The Beatles Principle Analysis of the case: Situational analysis : The case talks about how ‘fun’ can act as a catalyst in driving a team’s performance towards realizing their common goal. Fun happens to be t he key part of Virgin group of o f companies’ companies’ mode of operation. However, there are very few such companies implementing this ideology of promoting fun at work and there are many corporate who are of t he view that the more they t hey lose sight of fun and camaraderie in business, the harder it is to deliver performance. Problem analysis : analysis : Problem statement of the case- How to implement a culture of ‘fun’ at work where the employees of the organization are self motivated and treat work more as play (something which they like to do). We need nee d to find out ways to create cre ate such environment in an organization which can help drive up its productivity. Decision analysis : analysis : The following four solutions can be proposed based on the phenomenal success of ‘The Bealtles’ who applied these four principles in their decade long asso ciation as members of the legendary band.
Invest in building face time : time : Although most people believe that The B eatles were an overnight success, nothing can be far from t he truth. The Beatles had performed for t housands of hours in the clubs of England before starting a professional career as a band. This helped them know each other well and form a bond. This helped them turn themselves into a cohesive cohesive unit which is what the reason is behind their e ffortless performances. So, the idea is to build face time between the members of a time long enough that makes them acquainted with eac h other, understand each other’s strengths strengths and weaknesses and enjoy each other’s company. This will lead to the team performing much better.
Evolve your ‘songs’ : ‘songs’ : One of the most important reasons for the success of The Beatle s was that their songs evolved with the release o f every album. The experimented with music of different genres and tried to incorporate elements of different styles of music into their songs. They experimented with their album covers emphasizing more on its artistic element. This made their fans expect something new and innovative every time an album was about to release. Similar should be the case with an organization. To keep their clients and customers loyal to them for life, the key is to evolve and innovate, bring in new perspectives and ideas every time a solution is proposed to the client. This will keep the clients always interested to do business with the company.
Help team members become a brandbrand-within-a-brand : within-a-brand : The Beatles understood the importance of promoting every member of the band in their albums as well as live shows. LennonMccartney wrote songs specifically for Ringo Starr o n almost every album giving him a platform with the public. When George George Harrison’s musical abilities were peaking, they started including a two or more of his se lf-composed songs on their every forthcoming albums. This should also be implemented in teams. Even though the eventual motive is team succe ss, the individual team members also need a sense of per sonal importance. This can be achieved by giving them tasks that makes them look good in their ow n right.
Mix of specialists and generalists : In the case of Beatles, Lennon and Mccartney were the generalists who had a wide range of musical abilities, Starr and Harrison were the specialists who had developed a great skill in playing the instrument they were good at. This created a band that was very versatile as a m usical group. The same ideology can be implemented while forming teams where we blend together branded experts and deep generalists who understand the client’s needs and can put the company’s product and services into the broader business context.
Potential problem analysis : The potential problem that can arise after implementing the above mentioned solutions is to keep a superstar team together after it has reached its peak. In the 1970, the Beatles dissolved their band owing to problems among individual group members. So, care must be taken to keep a team of talented individuals together even during times of identity crisis and when their thoughts and views are not matching. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Questions) 1)Develop a teaching methodology to teach the students belonging to below average, average, above average and brilliant categories. Ans:
Divide the class into groups which contain brilliant as well as average students. The brilliant students can act as generalists and t hey can help the average students identify one positive aspect within them which they can improve overtime and become specialist in that area. To find out in what areas the average students can improve can be done by assigning some tasks to the groups and evaluating their performances in them. A te am of specialists and generalists can work effectively since both the specialists and generalists would complement each othe r helping the team perform a wide array of tasks with significant ease.
The principle of promoting brand within a brand should be used in the teaching methodology. There will be individuals within the group who are willing to perform but are not able to due to lack of some skills. The brilliant students can help them in this aspect by dividing a task assigned to them into sub tasks and assigining them some specific tasks which suit their strengths. Upon completion of these tasks, these team members c an feel a sense of personal importance as they had contributed to the completion of the task. This keeps them motivated enough to work and feel appreciated.
A lot of time must be spent in building facetime between the team mem bers. Even The Beatles were not an overnight sensation. They worked together for hours playing in the clubs of England before starting their professional career as musicians. Building facetime helps group member s become acquainted with each other, understand and appreciate each others’ pros and cons and help them complete tasks more efficiently and effect ively since they know each others’
strengths and weaknesses. They start enjoying each others’ company and enjoy each others’ success.
Emphasis should be given on how the teams would evolve. For t hat emphasis must be given on giving team assignments in which there is scope for the team members to improve upon skills which are not developed. Making them do tasks which takes them out of their comfort zones is a good way to help individual personalities evolve. This can be done by carrying out public speaking sessions, role playing games and other such tasks.
2) What communication styles can be used to influence a team? Ans:
Make each and every team member feel an integral part of the group. They should not feel left out. This would help every team member communicate their thoughts well.
Building on facetime will enable team members to know e ach other well and shed inhibitions which people have regarding asking questions to someone who they don’t know well.
Project each and every team member as an equal in the group, each having their own specialized skill sets. This will help every team member having confidence in their abilities and contribute more actively to team discussions.
As the Beatles did, assign tasks to the weaker member of the group so that he gets an opportunity to hone his latent talent. This helps create an atmosphere o f mutual respect where each and every member feels apprec iated.
