Chapter 11
Managing Quality Improvement
Teams and Projects
S. Thomas Foster, Jr.
Boise State University
Slides Prepared by
Bruce R. Barringer
University of Central Florida
©2001 Prentice-Hall
Chapter Overview
•
•
•
•
Leading Teams for Quality Improvement
Types of Teams
Implementing Teams
Managing and Controlling Projects
© 2001 Prentice-Hall
Transparency 11-2
Introduction
• The need for employee participation as a key
element in managing changing organizations in
an increasing complex world.
• There are several reasons.
• One of the biggest is complexity in the workplace.
• Also, business is transforming itself from a “
command and control” environment to one of
collaboration.
© 2001 Prentice-Hall
Transparency 11-3
Introduction
• Such collaboration is needed as complexity drives
workers from routine work to knowledge work,
or work that involves the development and
transmission of knowledge and information.
• Figure 11.1 shows that the difference between
routine work and knowledge-based work.
• Knowledge work is effective when workers are
given a certain amount of autonomy and
decision-making authority.
© 2001 Prentice-Hall
Transparency 11-4
Introduction
• Figure 11.1 Differences between routine and
knowledge work
Programmed
Emergent
Repeated patterns
Varied, unique
Analyzable
Interdependent
Well understood
Static
Routine Work
© 2001 Prentice-Hall
Uncertain
Dynamic
Knowledge Work
Transparency 11-5
Introduction
• As more collaborative practices are being adopted in
business, teamwork is the natural result.
• A team is defined as a finite number of individuals
who are united in a common purpose.
• These team approaches are used in conjunction with
the tools of quality as discussed in chapter 10.
• Joseph Juran stated that the improvement of quality
should be approached on a “ project-by-project
basis, and in no other way.”
© 2001 Prentice-Hall
Transparency 11-6
Introduction
• Philip Crosby also supports the use of teams in
improving quality.
• This is such a widely practiced approach to
quality improvement.
© 2001 Prentice-Hall
Transparency 11-7
Introduction
• Why Employees Enjoy Teams
-- Well-led teams often lead to improved employee
morale.
-- Employees like teams for many reasons with
five motivators emerged.
1. Mutuality 2. Recognition for personal achievement
3. Belonging 4. Bounded power
5. Creative autonomy
© 2001 Prentice-Hall
Transparency 11-8
Why Employees Enjoy Teams
Slide 1 of 3
• Mutuality
– The need for mutual support and encouragement.
• Recognition for Personal Achievement
– The opportunity for personal development as well
as recognition for personal achievement through
rewards, incentives, or status.
• Belonging
– The individual’s need for supportive, cohesive, and
friendly team relations.
© 2001 Prentice-Hall
Transparency 11-9
Why Employees Enjoy Teams
Slide 2 of 3
• Bounded Power
– The need for authority and control over
project resources and people, personal
accountability and challenge, individuals’
abilities to influence decision that affect the
project, and opportunities for personal growth
and development.
© 2001 Prentice-Hall
Transparency 11-10
Why Employees Enjoy Teams
Slide 3 of 3
• Creative Autonomy
– The need for individuals to have the
opportunity to use their creativity and
potential during the course of a project and to
enjoy good working conditions.
© 2001 Prentice-Hall
Transparency 11-11
Leading Teams for Quality Improvement
Slide 1 of 10
• Employee Empowerment
– Empowerment means giving power to team
members who previously had little control over
their jobs.
• Implicit in Empowerment is a Series of
Promises to Employees. Examples include:
– You will have greater control over your work.
– You will not be penalized for making decisions that
don’t pan out.
– and more ( see page 325)
© 2001 Prentice-Hall
Transparency 11-12
Leading Teams for Quality Improvement
• The Baldrige criteria encourages employee
participation adding that is shown on page 325.
