Chapter 11 ©2001 Prentice-Hall S. Thomas Foster, Jr. Boise State University Slides Prepared by Bruce R. Barringer University of Central Florida S. Thomas.

Chapter 11Chapter 11

©2001 ©2001 Prentice-HallPrentice-Hall©2001 ©2001 Prentice-HallPrentice-Hall

S. Thomas Foster, Jr.S. Thomas Foster, Jr.Boise State UniversityBoise State University

Slides Prepared bySlides Prepared byBruce R. BarringerBruce R. Barringer

University of Central FloridaUniversity of Central Florida

S. Thomas Foster, Jr.S. Thomas Foster, Jr.Boise State UniversityBoise State University

Slides Prepared bySlides Prepared byBruce R. BarringerBruce R. Barringer

University of Central FloridaUniversity of Central Florida

Managing Quality Improvement Teams and Projects

Managing Quality Improvement Teams and Projects

Transparency 11-2Transparency 11-2© 2001 Prentice-Hall© 2001 Prentice-Hall

Chapter Overview Chapter Overview

• Leading Teams for Quality Improvement

• Types of Teams

• Implementing Teams

• Managing and Controlling Projects


IntroductionIntroduction

• The need for employee participation as a key element in managing changing organizations in an increasing complex world.

• There are several reasons.

• One of the biggest is complexity in the workplace.

• Also, business is transforming itself from a “ command and control” environment to one of collaboration.



• Such collaboration is needed as complexity drives workers from routine work to knowledge work, or work that involves the development and transmission of knowledge and information.

• Figure 11.1 shows that the difference between routine work and knowledge-based work.

• Knowledge work is effective when workers are given a certain amount of autonomy and decision-making authority.



• Figure 11.1 Differences between routine and knowledge work

Programmed

Repeated patterns

Analyzable

Well understood

Static

Programmed

Repeated patterns

Analyzable

Well understood

Static

Routine WorkRoutine Work

Emergent

Varied, unique

Interdependent

Uncertain

Dynamic

Emergent

Varied, unique

Interdependent

Uncertain

Dynamic

Knowledge WorkKnowledge Work



• As more collaborative practices are being adopted in business, teamwork is the natural result.

• A team is defined as a finite number of individuals who are united in a common purpose.

• These team approaches are used in conjunction with the tools of quality as discussed in chapter 10.

• Joseph Juran stated that the improvement of quality should be approached on a “ project-by-project basis, and in no other way.”



• Philip Crosby also supports the use of teams in improving quality.

• This is such a widely practiced approach to quality improvement.



• Why Employees Enjoy Teams -- Well-led teams often lead to improved employee

morale.

-- Employees like teams for many reasons with five motivators emerged.

1. Mutuality 2. Recognition for personal achievement

3. Belonging 4. Bounded power

5. Creative autonomy


Why Employees Enjoy TeamsSlide 1 of 3


• Mutuality– The need for mutual support and encouragement.

• Recognition for Personal Achievement– The opportunity for personal development as well

as recognition for personal achievement through rewards, incentives, or status.

• Belonging– The individual’s need for supportive, cohesive, and

friendly team relations.




• Bounded Power– The need for authority and control over

project resources and people, personal accountability and challenge, individuals’ abilities to influence decision that affect the project, and opportunities for personal growth and development.




• Creative Autonomy– The need for individuals to have the

opportunity to use their creativity and potential during the course of a project and to enjoy good working conditions.


Leading Teams for Quality Improvement

Slide 1 of 10


Slide 1 of 10

• Employee Empowerment– Empowerment means giving power to team

members who previously had little control over their jobs.

• Implicit in Empowerment is a Series of Promises to Employees. Examples include:– You will have greater control over your work.– You will not be penalized for making decisions that

don’t pan out.– and more ( see page 325)




• The Baldrige criteria encourages employee participation adding that is shown on page 325.



Slide 2 of 10


Slide 2 of 10

Preconditions Necessary for Empowerment

Clear authority and accountability

Participation in Planning at all

Levels

Adequate Communication and Information

for Decision Making

Responsibility With Authority




• Many issues surround empowerment and teamwork that must be addressed (see A Closer Look at Quality 11.1).

• This issues range from operations and behavior to organization design.



Slide 3 of 10


Slide 3 of 10

• Organizational Learning– Organizational learning implies change in organizational

behavior in a way that improves performance.

– The type of learning takes place through a network of interrelated components.

– These components include teamwork, strategies, structures, cultures, systems, and their interactions.

– Corporate learning relies on an open cultures where individuals can engage in learning, questioning, and not remain constrained by “taboos” or existing norms.




