The team members come from many departments. Two members are hardware designers, another is a representative from manufacturing, three are Brazil experts, one is the South America marketing manager, and the final member is the person who will manage the product in the future (product manager). Although it has taken some time for the team members to get to know each other and learn about each other’s expertise and vision for the new laptop, it seemed like the combined enthusiasm and creativity would make for a highly successful team experience.
However, today, as the conversation steered toward the trade-offs between product features and cost to manufacture, tempers began to flare and the conversation went as follows:
“You can’t sell this for more than $200—no one, not even schools, will be able to afford it at a higher price,” said the Brazil expert. “I will draft a marketing plan that works in Brazil!”
“Well, even if we produce these at a high volume, our margins need to be high enough to justify entering this market, so you’ll have to design something we can produce at $100 each,” noted the product manager.
“You’ve got to be kidding,” retorted one of the hardware designers. “You obviously don’t know anything about designing hardware. You can’t deliver any sort of functionality at that price!”
“If we don’t do it, our competitors will, so I suggest you open your mind and think harder!” implored the marketing manager. “I can’t possibly draft a marketing plan without you all making this happen!”
Explain what stage of group development the team is in – justify your answer.
Identify an issue with the roles of employees – justify your answer.