Henry Tam and the MGI Team

Improved
members

communication

among

team

Loss of one of the co-founders

Better working atmosphere

Loss of a person with good experience

Less conflicts

Loss of the only business person (with

experience) and fundraiser

Better feelings of group members

Possible negative reaction of other co-founders

More consistency in the team work

According to the case, Sasha caused many internal conflicts but he was also the one who
motivated others and kept everything in check. Despite some conflicts among the co-founders,
they were quite close and cohesive as a group. Many of the biggest conflicts arose between
Sasha and Dana. As is written in the case, they had negative chemistry and they did not work
well together. Sasha was very aggressive talking with Dana and this hurt her. Despite negative
and aggressive Sashas character and poor communication skills, the company would not survive
without his abilities. He dealt not only with things related to business management but also he
was involved in marketing and production. He was not open to others but he had very strong
ideas about things. What is even more important, he was one of the co-founders and it could be
quite difficult to implement such a change (the idea belonged to the three co-founders equally).
Without Sasha, the whole thing never would have happened and possibly would not happen.
Criteria for evaluating the alternative 1:

time: not enough time may be left to complete the business plan without one person; it

may last longer to progress with the business;

effort: convince to agree on eliminating Sasha; to persuade Sasha that it would be best for

the company;
finances: money may be needed to compensate Sasha.

ALTERNATIVE 2
Hire a team manager
The group was dynamic but very conflicted and lacking cohesiveness: even after all long
discussions, each person had a different vision and opinion. The contest deadline for submitting
business plan was in less than three weeks, and the team still had a large amount of work to do. If
the team continued to operate in a way they usually did (using only brainstorming in the
meetings and not finishing their work), they had little chance to finish what they had gathered
for.
What we suggest therefore is that one more person is needed for the company: someone with
deep knowledge about how to direct all the members to seek only one final objective, how to
establish one common vision, mission or values among the persons. It has to be a person capable
of solving conflicts among the group members, dealing with different kinds of people
(personalities, ages, experience, nationalities, etc.), finding a way to pull the team together. He
would be responsible for helping members define their responsibilities and roles, observing the
process and guiding them through to the final goal. We recommend that a team manager be
included in the group.

Formation of a friendly collective

No money for recruitment

Improved communication among team members

Possible Sashas rejection and disobedience

Less conflicts

More confusion with one new member

Progress in the business plan writing

Lack of time for the team managers search

Objective assessment of the situation and

problems
Combination of members individual goals

Definition of roles and responsibilities

Fair and objective evaluation of work done
Clear business direction (mission, vision, values)
Team manager would be an external observer without any prejudices and without any
involvement in activities related to the business plan itself. This person is not a leader or one of
the members of the group; s/he is only responsible for Human Recourse Management, for
conflicts solving, development of the main vision and ideas, evaluation of work and allocation of
responsibilities of each member. However, we admit that some obstacles exist for this
alternative. Having in mind Sashas character, he may be not willing to listen to the team
managers suggestions. The entire group might be more confused with one new member joining
them: there were enough disagreements and diverging opinions in the case. Also, there is not
much chance to find such a person for free, therefore, financial question becomes important.
Criteria for evaluating the alternative 2:

time: a lot of time is needed to find and choose good team manager; also, time is needed

for team manager to integrate in the team;

effort: identify and select appropriate team manager will need considerable efforts;
finance: money is needed to hire the team manager, therefore, the company will have to
search for sponsors or investors.

ALTERNATIVE 3
Sell the idea to another company
The third decision, possibly solving the problems in the case, is to sell the idea of the product (or
the whole business) to another company, such as some existing records or entertainment
organizations. It would solve the problems that are noticed in the case, namely, the ones related
to communication, different personalities, culture, age, experience, distribution of roles and
responsibilities and lack of time to finish business plan. The idea itself could be a success.
According to the case, when the first edition of the Nutcracker music game was released, it
experienced "a critical success but a commercial failure". Selling the business idea would be
relatively easy to the co-founders, as "they established relationship with world-class musicians in
Russia". We think that it would not be difficult to find a buyer for the idea.