• Flattening Hierarchies for Improved Effectiveness– Along with the emphasis on teamwork and

empowerment, there has been a move toward flattening hierarchies in organizations.

– Too many layers of management can also impede creativity, stifle initiative, and make empowerment impossible.

– With fewer layers of management, companies tend to rely more on team.




• Flattening Hierarchies for Improved Effectiveness– Time will tell whether eliminating levels of

management in an organization actually results in long-term competitive improvement.

– It is clear that this is a trend that will continue for some time.

– The movement toward fewer levels of management and greater emphasis on collaborative learning has increased the emphasis on teamwork.



Slide 4 of 10


Slide 4 of 10

Team Leader Role and Responsibility

-- Quality professionals are unanimous – to be successful in achieving teamwork and participation, strong leadership both at the company level and within teams is essential.

-- We know that leaders are responsible for setting team direction and seeking future opportunities for the team.




• Leaders -- reinforce values and provide a system for

achieving desired goals. -- establish expectations for high levels of

performance, customer focus, and continual learning.

-- are responsible for communicating effectively, for evaluating organizational performance, and for providing feedback concerning such performance.



Slide 5 of 10


Slide 5 of 10

• Situational Leadership Model– According to this model, situational leadership

is based on interplay among the following:• The amount of guidance and direction a leader

gives (task behavior).• The amount of socioeconomic support a leaders

provides (relationship behavior).• The readiness level the followers exhibit in

performing a specific task, function, or objective.




• If team members are trained and prepared so they are “task ready,” leadership will be more effective.

• Readiness is the “extent to which a follower has the ability and willingness to accomplish a specific task.”

• Readiness is a function of two variables. Theses are ability and technical skills, and self-confidence in one’s ability.

• Effective leadership helps employees become competent and instills confidence in employees that they can do the job.



Slide 6 of 10


Slide 6 of 10

• Situational Leadership Model (continued)– Figure 11.2 shows the situational leadership

model with four different styles of leadership.

– As the model shows, different contingencies drive different styles of leadership.

– According to the model, the best approach to leading depends on the readiness of employees to perform tasks and functions or accomplish objectives.



Slide 7 of 10


Slide 7 of 10

Figure 12.2 Situational Leadership Model

Selling

Telling

Participating

Delegating

High

Low

Low High

Emotional Support

(Consideration)

Guidance (Structure)




• As it relates to quality management, leadership is especially difficult.

• To many leaders this implies a laissez-faire, or a hands-off approach to management.

• Many leaders feel that they are to provide resources but that they should not be involved in overly controlling employee behavior.

• Quality management is not a vehicle by which leaders abdicate their responsibility.




• Employees want leaders who provide clear direction, necessary information, feedback on performance, insight, and ideas.

• The single most important attribute of companies with failed quality management programs is lack of leadership.

• A close second is poor communication, which is related to leadership.

• Effective leaders are people who are able to provide visions, ideas, and motivation to others to achieve the greater good.




• Team Roles and Responsibilities --Meredith Belbin provide a widely adopted typology

of team roles.

-- Table 11.1 contains names and profiles for each of these roles.

-- Each of these roles may be more relevant at different stages during a project.

-- These roles are not mutually exclusive. This means that one person can fulfill different roles on a team.




• Table 11.1 Belbin’s Team Roles



Slide 8 of 10


Slide 8 of 10

• Stages of a Team’s Development ( please see Figure 11.3)– Forming

• Where the team is composed and the objective for the team is set.

– Storming• Where the team members begin to get to know

each other and agreements have not been made that facilitate smooth interaction between team members.




• Stages of a Team’s Development (continued)

- Norming• Where the team becomes a cohesive unit and

interdependence, trust, and cooperation develop.



Slide 9 of 10


Slide 9 of 10

• Stages of a Team’s Development (continued)– Performing

• Where a mutually supportive, steady state is achieved.

– Mourning• Where team members regret the ending of the

project and the breaking up of a team.



Slide 10 of 10


Slide 10 of 10

Figure 11.3 Stages of Team Development

Forming

Storming

Norming

Performing

Mourning




• Team Rules

-- During the norming stage, teams develop ground rules. Such ground rules can forestall conflict.

-- Common ground rules for teams in projects are shown in Table 11.2.

-- It is often useful to establish ground rules first in order for a team to be functional.




• Table 11.2 Ground rules for effective teams


Types of TeamsTypes of Teams

• Continuous process improvement often requires small teams that are segmented by work areas.

• Projects with multiple departments in a company require cross-functional teams.

