MT 140: Introduction to Management
Unit 7 Assignment
May 15, 2014
Self-managed teams can be very useful in taking most of the extra stress off of upper level managers. The team is trained to do all the jobs in the store. They are given the freedom to plan and control the work they do. By using self-managed teams Dalman and Lei can invest their time more effectively in expanding the company. They should pick people that are energetic and enthusiastic. Keeping in mind the different skills the self-managed team should possess. Giving the team plenty of responsibility and the independence to set goals and plans for the store.
To start the process the managers should form a semiautonomous work group, and guide and teach new team members not supervise them. This would put the team in charge of their individual stores, but they will still have the upper management to lean on. Dalman and Lei should then set some short term goals. Team Leaders should train the new self-managed team so they can better manage daily routines. The team should discuss tasks, roles and how decisions will be made and agree on them. With proper training the self-managed team can offer many advantages. Some being employee and customer satisfaction, and improved products. The team should work together sharing their personal experiences as to what works best to resolve the issues their stores are facing.
Self-managed teams can boost productivity by cross training team members for different jobs and duties. This could increase the flexibility of the team making Dalman’s visits less frequent. Eventually with the proper training and guidance the team can become an autonomous work group. This will put all of the stores duties into the hands of the self-managed team. Now Dalman and Lei have the freedom they need to open more stores or expand the ones they have. There are some down sides to self-managed teams. For some employees the responsibility is too