It is not unusual for organizations to have several people in leadership roles who participate in collaborative decision-making f

Katelyn

Katelyn is new to the company and has been employed here less than a year; however, she has demonstrated great promise with her knowledge and abilities. She is very driven and seeks promotion. While she feels committed to her employer, she is somewhat impatient and will seek opportunities elsewhere if they do not present themselves at Southwest Transit.

She has very high standards and strives for perfection in all that she does. This impacts her performance in teams because her team members may fail to meet her high expectations, which can be unreasonable at times. This can cause friction on the team. She also has the tendency to try to take over projects due to lack of trust and dislike of inferior work, which can cause her teammates to resent her. She has difficulty accepting blame as well.

When encountering conflict over projects, Katelyn generally perceives herself to be in the right and is often unwilling to yield; however, she greatly dislikes conflicts of a personal nature and tends to avoid colleagues and others who put her in uncomfortable situations. Katelyn prefers written communication and formal speaking situations. She can be uncomfortable with conversations, especially with people she just met.

Motivation

Katelyn is highly motivated by challenging tasks and by praise and public accolades.

Strength and Weaknesses:

Katelyn enjoys being engaged in challenging tasks and can produce impeccable work under pressure. She is highly detail oriented. While she has the tendency to grumble when assigned tasks she does not favor, she will eventually get over it and commit herself to get the job done. She is relatively flexible and is generally an early adopter when it comes to change. On the other hand, she can take criticism, even tactfully delivered criticism, personally and sets unreasonable standards for her teammates.

Bob

Bob has been employed with the company from nearly the beginning. He believes the length of his tenure at the company gives him clout. His attitude is positive, but he prefers to downplay this attitude with comments such as: “I don’t care,” “oh well, things happen,” or “that’s not my problem.” Bob is on the edge of retirement.

Bob is a team player and exhibits this in his eagerness to assist team members when needed. He is quick to volunteer when a task needs to be completed; however, he is sometimes perceived of as surly and he is not always pleasant to work with.

When conflict occurs, he tends to overreact, which can escalate conflicts. He prefers a direct communication style. He is sometimes brash. Some might consider his style unprofessional.

Motivation

Bob is motivated by a simple “job well done” compliment and prefers to not be publicly recognized. He is highly motivated in the form of a raise or bonus.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Bob’s eagerness is both a strength and a weakness. He has been known to take on too many tasks, which lowers the quality of his deliverables. Still, he is perceived of as a person who will come to the team’s assistance in order to get the job done.

Susan

Susan has been with the company for just over a year. Her attitude is mostly positive, and she is very energetic. When she is overwhelmed with assignments or personal projects, she can shut down and struggle to focus on the necessary task. Her long-term goals are unknown at this point. Her free-spirited nature and uncertainty interfere with her long-term planning.

Susan is an excellent team player. She can easily work well with others and builds trusting relationships with her coworkers. This trust helps others feel comfortable when they seek her out for guidance or assistance. Her ultimate goal is to get jobs done with quality.

Her pleasing nature often allows her to be taken advantage of or agree with coworkers against her better judgment. When conflict occurs, she holds steadfast to her opinions while still keeping other views in mind. She prefers open communication and will not shy away from any subject. She can talk freely with anyone. She struggles with listening at times because she is eager to share her ideas.

Motivation

Susan sometimes struggles with motivation; however, she is motivated by knowing her work makes a difference. She feels accomplished when she knows she did something to improve the lives of others.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Susan’s biggest asset is her personality. She is also considered a go-getter, but often looks for approval before submitting her final work. She is also very creative. She lacks focus at times and has been known to overlook important details on tasks, which can cause her to have to redo work.

William

William has been employed with the company for more than 4 years. He is positive and has an easy-going disposition. He sympathizes with others easily. He is nearing retirement and is satisfied with his accomplishments.

William considers himself a team player. While he prefers to work independently, he works well with his coworkers. He is willing to jump in and lead on a project when necessary but is content with others leading if they prefer. His teammates like him and enjoy his company. He is perceived as nonthreatening and nonconfrontational.

William tends to shut down when conflict occurs, often refusing to give any further input in order to end the conflict as soon as possible, whether he agrees with the resolution or not. William prefers face-to-face communication. He enjoys participating in conversations with fellow coworkers. He feels that sitting in a cubicle day in and day out can be demoralizing. Engaging with his colleagues enhances his daily tasks.

Motivation

William struggles to get motivated if he does not see immediate value in a project. When he views a project as relevant, he can be easily motivated by challenging tasks. He is also motivated when shown appreciation for the work he produces.

Strengths and Weaknesses

William is a veteran in his area of expertise and is confident with his performance. His primary weakness is inefficiency. He is a bit of a perfectionist, which can make it difficult for him to complete projects in a timely manner.

Ian

Ian has been employed with the company for nearly 2 years. His long-term goal is to remain active and stimulated. He is an industry hopper and easily switches careers when he feels bored. Ian prefers to work alone but will collaborate when required. He can work well with others if he chooses. Ian can come off as somewhat arrogant and is usually pretty insistent that his way is the best.