© 2001 Prentice-Hall
Transparency 11-13
Leading Teams for Quality Improvement
Slide 2 of 10
Preconditions Necessary for Empowerment
Clear authority and
accountability
Participation in
Planning at all
Levels
© 2001 Prentice-Hall
Adequate
Communication
and Information
for Decision
Making
Responsibility With
Authority
Transparency 11-14
Leading Teams for Quality Improvement
• Many issues surround empowerment and
teamwork that must be addressed (see A
Closer Look at Quality 11.1).
• This issues range from operations and
behavior to organization design.
© 2001 Prentice-Hall
Transparency 11-15
Leading Teams for Quality Improvement
Slide 3 of 10
• Organizational Learning
– Organizational learning implies change in organizational
behavior in a way that improves performance.
– The type of learning takes place through a network of
interrelated components.
– These components include teamwork, strategies,
structures, cultures, systems, and their interactions.
– Corporate learning relies on an open cultures where
individuals can engage in learning, questioning, and not
remain constrained by “taboos” or existing norms.
© 2001 Prentice-Hall
Transparency 11-16
Leading Teams for Quality Improvement
• Flattening Hierarchies for Improved
Effectiveness
– Along with the emphasis on teamwork and
empowerment, there has been a move toward
flattening hierarchies in organizations.
– Too many layers of management can also impede
creativity, stifle initiative, and make
empowerment impossible.
– With fewer layers of management, companies tend
to rely more on team.
© 2001 Prentice-Hall
Transparency 11-17
Leading Teams for Quality Improvement
• Flattening Hierarchies for Improved
Effectiveness
– Time will tell whether eliminating levels of
management in an organization actually results in
long-term competitive improvement.
– It is clear that this is a trend that will continue for
some time.
– The movement toward fewer levels of management
and greater emphasis on collaborative learning has
increased the emphasis on teamwork.
© 2001 Prentice-Hall
Transparency 11-18
Leading Teams for Quality Improvement
Slide 4 of 10
Team Leader Role and Responsibility
-- Quality professionals are unanimous – to be
successful in achieving teamwork and
participation, strong leadership both at the
company level and within teams is essential.
-- We know that leaders are responsible for setting
team direction and seeking future opportunities for
the team.
© 2001 Prentice-Hall
Transparency 11-19
Leading Teams for Quality Improvement
• Leaders
-- reinforce values and provide a system for
achieving desired goals.
-- establish expectations for high levels of
performance, customer focus, and continual
learning.
-- are responsible for communicating effectively,
for evaluating organizational performance, and
for providing feedback concerning such
performance.
© 2001 Prentice-Hall
Transparency 11-20
Leading Teams for Quality Improvement
Slide 5 of 10
• Situational Leadership Model
– According to this model, situational leadership
is based on interplay among the following:
• The amount of guidance and direction a leader
gives (task behavior).
• The amount of socioeconomic support a leaders
provides (relationship behavior).
• The readiness level the followers exhibit in
performing a specific task, function, or
objective.
© 2001 Prentice-Hall
Transparency 11-21
Leading Teams for Quality Improvement
• If team members are trained and prepared so they
are “task ready,” leadership will be more effective.
• Readiness is the “extent to which a follower has the
ability and willingness to accomplish a specific task.”
• Readiness is a function of two variables. Theses are
ability and technical skills, and self-confidence in
one’s ability.
• Effective leadership helps employees become
competent and instills confidence in employees that
they can do the job.
© 2001 Prentice-Hall
Transparency 11-22
Leading Teams for Quality Improvement
Slide 6 of 10
• Situational Leadership Model (continued)
– Figure 11.2 shows the situational leadership
model with four different styles of leadership.
– As the model shows, different contingencies
drive different styles of leadership.
– According to the model, the best approach to
leading depends on the readiness of employees
to perform tasks and functions or accomplish
objectives.
