Question 1 Decribe the team in the TV episode you watched. What type of team was it? Question 2 What was the cause of conflict for your team? How was it resolved? Types o Teams:A cross-functional team is made up of employees from about the same hierarchical level, but from different areas of expertise. Cross-functional teams include task forces and special-purpose teams. A task force is a group of employees from different departments who deal with a specific activity and exist as a team only until the task is completed. A special-purpose team is a team created outside the formal structure to undertake a project of special importance, such as developing a new product. A self-managed team consists of multiskilled employees who rotate jobs to produce an entire product or service, often led by an elected team member. Self-managed teams are related to the trend toward bosslessness because team members take responsibility for their work, make decisions, monitor their own performance, and alter their work behavior as needed to solve problems and meet goals. Causes of Conflict Several factors can lead to conflict.Footnote One of the primary causes is competition over resources, such as money, information, or supplies. When individuals or teams must compete for scarce or declining resources, conflict is almost inevitable. In addition, conflict often occurs simply because people are pursuing differing goals. Goal differences are natural in organizations. Individual salespeople’s targets may put them in conflict with one another or with the sales manager. Moreover, the sales department’s goals might conflict with those of manufacturing, and so forth. Conflict may also arise from communication breakdowns. Poor communication can occur in any team, but virtual and global teams are particularly prone to communication breakdowns. In one virtual team developing a custom polymer for a Japanese manufacturer, the marketing team member in the United States was frustrated by a Japanese team member’s failure to provide her with the manufacturer’s marketing strategy. The Japanese team member, in turn, thought that her teammate was overbearing and unsupportive. She knew that the manufacturer hadn’t yet developed a clear marketing strategy, and that pushing for more information could damage the relationship by causing the customer to “lose face.”Footnote Trust issues can be a major source of conflict in virtual teams if members feel that they are being left out of important communication interactions.Footnote In addition, the lack of nonverbal cues in virtual interactions leads to more misunderstandings. Teams as well as individuals develop specific styles for dealing with conflict, based on the desire to satisfy their own concern versus the other party’s concern. The dominating style (my way) reflects assertiveness to get one’s own way and should be used when quick, decisive action is vital on important issues or unpopular actions, such as during emergencies or urgent cost cutting requirements. The compromising style (halfway) reflects a moderate amount of both assertiveness and cooperativeness. It is appropriate when the goals on both sides are equally important, when opponents have equal power and both sides want to split the difference, or when people need to arrive at temporary or expedient solutions under time pressure. The accommodating style (your way) reflects a high degree of cooperativeness, which works best when people realize that they are wrong, when an issue is more important to others than to oneself, when building social credits for use in later discussions, and when maintaining harmony is especially important. The collaborating style (our way) reflects a high degree of both assertiveness and cooperativeness. The collaborating style enables both parties to win, although it may require substantial bargaining and negotiation. The collaborating style is important when both sets of concerns are too important to be compromised, when insights from different people need to be merged into an overall solution, and when the commitment of both sides is needed for a consensus. The avoiding style (no way) reflects neither assertiveness nor cooperativeness. It is appropriate when an issue is trivial, when there is no chance of winning, when a delay to gather more information is needed, or when a disruption would be costly. An example of the collaborating style could be seen during the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. When building the Beijing National Aquatics Center (typically called the “Water Cube”), two architectural firms—one Chinese and the other Australian—developed designs that were totally different. Although this created some tension, instead of fighting for their own ideas, the two sides came up with a totally new concept that excited everyone. The resulting award-winning building is spectacular.Footnote Each of the five styles is appropriate in certain cases, and effective team members and leaders vary their styles to fit the specific situation.