Teamwork and Organisation

Question 1

What are the differences between direct management style and supportive management style?

Answer 1

Direct works from top-down and product values are prescribed based on anticipated needs and requirements. Supportive is from bottom up and supports decisions from smaller team players.

Question 2

What does effective product management depend on?

Answer 2

The right teamwork and organisation

Question 3

What are the difficulties associated with traditional management styles?

Answer 3

1. Lack of appropriate motivation - no real incentives to develop defect free products and work as a team.
2. Decision making styles are generally top down and decisions follow a unidirectional path.
3. Lack of management commitment or action - often employees left with responsibility of project but not the authority to change it.
4. 3Ps, Policy, Practice and Procedures - participants are instructed to follow very strict rules and procedures.
5. Lack of common understanding - often no prior understanding of commitment between recipients and providers of information.
6. Ineffective communication - discourages free exchange of ideas up, down and across organisational lines.

Question 4

Give some examples of concurrent engineering team types.

Answer 4

Logical teams - split problems/process up into logical unit and check whether or not customer expectations are properly analysed and factored into the product.
Personnel team - identifies roles of members, experts and advisors.
Virtual team - in form of computer models.
Technological team - generate strategies and concepts. Responsible for ensuring integration and consistency of total definition of product.

Question 5

Define synergy

Answer 5

Combined power of a group of things when they are working together, which is greater than the total power achieved if the task was undertaken by working separately

Question 6

What does teamwork improve between individual members of personnel emphasise?

Answer 6

Inter-personal relationships, cooperation, negotiation and collaborative decision making.

Question 7

Name the 7Cs of team cooperation.

Answer 7

1. Collaboration
2. Commitment
3. Communication
4. Compromise
5. Consensus
6. Continuous improvements
7. Coordination