York University Organizational Behavior on Teams Case Study Part 1 SHORT ANSWERS
1.- Based on Team’s competences classification what kind of team is the one that has been presented on the example. (1 point)
2.- What type of autonomy / self-management has the team that has been presented on the case/ explain why (1 point)
3.- What type of task interdepence (interaction and coordination) can you see on the team presented in this case. Give an example (1 point)
4.- What levels on Goal interdependence can you describe in the team presented on the case. (1 point)
5.- What degree of outcome interdependence can you describe in the team presented on the case (1 point)
Can you identify at least 3 individualistic roles on the team presented on the case? How the team diversity affecting the performance of the team presented in the case? (5 points)
PART 2 – Case analysis
How does Team characteristics like member diversity, task interdependence, team size affect team processes? ( 10 points)
What type of Teamwork processes can you describe in the case? Transition / Action / Interpersonal Processes. Choose one category and give examples. (10 points)
If you were the manager of this team what strategies would you apply to improve team effectiveness? Explain why. (10 points)
the rest of the question is posted in the word document attached. CASE – How Microsoft Out negotiated Netscape In The Browser War
Summary
Microsoft won negotiations with AOL competing against the browser market leader Netscape
by getting the best out of their marketing resources.
Back in 1996, Steve Case’s AOL was urgently seeking a top notch internet browser to market
their products. Both Bill Gates’ Microsoft and Netscape Navigator were vying with AOL to take
them on as a client. In terms of their Best Alternative (BA or BATNA), Netscape held a decisive
advantage due to its strong technical superiority, presence and dominance in the overall
browser market. Microsoft was just in the process of entering the market and held a fledgling
percentage of the overall browser market, but had a long way to go relative to Netscape’s much
superior overall market hold. Additionally, Microsoft’s browser was also considered technically
inferior to Netscape’s. Despite this unequal valuation of their positions, Bill Gates had deemed
that gaining a greater presence and market share of the browser market was a competitive
priority.
Netscape adopted the position that since they were so powerfully based, they would only
negotiate with AOL by holding out for a high per copy fee. In essence, the deal would have been
based on a “browser for dollars” agreement. Steve Case, the CEO of AOL viewed the position of
Netscape as: “They [Netscape] were very aggressive about selling the browser, but they wanted
a very high per-copy fee. The attitude was, ‘We’re so hot, we’ll license to everyone, so you better
take it’.” This was a miscalculation that doomed Netscape to negotiation and eventual business
failure.
Being new to the market and possessing what was considered an inferior product, Microsoft
had very limited leverage at the negotiation table. As Netscape engaged in waiting for AOL to
respond to their proposal, Microsoft readjusted their focus by shifting their own proposal to
concentrate on their business marketing strength, rather than the technology issue. In essence,
Microsoft used a creative strategy to change the nature of a weak position or BA to enhance
their position while weakening Netscape’s in the process.
Microsoft concentrated its pitch on the marketing features it could offer to AOL, which it knew
Netscape could not match. They did so by offering to bundle AOL into the Windows operating
system, and more importantly, they offered to do this for free! They also promised AOL that
they would provide additional technical adaptations if AOL were to sign a multi year contract.
As David Colburn, AOL’s chief negotiator and Business Development head, would later state:
“ The willingness of Microsoft to bundle… with the Windows operating system was a critically
important competitive factor that was impossible for Netscape to match.”
Despite the fact Microsoft and AOL were competitors, the match was perfect for both parties
simply because collaborative seller Microsoft had the foresight and negotiation skills to change
the nature of their offering to their advantage, and made AOL an offer it could not refuse.
The end result was that AOL would now be able to position the AOL icon directly next to the
Microsoft Network icon in what AOL described as “the most valuable desktop real estate in the
world”. Simply put, they could reach out to a market that equated to an additional fifty million
people per year, and could do so at zero cost. AOL would no longer have to bombard the
market by sending out its discs at a cost of forty to eighty dollars per acquired customer, and
still actively compete with Microsoft in the process.
Although Microsoft surrendered some of its market share to AOL in the short term, the
company achieved its loftier goal of making a huge stride forward in gaining a significant share
of the browser market.
SOURCE – https://www.negotiations.com/case/browser-war/
Summary:
ASSIGNMENT Team characteristics & processes
Analyze the following questions using the Global Green Books Publishing CASE provided on session # 8
Group characteristics & Processes en the moodle section.
Part 1 SHORT ANSWERS
1.- Based on Team’s competences classification what kind of team is the one that has been presented on
the example. (1 point)
2.- What type of autonomy / self-management has the team that has been presented on the case/
explain why (1 point)
3.- What type of task interdepence (interaction and coordination) can you see on the team presented in
this case. Give an example (1 point)
4.- What levels on Goal interdependence can you describe in the team presented on the case. (1 point)
5.- What degree of outcome interdependence can you describe in the team presented on the case (1
point)
Can you identify at least 3 individualistic roles on the team presented on the case? How the team
diversity affecting the performance of the team presented in the case? (5 points)
PART 2 – Case analysis
How does Team characteristics like member diversity, task interdependence, team size affect team
processes? ( 10 points)
What type of Teamwork processes can you describe in the case? Transition / Action / Interpersonal
Processes. Choose one category and give examples. (10 points)
If you were the manager of this team what strategies would you apply to improve team effectiveness?
