- QUESTION
Performance Psychology (Interviewing key stakeholders in Moneyball)
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As part of this course, you will apply the principles described in this class in evaluating a potential performance consulting opportunity. This will be a hypothetical case example in which you will demonstrate a) an anthropological approach to consulting and identifying concerns; b) analysis of the specified consulting context; and c) strategies for implementing change within that consulting context. Moneyball (2011) starring Brad Pitt APA Format Use page numbers for citations References https://learn-us-east-1-prod-fleet01-xythos.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/5c06b1fe1ee88/267106?response-content-disposition=inline%3B%20filename%2A%3DUTF-8%27%27The_CuttingEdge_doc.pdf&response-content-type=application%2Fpdf&X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Date=20190607T012848Z&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Expires=21599&X-Amz-Credential=AKIAIBGJ7RCS23L3LEJQ%2F20190607%2Fus-east-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Signature=93b0be329ca614ed47802c489c87b8360425ae2f1d0b0d92a2001f49b8f8bc75 |
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| Subject | Business | Pages | 9 | Style | APA |
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Answer
Interviewing key stakeholders in Moneyball
Billy Beane (Brad Pitt)
- What are the strengths of this specific organization, team, workgroup?
- The team has a recognized brand.
- The players are motivated.
- What is the difference that makes a difference when the group is at its best?
The group performs optimally when the best methods are used to select the best players for the team. In this regard, the team should always use scientifically proven methods.
- What are the challenges the team, organization, workgroup faces?
- Limited Budget
- Conservative board members
- If you could change something that you believe would improve the performance of the entire group, what would that be?
That would be leveling the playing field in the baseball league. I believe many underdog teams like ours are not performing optimally because the playing field is uneven. This resultantly means that a team like ours has to work with a lean budget thus we are not able to fully meet the expectations of all the stakeholders. When the playing field is leveled, revenue will be redistributed from the rich teams to the poor teams and this will serve to benefit the whole American baseball league.
- What would be the biggest challenge in making that change?
The biggest challenge in making this change would be dealing with conservatism. A vast majority of stakeholders are interested in the maintenance of status quo.
- What do you think would have to occur for that change to become a reality?
There is need for change within the organization and within the entire baseball league. The board members of Oakland Athletics should not focus on effecting change within the organization alone. They should look into ways of influencing the entire baseball league so as to effect meaningful change.
- What do you think would be important for consultants to know about this specific group in order to be an effective resource or agent of change?
What consultants should know is that Oakland Athletics is a strong team and with a level playing field, the team is capable of being the best in the league.
Assistant GM Peter Brand (Jonah Hill)
- What are the strengths of this specific organization, team, workgroup?
- This organization has a leader (Beane) who is bold enough to break the status quo and do things differently so as to put the team on the map.
- The players in the team are motivated.
- What is the difference that makes a difference when the group is at its best?
The team is at its best when the best methods are used to select players.
- What are the challenges the team, organization, workgroup faces?
A major challenge that is faced by the team or organization insufficient funding. Whereas the expectation of our fans is that we hire the best players in the league; this is not practically possible.
- If you could change something that you believe would improve the performance of the entire group, what would that be?
I would change the constitution of the board of the organization. I believe the members of the board are largely conservative and rigid and as a result reliance on their counsel may be detrimental for the organization.
- What would be the biggest challenge in making that change?
The biggest challenge is that the individuals have been members of the board for a lengthy period of time thus removing them from the equation would be a difficult endeavor.
- What do you think would have to occur for that change to become a reality?
New members with fresh ideas should slowly be incorporated in the board as a way of preparing the organization the future of baseball while still being appreciative of the gains that have been achieved through the years.
- What do you think would be important for consultants to know about this specific group in order to be an effective resource or agent of change?
What consultants should know is that the team is in need of fresh ideas so as to be able to survive the dynamism of baseball in America.
Grady Fuson
- What are the strengths of this specific organization, team, workgroup?
- The organization has a strong brand name
- The team has loyal fans
- What is the difference that makes a difference when the group is at its best?
When the right players are hired; players with experience and proven talent; the team always emerges victorious. On the flip side, when statistical, synthetic methods are used to hire players, the team does not perform optimally.
- What are the challenges the team, organization, workgroup faces?
A major challenge that is faced by the organization is poor leadership from the General Manager. He works independently and uses his own ideals and ideas to run the team and this resultantly leads to failure.
- If you could change something that you believe would improve the performance of the entire group, what would that be?
