Army Team Case Analysis Essay Example

are not willing to move to Varsity team which is the evidence of cohesive team. The Varsity members have negative attitude towards improvement as we can see during CBP team building session few members showed resentment towards the process (Page 8, The Army Crew Team). But the JV team has positive attitude as we can feel in their slogan itself “Nothing to lose”.

All the above factors are leading JV team to constantly win. 2) Coaches play the dual role of being the formal manager and leader of their teams. How could Coach P have been a more effective manager and leader in this situation? Answer: In the beginning of the training session Coach P formed the team on the basis on Individual physical strength neglecting the psychological attributes of the team. He should have first constructed the matrix of 16 rowers, listing their strengths and weakness on various dimensions (page 7, The Army Crew Team).

Instead of identifying the best 8, he should have focussed on best 16 and made them practice as group. This certainly would have avoided the conflict between Varsity and JV team. As we know sometimes strong competition can impede cooperation and lead to downfall. From the very beginning he did not pay much attention to team building needs i. e setting goals, establishing a working approach and influencing the team culture (Page 8, A note on Team Process). This would have given the idea to the team what exactly is needed from them in order to improve their performance.

Coach P should have intervened to work on group dynamics at the initial stage of Varsity team loss. Reviewing and monitoring the work

is very important for the effectiveness of the team. He should have monitored the progress using five stages of team development (forming, storming, norming, performing and adjourning). He should have scheduled the meeting periodically and taken feedback from each member about the team and individual performance. These discussions would have allowed the team to stop unhealthy and ineffective norms and would have built trust among them. Page 9, A note on Team Process). One of the characteristics of business leader is that they continuously raise the performance bar (Chapter 2, Great). Coach P could have made Varsity team practice against the time instead of the JV team. This would have developed equity and camaraderie environment and motivated the entire team. The continuous focus on individual strengths and techniques by Coach P lead to the loss of Varsity team. 3) In Monday’s practice the JV team again beat the Varsity. What can Coach P do before the National championship races to salvage the situation?

Answer: As mentioned in the case, Coach P is left with three viable options to prepare our Army crew Team to compete at the National championships. They are as follows: a) Switch the Varsity and JV boats: It is the safest way out at this moment as Coach is left with only four days before the race. It’s quite evident from the case that JV members have shown better team work as they have outperformed Varsity team throughout the practice session. As JV team already possess Psychological variable, the most important ingredients of a successful crew, Coach P can now focus on improving their performance for next four days. ) Switch individual boat

members: With four days in hand, this does not seem to be a good alternative as JV team is reluctant to switch. It’s quite risky to form a new team. c) Intervene to improve the Varsity boat’s performance: This is the best option only if Coach P can work on their Psychological variable as Varsity team already possess Individual skills. But through case it’s apparent that Coach P tried to work on their teamwork but failed so chances are less for any improvement in next four days. I suggest upgrading the JV boat to Varsity boat is the best feasible option given the limited time frame.