© 2001 Prentice-Hall
Transparency 11-23
Leading Teams for Quality Improvement
Slide 7 of 10
Figure 12.2 Situational Leadership Model
Guidance (Structure)
Low
High
High
Emotional
Support
(Consideration)
Participating
Selling
Delegating
Telling
Low
© 2001 Prentice-Hall
Transparency 11-24
Leading Teams for Quality Improvement
• As it relates to quality management, leadership is
especially difficult.
• To many leaders this implies a laissez-faire, or a
hands-off approach to management.
• Many leaders feel that they are to provide
resources but that they should not be involved in
overly controlling employee behavior.
• Quality management is not a vehicle by which
leaders abdicate their responsibility.
© 2001 Prentice-Hall
Transparency 11-25
Leading Teams for Quality Improvement
• Employees want leaders who provide clear direction,
necessary information, feedback on performance,
insight, and ideas.
• The single most important attribute of companies with
failed quality management programs is lack of
leadership.
• A close second is poor communication, which is related
to leadership.
• Effective leaders are people who are able to provide
visions, ideas, and motivation to others to achieve the
greater good.
© 2001 Prentice-Hall
Transparency 11-26
Leading Teams for Quality Improvement
• Team Roles and Responsibilities
--Meredith Belbin provide a widely adopted typology
of team roles.
-- Table 11.1 contains names and profiles for each of
these roles.
-- Each of these roles may be more relevant at
different stages during a project.
-- These roles are not mutually exclusive. This means
that one person can fulfill different roles on a team.
© 2001 Prentice-Hall
Transparency 11-27
Leading Teams for Quality Improvement
• Table 11.1 Belbin’s Team Roles
© 2001 Prentice-Hall
Transparency 11-28
Leading Teams for Quality Improvement
Slide 8 of 10
• Stages of a Team’s Development ( please see
Figure 11.3)
– Forming
• Where the team is composed and the objective
for the team is set.
– Storming
• Where the team members begin to get to know
each other and agreements have not been made
that facilitate smooth interaction between team
members.
© 2001 Prentice-Hall
Transparency 11-29
Leading Teams for Quality Improvement
• Stages of a Team’s Development (continued)
- Norming
• Where the team becomes a cohesive unit and
interdependence, trust, and cooperation
develop.
© 2001 Prentice-Hall
Transparency 11-30
Leading Teams for Quality Improvement
Slide 9 of 10
• Stages of a Team’s Development (continued)
– Performing
• Where a mutually supportive, steady state is
achieved.
– Mourning
• Where team members regret the ending of the
project and the breaking up of a team.
© 2001 Prentice-Hall
Transparency 11-31
Leading Teams for Quality Improvement
Slide 10 of 10
Figure 11.3 Stages of Team Development
Mourning
Performing
Norming
Storming
Forming
© 2001 Prentice-Hall
Transparency 11-32
Leading Teams for Quality Improvement
• Team Rules
-- During the norming stage, teams develop
ground rules. Such ground rules can forestall
conflict.
-- Common ground rules for teams in projects
are shown in Table 11.2.
-- It is often useful to establish ground rules first
in order for a team to be functional.
© 2001 Prentice-Hall
Transparency 11-33
Leading Teams for Quality Improvement
• Table 11.2 Ground rules for effective teams
© 2001 Prentice-Hall
Transparency 11-34
Types of Teams
• Continuous process improvement often requires
small teams that are segmented by work areas.
• Projects with multiple departments in a company
require cross-functional teams.
• The literature is full of different types of teams
and approaches to teamwork.
• Table 11.3 contains a list of a few of the major
types of teams found in the literature.
© 2001 Prentice-Hall
Transparency 11-35
Types of Teams
Slide 1 of 4
Table 11.3 Types of teams
Team Type
Scope
Process Improvement team
Local or single department
Cross-function team
Multiple departments
Tiger team
Organization-wide
Natural work team
Customer- or region-centered
Self-directed work team
Narrow or broad
© 2001 Prentice-Hall
Transparency 11-36
Types of Teams
Slide 2 of 4
• Process Improvement Teams
– Are teams that work to improve processes and
customer service.
