Creating Cross-Functional Teams - Essay Example

Creating Cross-Functional Teams1. Are traditional bureaucracies set up to provide custom made products to individual consumers? Could they be, or is it always better to have customer oriented teams design such products?Ans Traditional bureaucracies face certain disadvantages in developing custom made products to individual customers, particularly due to their rigid structure and inflexible processes and procedures. This makes it hard for bureaucratic organizations to respond to the varying needs and wants of the customer which is the key ingredient of customization.

Hence in most of the cases it is better to have customer oriented teams design such products. Customer oriented teams have the advantage of understanding more clearly the specific requirements of the customer due to their “customer first” approach; responding adequately to varying needs on account of their flexibility; and giving a better and more customized solution to the customer based on their combined set of skills. 2. Anyone who has worked in team situations has discovered that some members of the team work harder than others; nonetheless, the whole team is often rewarded based on the overall results, not individual effort.

How could team evaluations be made so that individual efforts could be recognized and rewarded?Ans Team evaluations can be made to focus more on individual contributions through many different ways. Firstly, one can evaluate the performance of each member against the tasks he was assigned, thus in this manner the performance of each member can be compared with the other members of the team. Secondly, we can judge how much effort each member is putting into teamwork by observing his performance and inputs during team discussions, and his willingness when group task is divided among the members.

Through these methods, we can judge the level of willingness a particular member has towards the completion of the group task as well as his individual contribution towards completion of the group task.3. What service organizations, private or public, would you like to see become more customer oriented? How could this case be used as a model for that organization?Ans I would prefer to see private organizations become more customer oriented, due to the reason that there are many private organizations, particularly in the service sector, that are hampered due to their rigid hierarchy and operations.

Also they are plagued with competition among employees, which sometimes lead employees to win favor with means other than fair ones. This case can be a model for such an organization n that it effectively describes the steps that can be undertaken by the company management to become more customer oriented. This case accurately describes the essential requirements for a private organization to become more customer-aware, such as user-friendly systems, team oriented approach etc. also it effectively describes the firewalls against activities such as pleasing bosses, by creating cross functional teams and diluting a strict hierarchal structure.4. What are some major impediments to implementing customer oriented teams in service organizations?

Ans One major impediment towards the implementation of customer oriented teams in service organizations is the system of processes and procedures in the organization, particularly the inflexibility attached with those processes. This can be crucial as for an organization to become truly customer oriented; a certain level of flexibility in operations is required so as to respond to each customer in the most optimal manner. Another impediment is the hierarchal structure in the organizations, as it causes difficulty in formation of teams within the organization.

Lastly, employees’ attitude and personalities also become an impediment towards the development of an effective team, especially one that is cross-functional (Webber, 2002). Employees may not feel comfortable working with one another and may not prefer equal status. This creates issues in the effective operation of a team, even after teams are created. REFERENCES1. Webber, Sheila. (2002). Leadership and trust facilitating cross-functional team success. Journal of Management Development, 21(3), 201-214.