Introduction
Firstly, the case study, namely Chris Peterson at DSS Consulting, illustrates DSS Consulting company, which focuses on working will small school districts and providing administrative support. The company is divided into four central practice departments: Procurement and Systems, Information Technology, Contract Negotiation, and Facilities Planning. With the development and growth, the company faced diverse requests regarding different practices from school districts. Thus, the company aimed to introduce new marketing strategies and additional services. The founders decided to change the DSS Consulting strategy to continue growing and developing.
Introduction to the Case Study
Meg Cooke was hired as the Chief Operating Officer, and a few years later, due to her success and diligent work, she became the head of the Contract Negotiation group. Meg Cooke decided that DSS Consulting needed to expand by exploring larger districts and offering them new services. Previously, the company was developing services working closely with districts and answering their demands and needs. Meg Cooke suggested that the formulation of cross-functional teams will help the company start working with larger districts. The case study explains the challenges and difficulties of the project implemented by a new cross-cultural team.
In addition, the study by Ancona and Caldwell (2010) introduces Chris Peterson, who was a high school teacher in a small district, but later joined DSS’s Information Technology Group as a consultant. When Meg Cooke decided to create cross-cultural teams, Chris Peterson became a leader of one of the teams, namely the Southwest region team. Thus, she invited different people to the team, but her main requirements included good skills in the DSS consulting process and selection of people who already knew one another. Therefore, Chris Peterson formed a team of people from different departments.
Case Analysis
The new team members were located together and started to work immediately, even though they did not finish previous projects. Chris Peterson sincerely believed that the quick start would help the team develop new products. Consequently, the group moved together before the other teams and started discussing their perspectives.
What Happened in the Study
Notably, the team members felt comfortable sharing information and their experiences as they already knew each other. Without consulting districts and solely based on their experiences, they determined to develop a system for planning and budgeting that will enable the level of planning small communities needed at an affordable price.
When the team members finished their previous projects, they entirely concentrated on each other without consulting and seeing other firms’ consultants. Essentially, Chris highlighted two primary goals, such as focusing on the new system and avoiding distractions. After the team finished the budget and planning system design, Chris shared their progress with others and asked for feedback.
Challenges Addressed in the Study
Challenges addressed in the study started with raising questions from people in districts regarding the new system, including the price, the system’s competitive advantage, and dealing with specific issues. Chris discussed all the questions with the team, and they started changing the initial design. However, more questions were addressed over time. Importantly, consultants inside DSS had no comments or feedback, and employers simply notified that they acknowledged the project. Similarly, Meg Cooke asked just a few simple questions and promised to discuss the project with Chris later. Despite that, the team continued working with some concerns and unsureness. Therefore, team members focused on completing the project and developing consulting protocols. The projects included four different elements, two of the programs were written by outside organizations.
Moreover, the team was divided into four sub-groups to work on the various components and finalize the project faster. It is essential to add that the team did not possess all the answers to complex questions and did not have access to all the technical details and information. Therefore, the group led by Chris did not get support from consultants in the company.
Nevertheless, the project was completed, and Chris arranged a meeting to discuss it with Meg Cooke. Inspired by her team’s results and hard work, Chris demonstrated the project’s progress and positive comments from the district during the meeting with Meg. In response, Meg asked about the larger school district’s interest in the system. Understanding that they might not be interested in the system, Meg thanked Chris for her team’s efficiency and shifted the discussion to another day. When they met for the second time, Med emphasized that the large districts would not purchase the system, with no current demand. Thus, she informed Chris that she had canceled the project finally. In addition, Meg asked Chris if Chris would feel more comfortable leaving her current position and returning to the IT practice group.
Conclusion
To conclude, the case study presented a new project of a cross-functional team led by Chris Peterson, who made several vital mistakes that led to the disappearance and cancellation of the project. First, the team isolated itself from other groups and consultants and did not analyze the demand and needs of large districts. The planning and budgeting system they developed was based only on their assumptions and experience but not on the actual requests of the districts. Consequently, a lack of information and insufficient support from the company’s consultants led Chris and her team to a disastrous result.
Reference
Ancona, D., & Caldwell, D. (2010). Chris Peterson at DSS Consulting. 10-107.