Profit for the co-founders

Loss of possibly bigger money in case of opening

up a business

No need to improve communication and solve

Loss of the ambitions
other problems
Time saved

Loss of opportunities for the students to gain real

life experience and finish their project

Buyer would have capital and expertise needed Loss of the company and control of the
to implement the idea
development of idea

This alternative would eliminate the need to improve communication and solve all other
problems, especially conflicts with Sasha, as an existing group involving Henry, Dana, Alex and
Dav would be no longer needed. However, selling the business idea to someone is an extreme
suggestion, which would destroy all the co-founders wants and ambitions. Even though the cofounders would earn some money (either through a onetime payment or a regular percentage of
the profits), it would result in no opportunities left for students to continue working in this area
after the completion of th business plan as well as a loss of possibly bigger profits in case of
starting a business on their own.
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Criteria for evaluating the alternative 3:

time: it is necessary to search and deal with a company which would buy the idea;
effort: it is necessary to find, choose, and communicate with a company; it is needed to
negotiate on a share of profit or compensation for the co-founders.

SUGGESTED SOLUTION
After considering all the possible recommendations, their advantages and disadvantages, and
evaluating every alternative by certain criteria, we come up with a final decision. Our suggestion
is to hire a team manager, i.e., a person who will be an external observer without being involved
in the operations of the company itself. S/he will solve the conflicts among the team members,
help define necessary roles and responsibilities, identify personal goals, create a common one
and direct everyone into keep the same direction. What we emphasize is that this person will not
be a leader or a real member of the existing group he will be just a manager, not attempting to
gain authority, not getting involved in ideas creation, work or leadership. Each member of the
MGI group can be called experts in their own field (or, in less drastic words, having experience,
knowledge and skills in certain areas) meaning that they do not need a strict leader telling them
what to do. They need a guide who could unify their skills and expertise to attain business
success.
The responsibilities of the team manager would be as follows:

evaluate the personalities of all members in the group;

objectively assess the situation and problems;
deal with conflicts and help move forward with a plan;
combine members individual objectives into one common goal;
identify and define necessary roles and responsibilities;
reveal each members talents and help develop skills;
help form a TEAM and
build the bridge between a group and a unified and cohesive team.

Requirements in order to hire the team manager are as follows:

effort and time to identify and select an appropriate team manager as well as to find

funding;
time for team manager and group members to adapt to each other;
money for recruiting the team manager (from personal budget or supporters).

How to deal with the disadvantages of the suggested solution?

It might seem that Sasha would be against the decision to employ a team manager
because he likes conducting everything by himself. We believe that it would be possible
to convince him that this could be a perfect solution in the existing situation. Sasha
should leave his personal priciples behind and make sacrifices in order for the whole
MGI group to achieve the common goal. His disobedience may be mitigated by
emphasizing that a person invited would not interfere with the activities of the business

and the ideas for the business plan development.

Money may be drawn from personal budgets based on mutual agreement and trust among
the members of the group; even though it might be difficult to find supporters quickly,
contacts with more senior graduates may prove valuable. This would also eliminate a
disadvantage of time limit (many calls may be made during one or two days; this activity

may be performed along with other, business plan-related works).

Confusion and more chaos may be avoided by making the distinction between a team
manager and other members clear. Everyone should realize what the responsibilities s/he
would hold. The usual activities would not be disturbed. It would be useful for the whole
group to have such a person around as the progress would be evident.

The expected consequences of the suggested strategy would be the following:

each members inputs into the work are evaluated objectively;

clear roles and responsibilities are defined and assigned (this would help everyone

concentrate on particular activities and direct to the final goal);

progress in development of the business plan (cohesiveness in the group is vital if they

are to complete the task);

formation of the strong, cohesive and efficient team (what we want to stress here is the

word team not cohesiveness or efficiency but the team above all);
less conflicts among team members which would make it possible to make faster
decisions and agree on relevant issues (such as what market they should target);
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common goal is defined and followed (not only the business plan development itself but
also objectives that would lead to that final goal).

