Answer

Leading Teams at Southwest Transit

Southwest Transit has selected six employees to spearhead a marketing project featuring its newly updated aircraft. With consideration to age, sex, and longevity with the company, they have been selected to work together while balancing their strengths and weaknesses to achieve success for the organization. The purpose of this proposal is to discuss why the project members were selected including: diversity factors, motivation theories and behavior and conflict management strategies and how the vision and leadership of the group will lead to a successful marketing campaign and, thereby, enhance Southwest Transit’s profitability.

Team Selection

            Bob, Elizabeth, Katelyn, Natalie, Susan, and William were selected for the project. Each is described as working well in teams and having a positive attitude. Individually, Natalie was chosen based on her persuasion style and ability to placate tense situations. Elizabeth was selected for her diplomacy and abilities to see the big picture and make decisions. Katelyn’s strengths are her eagerness and commitment to high standards. Bob is recognized as a team player who gets the job done. Susan is an open communicator who works well with others. Lastly, William was selected for his non-confrontational ability to either lead or follow and his attention to detail.

Michael, Doug, Ian, and Tiffany were not chosen based on tendencies toward abandoning projects, passive-aggressive behavior, and for lashing out. Similarly, Ian’s temper and impatience and Tiffany’s traits of being cynical and indifferent disqualified them. Since the project is both high-pressure and has a tight deadline, these candidates did not demonstrate the collaboration, communication, or conflict resolution abilities required for success (Griffin et al., 2020).

Diversity, Motivation and Behavior Management Strategies

            The selected group is diverse by years of experience (age) and gender. William is approximately sixty, and Bob is at least forty. In contrast, Natalie, Susan, and Katelyn, are likely under age thirty. Diversity brings fresh perspectives and sage wisdom regarding the project and workings of the company. Because this is a multigenerational workgroup, it is important for the project team to understand the influences that have shaped each generation and value everyone as unique individuals with the potential for valuable contributions (Dietrich, 2018).

The group’s gender diversity predicates success with two men and four women. Researchers at MIT have defined three characteristics of highly successful and productive teams: more successful groups have high empathy, give one another equal voice, and contain more women (Films on Demand, 2015, 3:52). It has been suggested that because women score higher in empathy, measured in the Reading the Mind in the Eye test, they are more sensitive to other group members (Films on Demand, 2015, 4:33).

            Collective restoration would benefit the group by bringing them together and helping them bond (Films Media Group, 2015, 7:55). Employees who know one another are more likely to reach out for help and draw upon each other’s knowledge and strengths, thereby engaging social capital (Films Media Group, 2015, 9:02). Another important consideration is that this group is taking on extra responsibilities. According to Guo and Ling (2020), if leadership fails to provide positive feedback or recognize employees’ extra efforts, they might realign their energies toward personal gain and meet only specifically expected duties (Guo & Ling, 2020).

            Hertzberg’s two-factor theory divides characteristics into motivating factors and hygiene factors (Griffin et al., 2020). The selected members’ motivating influences are motivating factors. Natalie, Elizabeth, and Bob are motivated by intrinsic factors, for example, knowing their work makes a difference, whereas Katelyn is motivated by praise and recognition, which are extrinsic factors (Griffin et al., 2020). According to the Porter-Lawler model, whether the reward is intrinsic or extrinsic,perf ormance is what leads to satisfaction (Griffin et al., 2020).

Conflict and Conflict Management

            Conflict is inevitable among people, teams, and organizations (Griffin et al., 2020). Bob’s, Susan’s, and Elizabeth’s personalities place them in process conflict. With Bob’s eagerness, Susan’s lack of focus, and Elizabeth’s struggle with role conflict, they will likely experience role ambiguity. This will increase process conflict if they do not receive clear direction from their leadership (Griffin et al., 2020).

Natalie, Katelyn, and William may fall into interpersonal conflict based on their personalities. Natalie struggles to trust her team to follow through with commitments. Katelyn has high trust in her peers but sets unrealistic goals. Both take constructive criticism well, which minimizes conflict (Griffin et al., 2020). William shuts down when conflict occurs but will re-engage when the situation is resolved. Based on these personalities, collaboration would be the best conflict management style.

Accomodation would also be a helpful conflict management style since team members need guidance; this helps management fill specific roles for the members who want to see the task accomplished. Showing great concern for one’s interests while demonstrating equal regard for their peers’ concerns may stop potential conflicts (Griffin et al., 2020). To promote constructive conflict, the management team may assign Katelyn to advocate since she wants more opportunities to stand out. This communication will generate different perspectives and provide a safer environment for her peers to voice opinions (Griffin et al., 2020). Promoting collaboration facilitates communication among the group members by giving the team the ability to voice concerns on the project.

Vision and Leadership Strategy

            Management’s vision is to utilize the team’s strengths to promote and market Southwest Transit to be the most profitable and loved form of air travel in the United States. The project team will accomplish this with strong leadership, motivation, and solid advertising techniques. Proposed advertisements will focus on the features of the new state-of-the-art plane, exceptional customer service, and monthly specials.

Leadership is the ability to direct and coordinate people through their perceptions, beliefs, attitudes, motivation, and behaviors (Griffin et al., 2020). Two leadership strategies that will have the most significant impact and enhance the strengths of our team are servant leadership and Vroom’s decision tree. Servant leadership is a style of leadership that develops and empowers its employees to work toward their greatest potential. Consequently, the organization’s goals and missions will be successful. Choosing a group of intelligent and hardworking team players as managers, facilitates the goal to keep work engagement high. Work engagement is characterized by high energy, motivation, and focus (Griffin et al., 2020). By serving our employees and providing adequate job resources, we can combat the negative effects of these highly demanding jobs (Coetzer et al., 2017).

Vroom’s decision tree strategy determines the appropriate level of power that the subordinates have in the decision-making process (Griffin et al., 2020). Managers use this formula to determine the significance of the problem and then who will give his/her input and how. Vroom’s strategy distributes arising problems into three tiers ranked by levels of importance: management decides highest-tier problems, for second-tier problems, the management team will consult group leaders (Elizabeth and William because of their ability to see the big picture and make decisions), lowest-tier challenges are delegated to the entire team (Griffin et al., 2020). When employees participate in the decision-making process, it gives them a higher sense of purpose and promotes work engagement (Griffin et al., 2020).

Conclusion

Southwest Transit’s diverse project members will bring a new wave of professionalism, lower fares, great customer service, and solid advertising techniques. The leadership and guidance of the members, along with the motivation of strengths and weaknesses, will combine to ensure success. This proposal will ensure not only the increase in sales and the introduction of the plane but also the satisfaction and experience of the customers.