovrvw2.htm#effect).

5. Build critical thinking skills. For example, members seek to apply objective judgment to work product in order to determine both merits and faults. This will help members learn to better evaluate individual and team work product.

Assessment

In week 12, the team will submit a report that evaluates how effectively the learning objectives were met during the course of the seminar. The team should suggest ways in which the activities and assignments in the seminar could have been improved to better meet its learning objectives. As part of this report, Ace Caldy will prepare both individual and team assessments. Each member will 1) assess their individual team performance and 2) assess the team’s overall performance. (Please see the appendix for the team’s individual and team assessment).

Conflict Management Process

The team behaviors listed above form the foundation on which we build our online relationship. We all have different perspectives towards work and life. As a result, the team appreciates and expects a low to moderate degree of functional conflict that relates to tasks or processes. At the same time, members seek to identify and eradicate dysfunctional conflict. Dysfunctional conflict is any behavior that impedes team progress, such as negativity, rude behavior, or poor performance. In the event of conflict, team members seek to first determine if the conflict is real (caused by a fundamental problem) or is just a misunderstanding. If the conflict is based on facts, then members can discuss objectively; however, if it is based on emotions, then members will need to address the feelings involved. Team Ace Caldy seeks a win/win solution. If such is not possible, compromise will be sought. In the event a dispute arises that cannot be informally resolved, Ace Caldy team members will consider the following conflict management process:

1. Identify the situation/issue and label it as a conflict;

2. If the conflict is between only two individual team members, they should attempt to resolve it via personal e-mails or telephone conferences as applicable;

3. Remember that it is okay to agree to disagree. However, if neither party can move past the conflict and it impedes team progress, the conflict should be presented to the whole team;

4. The neutral team members will act as mediator(s). The mediator(s) will establish a plan for resolution, including alternative solutions and timeframes for implementation. All team members agree to make a good faith effort to implement solutions;

5. If, after a good faith effort, the affected team members are not able to resolve their conflict through the proposed solutions, the team will vote whether to escalate to the instructor or step through the mediation process again to find alternative solutions.

The conflict resolution plan is intended for disputes wherein the parties are unable to reach agreement through basic communication channels. See comments posted at http://polaris.umuc.edu/~dgilber2/omba605/example.htm

Team Member Roles

Coordinator for Team Assignment One Week 2: David. As the coordinator in Week 2, David’s primary role is to coordinate the activities of all team members and create a cohesive sound work product that reflects the contributions of all members

Coordinator for Subgroup Assignment Week 11: Louise. As the coordinator in Week 11, Louise’s primary role is to coordinate the activities of all team members and create a cohesive sound work product that reflects the contributions of all members

Coordinator for End-of-Seminar Project, Week 12: Catherine. As the coordinator in Week 12, Catherine’s primary role is to coordinate the activities of all team members and create a cohesive sound work product that reflects the contributions of all members.

Devil’s Advocate: Aihua. In this role, Aihua will act as a critical evaluator of the team’s critical and creative thinking; she will probe our decisions and encourage all members to express suspicion not just certainty.

Webmaster: Yitshak. In this role, Yitshak takes responsibility for the design and publication of the team web page and posts the URL in the Webliography. He will work closely with team members and coordinators to ensure timely publication of all written assignments.

Schedules

Ace Caldy team members live and work in multiple time zones throughout the world. All members cope with various professional and personal commitments. The team members are particularly sensitive and respectful of the various time zones and competing deadlines. As such, we agree that the following schedules are flexible and may change subject to notification and approval of all team members. Further, team members agree to pick up the slack for other members who are having trouble due to excusable circumstances, such as a family emergency or last minute work-related travel.

In weeks 4, 8, and 10, students prepare three individual reports on their selected country, choosing topics from the list provided. Team members need to choose the same topics for each country. Even though these are individual assignments, team collaboration is required. Team members will need to support one another and review individual papers to ensure that they are on track and address the required issues. Team members can also assist in editing of individual papers. Each individual report should be submitted in a single, team based entry on the team web page.

The final submission dates for all schedules are Eastern Time. All written reports follow Citing the APA way. (2001, December 9) at http://info.umuc.edu/mba/public/MBA-apa.html.

Team Assignment One, Week Two

#	Task	Resource	Deadline	References/Comments
	Outline for week two	David (Coordinator)	3/04/03 Midnight	Post in conference and send via email to team
	Overview of Company	Louise	3/06/03 Midnight	Post in conference and send via email to team
	Overview of Chile	David	3/06/03 Midnight	Post in conference and send via email to team
	Overview of Mexico	Aihua	3/06/03 Midnight	Post in conference and send via email to team
	Team Work Plan	Catherine	3/06/03 Midnight	Post in conference and send via email to team
	Initial Design for Web Page	Yitshak	3/06/03 Midnight (depending on schedule)	Post to conference and send via email to team
	Edits and Suggestions	All members	3/07/03 Midnight	Post in conference and send via email to team
	Revised reports	All members	3/08/03 Midnight	Post in conference and send via email to team
	Compile documents and post to web page	David and Yitshak	3/09/03 Midnight ET	Post note in conference and send via email to team upon completion; the URL for the Ace Caldy web page must be posted in the Webliography in the Web Tycho classroom