• The literature is full of different types of teams and approaches to teamwork.

• Table 11.3 contains a list of a few of the major types of teams found in the literature.


Types of Teams Slide 1 of 4

Types of Teams Slide 1 of 4

Team Type Scope

Process Improvement team Local or single department

Cross-function team Multiple departments

Tiger team Organization-wide

Natural work team Customer- or region-centered

Self-directed work team Narrow or broad

Table 11.3 Types of teamsTable 11.3 Types of teams


Types of TeamsSlide 2 of 4


• Process Improvement Teams– Are teams that work to improve processes and

customer service.– These teams may work under the direction of

management or may be self-directed.– In either case, process improvement teams are

involved in some or all of the following activities: identifying opportunities for improvement, prioritizing opportunities, selecting projects, gathering data, analyzing data, making recommendations, implementing change, and conducting post-implementation reviews.



• Cross-Functional Teams– Are teams that enlist people from a variety of

functional groups within the firm.

– Such teams often work on macro-level, quality-related problems such as communication or designing company-wide processes.



• Tiger Teams– A high-powered team assigned to work on a

specific problem for a limited amount of time.

– These teams are often used in reengineering efforts or in projects where a specific problem needs to be solved in a very short period of time.



• Natural Work Group– Are teams organization around a common product,

customer, or service.– These teams are cross-functional and include

marketers, researchers, engineers, and producers.The objective of these teams includes tasks such as increasing responsiveness to customers and market demand. A great deal of effort is typically expended relating to organizational redesign and systems redesign, to improve job design, to improve work life for employees, to improve service by focusing work units in an organization on the customer.




• Self-Directed Work Teams– A team chartered to work on projects identified by

team members themselves.– Self-directed teams are identified as either little s or

big S teams.– Little s self-directed work teams are made up of

employees empowered to identify opportunities for improvement, select improvement projects, and complete implementation.

– Big S self-directed work teams are involved in managing the different functions of the company without a traditional management structure,



• Technology and Teams– New tools for teamwork are constantly emerging.– The model for team effectiveness in Figure 11.4 shows

how team use information systems tools and demonstrates that organizational integration and simultaneity methods are important components of team effectiveness.

– This model amplifies that more and more, team effectiveness is assisted by integrated tools and technologies, and the impact of technology should increase.



• Figure 11.4 A team effectiveness model



• Virtual Teams– Are teams that rarely or never physically meet, except

in electronic meetings using group decision software. – Internet and intranet-based applications call team-

ware are emerging that allow us to access the WWW and build a team, share ideas, hold virtual meetings, brainstorm, keep schedules, and archive past results with people in far-flung locations around the world.

– Hectic schedules and the difficulty in finding convenient times to meet to solve problems will make teams of this type more important in the future ( see A Closer Look at Quality 11.2).


Implementing TeamsSlide 1 of 3


• Facilitation– Is helping or aiding teams by maintaining a

process orientation and focusing the group.

• Team Building– Is accomplished by following a process that

identifies roles for team members and then helps them to become competent in achieving those roles.


Implementing TeamsImplementing Teams

• The role of facilitator is very important in managing teams, particularly when team members have little prior experience with teamwork.

• The role of facilitator is to make it easy for the group to know where they are going, know why they want to get there, know how to get there, and know what they’re going to do next.

• Successful facilitation does not mean that the group always achieves its desire results.



• The facilitator should: -- plan how the group will work through a task, -- help the group stay on track and be productive, -- draw out quiet members, -- discourage mono-polizers, -- help develop clear and shared understanding, -- watch body language and verbal cues, -- help the group to achieve closure, -- remain neutral on content, -- help key members reach points of agreement.




• Meeting Management– Effective meeting management is an important

skill for a facilitator of quality improvement teams.

– Tools for successful meting management include an agenda, pre-determined objectives for the meeting, a process for running the meeting, process for voting, and development of an action plan.



• Meeting Management– The steps required for meeting management are:

1. Defining an agenda.

2. Developing meeting objectives.

3. Designing the agenda activity outline.

4. Using process techniques.



• We wish meetings to stay focused: -- to involve deeper exploration, -- to separate creative from evaluative activities, -- To provide equal opportunity for contribution, -- to encourage reflection, -- to provide objective ground rules to reduce

defensiveness, and -- to separate the person from the idea.

. Figure 11.5 identifies some meeting structured process techniques.



• Figure 11.5 Structured process activities



• Tools such as flipcharts, sticky dots, whiteboards, and Post-its are commonly used in structured process activities.

• Another useful meeting tool that was pioneered by HP is the “ parking lot” ( please see Figure 11.6).




