Reference no: EM133042757

Imagine that you are involved on a team charged with developing an affordable laptop for India. You are at the third team meeting. The team members come from many departments. Two members are hardware designers, another is a representative from manufacturing, three are India experts, one is the Southeast Asia marketing manager, and the final member is the person who would be the future product manager. Although it has taken some time for the team members to get to know each other and learn about each other's expertise and vision for the new laptop, it seemed like the combined enthusiasm and creativity would make for a highly successful team experience. However, today, as the conversation steered toward the trade-offs between product features and cost to manufacture, tempers began to flare.

"You can't sell this for more than $200-no one, not even schools, will be able to afford it at a higher price," said the India expert.

"Well, even if we produce these at a high volume, our margins need to be high enough to justify entering this market, so you'll have to design something we can produce at $100 each," noted the product manager.

"You've got to be kidding," retorted one of the hardware designers. "You obviously don't know anything about designing hardware. You can't deliver any sort of functionality at that price!"

"If we don't do it, our competitors will, so I suggest you open your mind and think harder!" implored the marketing manager.

Discussion Board Questions:

1. Is this a team or a group? Explain. What type of group/team is this? Is this more than one type? Why?

2. Suggest two ways to make this team/group effective. What impact do you think high vs. low collectivism would have on a team of this kind?