AVOIDING CATASTROPHE: THE ROLE OF INDIVIDUAL ACCOUNTABILITY IN TEAM EFFECTIVENESS Developments in Business Simulation and Experiential Learning, Volume 31, 2004 AVOIDING CATASTROPHE: THE ROLE OF INDIVIDUAL ACCOUNTABILITY IN TEAM EFFECTIVENESS K. Denise Bane Bloomfield College Denise_Bane@bloomfield.edu ABSTRACT OVERVIEW OF THE EXERCISE The Avoiding CATastrophe exercise helps participants understand the importance of the individual in the success of the team. In this engaging exercise, participants use an interactive children’s game, called “cat-a-pult” to explore their own role in successful team functioning. In addition to learning about personal accountability, participants also learn how clear intragroup communication is integral to team success. The exercise is of benefit to instructors and trainers working with traditional-aged college students, adult learners, and corporate trainees. It can be used to demonstrate individual accountability, effective teams, and interpersonal and intragroup communication. The children’s game used in this exercise is called “Cat-a- pult,” an interactive chain-reaction game distributed by HandsOnToys. The Cat-a-pult game consists of five plastic catapults and foam cats. Each participant is assigned a catapult and a cat. The object of the game is for each player to adjust his or her catapult so that, when launched, the first player’s cat will land on the second player’s catapult, triggering the second catapult, which launches the second cat in the direction of the third catapult, and so on. The team is successful when it is able to create a chain reaction. Each team member is responsible for setting and adjusting his or her own catapult and cannot touch the catapults of his or her team members. THEORETICAL GROUNDING AND RELEVANT CONSTRUCTS What does it take to be an effective team member? Although the saying that there is no “I” in ‘TEAM” is indeed true, a team cannot be truly successful unless each team member takes personal responsibility for his or her role on the team. In the exercise presented herein, participants learn the importance of individual responsibility and accountability in enhancing team effectiveness. Specifically, participants will be able to: (a) identify factors leading to team effectiveness, (b) discuss the role of the individual in the success of the team, and (c) use the “Cat-a-pult” game to demonstrate individual accountability in team effectiveness. The importance of the role of individual accountability in teams is supported by work on group development, self- managed work teams, and goal-setting. It is helpful to use Tuckman’s model of group development (Tuckman, 1965, Tuckman & Jensen, 1977) in discussing individual accountability. First, the facilitator should introduce students/trainees to the five stages: forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning, and briefly describe the issues facing the team at each stage. Next, the facilitator should lead the participants in a discussion of how the individual can make a difference in helping or hindering the group at each stage. For instance, in the forming stage, the team is attempting to determine its mission, how the individual team members will work together, and who is in charge. Individuals can help in this process by encouraging open communication, laying a foundation for trust, demonstrating leadership abilities, and generating discussions about the team’s purpose and/or mission. An individual can hinder progress by focusing on his or her own agenda, hording information, and fostering mistrust. A similar process would be used to work through the other stages. In like manner, this process could be applied to other theories of group and team development and effectiveness. The exercise will be beneficial to instructors and trainers who cover the topic of team building in their course material or who require groups of students/trainees to work together as a team for an extended period of time. The exercise is useful for traditional-aged college students, adult learners, and corporate trainees. When used as part of a team building module, the facilitator should begin by defining teams, and outlining characteristics of successful teams (see, for example, Katzenbach & Smith, 1993). The facilitator should then engage participants in a discussion about how individuals help or hinder team effectiveness. Finally, participants would engage in the game and debriefing. When used as an ice-breaker for new teams, the facilitator should follow the same format as outlined above, and end with a discussion of implications for how the lessons from the game will enhance the team’s ability to work together in the future. 130 mailto:Denise_Bane@bloomfield.edu Developments in Business Simulation and Experiential Learning, Volume 31, 2004 DEBRIEFING During the debriefing, the session facilitator should entertain questions from the participants and generate discussion with questions such as: 1. How can an individual encourage team effectiveness? 2. How did team members encourage their team members during the exercise? 3. How did “expertise” affect the outcome? 4. If an individual does not/can not learn his or her job, how does that affect the team? 5. What would have made the team more effective? 6. What hindered team effectiveness? 