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The situation/problem:
Bob Knowlton after having worked very successfully
at Simmon’s lab is now feeling insecure, since Elliot
joined the company, who is very talented and an
expert at his task.
After listening to continuous praises and
appreciations by Dr. Katherine and others, Knowlton
felt threatened about losing his position and has
now found another job in the same capacity and
with a higher pay.
Page 1
Issues at Simmons Laboratory
• Bob Knowlton’s inability to communicate openly
• Dr. Katherine’s inabilities to communicate effectively,
clearly delineate roles, and clearly define goals
• Knowlton’s inability to unite different personality and
learning styles
• Simmons Laboratory’s lack of leadership training and
lack of performance measures
• Success of teams may depend on the efforts of team
members, but team leadership is important
• Elliot’s criticizing the work of others he views as inferior.
• Lack of sensitivity towards team mates
Page 2
Relevant information
Page 3
Factors influencing the interpersonal dynamics between
Knowlton and Elliot in their team.
Bob Knowlton
Felt that his leadership was at stake because
a) Elliot was very sharp and competent and helped the
team resolve some old problems too
b) Katherine was extremely impressed with Elliot and felt
him as a value add for Bob’s team & the organization
c) Bob felt that Elliot with his brilliance, was slowly taking
over leadership ( informal control) of the team
Page 4
Inability to discuss his feelings/conflicts with Katherine
and team mates
Page 6
Elliot
• Good motivator
• Not a very good coordinator
• Believes in Informal group settings
• Ineffective Communication style
• Highly impressed by Elliot but unable to
explain his role clearly at Simmon’s to Bob
Page 8
Outcome
Page 9
Alternative solutions
• First of all, maybe just let him go.
• Second, Bob Knowlton should have a talk with
Katherine about Elliot’s problem.
• Third, provide Knowlton trainings with
communication skills and his attitude dealing
with people.
• Fourth, give Knowlton a vacation.
• Fifth solution- transfer Elliot to another group.
Page 10
Evaluating alternative solutions
• Advantage of the first solution- any other person with
Bob’s knowledge can take his position. But, if the next
leader is not as efficient, he/she might not get involved in
the group or the projects.
• Advantage of the second solution- Knowlton must let
Katherine understand how he feels and what friction
exists between him, Elliot and team members. This can
solve his departure problem.
• To the fourth choice, when Knowlton have some fresh air,
he may think clearly and reflect about .....
Page 11
• Jung and Eysenck note that “introverts, relative to
extroverts, tend to focus on internal thoughts rather than
external stimuli, display higher cortical arousal to stimuli
and lower short-term memory performance, and be more
socially anxious and inhibited” (Nussbaum, 2002).
• Inability of Knowlton and Elliot to work well together is due to
their differences in personality and leadership style.
• Team leaders, unable to make considerations for such
differences will often meet with failure. Inability to unite
disparate styles into an overall team style directed toward
goal attainment.
Page 12
• Some individuals flourish working alone while others
prefer to be the member of a team. The collectivist
versus individualist perspective is important for team
success.
• Elliot has doubts about democratic principles
leading to higher performance.
• Knowlton seems unable to unite such disparate
views of collective versus individual action among
group members.
Page 13
Interpersonal Sensitivity in the Development &
Functioning of Work Teams
• Interpersonal sensitivity is critical to develop interpersonal
relationships.
• Greater number of organizations are moving away from
traditional status oriented hierarchies & making greater use of
collaborative work teams (Brannick, Salas & Prince, 1997)
• To share common goals and work interdependently in a team,
members must be interpersonally sensitive to coordinate and
keep the team focused on task.
• Members must read and anticipate other members’ needs to be
quick, efficient and successful.
• The construct of interpersonal sensitivity is important to many
facets of work organizations, ranging from leadership to
employee selection and development to improving the
functioning and quality of work teams
Page 14
INTERPERSONAL SKILLS