Marc’s MSLD Reflection Blog

Heraclitus, a Greek philosopher, has been quoted as saying “change is the only constant in life” (As cited in Singer, 2017). Our day in age seems to be defined by constant change, and the pace of change is accelerating. We have more information accessible at our fingertips than any other age throughout the history of the world.  With just a few taps and clicks on our smartphones, or even by just asking Siri, we can find out detailed information about nearly any topic. Advances in transportation technology has made the world smaller.  Within just a couple days products can be delivered nearly anywhere around the globe. Organizations have had to evolve and adjust to keep pace with this constant world of change. Two examples of leaders from different types of organizations that have had to evolve to survive are Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale of Gallery Furniture in Houston, Texas, and General Stanley McChrystal.  The financial downturn in 2008 deeply affected ...

Brown (2011) explained that a self-managed work team is “an autonomous group whose members decide how to handle their task.”  Paul Tesluk explained, “instead of a formal supervisor having responsibility it’s up to the team to decide how they structure themselves and how they go about organizing their workflow and process” (INSEAD, 2008).  Self-managed teams are given responsibility to carry out all tasks associated with the completion of an objective. Self-managed teams are frequently given responsible for a wide range of supporting tasks, “including setting work schedules, budgeting, making job assignments, developing performance goals, hiring and selecting team members, assessing job performance of fellow members, purchasing equipment, and controlling quality” (Brown, 2011).   Self-managed teams are typically composed of from five to fifteen members that are skilled and knowledgeable about their area of expertise. Diversity of background, experience, and train...

Seagate Technology, “ the global leader in data storage solutions” (Seagate, n.d.),  puts special emphasis on team building. Each year the organization sends 200 of its employees from around the world to an outdoor lab experience in New Zealand called EcoSeagate (Brown, 2011).  Despite the current emphasis on team building, Seagate Technology did not always place such high value on cohesive teams. Soon after becoming CEO of Seagate, Bill Watkins said, “They called it Slavegate.  People got fired all the time. The CEO had a grenade on his desk” (As cited in Brown, 2011). EcoSeagate attendees experience team building through adventure activities such as mountain biking, repellings, whitewater rafting, and zip-lining (Chao, 2008a).  “With such a foreign and intimidating environment, everyone feels off balance and no one has an advantage over anyone else” (Brown, 2011). Participants are selected from among more than 2,000 applicants consisting of “a cross sec...