MASTER PROGRAMS

Fall Semester
2014/2015

COURSE SYLLABUS

Manager Professional skills. Team Work

Course Author, Supervisor: A.D. Chanko, Associate Professor, Organizational Behaviour
and Human Resource Management Department, nchanko@gsom.pu.ru
Instructors:
A.D. Chanko, Associate Professor, Organizational Behaviour and Human Resource Management
Department, nchanko@gsom.pu.ru
A.U. Krupskaya, Visiting Professor, krupskaya@gsom.pu.ru
D.G. Kucherov, Snr. Lecturer, kucherov@gsom.pu.ru
M. Igityan, Guest Lecturer,

Organization of the course

Program
Year
Course status
Workload
Prerequisites
Teaching methods

Master in International Business

1-st year
Elective
1 ECTS, 16 hours of classes
No
The course is realized as an interactive seminar, including such methods as
open discussion, lecture, group and individual work and presentations,
home and class assignments, case studies, out-of-class skills development
assistance, exercises, business stimulations (role game).

Course objectives
This course focuses on how to cooperate with colleagues achieving the most possible level of group effectiveness.
This is skills development seminar, so it uses interactive personal-oriented approaches, including an intensive group
feed-back, omit some theoretical topics and omit many practical exercises. It is oriented on Users of social
psychology, not prepares. We do want you to be able to improve the group work effectiveness and to develop your
skills as team player and team manager.
The course has an interactive character and is directed to the next competences development:

General communicative competence

Team Work Skills (cooperation, feed-back, interaction)

Self -Teaching and Self-Development Skills

Course goals:

To give common understanding basic principles of modern team building management.

To develop personal communicative competence towards team work and team development

To develop practical managerial and communicative skills with a focus on

strategic planning;
cooperation in the group work;
self-presentations skills;
moderation and facilitation.
The course is based on the modern team work, team design and team development conceptions and can be
characterized as a multi-levels practice of team building management for team players, team managers and teamoriented top-managers.

Course results
Course results:
Upon completion, the student should be able:
- to use suitable planning and group decision making techniques preparing and realizing different team
projects;
- to present them selfs as an effective team players, choosing an adequate team role;
- to present results of different group- and individual learning projects in well-structured form;
- to manage group meetings using goal-oriented moderating tools and procedures;
- to analyze the team design and the team development process and to use specific tools of its improving;
- to characterize general principles and best practices of an effective team work in the modern organization

Course content
Topic 1. Group Work & Team Work common and specific aspects.
Topic 2. Social Psychological Fundamentals of Group Dynamic. Team building and team
development.
Topic 3. Planning in the Team. Shared Goals and Goals Sharing.
Topic 4. Team Design. Functional and Team Roles. Diagnostic and Feed-back.
Topic 5. Moderation and Facilitation in a Team Work.
Topic 6. Team Development: from the Group to the Highly Effective Team.

Evaluation system
Forms of current evaluation:
- class activity and assignments
- team presentation
- home assignments (individual & group)
The course requires 100% attendance and participation in discussions and submitting
approved quality.
Form of final evaluation and Grading policy:
The final evaluation is based on the summarizing evaluation concerning the next criteria and
percentage distribution between different kinds of coursework:
- seminars attendance 25%
- seminars activity 25%
- post-course individual assignments (Self-Assessment & Essay) 25%;
- post-course group assignments (Group Assessment) 25%

OBJECTIVES
Both post-course assignments (the individual and the group) have three interrelated objectives:
To enable students to use the frameworks taught in the course Managerial professional
skills. Team Work and other appropriate tools to systematically analyze the critical factors
for a team work success.
To gain insights on personal and organizational improvements from the analysis of an
effective team work.
To sharpen students team work skills and written communication skills.
INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT:
The test-diagnostic (Group role test of R.M. Belbin, see attached)
The introspective essay: My Role in the team: yesterday, today and tomorrow.
GROUP/TEAM ASSIGNMENT:
Group report Our Team profile

In the group of 3-7 students compare all your individual test results (of Belbin) and fulfil all
together the SWOT analysis for Our potential team work.
You should present results of your SWOT-analysis as a written report about your strong and
weak points not individually, but for your Group as a whole. In such a way you should create the
profile of your team and to propose some sort of common recommendation about next problems:
how to manage your team,
what kind of organizational support do you need and in which stage of the project,
how to compensate your weaknesses and
how to improve your strengths
FORMAT
Preliminary diagnostic with R.M.Belbin test (questionnaire see attached) should be
accepted as a stimulus for your introspective analysis. You are expected to be focused to
your previous, present and future team work participation. What does it mean to be an
effective team worker? What does it mean for you concerning your specific role in a
team?
Maximum length of individual essay: 3,000 words (excluding appendix), minimum
2,000 words. Please ensure that you only include relevant material. Minimum font size:
12 points.
Volume of team report
For each assignment (individual and group) only submit one separate file (format: ms
word) for your essay (main text and appendix).
You are expected to write a narrative (flow text) instead of using an outline format (bullet
points). You should include charts whenever necessary.
Evaluation criteria
Relevance and quality of analysis. Examples: 50 Points
Issue analysis
Flexible application of existing or new concepts, frameworks and models to the
specific situation at hand (use of contingency perspective)
Holistic view/cross-functional integration
Balance, taking into account competing views
Irrelevance leads to subtraction of points
Quality of evidence/data. Examples:
25 Points
Use of a variety of data sources and data points (e.g. outsiders views, internal
views, etc.)
Use of relevant secondary material
Logic/Quality of the text. Examples:
25Points
Logical structure, presenting first the governing thought (one sentence/30 second
answer), then the supporting evidence
Implied question-answer dialogue
Clear language
Message-headings, not categories
Correct chart types
Due diligence (for example, no typographic errors)

