During the past six weeks, my team was running a virtual company within the Marketplace simulation. It was a stimulating experience, which helped me to acquire a diverse set of learning objectives. They include but are not limited to the following: the understanding and employment of individual’s strengths in team-building, defining developmental needs of the company, overcoming the challenges of virtual team decision-making, etc. Based on this information, this paper aims to evaluate the overall quality of conducted work, employing the principles of integrative thinking and reflection.
Evaluation of the Team Work
Team’s Efficiency
First of all, it is essential to state that my virtual team, Lions Share, Inc., has shown significantly efficient work during the simulation. For example, as it was noted in the previous paper, the company’s brands, operating in three different markets, managed to be in the top-5 of every market. It is possible to state that the reason for such efficient work is the profound understanding of the principles of teamwork by each member of Lions Share, Inc., which is acquired during the seminars and workshops (Cadle, Paul, & Turner, 2014). The team has put significant efforts into building the company and running it by high standards.
The Employment of Virtual Team Principles
Further, it should be mentioned that our team has overcome various problems due to the adequate distribution of team roles and following them correctly. When setting a virtual unit, every member must understand his or her responsibilities because a virtual company only succeeds from coherent and harmonious work. In particular, it should be observed that using the four-step framework of developing a business model, provided by Riel and Martin (2014), significantly benefited the company’s success. Other theories, which were used to build our team, were Thomas–Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument, described by Trainer (2010), and the five-stage process, including “forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning” (Tuckman & Jensen, 1997, p. 420). They helped our team significantly with problem-solving.
Team Development
Another important aspect of any successful company is proper team development. It includes setting visible and achievable goals as well as fixing emerging problems. Employing the Career Assessment instrument, I was able to determine my role and value for the company, which helped me to realize my responsibilities and goals efficiently. However, as I identified my excessive friendliness, which was negatively interfering with the teamwork, I employed the six-step model of problem-solving to figure out meaningful conclusions for further improvement (Trainer, 2010). The other team members were also helping me.
Integration of Gathered Knowledge
Even though our team successfully performed throughout the simulation process, it should be noted that there is always room for improvement. For example, it is apparent that the introduction of the Lanza 1 and Lanza 2 models in the market was not planned thoroughly, and thus it resulted in the low profitability rates of these brands (Gaspar, Coric, & Mabic, 2015). However, this experience could be integrated into further projects that I will implement as an individual entrepreneur or in collaboration with the team. Also, as far as this simulation continues, our team will strive to apply the acquired knowledge in the working process.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it should be restated that the Marketplace simulation is a highly beneficial experience for each member of our teams. This paper has observed the principal aspects of our company’s success along with the discussion of the employed principles and frameworks. Overall, the experience in decision-making and team-building is the primary outcome of the simulation.
References
Cadle, J., Paul, D., & Turner, P. (2014). Business analysis techniques: 99 essential tools for success (2nd ed.). Swindon, England: BCS.
Gaspar, D., Coric, I., & Mabic, M. (2015). “Data mining in customer profitability analysis.” Advances in Economics and Business, 3(12), 552-559.
Riel, J., & Martin, R. (2014). Integrative thinking 2.0: A user’s guide to your opposable mind. Rotman Management, 4-9.
Trainer, J. (2010). The Thomas–Kilmann conflict mode instrument: Profile and interpretive report. Web.
Tuckman, B. W., & Jensen, M. A. C. (1977). Stages of small-group development revisited. Group & Organization Studies, 2(4), 419-427.