Can work really be this much fun?

Kavanaugh, Joseph ; Gilcrease, Kathy

CASE DESCRIPTION

The primary subject matter of this case concerns the differences between the characteristics of teams and high performance work groups. Secondary issues examined include distinguishing between the two forms of group organization and the appropriate use of each; the necessary components that contribute to a group's success; and learning how to successfully cope with a change in a group's membership.

CASE SYNOPSIS

The case involves a highly performing work group, which displays many characteristics of a high performance team, in the setting of a small office on a university campus. Through displays of their strong interpersonal relationship, one can see why the group is so successful, but the continuing success of the group is in jeopardy when one member announces her retirement. The group is left to ponder the question of how to sustain their team, or were they a team anyway?

It had certainly been a momentous day at work, what with Ruth's announcement and all. Beatrice had never enjoyed more a group of people she worked with than the group she worked with now. They really were quite special. As she reviewed the day's events she kept returning to the question Dyan had raised in their discussion at the end of the day. How had Dyan put it? "Are we a team, really?

You could tell it was Friday by the office staff discussing their weekend plans and the most important topic, "Where are we going to eat lunch today?" The four ladies of the office of Academic Affairs at Sam Houston State University went to lunch together every Friday. It was a most treasured time for all. This was a time when they openly shared with each other their frustrations regarding office matters--as well as personal matters--without fear that anything said during this time would be repeated to a soul.

After everyone told each other good morning, they returned to their offices and worked diligently to make sure they completed their assignments so they could leave for lunch on time. The office tasks were divided among the staff with each position having a predetermined set of responsibilities established by the Vice President. The success of the office was determined by the individual success of the office members who had their own performance goals. Dr. Gaines was the Vice President of Academic Affairs and the sole person in charge of the office. He was a macro manager and allowed office members the freedom to perform their duties according to their own styles. He made all the pertinent decisions that required his expertise and provided the staff with guidance when needed. Furthermore, he made certain the office staff followed procedures to ensure the office achieved the organizational goals of the university. Dr. Richards was the Associate Vice President and assisted the Vice President with numerous tasks. His focus was supervising academic services provided by the office such as undergraduate admissions, registrar, and the correspondence course division, among others.

Dyan and Jamie worked together and dealt with any matters that concerned the budget, curriculum, and faculty issues. Dyan was a very capable employee, who was well liked and respected throughout the entire organization. She had been with the organization thirty years and a member of the office team for ten years. Jamie was the youngest in years and newest member of the office team. In her eighteen-year career, she had spent two years with the organization and one year with this particular office. Dyan and Jamie's working styles were similar; consequently, Dyan often referred to Jamie as a 'mini-me.' Work was very important to both individuals, and they got tremendous satisfaction when they completed a tedious assignment. Both liked to start working on projects as soon as possible to make allowances for unforeseen circumstances that might occur at the last minute. They strove for perfection on each assignment, and their biggest critics were themselves. Their passion was new technology, and they were always searching for ways they could use these techniques and applications in their assignments.

Beatrice took care of any issues that concerned the four colleges within the Division of Academic Affairs. She had a mothering personality with a big heart, and had been with the organization thirty years and the office for twenty years. Her long tenure with the organization provided her with a wealth of information that was invaluable to the office. She had a different working style from Dyan and Jamie. Her theory was if you started on a project too early, you would probably end up making numerous revisions so she waited until the last minute to start any task. Even though she was a procrastinator, the other office members could be assured every task would be completed on time with complete accuracy.

Ruth handled any matters concerning academic services such as capital equipment, academic policies, and scholarships. She was a fine individual with an impeccable reputation. Ruth was the oldest member of the office group and had been in this office her entire career with the organization, which amounted to eighteen years. The other members of the office staff were repeatedly asked by employees from various offices on campus, "Is she really that nice all the time?" The answer to the question was "yes." Ruth was sincerely a nice person that looked for the good in every individual and situation. Dr. Richards good-naturedly referred to her as "Saint Ruth."

Dyan, Jamie, and Beatrice were all born and reared in Huntsville, Texas. They teasingly said that between the three of them, they knew everyone in town. This provided them with a special bond and strong ties to each other. Ruth lived just a short distance from Huntsville in the small town of Trinity. Ruth did not seem to mind the connection between the other three office members and had even stated she enjoyed the other three keeping her abreast of the latest Huntsville news.

