BA 324 - Business Communication

Groupthink in the Sweat Lodge

In 2009, spiritual seekers paid to attend a five-day Spiritual Warrior Retreat near Sedona, Arizona, led by self-help expert and New Age guru James Arthur Ray. During the final activity of the retreat, in an overcrowded, overheated sweat lodge, three participants died and a further 20 required urgent medical attention. This case study investigates the role that ‘groupthink’ could have had in this tragic outcome, and asks readers to consider the ethical implications therein.

https://sk.sagepub.com/cases/groupthink-in-the-sweat-lodge

APA-Citation

Johnson, C. E., (2011). Groupthink in the sweat lodge. In Sage Business Cases. SAGE Publications, Ltd., https://doi.org/10.4135/9781506325750

When Teammates Do Not Respond: Managing Virtual Project Teams

The case presents a real-life situation that is often experienced among managers of virtual, geographically dispersed project teams. These are teams with limited, if any, face-to-face contact among co-workers and team members. Problems occur when there are changing project requirements and when there is poor coordination and communication among project team members themselves. As such, you want your co-workers, or even your project manager, to communicate with you but they don’t; instead they remain silent. In these conditions, the dispersed members may feel frustrated, rejected and withdrawn, all of which have the potential to negatively affect individual and overall project performance. The case asks what the manager’s role should be in such situations. Students are also encouraged to think in terms of what needs to be done in order to avoid such situations and build effective virtual teams.

https://sk.sagepub.com/cases/when-teammates-do-not-respond-managing-virtual-project-teams

APA-Citation

Panteli, N., (2018). When teammates do not respond: Managing virtual project teams. In Sage Business Cases. SAGE Publications, Ltd., https://doi.org/10.4135/9781526441973 

“Trying to Make Me Fail:” Leadership Roles and Team Performance

An organization development (OD) consultant returns to work with a team that has been in conflict. The OD practitioner learns that another leader has been added and conflict has returned to the team. The new leader’s team is performing poorly and, as a result, he may be on the verge of being fired. Interviews with members of the organization reveal how another leader’s aggressive and bullying style creates a stressful work environment and how unclear roles, decision patterns, and team processes create barriers to team performance.

https://sk.sagepub.com/cases/trying-to-make-me-fail-leadership-roles-and-team-performance

APA-Citation

Anderson, D., (2018). “Trying to make me fail:” Leadership roles and team performance. In Sage Business Cases. SAGE Publications, Ltd., https://doi.org/10.4135/9781526439673