– These teams may work under the direction of
management or may be self-directed.
– In either case, process improvement teams are
involved in some or all of the following activities:
identifying opportunities for improvement,
prioritizing opportunities, selecting projects,
gathering data, analyzing data, making
recommendations, implementing change, and
conducting post-implementation reviews.Transparency 11-37
© 2001 Prentice-Hall
Types of Teams
• Cross-Functional Teams
– Are teams that enlist people from a variety of
functional groups within the firm.
– Such teams often work on macro-level, qualityrelated problems such as communication or
designing company-wide processes.
© 2001 Prentice-Hall
Transparency 11-38
Types of Teams
• Tiger Teams
– A high-powered team assigned to work on a
specific problem for a limited amount of time.
– These teams are often used in reengineering
efforts or in projects where a specific problem
needs to be solved in a very short period of
time.
© 2001 Prentice-Hall
Transparency 11-39
Types of Teams
• Natural Work Group
– Are teams organization around a common product,
customer, or service.
– These teams are cross-functional and include
marketers, researchers, engineers, and producers.The
objective of these teams includes tasks such as
increasing responsiveness to customers and market
demand. A great deal of effort is typically expended
relating to organizational redesign and systems
redesign, to improve job design, to improve work life
for employees, to improve service by focusing work
units in an organization on the customer.
© 2001 Prentice-Hall
Transparency 11-40
Types of Teams
Slide 3 of 4
• Self-Directed Work Teams
– A team chartered to work on projects identified by
team members themselves.
– Self-directed teams are identified as either little s or
big S teams.
– Little s self-directed work teams are made up of
employees empowered to identify opportunities for
improvement, select improvement projects, and
complete implementation.
– Big S self-directed work teams are involved in
managing the different functions of the company
without a traditional management structure,
© 2001 Prentice-Hall
Transparency 11-41
Types of Teams
• Technology and Teams
– New tools for teamwork are constantly emerging.
– The model for team effectiveness in Figure 11.4 shows
how team use information systems tools and
demonstrates that organizational integration and
simultaneity methods are important components of
team effectiveness.
– This model amplifies that more and more, team
effectiveness is assisted by integrated tools and
technologies, and the impact of technology should
increase.
© 2001 Prentice-Hall
Transparency 11-42
Types of Teams
• Figure 11.4 A team effectiveness model
© 2001 Prentice-Hall
Transparency 11-43
Types of Teams
• Virtual Teams
– Are teams that rarely or never physically meet, except
in electronic meetings using group decision software.
– Internet and intranet-based applications call teamware are emerging that allow us to access the WWW
and build a team, share ideas, hold virtual meetings,
brainstorm, keep schedules, and archive past results
with people in far-flung locations around the world.
– Hectic schedules and the difficulty in finding
convenient times to meet to solve problems will make
teams of this type more important in the future ( see A
Closer Look at Quality 11.2).
© 2001 Prentice-Hall
Transparency 11-44
Implementing Teams
Slide 1 of 3
• Facilitation
– Is helping or aiding teams by maintaining a
process orientation and focusing the group.
• Team Building
– Is accomplished by following a process that
identifies roles for team members and then
helps them to become competent in achieving
those roles.
© 2001 Prentice-Hall
Transparency 11-45
Implementing Teams
• The role of facilitator is very important in
managing teams, particularly when team
members have little prior experience with
teamwork.
• The role of facilitator is to make it easy for the
group to know where they are going, know why
they want to get there, know how to get there,
and know what they’re going to do next.
• Successful facilitation does not mean that the
group always achieves its desire results.
