LUMEN & ABSORB TEAMS AT CRUTCHFIELD CHEMICAL

ENGINEERING Case Presented by :

Bharat LakhwaniBhupendra Nath TiwaryPradeep SukumarSaunak MukherjeeShubham GoswamiSuryadipta Guha

CRUTCHFIELD CHEMICAL ENGINEERINGHeadquartered at Geneva – manufactures various products through engineering workflows.

Mission – to explore new technologies and product categories

• The Polymer department consisted of five teams. Out of those two were

Lumen Team Absorb Team

THE PROJECT SPECIFICATIONS THE LUMEN TEAM

- Develop multilayer sheets of crystals for electronic monitoring equipment.

- To be used in low illumination conditions

• THE ABSORB TEAM

- To use licensed materials to develop a hybrid organic-inorganic fiberboard

- Enable superior heat absorption properties.

THE ISSUE !

Annual HR Study - Bad NewsOverall invention disclosures, patent applications,

& new product launches were down

The survey also indicated bad news on employee motivation

Significant difference in motivation levels between the two teams

ANALYSING THE ISSUE

Burke approaches the VP - Kohler to seek an advice

The VP - Kohler then advices Burke to hire a HR Consultant to study the problem

ANALYSING THE ISSUE

Joanna McKinty – HR Consultant

Looks into the scenario of both the Lumen and Absorb teams

A view into the intrinsic motivation and the team dynamics

THE DIARY STUDY – Methods & Techniques

Collection of diaries from every team member, for every workday over a span of 2 weeks.

Confidential individual information to be aggregated into a set of conclusions and recommendations.

Mission was to – Improving team effectiveness. Detailed look at the inner workings in an

organization.

Usage of Personality Scores from HR DepartmentEach person’s score would be evaluated on a Work

Preference Inventory.

- a questionnaire which describes a persons

intrinsic motivation

• The idea for the study :

- To observe inherent differences among individuals rather than intra-team functionality

METHODS & TECHNIQUES

Questions on qualitative and quantitative issues.

- To what extent did you feel challenged by your work today?

- You enjoyed your work today?

Allowing employees to give her the information they felt was important rather than requesting information from them.

- This would create a respond as if they were writing a diary.

Reviewing the Data Responses to diary forms

Methodology of detailed analysis adoptedForming a storyStories described confidential information

Specific factors addressed Intrinsic motivationCreativityOverall effectiveness

Reviewing the Data Contd.. Quantitative studyDaily intrinsic motivation levels“Motivational orientation personality trait” Score Intrinsic Motivation items Feelings of involvement Enjoyment Interest Challenge in work

Reviewing the Data Contd.. Personality differences among people

WPI Scores were used

LUMEN TEAM - Characteristics

The team leader Max appreciates and values the suggestions of the team members

The team members complement each other and are ready to share the responsibilities of other members of the team

The leader guides the team members appropriately and also gives them scope to use their creative ideas

LUMEN TEAM - Characteristics

Max also used to take up the team’s issues to the management

The team members valued and supported the actions of the team leader

The team had the willingness to put the extra hours to accomplish their tasks

ABSORB TEAM - Characteristics

The team leader Chip

lacked prioritization of activities delved too much into his team member’s workdidn’t make much efforts to motivate his team

membersfailed to understand the problems of his team

members hastened the marketing of the products lacked team spirit

ABSORB TEAM - CharacteristicsThe Absorb team had a grossly divided

opinion among themselves

Often felt their leader to be pessimistic as a result of which they lacked confidence in their team leader

RECOMMENDATIONS

Clarity in work allotment

Reviewing time should not be too long

Optimum supervision

A leader should not be politically motivated

RECOMMENDATIONS

Understand the requirements completely before starting a work

The leader has to be assertive in his communication with the management

Team members should have open communication among themselves and also with the team leader

RECOMMENDATIONS

The leader should be appreciative of team members’ efforts

Delegation of work should be done in a effective manner

Leader should give consideration to consensus among team members

THANK YOU!