Individual Reports

CHILE

Author	Week 4 due 3/23/03	Week 8 due 4/20/03	Week 10 due 5/4/03
David	Report 1 Intellectual Property	Report 2 Economic Infrastructure	Report 3 Business and Workforce culture
Catherine	Report 1 Anti Competitive Practices	Report 2 Monetary Policy	Report 3 Social Infrastructure

MEXICO

Author	Week 4 due 3/23/03	Week 8 due 4/20/03	Week 10 due 5/4/03
Aihua	Report 1 Comparative Study	Report 2 Monetary Policy	Report 3 Social Infrastructure
Louise	Report 1 Anti Competitive Practices	Report 2 Fiscal Policy	Report 3 Business and workforce culture
Yitshak	Report 1 Intellectual Property	Report 2 Economic Infrastructure	Report 3 Political/regulatory system

Subgroup Assignment, Week 11

#	Task	Resource	Deadline	References/Comments
1	Team Discussion re: 1) business risks associated with establishing business operations in selected country 2) what vehicles are best suited for the company to use when entering market 3) issues raised in individual sub group reports and how these issues impede operations in the country	All members	5/5/03 Midnight	Via email, conference, chat room or instant messenger. Post summary of discussions in conference.
2	Outline for subgroup reports based on subgroup discussions	Louise	5/06/03 Midnight	Post to conference and via email
3	Comments and revisions to outline for subgroup reports	All members	5/07/03 Midnight	Post to conference and via email; all members need to agree on outline and format, etc.
4	Initial Draft report on Mexico	Aihua, Louise, and Yitshak	5/9/03 Midnight	Post to conference and via email
5	Initial Draft report on Chile	David and Catherine	5/9/03 Midnight	Post to conference and via email
6	Initial Draft Executive Summary	Aihua	5/10/03 Midnight	Post to conference and via email
7	Post suggestions for edits and revisions	All members	5/10/03 Midnight	Post to conference and via email
8	Post revised reports	All members	5/10/03 Midnight	Post to conference and via email
9	Compile final subgroup reports and post to web page	Louise and Yitshak	5/11/03 Midnight ET	Post to conference and via email

Team Assignment Two, Week 12

#	Task	Resource	Deadline	References/Comments
1.	Email and IM to discuss plan	All members	5/12/03 10:00 am ET	Discuss strategy and ideas for week twelve assignment
2.	Post proposed outline for End-of-Seminar Project	Catherine (Coordinator)	5/13/03 Noon	Outline should be based on the work and ideas generated by team members over the past eleven weeks; post outline to conference
3.	Post suggestions and revisions to outline	All members	5/13/03 Midnight	Post to conference
4.	Proposed arguments for which of the two countries is preferable for the firm and key economic/ecologic lesson learned from Jacobs text	All members	5/17/03 Noon	Post to conference and email to taskmaster
5.	Draft Executive Summary	Catherine	5/17/03 Noon
6.	Draft Comparative analysis	Catherine	5/17/03 Noon	Post to conference as html or rich text document; also send to team via email
7.	Draft recommendation of which country to select and market vehicle	David	5/17/03 Noon	Via email and conference
8.	Draft discussion including lessons from Jacobs and application to 3M	Louise	5/17/03 Noon
9.	Draft Comparative Analysis Matrix. This could be a weighted or linear comparison	Aihua	5/17/03 Noon	This could be a weighted or linear comparison
10.	Draft Evaluation.	Yitshak	5/17/03 Noon	This will include 1) each team members' individual and team evaluations and 2) the compiled report complying with syllabus and work plan
11.	Post first draft of combined paper	Catherine	5/17/03 10 PM
12.	Comment on draft	All	5/18/03 Noon
13.	Post Second Draft of End of Seminar Project, including Executive Summary and Team Assessment	Catherine	5/18/03 3:00 pm	Via email and conference
14.	Submit final edits to final End-of-Seminar Project, Executive Summary, and Team Assessment	All members	5/18/03 6:00 pm	Via email and conference
15.	Post Final Team Report and Team Assessment	Catherine and Yitshak	5/18/03 Midnight ET	Post as attachments to a main topic titled “End-of-Seminar Project Team Assignment #2” in Study Group conference and post to team web page

Appendix

Team Ace Caldy Assessment

Self-Assessment Process:

Team Assessment

1. Were the overall goals of the team met?

2. Were all of the learning objectives met?

3. Did the team complete assignments in a timely manner?

4. Did each member of the team adhere to the deadlines set by the team coordinator?

5. Did each member of the team follow the behavior guidelines set up in the work plan?

6. Did the assignment coordinator display leadership roles?

7. Did the team follow the work plan?

Individual Assessment

Commitment to the overall goal of the team
Exhibited the desired behaviors listed in the team work plan
Adherence to the conflict management process describe in the team work plan
Performance as the assignment coordinator
Adherence to the assignment deadlines listed in the team work plan
Writing ability
Quality of research
Creativity and original thought
Critical thinking
Overall contribution to all team assignments

Each of the above will be rated after each assignment using the following scale:

Never
Rarely
Sometimes
Frequently
Almost Always
Always