© 2001 Prentice-Hall
Transparency 11-46
Implementing Teams
• The facilitator should:
-- plan how the group will work through a task,
-- help the group stay on track and be productive,
-- draw out quiet members,
-- discourage mono-polizers,
-- help develop clear and shared understanding,
-- watch body language and verbal cues,
-- help the group to achieve closure,
-- remain neutral on content,
-- help key members reach points of agreement.
© 2001 Prentice-Hall
Transparency 11-47
Implementing Teams
Slide 2 of 3
• Meeting Management
– Effective meeting management is an important
skill for a facilitator of quality improvement
teams.
– Tools for successful meting management include
an agenda, pre-determined objectives for the
meeting, a process for running the meeting,
process for voting, and development of an action
plan.
© 2001 Prentice-Hall
Transparency 11-48
Implementing Teams
• Meeting Management
– The steps required for meeting management are:
1. Defining an agenda.
2. Developing meeting objectives.
3. Designing the agenda activity outline.
4. Using process techniques.
© 2001 Prentice-Hall
Transparency 11-49
Implementing Teams
• We wish meetings to stay focused:
-- to involve deeper exploration,
-- to separate creative from evaluative activities,
-- To provide equal opportunity for contribution,
-- to encourage reflection,
-- to provide objective ground rules to reduce
defensiveness, and
-- to separate the person from the idea.
. Figure 11.5 identifies some meeting structured process
techniques.
© 2001 Prentice-Hall
Transparency 11-50
Implementing Teams
• Figure 11.5 Structured process activities
© 2001 Prentice-Hall
Transparency 11-51
Implementing Teams
• Tools such as flipcharts, sticky dots, whiteboards,
and Post-its are commonly used in structured
process activities.
• Another useful meeting tool that was pioneered
by HP is the “ parking lot” ( please see Figure
11.6).
© 2001 Prentice-Hall
Transparency 11-52
Implementing Teams
Slide 3 of 3
• Figure 11.6 Parking Lot
© 2001 Prentice-Hall
Transparency 11-53
Conflict Resolution in Teams
• Conflict resolution as an organizational means to
create a quality culture, and also a hugely
important topic for team leaders and members.
• It is claimed that team leaders and project
managers spend more 20% of their time
resolving conflict.
• Some conflicts are internal or external.
• It is interesting to note that these are also some of
the reasons teams are successful.
© 2001 Prentice-Hall
Transparency 11-54
Conflict Resolution in Teams
Slide 1 of 3
• Stages in the Conflict Resolution Process
– Frustration. People are at odds, and
competition or aggression ensues.
– Conceptualization and Orientation. Opponents
identify the issues that need to be resolved.
– Interaction. Team members discuss and air the
problems.
– Outcome. The problem is resolved.
© 2001 Prentice-Hall
Transparency 11-55
Conflict Resolution in Teams
• Given the conflict-handling styles such as
competing, accommodating, avoiding,
compromising, and collaboration, we have ways
of handling conflict.
• Figure 11.7 presents different styles of handling
conflict.
• Some methods for solving conflict are presented
in Table 11.4.
© 2001 Prentice-Hall
Transparency 11-56
Conflict Resolution in Teams
Slide 2 of 3
Figure 11.7 Modes of Conflict Behavior
High
Competing
Desire to
satisfy our
own
customers
Low
Compromising
Avoiding
Low
© 2001 Prentice-Hall
Collaborating
Accommodating
High
Desire to satisfy other
party’s concerns
Transparency 11-57
Conflict Resolution in Teams
Slide 3 of 3
Table 11.4 Methods for Resolving Conflict
Non-attention
Avoidance
Physical separation
Limited interaction
Defusion
Smoothing
Compromise
Confrontation
© 2001 Prentice-Hall
Problem-solving
Transparency 11-58
Saving Quality Teams From Failure
• Sometimes quality improvement teams embark
on improvement projects and for whatever
reason, things begin to fall apart and the team
risks failure.
• Figure 11.8 shows the diagnosis-intervention
cycle that must be undertaken by the facilitator,
team leader, of the team members themselves.