Plan of classes
Class 1 (8 hours).
Topic 1. Group Work & Team Work common and specific aspects.
Topic 2. Fundamentals of Group Dynamic. Team building and team development.
Topic 3. Planning in the team. Shared goals and goals sharing.
Preliminary
Required reading for class:
assignment
Chapters 1 and 2 from Katzenbach J. R., Smith D. K. The wisdom of
teams; creating the high performance organization.
Date:
according Key points:
Cohort
distribution Topic 1. Group Work & Team Work common and specific aspects.
and timetable
Teams in the modern management. Teams and team spirit in the
Time:
modern organization.
Auditorium
Fundamentals of group development (social-psychological
concepts).
Socially-psychological parameters of small groups: informal
structure; group norms; chemistry.
Attributes of team and its differences from working group.
Leadership in teams.
Topic 2. Fundamentals of Group Dynamic. Team building and team
development.
B. Tuckman Model: Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing,
Reforming as 5 stages of team development
Katzenbach J. R., Smith D. Model: Working group, Pseudo
team, potential team, effective and highly effective team.
Advantages and disadvantages of team work: group thinking
and group pressure, shared leadership and synergy.
Necessity of the facilitation and the moderation in the group
work
Topic 3. Planning in the team. Shared goals and goals sharing.
The Cycle of Goals Setting: preparation, execution, evaluation.
Clay pigeon for the goal setting
The process of goal sharing
Learning outcomes:
Identify the principal differences between the working group
and the team;
Understand the general logic of group development as the
process of group parameters changing
Understand 5 stages model of group dynamic and team
development;
Develop the skills to analyze and to moderate the group
discussion
Identify the common algorithm and the specific of planning
process in the team
Develop the skills of goal setting
Assignments for class 2:
Individual work: The test-diagnostic (Group role test) and the
essay. The topic: My Role in the team: yesterday and
tomorrow. Format 2-2,5 pages.

Group project: Free topic: Tools for an effective MIB-team

player.
Reading: Key notes for the class (Cycle of goal setting)

Class 2 (8 hours).
Topic 4. Team Design. Functional and team roles. Diagnostic and feed-back.
Topic 5. Moderation and facilitation in a team work.
Topic 6. Team development: from group to the highly effective team.
Preliminary
Required reading for class:
assignment
Katzenbach J. R., Smith D. Why teams matter? // The
McKinsey Quarterly. 1992. Vol. 3. November. P. 327.
Date:
according Key points:
Cohort
distribution Topic 4. Team Design. Functional and team roles. Diagnostic and
and timetable
feed-back.
Time:
Non-formal structure of the group: roles and statuses
Auditorium:
R.M.Belbin Model: 8 roles and 4 dimensions in the team
Topic 5. Moderation and facilitation in a team work.
Causal attribution model and its role in the team meeting
analysis.
Non-verbal expressiveness and body language (speakers &
listeners)
Media tools and their using in the discussion process.
Moderators functions and his/her topic-, group-, personoriented tasks.
Topic 6. Team development: from group to the highly effective team.
Goal setting algorithms and its using in the group discussion
Criteria of goal achievement
Team effectiveness and tacit knowledge in the team
Feedback techniques: active listening and personal-oriented
positive feedback
Learning outcomes:
Understand difference between group role and group status
Develop the skills of group decision making moderation
Develop the skills of effective self-presentation during the
group disscussion

Office hours for individual consultations:

Anastasia D. Chanko, Associate Professor, Organizational Behaviour and Personal

management, nchanko@gsom.pu.ru
Every Tuesday at 14.00 room 311

Calendar plan of current and final evaluation

The course requires 100% attendance and participation in discussions, as well as submitting
approved quality of Team Project and an Individual Essay. It is allowed to come with another
group. Replacement of the class attendance with additional home assignments is possible. The
additional home assignment has two parts and includes the test-diagnostic based essay My Team

Role yesterday and tomorrow and the literature review The effective team work in a modern
business organization

Assignments (home)

Assignments (class)
Deadlines for projects, home
assignments etc.

All topics (See above) are meant to be covered. However, a

particular interest of the audience may bring more focus on
specific parts of the pre-planned training.
Individual Essay My Team Role yesterday and tomorrow. It has
to be based on the result of test diagnostic (Team Role test) and
introspective observation. Volume 2-2,5 p.
Class attendance and class assignments
Group Project. Free topic: Tools for an effective MIB-team player.
At each class students analyze samples of team projects towards
improving the power of the samples to achieve the pre-set goal
of the communication efforts. Students are encouraged to use the
knowledge and skills at home and to seek advice of the Instructor
to reach competency in the team-work field.

Calendar plan of current and final evaluation

According to plan of classes
Mid-term/final exam:
Announcement of coursework
results
Deadlines for projects, home
assignments etc.

no
1 week after the end of classes (according timetable for each
cohort)
According to plan of classes

Required textbooks

Katzenbach J. R., Smith D. K. The wisdom of teams; creating the high performance
organization. New York: Harper Business, 1994. 318 p.

Other required reading

Manz C. C., Sims H. P. Business without Bosses. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1993.
Leading Teams Revised Edition, Edited by: Elearn. Chapters 1,4,5
http://www.sciencedirect.com.ezproxy.gsom.spbu.ru:2048/science/book/9780080554815
Wellington P. Managing Successful Teams. Kogan Page. Chapters 5
http://library.books24x7.com.ezproxy.gsom.spbu.ru:2048/toc.aspx?bookid=45996