• Figure 11.6 Parking Lot


Conflict Resolution in TeamsConflict Resolution in Teams

• Conflict resolution as an organizational means to create a quality culture, and also a hugely important topic for team leaders and members.

• It is claimed that team leaders and project managers spend more 20% of their time resolving conflict.

• Some conflicts are internal or external.

• It is interesting to note that these are also some of the reasons teams are successful.


Conflict Resolution in TeamsSlide 1 of 3


• Stages in the Conflict Resolution Process– Frustration. People are at odds, and

competition or aggression ensues.

– Conceptualization and Orientation. Opponents identify the issues that need to be resolved.

– Interaction. Team members discuss and air the problems.

– Outcome. The problem is resolved.


Conflict Resolution in TeamsConflict Resolution in Teams

• Given the conflict-handling styles such as competing, accommodating, avoiding, compromising, and collaboration, we have ways of handling conflict.

• Figure 11.7 presents different styles of handling conflict.

• Some methods for solving conflict are presented in Table 11.4.




Desire to satisfy other party’s concerns

Low

Low

High

High

Desire to satisfy our

own customers

Avoiding Accommodating

Compromising

Competing Collaborating

Figure 11.7 Modes of Conflict Behavior Figure 11.7 Modes of Conflict Behavior




Table 11.4 Methods for Resolving Conflict

Avoidance

Defusion

Confrontation Problem-solving

Smoothing

Compromise

Non-attention

Physical separation

Limited interaction


Saving Quality Teams From Failure


• Sometimes quality improvement teams embark on improvement projects and for whatever reason, things begin to fall apart and the team risks failure.

• Figure 11.8 shows the diagnosis-intervention cycle that must be undertaken by the facilitator, team leader, of the team members themselves.




• Figure 11.8 Diagnosis-intervention cycle


Managing and Controlling Projects


• Too often, companies attempt to implement teams and projects in a poorly planned manner.

• We introduce the tools used in controlling projects in order of sequence.



Slide 1 of 4


Slide 1 of 4

• Project Charters– Are simple tools to help teams identify

objectives, participants, and expected benefits from projects.

– The charter includes spaces for signatures to identify reporting relationships for planning purposes.

– Figure 11.9 shows a charter for an actual project.




• Figure 11.9 An actual project charter



Slide 2 of 4


Slide 2 of 4

• Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)– After chartering the project, the next step is to

begin planning the project. – The work breakdown structure that was

introduced in Chapter 10 is an excellent tool for determining the tasks to be done.

– Figure 11.10 shows an outline of a WBS for a project.

– The task for an actual project are listed in Table 11.5.




• Figure 11.10 Work breakdown structure




• Table 11.5 Tasks for the document checklist project




• It is important to note that with large projects, it is often best to develop a separate WBS for each of the major tasks because separate individuals or group may be involved in different tasks.

• In the end, these WBSs must be combined into an overall WBS for the project.




• Identifying Precedence Relationships

• Identifying Outcome Measures

• Identifying Task Times

2

1

22

22t )6/)((

b)/64m(a timeExpected

TT

n

ttT

ab




• Example 11.1: Calculating task times and variance



Slide 3 of 4


Slide 3 of 4

• Arrow Gantt Charts– Tool used for controlling team projects. Most

college textbooks treat PERT charts separately from Gantt charts. In Chapter 11, both PERT and Gantt charts are demonstrated

– Using the data given in Table 11.5, the PERT chart for the document checklist project is as shown in Figure 11.11.




• Figure 11.11 Project PERT chart showing tasks needed to perform the document checklist project




• PERT Charts– PERT charts and the critical path method

(CPM) are introduced in Chapter 10 with the new seven tools of quality.

– PERT/CPW continues to be the preferred tool for controlling projects.

– The PERT charts shows a project is likely to be completed on time.

– PERT/CPM was very useful in improving quality at one publishing company.



Slide 4 of 4


Slide 4 of 4

• Managing Multiple Projects– At times, several projects occur simultaneously

in a firm.

– The multiple projects control form in Figure 11.12 is a management tool to aid in the coordination of multiple projects in a firm.

– Notice that the form identifies participants with varying levels of responsibility as well as the project managers.




• Figure 11.12 Multiple project control form

Chapter 11 ©2001 Prentice-Hall S. Thomas Foster, Jr. Boise State University Slides Prepared by Bruce R. Barringer University of Central Florida S. Thomas.

Documents

quality improvement

routine work

use of teams

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improvement of quality

creative autonomy slide

wellled teams

transmission of knowledge