© 2001 Prentice-Hall
Transparency 11-59
Saving Quality Teams From Failure
• Figure 11.8 Diagnosis-intervention cycle
© 2001 Prentice-Hall
Transparency 11-60
Managing and Controlling Projects
• Too often, companies attempt to implement teams
and projects in a poorly planned manner.
• We introduce the tools used in controlling
projects in order of sequence.
© 2001 Prentice-Hall
Transparency 11-61
Managing and Controlling Projects
Slide 1 of 4
• Project Charters
– Are simple tools to help teams identify
objectives, participants, and expected benefits
from projects.
– The charter includes spaces for signatures to
identify reporting relationships for planning
purposes.
– Figure 11.9 shows a charter for an actual
project.
© 2001 Prentice-Hall
Transparency 11-62
Managing and Controlling Projects
• Figure 11.9 An actual project charter
© 2001 Prentice-Hall
Transparency 11-63
Managing and Controlling Projects
Slide 2 of 4
• Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
– After chartering the project, the next step is to
begin planning the project.
– The work breakdown structure that was
introduced in Chapter 10 is an excellent tool
for determining the tasks to be done.
– Figure 11.10 shows an outline of a WBS for a
project.
– The task for an actual project are listed in
Table 11.5.
© 2001 Prentice-Hall
Transparency 11-64
Managing and Controlling Projects
• Figure 11.10 Work breakdown structure
© 2001 Prentice-Hall
Transparency 11-65
Managing and Controlling Projects
• Table 11.5 Tasks for the document checklist project
© 2001 Prentice-Hall
Transparency 11-66
Managing and Controlling Projects
• It is important to note that with large projects, it
is often best to develop a separate WBS for each
of the major tasks because separate individuals
or group may be involved in different tasks.
• In the end, these WBSs must be combined into an
overall WBS for the project.
© 2001 Prentice-Hall
Transparency 11-67
Managing and Controlling Projects
• Identifying Precedence Relationships
• Identifying Outcome Measures
• Identifying Task Times
Expected time  (a  4m  b)/6
 t2  (( b  a ) / 6) 2
n
 T2    t2
t 1
T 
 T2
© 2001 Prentice-Hall
Transparency 11-68
Managing and Controlling Projects
• Example 11.1: Calculating task times and variance
© 2001 Prentice-Hall
Transparency 11-69
Managing and Controlling Projects
Slide 3 of 4
• Arrow Gantt Charts
– Tool used for controlling team projects. Most
college textbooks treat PERT charts separately
from Gantt charts. In Chapter 11, both PERT
and Gantt charts are demonstrated
– Using the data given in Table 11.5, the PERT
chart for the document checklist project is as
shown in Figure 11.11.
© 2001 Prentice-Hall
Transparency 11-70
Managing and Controlling Projects
• Figure 11.11 Project PERT chart showing tasks
needed to perform the document checklist project
© 2001 Prentice-Hall
Transparency 11-71
Managing and Controlling Projects
• PERT Charts
– PERT charts and the critical path method
(CPM) are introduced in Chapter 10 with the
new seven tools of quality.
– PERT/CPW continues to be the preferred tool
for controlling projects.
– The PERT charts shows a project is likely to be
completed on time.
– PERT/CPM was very useful in improving
quality at one publishing company.
© 2001 Prentice-Hall
Transparency 11-72
Managing and Controlling Projects
Slide 4 of 4
• Managing Multiple Projects
– At times, several projects occur simultaneously
in a firm.
– The multiple projects control form in Figure
11.12 is a management tool to aid in the
coordination of multiple projects in a firm.
– Notice that the form identifies participants
with varying levels of responsibility as well as
the project managers.
© 2001 Prentice-Hall
Transparency 11-73
Managing and Controlling Projects
• Figure 11.12 Multiple project control form
© 2001 Prentice-Hall
Transparency 11-74