Henry Tam Case - 1660 Words

Problem Statement We have to evaluate the performance of a distinctly diverse team aiming to create a business plan for MGI’s â€Å"Music Puzzle† Game to enter the HBS contest. The team comprised of MGI founders, Sasha, Igor and Roman, two HBS students Henry and Dana and subject matter experts Alex and Dav. In addition, we have to recommend actions for Henry Tam, which would foster better team dynamics to accomplish the task at hand. The team, after much deliberation and little success, has just 3 weeks before entering the case at the HBS Business Plan competition. In the team there is, Sasha, a former HBS MBA student with experience in drastically different industries; Igor and Roman, exceptionally gifted Russian musicians; Henry Dana†¦show more content†¦Leadership was shared based on who felt like taking on the role at the time. Without formal leadership, there was a breakdown in communication and an absence of the setting of deadlines or the implementation of an overall plan or vision. In fact, an overall direction did not exist, as the MGI founders had different motivating factors than the students, and different perspectives regarding the abilities and roles of each other. Tasks were not broken down into specific subtasks, or assigned to individual team members. Also, without leadership, there is no establishment or communication of the norms and values of the team, and no role modeling or coach ing. The culture of team is weak, as there are no established norms and values or ground rules. As such, there was a discrepancy in the development of the team during the norming stage, as discussed previously. The team also engaged in a cultural clash in terms of industry areas, country/ethnic differences, and subcultures. The MGI founders related to a creative and artistic industry, while the students were business focused. The cultural differences manifested themselves in terms of language and expectations. And finally, within the subgroups were individual subcultures, which lead to a difference in values, roles, purposes, and goals especially when disagreements between these subcultures occurred (Hofstede, 1998). Multicultural teams can be moreShow MoreRelatedHenry Tam and the Mgi Team Case2037 Words   |  9 PagesHenry Tam and the MGI Team Case Characteristics of group formation and team processes are highlighted in the Harvard Business School case of Henry Tam and the Music Games International (MGI) Team. The MGI founders sought to improve the commercialization of their music game by launching a team to market their product and develop a business plan. 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