Megan Purdy

Leadership and Organizational Behavior

Professor Ugboaja
March 20, 2014

Case Study #3; The Woodson Foundation

Part 1, Group Development

The stage that the group has moved into now is the forming stage. The candidates have
all been assembled or brought together and are now in the process of narrowing them down to
three individuals, one from each of the three groups. Not only are they trying to form the best
team possible to accomplish the goals set before them but they need to find a group that will be
able to work together. The goal is to form an effective team from the candidates provided and I
believe those members would be Victoria Adams, Mason Dupree and Victor Martinez. These
three individuals would be the best candidates for the team due to their past and present
experiences and their knowledge in each of their respective groups. By being fully aware of the
different stages of team development; forming, storming, norming, performing and adjourning.
The Woodson Foundation could have avoided some of the uncertainty going into forming their
group. Because this group is going to be dealing with issues covering a variety of areas, they
would want to choose members that have experience, even cross over experience to help give
them the most knowledge. If they can keep in mind that there will be a difference of opinion to
start with but that in the end they will all be working towards the same goal, it will help them to
better unite as a team. They need to make sure that they are on an even playing field with each
other and all bringing their own unique perspectives to solving the issues at hand. They will
eventually be moving through the five stages previously stated, but ultimately need to begin with
the forming stage which is where they are now.
Part 2, Problem Identification
The primary problem facing the group I believe is in the Storming Stage. Because of the
variety of backgrounds that each group member is bringing there is bound to be great differences
of opinion in the way that things should be handled. Each of the three groups involved in this
team has their own interests at the top of their priority list and they are going to have conflict
along the way trying to agree on what should take precedence. The school board representatives
will want to make sure that the boards policies are followed and they are afraid that if they back
off too much they will lose control of these functions in the new system. They want to still be

able to protect the interests of their teachers and the funding for them. The representatives for
the Woodson Group are more focused on the numbers and the data found in research rather than
the interests of the teachers and the school. The NCPIE is focused on changes at the personal
level, giving more control to the parents, students and community. They are now faced with is
how to bring their differing opinions together and work towards the common goal; the students
learning process and helping them to get the best education possible as well as including the
parents in these decisions. The secondary problem the team is faced with is within the diverse
culture differences that have presented themselves. The majority of the students in the school
district involved are African American and the Woodson foundation members are primarily
Caucasian. There is the issue of whether or not the professionals working on the project are
going to be able to adequately interact with the students and parents in such a diverse setting. I
believe that its okay that the members are all coming to the group with ideas and plans formed
in their minds, but it is key for them to all keep an open mind when hearing what the other team
members have to say and are bringing to the table. By hearing each other out and implementing
the ideas of each member, they will together be able to better achieve the goals laid out before
them.
Part 3, Retrospective Evaluation
In overcoming the problems that arise during the storming process, each member of the
team is going to have to learn to listen and to keep an open mind when hearing each other out. It
would be quite easy to keep the attitude that their way is the only way and not want to veer from
that way of thinking. However, these leaders that were selected to represent their separate
groups and become a team need to bring knowledge and share it with their team members and
form a relationship with them. If they continue to keep separate views on the issues at hand, they
will never be able to come together for the common goal, the students.
The school board representative has knowledge first hand of working with the schools
and the teachers and principals. She has the best interest not only of her students at heart, but
also that of the teachers in the district as well. By using her knowledge, the group will gain
insight of those on the front lines and find out what exactly is necessary to help the students
succeed. Yes, the parents should be involved in some decisions as well, but within reason. They
should not have the sole decision on how the money is used or the programs that are chosen.
The NCIPE representative is more concerned with getting the students and the parents more
involved in the decision process and want to see their involvement increased. Avoiding the
school board taking complete control is something that he wants to avoid. The Woodson
Foundation representative has been with his group for quite some time and has only seen things
from that perspective. However, he does bring up a good point in saying that they cant continue
doing the same things over and over again, because by doing that there is going to be no
improvement. Each of the groups brings valid concerns with them that all can be addressed. The
first thing that they need to do is to all agree, that yes, there is indeed a problem and it needs to
be fixed for the sake of the students, their education and their futures. One way would be to list

the primary concerns that each group has, what are the issues of most importance to them and
then start researching and listing ways to resolve these issues. It might be allowing the teachers
to have more involvement in the curriculum that is chosen to use within the schools as they are
the ones interacting with the students daily and have more of an understanding of the needs and
learning methods for their students. This in turn would help possibly to keep the teachers from
getting as burned out so quickly when they are able to start seeing successes in what they are
doing in the classroom. What does the student need, how can our educators help meet those
needs and how can the school system help meet their needs? When that has been determined,
then let the budget come into play again in deciding how it will be paid for and how much will
be spent. Why not keep your quality educators in your system and the consistency that they
provide for their students rather than adding more and more positions. Another plan is to also
bring in the parents as well as a form of opening the lines of communication up and letting them
feel involved in their childrens education. I think that as important as the money is in being
able to provide quality education, it needs to be put in the background for a bit and the focus
shifted to the student. Yes, parents know their children best and they can help to give insight into
what they think money should be spent on. The representatives on this team need to remember
that it is not just their group being represented, but three and it is not their education being
discussed, it is the future generations education. So ultimately, they need to again take a step
back, put their own preferences aside and come together as a group to make the best decisions
for the students and the students to follow.
Part 4, Reflection
Yes, I do believe that it is possible to have an effective team working together with
competing goals. The trick to this happening though will be being open minded enough to be
able to listen to the perspectives of the other team members and understand why they may feel so
strongly about their goals as you do about your own. In this case study, each team member came
in with different ways at looking at the situation, but the common goal that was bringing them all
together was the education of the students and helping them to succeed. In teamwork, there
needs to be compromise and understanding and willingness to see different perspectives. You
may not always agree with each other, but as long as there is a common goal bringing you all
together in your work, any number of things can be accomplished.