I would change the leadership of the organization. I believe Billy Beane is not the right person to lead the organization. His ideals are detrimental to the team.
- What would be the biggest challenge in making that change?
The biggest challenge in this regard is that Billy Beane is a highly influential individual thus whereas his ideas may not be the best, he is likely to influence many people to his side.
- What do you think would have to occur for that change to become a reality?
For the change to become a reality, all stakeholders within the organization should assess the progress or status of the team from an independent point of view and not through continued reliance on the ideas propagated by Billy Beane.
- What do you think would be important for consultants to know about this specific group in order to be an effective resource or agent of change?
What consultants should know is that the challenges facing Oakland Athletics are largely internal and not external. Once those in-house challenges are alleviated, the team will be in a position to perform better.
Art Howe
- What are the strengths of this specific organization, team, workgroup?
- The organization has a strong brand name
- The team has loyal fans
- What is the difference that makes a difference when the group is at its best?
When the most experienced and talented players are hired, the team emerges victorious. It is important that the team follows the recommendations of the Oakland Scouts.
- What are the challenges the team, organization, workgroup faces?
A major challenge that is faced by the organization is poor leadership from the General Manager. He works independently and uses his own ideals and ideas to run the team and this resultantly leads to failure.
- If you could change something that you believe would improve the performance of the entire group, what would that be?
I would fire Billy Beane since he is not the right person to lead the organization. His ideals are detrimental to the team.
- What would be the biggest challenge in making that change?
Billy Beane is highly influential. He has even been successful in convincing the team owner to stay the course with respect to the use of statistical methods to select players. It would, therefore, be difficult to eliminate him from the equation.
- What do you think would have to occur for that change to become a reality?
For the change to become a reality, the team owner should assess the progress or status of the team from an independent point of view and not through continued reliance on the ideas propagated by Billy Beane.
- What do you think would be important for consultants to know about this specific group in order to be an effective resource or agent of change?
What consultants should know is that the challenges facing Oakland Athletics are largely internal. Once those in-house challenges are alleviated, the team will be in a position to perform better.
Stephen Schott
- What are the strengths of this specific organization, team, workgroup?
- The team has a recognized brand.
- The General Manager is highly motivated and open-minded.
- What is the difference that makes a difference when the group is at its best?
When all the stakeholders within the organization are focused on the common goal of effectively utilizing the available resources to ensure the success of the team, this ensures that the team remains on the path of success.
- What are the challenges the team, organization, workgroup faces?
- Limited Budget
- Internal wrangles
- Uneven playing field
- If you could change something that you believe would improve the performance of the entire group, what would that be?
I believe the baseball playing field is largely uneven; with the rich teams affording all the best players in the market and the poor teams working with extremely lean budgets. Efforts should be employed towards leveling the playing field. If I could change anything, I would level the playing field.
- What would be the biggest challenge in making that change?
The biggest challenge in making this change would be dealing with conservatism. This is because many stakeholders are interested in the maintenance of status quo.
- What do you think would have to occur for that change to become a reality?
There is need for change within the organization and within the entire baseball league. The board members of Oakland Athletics should not focus on effecting change within the organization alone. They should look into ways of influencing the entire baseball league so as to effect meaningful change.
- What do you think would be important for consultants to know about this specific group in order to be an effective resource or agent of change?
What consultants should know is that Oakland Athletics is a strong team and with a level playing field, the team is capable of being the best in the league.
Scott Hatteberg
- What are the strengths of this specific organization, team, workgroup?
- The team has a recognized brand.
- The General Manager is open-minded.
- What is the difference that makes a difference when the group is at its best?
When all the stakeholders within the organization are focused on the common goal of effectively utilizing the available resources to ensure the success of the team, this ensures that the team remains on the path of success.
- What are the challenges the team, organization, workgroup faces?
- Limited Budget
- Internal wrangles
- If you could change something that you believe would improve the performance of the entire group, what would that be?
I would change the remuneration of the players. I believe Oakland Athletics players are highly talented and experienced. The remuneration they receive should be reflective of the talent they bring into the organization.
- What would be the biggest challenge in making that change?
The biggest challenge in this regard is that the organization is operating with a very lean budget.
- What do you think would have to occur for that change to become a reality?
For players to receive better remuneration, the team needs to record consecutive wins and sell many tickets. This will have a trickle effect on the remuneration of the players.
- What do you think would be important for consultants to know about this specific group in order to be an effective resource or agent of change?
Oakland Athletics is a strong team because it has talented and experience players. In order to prevent possible high turnover rates, players should receive better remuneration.
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