When conflict occurs, Ian is generally unwilling to back down, especially if he feels strongly about the situation. Managerial intervention is sometimes required to smooth things over. Ian has a direct communication style that people sometimes find abrasive. He prefers email communication because it is quick and efficient.

Motivation

Ian is motivated by self-achievement and often does not consider others in his goals.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Ian is very smart, tech savvy, and has many creative ideas for getting projects done when he is interested in the subject matter. He prefers to get projects done quickly as he prizes efficiency; however, that sometimes causes him to overlook details. His tendency to hurry through tasks makes him impatient with others.

Tiffany

Tiffany has been with the company for 5 years, but if you ask her, she will say she has been here for an eternity. She is quite jaded and cynical. Her career goal is to retire as soon as possible.

Tiffany is indifferent about working with others or alone. Either way, her goal is to get the job done with the minimum amount of work possible. “Acceptable” is acceptable to her; however, Tiffany is very knowledgeable in the field and her teammates trust that she will get her work done even if they have to add to it if anything more than “acceptable” is the goal.

Tiffany does not care enough to be embroiled in conflict. She is perfectly comfortable going along with the team’s decisions to avoid investing time or energy in contributing to the solution. Tiffany prefers email and written communication. The fewer people she has to deal with face-to-face, in her opinion, the better. She keeps contact with peers to a minimum. Her peers may have to seek answers from her multiple times, and her short retorts to e-mails may be unclear.

Motivation

Tiffany’s motivation is 5:00 p.m. every day. She is a clock puncher and is considered to be “checked out” of her position.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Tiffany certainly knows the ins and outs of her position and the industry and accomplishes her duties with minimal mistakes. She is punctual and, due to lack of interest in most projects, provides few stumbling blocks. That same lack of interest also prevents her from ever going above and beyond with projects.

© 2021. Grand Canyon University. All Rights Reserved.

© 2021. Grand Canyon University. All Rights Reserved.

Southwest Transit began as a small, charter airline in 2005. Its initial vision was providing affordable, on-the-hour flights from California-based airports to its three adjacent states: Arizona, Nevada, and Oregon. Southwest Transit saw the need for affordable and convenient flights out of California was high enough to sustain a business. The company began its success using smaller commuter planes to transport customers to surrounding airports. There was no flight longer than 2 hours, and there was minimal service during the flight. The company’s mission was customer-focused. They wanted to provide an opportunity for companies to fly their employees at an affordable rate and whole families to travel affordably.

Southwest Transit tripled in size after its first year. Growing demand required the addition of flights, employees, and larger airplanes. The founders of the company re-evaluated the vision and future of Southwest Transit. They were determined to maintain an emphasis on convenient, affordable flights and keep their focus on customer needs. This strategy proved successful. The company has established itself as a dominant regional competitor. They have more than 10,000 employees and continue to see growth in their future.

Most employees at Southwest Transit rave about the company and appreciate its friendly and employee-centered culture. The company’s leadership cares about its employees and makes every effort to provide them with satisfactory benefits. Most employees are enthusiastic about the impact they make on customers, their salaries and benefits, and the advancement opportunities the company provides. They feel valued and respected. One major complaint a majority of the employees have is the turnaround demand. Employees are given very little time and support to complete a project. There is just too much work to be done. Most employees are successful under pressure but would appreciate an environment that provides adequate time to complete projects productively.

Southwest Transit Marketing Project

As a manager in the marketing department, you have been handed a last-minute project and need to work with the other managers to develop a team that can complete the project swiftly and flawlessly. Failure is not an option. Southwest Transit’s biggest competitor just released 50 new flight plans at highly competitive fares. This has caused a significant decrease in sales for Southwest Transit. The marketing team has been given the task to develop a marketing strategy to drive up sales. Southwest Transit was planning a release celebration for their new Boeing-747 in 6 weeks. The CEO demanded a new marketing campaign that will be introduced to the public simultaneously with the new aircraft. This task will require the team to collaborate effectively in a short timeframe. The ultimate goal is to develop a marketing strategy that will keep customers loyal to Southwest Transit.

You and the other managers must develop a team that is prepared to work under demanding conditions. There is a significant time crunch. Employees are already overburdened by their daily tasks. Staffing has not kept pace with the recent growth of the company. Many employees are relatively new and are not yet fully trained in all aspects of their jobs. While leadership is empathetic to the demands placed on employees, the simple fact is that additional staffing is not an option at this time and the work must get done to support the ongoing success of the company. Southwest Transit was hopeful the introduction of the new jet would be significant enough publicity to boost sales, but they were caught off-guard by the competition’s recent move, and now the company is much more uncertain.

This project is critical for the future of the company. The company is at risk of laying-off hundreds of employees. With the release celebration for the new jet only 6 weeks away, employees need to be prepared to put in significant amounts of unpaid overtime to complete the project before the deadline. The project budget is adequate but could fall short considering the impressive results the company is hoping to achieve. This assignment requires a team that can work together for the good of the company and produce the needed results. Southwest Transit employees are counting on this team to drive up sales and reestablish the company’s market dominance.

© 2021. Grand Canyon University. All Rights Reserved.

© 2021. Grand Canyon University. All Rights Reserved.