Chapter 8 - Extra Readings

Strategies of Effective New Product Team Leaders:

This article looks at work teams in high-technology firms that are responsible for New Product development (NPD). The authors argue that team leaders need to change their behavior and the way they interact with team members. Diversity among the team members and open communication is a requirement for successful NPD teams. Creativity can be weakened due to micro-management, department-specific loyalties, and restricting information on need-to-know basis. Teams in the classic example of linear thinking and how it can lead to "interdepartmental rivalries and to escalated costs and time delays." This article reminds me of the book I am reading right now by Senge, The fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization. How system thinking in organizations is important in preventing interdepartmental rivalries and activities that cause symptoms like lack of commitment in team members and stifling creativity.