A way the suggested solution should be implemented is discussed in the next paragraphs.
As a complicated situation (close deadline and almost no progress with the business plan) is
perceived to be a problem to be dealt with as quickly as possible, one of the group members
should come up with an appropriate solution. Henry, who is dedicated to solve the issues and
successfully finish the MGI project, is likely to take responsibility for inviting a team manager to
join the group. He is likely to get Danas support when introducing this alternative to the other
team members. Although Sashas opposition is very probable, other participants of the project
are likely to support this proposal because the previous way in which the work was organized
(anarchy; Henrys and Danas attempts to take over the control of the work) did not work out.
The team manager may be found by making calls to senior graduates (it was mentioned in the
case by Sasha that, in his experience, alumni are much more willing to help students). This
would not require much time because Sasha already has a list of alumni students. In case of a
successful agreement of collaboration, easier conditions may be defined for the compensation for
the managers services (or even voluntary services).
Clear expectations must be communicated by the MGI group: the manager is welcomed to help
in dealing with personality and cultural differences, with different decision making and problem
solving methods, with different (or not existent at all) conflict management techniques. S/he
would participate in every meeting but not influence the decisions made but rather how they are
made.
Despite the fact that the team manager needs time to adapt and determine problems in the
collective, it may be said that the disagreements are so obvious, strong and visible that the team
manager would not have much difficulty in analyzing the situation. The information may be
gathered quite quickly by the manager. Individual conversations with each member of the group
may be held in order to clarify their needs, expectations and vision about the project.
Also, the manager may deal with the problems in the group by managing the meetings so that it
would be made sure that the agenda is kept, long brainstorming sessions with no final deliverable
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are prevented and tension in the group relieved. Next, seminars related to tolerance, cultural
awareness or effective communication may be conducted. They also might be used in the long
run to ensure continuity of the company.
The team manager would take up a role of a mediator who would unify very different and strong
personalities in the group, teach them to work together, tolerate different opinions and put the
overall success of the project above personal ambitions.

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CONCLUSION
Team management is such a complicated and broad topic. It encompasses so many areas, such as
diversity management, conflicts solving, decision making, leadership or motivation. That is the
reason why special attention must be paid to it.
Nowadays, work teams are becoming more and more popular, they are used all over the world by
small and large companies, businesses, schools, universities and other organizations. A team
usually can do more than a single individual (a concept of synergy, pulling together everyones
talents and ideas to produce more than each individual in a team is capable of, has been known
for a while). That is why it becomes vital to be aware of the theories concerning team
development or applying roles and responsibilities models. The one who was assigned or who
has decided to form a team must know what steps should be taken in each stage of team
development (when to assign roles, when to define common strategy, how to solve conflicts or
critisize constructively). A person must understand the significance of guidance, of definining
common objectives and goals, of sharing a mutual vision and establishing effective and open
communication system.
The analysis of the case helpt us realize how important it is to know both: how to manage a team
and how to work effectively as ones member. After examining the case, we have developed a
clear understanding of what is a group and what makes that group of people into a team. What
we consider to be the most important (even though we wrote about compatible interests and
thinking styles which is usually a rare case) is the ability to adapt, make compromises,
communicate constructively. A person must have flexibility and tolerance to function as an
efficient member of a team. Currently, as the world is converging into one global network, the
diversity is large as it has never been before. In such a diverse environment, it is necessary to
appreciate individual differences in personalities, ages, experience, culture, or nationalities. For a
team to function efectively and to extract the best results, these differences must be understood,
appreciated, and unified. Only a real TEAM, and not just a group of people, is desired and only a
real TEAM is so hard to form.

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REFERENCES
http://www.infed.org/groupwork/what_is_a_group.htm
http://www.managementstudyguide.com/understanding-team.htm
http://www.managementstudyguide.com/team-development.htm
http://www.businessballs.com/tuckmanformingstormingnormingperforming.htm
http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMM_85.htm

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