Explain why. (10 points)
NOTE – You can add as many details to the case as you need to enrich your presentation.
Be creative but do not forget that your opinions and arguments need to be back up. You can use
examples, real cases, or situations facts. Support every personal comment with evidence. Relevance
evidence should be included to make your arguments meaningful.
ASSIGNMENT NEGOTIATION
PART 1 Analyze the following questions using the How Microsoft Out negotiated Netscape In The Browser
War CASE provided on the session # 9 Power Influence & Negotiation moodle section
a- Analyze the styles of Conflict Resolution that can be found in the case. (20 points)
b- Explain what type of behaviours do the different parts presented in the case exhibit when trying to
influence others. (20 points)
PART 2
Analyze the negotiation process between Disney and Lucasfilm using the Harvard Principles of
Negotiation Harvard (20 points)
The Harvard Principles of Negotiation
The Negotiation between Disney and Lucasfilm
CASE – Global Green Books Publishing
Global Green Books Publishing is continuing to grow. As their eBook business continues to drive that
growth, they now are continuing to add staff to be able to keep up with customer demand. Most all of
the new people and many of the eBook staff have not worked together in the original print-based business
area of the company, and indeed are new to the company and its culture.
These new employees have a diverse set of skills, backgrounds, and motivations. Their supervisors know
how to manage their projects, but do not always have the expertise to step in and do each of the unique
tasks assigned to team members. Most of the employees that have been around since the beginning of
the eBook business have been trained in their project management techniques, so they can get the work
done well, but not all of the newer employees have had this training. There is just too much work that
needs to be done to take time out for training.
Supervisors need to provide leadership, to provide inspiration for their team and to be good motivators
of their team members, as well as be a good manager, worrying about the day-today and minute-byminute accomplishment of the project’s goals. Being a good motivator also means that the supervisors
must be good listeners to understand what issues are confronting their team members and the needs of
their team members.
Beyond this role as leaders, supervisors need to be a good manager. They need to identify the skills that
they need for their projects. Supervisors at Global Green Books normally do this as they start from the
standard job template for eBook projects and build the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) for their eBook
project. Next, they need to identify team members that have those skills and work with their current
project managers and with human resources to make sure that they will be available to support the new
project. After that the assembly of each part of the book is critical. Based on the lessons learned analyses,
a supervisor might also identify a person as a back-up for a critical role on the project, in case they run
into difficulties or assigned staff are not available as planned. Once the team is assembled, challenges can
arise. Some of the challenges teams face
Once the team is assembled, challenges can arise. Some of the challenges teams face have to do with
knowing the status of the work, as part-time employees come in and hand a piece of a project off to
another worker. Some deal managing conflicts as they arise – both technical issues as permissions are
delayed and content cannot yet be incorporated, leading to scheduling changes, and inter-personal issues
among staff. Some of these conflicts occur between a mostly young, part-time contingent of student
workers and full-time employees. Supervisors are often drawn into mediating or resolving these conflicts.
They really need to meld together their staff to create highly capable, productive project teams for these
fast-paced eBook projects. The staff needs to trust each other and their leadership to be fair and to
balance work priorities with the times that they are available.
Despite that Claire, just started 2 weeks ago, she is always bringing new ideas to improve team
performance and efficiency.
As Robert has been in the company for more than 5 years, he is always sharing his experiences and
expressing goals form the team to be achieved. Mary usually accepts his ideas and makes suggestions.
James is having some difficulties adapting to his new role, he sometimes acts stubbornly resistant and
disagrees without reason
Tom and Shelley have been in the company working together for quite a long time, but they have never
agreed with some aspects of the publishing procedure. Sometimes the discussion can be disturbed for the
team. Then Meredith comes to solve the situation, she is always mediating conflicts between team
members.
Supervisors are finding it is very important to make sure every team member understands the goals of
the project, the roles of each team member and how they inter-relate, and the sense of urgency about
completing the project. This urgency comes from understanding the intense schedules for completing
eBooks and from understanding why it is important that all of the work come together to create a
finished eBook – any part not completed keeps the final eBook from going into quality check and
release. Because of the issues around employee absence and the use of part-time employees, they are
also trying to make sure that employees are able to do their role, but can also help out in related roles
as needed.
To help build a common understanding of the project work and minimize some of the conflicts,
Samantha is working with some of the supervisors to hold a project kick-off meeting where the team
reviews the goals and plan for the project, and develops and agrees to a project team charter. Letting
the team develop their charter allows the supervisor to observe how the team works together and gives
the team the ability to set ground rules for how they will work together. The team charter starts with
the project goals. The team may set their goals in order to accomplish these project goals. Other topics
that the team might address in their team charter include agreed-upon guidelines for how they want to
participate in the project, conduct (or behavior), communications among project members,
communicating status and problems, problem-solving, and holding meetings. This charter and its
guidelines that the team has agreed to can then serve as a basis for team building and team behaviors
during the project.
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