The four ladies had a first-class working relationship, which could be attributed to their similar work and personal traits. They were reliable and knew they could depend upon each other to produce quality work. They all had a strong work ethic and took great pride in the accuracy of their work, going above and beyond the call of duty to make sure the office products were top quality. The office members were aware of the high office standards that were required of each staff member and made every effort to perform according to these standards in order to not let the other group members down. And, as one of the senior administrative offices on the campus, they had a reputation to maintain for productivity and positive work relations. Furthermore, they shared personal characteristics that contributed to the unity of the group such as finding humor in any situation, extroverted personalities that are open and honest, and they held similar moral convictions. Their personalities just seemed to mesh, and to anyone's knowledge, there had never been an incident of disagreement that had not been resolved to everyone's satisfaction in the number of years they have worked together.

With a modicum of discomfort, the group was vaguely aware that not everyone shared their positive viewpoint about themselves. On occasion, they had been referred to as a clique by others who worked in adjacent offices. Another office worker nearby had once conveyed to Beatrice that she was envious of the group's sociability, and was curious if there was any way to break into the group. The other worker longed to have the quality of collegiality in her work group that she observed among Beatrice and her colleagues

After about an hour, Beatrice went to make several hundred copies. When she returned to retrieve her copies, she discovered Dyan had reduced the copy size and forgotten to reset the copier. She stormed into the Vice President's office and asked if she could have permission to slap Dyan. Without looking up from his work, Dr. Gaines said, "Ok, but no hair pulling." Everyone burst into laughter. This was a typical situation for the office. Everyone would let each other know when something had occurred that irritated them, but it was done with humor or in a teasing manner, allowing the point to be made without causing friction in the office.

When the commotion ended, everyone settled in again until Beatrice came by each office and explained to everyone that she had a report that needed to be in the mail by noon, and it did not look like she was going to be able to meet her deadline. Even though the office members were individually responsible for their work, everyone jumped up and hurried to the workroom to help Beatrice with her task. Dr. Gaines walked out of his office and since he could not find anyone, thought the staff might have left for lunch early, but then he heard laughter coming from the workroom. He found all four ladies in the back sorting, stapling, and labeling to make sure Beatrice met her deadline.

After what had seemed to be a short morning, punctuated by Beatrice's scramble to make her deadline, Jamie went around the office holding up her purse to the other ladies who were all on the phones. They all smiled because it was the signal to wrap things up because it was time to go to lunch. When they arrived at the restaurant, there was the usual chatter about the latest university news. Then, they started reminiscing about the trip to Kerrville they had made together a few months ago. They started laughing about when they got lost and could not read the map so they started driving toward the setting sun because they knew one thing for sure, they were supposed to be heading west! No one cared about being lost since they were all having such a good time. The weekend had been a real bonding experience for the office group and an unforgettable time for all.

Before they knew it, it was time to head back to campus. When they arrived back in the office, they checked their messages and returned a few calls before heading over to a computer services meeting. When the ladies arrived at the meeting, the speaker announced to the group, "Here come the dames from Academic Affairs." The group was known around campus as just that, a group. If at all possible, they attended meetings and training sessions together.

A short time after they arrived back in their office, they received the news that Dyan has been selected as the recipient of the university's Staff Excellence Award. By their reactions you would have thought all four had won the award. They immediately began discussing the pertinent issues regarding the award when Jamie asked, "What are you going to wear at the presentation?" Dyan replied that she had recently bought a new dress that needed to be hemmed, and she did not know how to do it. They immediately began to devise a plan of how they could hem Dyan's dress in time for the presentation. Jamie volunteered to bring her portable sewing machine, and Ruth volunteered to bring her iron to the office the next day. The strategy was to convert the office into a "tailor shop" after office hours to take care of Dyan's problem.

As the end of the day approached, each person acknowledged that it had been a good day with everyone accomplishing individual work goals and having fun in the process, but that was all about to change. Ruth gathered the group together and announced the unsettling news that she would be retiring at the end of the month. The group was stunned and for the first time all day, no one had anything to say. However, they were not entirely surprised, as she had tried to retire a year ago but could not bear to do so. She told the group earlier she just could not leave since she enjoyed her work and the people with whom she worked so much, but this time they knew she was serious.

When Ruth had left for the day, the others conferred about their dilemma and discussed how hard it was going to be to find the right person to fill the void. To begin solving their problem, they started listing the qualities of the individual that they thought would fit the bill. Beatrice finally broke the tension by saying, "Do you think Human Resources will allow us to put on the application, 'slackers and prima donnas need not apply'?" The rest of the group erupted into laughter, but the laughter did not last long. Beatrice said to the others, "Do you think we will find someone who can fit in like Ruth did? Will our team be able to sustain itself?" The group sat in silence and pondered the questions.

Then, Dyan queried, "But, are we a team, really?"

Joseph Kavanaugh, Sam Houston State University

Kathy Gilcrease, Sam Houston State University