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Management 621 The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania MBAExec (West) – Summer 2012 Case: Karen Leary (A) 1. How would you assess Chung’s performance, and how would you rate Leary’s management of him and the office 2. If you were Chung, how might you have better managed your relationship with Leary 3. If you were Leary, how might you have better managed your relationship with Chung Day 5, Session A, B MEETING #1 -- FIELD APPLICATION PROJECT Sat., June 9 During this session, I will meet with each learning team to discuss their ideas for the FAP project. My purpose is mainly to offer suggestions based on my previous experience of student groups working on similar assignments and to provide a sounding board. Teams should plan to develop a one-page summary proposal for the FAP project that includes a statement of the problem, the planned scope of work, and a preliminary approach to exploring the problem. This one-page summary should be e-mailed to me by Wednesday, June 6th. Day 6, Session A DRIVING GROUP PERFORMANCE Fri., June 22 Description: Here we emphasize the power of group norms and information provided by coworkers, subordinates, and bosses as influences on individual behavior. These social influences can, if well-managed, help align group and individual goals with organizational goals, yield higher performance than individuals provide, especially when tasks are complex and demand complementary skills, and build a common language and shared experience base to facilitate coordination and creativity. If poorly managed, however, group norms and information can foster inappropriate conformity and compliance, diminishing individual, team, or organizational effectiveness and integrity. We explore both the potentially positive and the potentially negative consequences of social influence in this class and take a close look at how managers create (and respond to) groups that are “hot” – lively, high-achieving, dedicated groups, usually small, whose members are turned on to an exciting and challenging task. Reading: “Social Influence,” from Thomas Gilovich, Dacher Keltner, and Richard E. Nisbett, Social Psychology, NYC: WW Norton and Co., 2006, pp. 213-230, 240-253. Case: Soul of a New Machine 1. Why is the Eclipse group working so hard 2. In what ways does West give and receive feedback from his group and the organization 3. Do you think West’s leadership of the group is successful in the short-run In the long-run What are the risks involved in his style Day 6, Session B DECISION-MAKING IN GROUPS & ORGANIZATIONS Fri., June 22 Description: Group influences in organizations are not always positive. In this class, we consider situations in which social influences can pull individuals away from alignment with management’s 12
Management 621 The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania MBAExec (West) – Summer 2012 goals and result in distorted decision-making dominated by unthinking conformity and compliance with group biases. Reading: Irving L. Janis, “Groupthink,” Psychology Today, November 1971, pp. 43-46, 74-76. In-class exercise: Materials distributed during class *** JOB ANALYSIS PAPER SUBMITTED VIA WEBCAFE ON SAT., JUNE 23rd *** Day 7, Session A ORGANIZING FOR PRODUCTIVITY & QUALITY Sat., June 23 Description: We look at the organization of work and the human resource policies associated with “lean” or “flexible” production (as contrasted with traditional “mass production”) and the link to quality and productivity outcomes (topics you will cover more directly in an OPIM class later this year.) We teach the NUMMI case, emphasizing the “people” side of the production system, e.g. teams, job rotation, training, standardized work, and other human resource policies. A key theme is how crucially inter-dependent the “people” policies (social system) and manufacturing policies (technical system) are under lean production. We will also explore how NUMMI, a joint venture between Toyota and General Motors (recently closed, for reasons we will discuss) approached changing from a mass to lean production system and the cultural change this entailed. Reading: John Shook, “How to Change a Culture: Lessons From NUMMI,” MIT Sloan Management Review, Vol. 51, #2, pp. 63-68, 2010. Ceci Connolly, “Toyota Assembly Line Inspires Improvements at Hospital,” Washington Post, June 3, 2005. Case: Maryann Keller, “A Tale of Two Plants: NUMMI Teamwork vs. GM Bureaucracy,” in Rude Awakening, (New York: William Morrow, 1989), pp. 125-44. 1. What key decisions did Toyota make in deciding how to manage the NUMMI joint venture plant 2. Why did teams prove to be successful at NUMMI and not at Van Nuys 3. Why has General Motors had so much difficulty learning and diffusing the lessons of NUMMI to its own operations Day 7, Session B ORGANIZING FOR INNOVATION Sat., June 23 Discussion: In an era of rapid technological change, large, established firms commonly have difficulty moving as quickly as start-up firms. Hence they often acquire start-up’s, partly to access their innovative products, but even more so their employees, who possess valuable human capital. But acquisitions are risky because integrating two firms with different cultures can be very difficult and often key employees leave in the process. We will examine Cisco Systems, which has become renowned for its skillful acquisitions of small technology companies, its rapid integration of human capital from the acquired firms, and the relatively low turnover of those individuals. We’ll explore 13
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