7. What lessons can you take away from this exercise? TARGETED NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS The exercise can be conducted with 5 to 20 active participants. More are welcome as observers. TIME REQUIRED Ideally, the exercise should be allotted 60 minutes. The following timeline is proposed: 1. Introduction and overview of the relevant constructs (e.g. team building, conflict resolution): 15 minutes 2. Experiencing the exercise: 20 minutes 3. Debrief and discussion: 25 minutes The session could be conducted in 30 minutes, if necessary, or expanded to 90 minutes, which would allow more opportunity for more rounds of the game and a more extensive debriefing. MATERIALS REQUIRED The facilitator will need a catapult and cat for each active participant. Each Cat-a-pult game includes materials for five players. To order the Cat-a-pult game, visit HandsOnToys at http://www.handsontoys.com. (NOTE: The presenter is not affiliated with the game, its creator, or the distributor.) ROOM SET-UP Participants should be seated at round tables, facing each other, with five to six chairs per table. Alternatively, the session could take place in a large, open room with no furniture, and could sit on the floor for the game. PEDAGOGICAL IMPLICATIONS/OUTCOMES OF THE ACTIVITY Students/trainees will develop a better understanding of the importance of individual accountability in team functioning. They will also learn the value of developing intrateam communication skills for improving team success. Past participants have commented that they enjoyed the game and also learned about the importance of team work. In addition to being valuable in discussing teams, the game may also be applied to the topics of communication, leadership, and conflict resolution. REFERENCES Katenbach, J. R., & Smith, D. K. (1993). The wisdom of teams: Creating the high-performance organization. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press. Tuckman, B. W. (1965). Developmental sequence in small groups. Psychological Bulletin, 6, 384-399. Tuckman, B. W., & Jensen, M. A. C. (1977), Stages of small- group development revisited. Group and Organization Studies, 12, 419-427. 131 Table of Contents Volume 31, 2004 Controlling the Complexity and Orenting Target Groups by a Modular, Server-Based Business Game System Learning Network Demonstration: Delivering Business Education in a Distance Learning Environment Economic Evolution, Human Capital Investment, and Adult Distributed Electronic Learning: A Literature Review Designing a Globalization Simulation to Teach Corporate Social Responsibility Developing and Teaching an Online / In-Class Hybrid: A Demonstration A Model for Evaluating Online Instruction An Evaluation of a Distributed Learning Course: A Students'-Eye Perspective Blended Learning Strategy Improved Business Writing Skills How to Receive and Process Attachemnts while Greatly Reducing the Risk of Viruses and Trojans Introducing Online Components to a Class: How to Increase teh Likelihood of Success Teaching Strategic Communications Online: Using Learning Outcomes to Develop a Case-Based Course Implementing Distance Approaches to Education: A Panel Discussion for ABSEL: Las Vegas, 2004 MANDI: Learning Management Through Field Sales Experience An International Capital budgeting Experiential Exercise A Primer To Combating Terrorism: Playing It Safe While On Overseas Assignment (An Experiential Exercise) Integrating The Business Curriculum With A Comprehensive Case Study: A Prototype The Case Brief: A Model For Case Analysis, Writing And Discussion Technology Infused Pedagogy And Delivery – A Sure Bet? A Proposal For Panel Discussion Absel Conference 2004 Research Strategy And The Bkl: Getting The Most From The Absel Archives Simple But Effective: Rediscovering The Class Discussion Needle And Thread: An Activity For Examining Various Management Behaviors A Customized Excel Data Analysis System For Use In Undergraduate Marketing Research Team Leader Selection - Does It Matter? The Power Of Perspective: Reframing Your Framing Skills For Innovative Instruction In Leadership And Influence Exercise: How Should Merit Raises Be Allocated? An Online Situation For Problem-Based Learning In A Junior-Level Management Course The Eden Alternative As A Roadway For Change: A Service Learning Quality Improvement Project Avoiding Catastrophe: The Role Of Individual Accountability In Team Effectiveness Omega Systems: A Change Management Exercise The Risks And Rewards Of Providing Students A Structured Cheating Opportunity Experimentation With Assessment Techniques: A Proposal For Panel Discussion Using A 2 - Page Case To Introduce Concepts Of Business Strategy Interactive Session The Integration Of Appreciative Inquiry And Experiential Learning For Peak Performance Appreciative Inquiry Case Story: New York City Leadership Challenge Individual Achievement Versus Team Performance: An Empirical Study With Business Games Some Strategists Don't Learn Or Can't Learn Computer Simulation: A Design Architectonic On The Value Of Bugs In Simulation Environments Online Sales Forecasting With The Multiple Regression Analysis Data Matrices Package Simulation Exercises And Problem Based Learning: Is There A Fit? A Study Of Business Game Stock Price Algorithms Assessing Individual Performance In A Total Enterprise Simulation Information Use In A Business Game Determining The Value Of A Firm Unsorting Algorithms For An Ordered List And Its Application To Business Simulations Teaching Public Finance Management Through Simulation Antecedents Of Game Performance Student Expectations Of Classroom Teaching Practices In Developing And Presenting Course Information In Hong Kong Implementation And Impacts Of The Balanced Scorecard: An Experiment With Business Games Impact: Shocking The Legacy Mindset Implementation Of The Eepad Framework Of Business Processes In An Accounting Information Systems Course Are Business Games Really Delivering What Students Are Led To Believe?? Reporting Lessons Learned: What Gets Reported; Who Gains Value Teacher Expectations Of Classroom Teaching Practices In Developing And Presenting Course Information In Hong Kong Student Reactions To The Use Of A Computer-Based Simulation As An Integrating Mechanism For A Mba Curriculum A Cognitive Investigation Of The Internal Validity Of A Management Strategy Simulation Game The Casino Challenge: Making Simulation Delivery A Safe Bet! Accounting For Company Reputation: Variations On The Gold Standard Foreign Currency Hedging: A Simulation The Influence Of Variables Easily Controlled By The Instructor/Administrator On Simulation Outcomes: In Particular, The Variable, Reflection. Absel Awareness Among Business School Faculty Validating Business Simulations: Does High Market Share Lead To High Profitability? Simulation Debriefing Procedures Coaching And Business Simulations: A Formula For Success? A Seminal Inventory Of Basic Research Using Business Simulation Games The Influence Of Scorecard Evaluation On Decisions And Outcomes