Davis_Case Study Week 4

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Week 4 Case Study: Team Dynamics and Teamwork at Alphabet Solutions MGMT 9040 – Organization Behavior & Development February 1 st , 2024 Christopher Davis

In this case study, there are numerous things that AlphaTech has done to leverage diversity and advance the dynamics of their teams within their organization. One great example of this is through AlphaTech’ s recruiting and hiring individuals from diverse backgrounds. When hiring diversely, this ensures that individuals are being hired based on their skills and qualifications rather than their backgrounds which leads to company’s having a more inclusive work culture. Another thing that AlphaTech does is promote a working environment where their employees having different views and perspectives is welcome. When people of different skills, experience and qualifications come together, it really enhances creativity in the workplace. As the case study explained, having diverse teams also enhances their problem-solving skills when working on projects. Based on diverse teams bringing more varying views to the table, I would have to assume that it is logical to understand that diverse teams would outperform homogeneous teams. When you have a group of people whom all think the same way, they are not thinking outside the box, or looking at all the different ways and options that are available out there. This can lead to great opportunities being overlooked. I also thought it was interesting when looking into the two different teams in comparison that it was explained, “Diverse teams focus more on facts and process them more carefully than homogeneous teams. This makes it more likely that they won't lapse into unreasoning consensus—an affliction known as groupthink—which makes homogeneous teams' decisions less rational and riskier” (www.neuroleadership.com). It is a good point to say that homogeneous teams could potentially make decisions that are more risky and less rational because they are all thinking relatively in the same way, or not thinking of all possible outcomes in their decision making process. It is also said that diverse teams outperform when it comes to detecting errors. This could mean that homogeneous teams are more likely to

make potentially costly errors for an organization. This would show a benefit for organizations, such as AlphaTech, to choose to recruit diverse teams to join their company. When I think of examples of these two team dynamics, it makes me think of teams that I had been apart of in my past workplace environment. For example, there was a team that was formed that was almost like a “fun committee” if you want to call it that. What the company did was pull people from ALL areas of the company, to get differing views throughout the organization. If they had chose to pull a whole team together from a specific role of people (say all engineers, all finance, etc.) the company would have been more likely to form a homogeneous team and may not have the best results in finding activities that would interest everyone, companywide. It is safe to say that there are different personalities of people within certain roles within the company. By creating a diverse team of associates throughout all areas of the company, we were able to be more successful in setting up events that would interest or reach more people. Of course, you are never going to make everyone happy in every event, but by having different backgrounds of people compiling ideas and brainstorming together, we were able to come up with a more diverse list of events to produce. When talking about team dynamics, it is always important to set clear roles and responsibilities among team members. This is exactly what AlphaTech does within their organization. The case study explained that AlphaTech makes it a priority to ensure that all team members understand their roles and responsibilities within their team. AlphaTech also makes it clear as to of what each employee’s personal contribution is making towards the end goal, project, and picture. One reason that it is a good idea for teams to have set roles and responsibilities is to make sure that no one is overstepping one another. Not only that, but it also encourages better collaboration across the team.

Although the case study did not provide any direct examples of how having clear roles has resolved conflicts and improved teamwork, it is safe to assume with the results that the company has been seeing that this strategy is beneficial. When teams have set roles and responsibilities, they are then more productive. It also reduces duplicate work from potentially happening which can be a waste of time and create frustration within the team. Having set roles also reduces any confusion as to of what should be going on, and who is doing what. This can prevent important pieces of projects from being overlooked and makes errors from occurring to be less likely. The employee surveys for AlphaTech also showed that their employees are extremely satisfied with the company and that they feel valued and highly motivated. This goes to show that having these set roles and responsibilities is allowing everyone to be the best that they can be within the team. With that being said, I do think that changing up leadership roles across different projects is very beneficial. By rotating the team leadership role, it allows all members of the team the opportunity to be in that leadership role. This fosters empowerment for the leaders and encourages active participation. It also is good to challenge people who may not feel that they have those leadership skills. Individuals can then work to build their leadership skills, confidence and gain a different perspective on the project. If a team as the same leader all the time, they may feel as if their role within the team is not as important reducing motivation and productivity. Some people may truly not feel as if being a leader is their strength, but it is always good to have the opportunity to try if wanted. Another thing that AlphaTech does within their teams is complete performance evaluations and have open feedback sessions. “Team performance assessments analyze how well team members work together, produce results, and lead change to ensure long-term success for

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