Using a Team-Based Approach, you can increase productivity while lowering costs.

Chick-fil-a’s Team-Based Approach to Management

Chick-fil-a is the company that I have chosen because it is considering using a team-based approach to management in order to increase efficiency and lower costs. The team-based strategy directs decision-making at all levels of management, including top, middle, and lower management. In reality, it is appropriately referred to as a participatory management strategy. From this vantage point, we can see that before a decision is taken, any member of the team involved, from top management to general staff, is consulted; this empowers the employees and allows them to own the company’s decisions.

Transition Challenges from Top-Down to Flat Administration

The company is likely to face a myriad of issues that stems from the incumbent corporate culture which is largely top down. The transition from top-down to flat administration is often tricky due to the fact that the various levels of management have inertia that has been developed in their current state. It can prove hectic to break this inertia force as the management is often reluctant to change. Additionally, Chick-fil-a would have to train their employees in empowerment (Brown & Hyer, 2009). It is often a challenge to convince the employees that their decisions are valued and pertinent to the situation, especially when transitioning from a bureaucratic structure. They shall always feel that they are simply employees with no say in decision making which shall hinder their effective contribution. Penultimately the company has to change their design and incorporate elements such as an open office approach. This is often a challenge as it would cause a major shift in how the management occurs at the office. Last but not least, it shall be difficult to determine the extent of participation that is healthy, at this point, it is worth noting that participatory planning and management is not always healthy, as a matter of fact, it can be negative since decision making can be slowed down considerably. It is a real challenge in training the employees of the organizations on how far to participate and to which extent (Masterson, 2014).

Possible Solutions

The above issues can be solved through simple techniques such as practice. This is particularly true with regards to breaking the inertia associated with the previous management style. As the employees and management use the new techniques, they shall eventually adapt to them and overcome the resistance to change that may have been there. Secondly, role playing shall be effective in helping the employees learn about empowerment. It is an effective means of ensuring that the employees get a feel of the new system and prepare for it thoroughly. Thirdly, for the design to be effective, the organization must incorporate the employee’s input. Last but not least, to be able to tame the participatory relationship so that it is not sub-optimal, the management should be trained in participatory leadership approaches by enlisting the help of specialists such as social psychologists and industrial-organizational psychologists (Palaveev, 2012).

Conclusion

The team based approach emphasizes the participatory aspects of leadership. It has its benefits such as efficiency, speed and cost reduction. However, it is important to note that when overindulged, the approach can become negative and result in suboptimization which is negative for the business enterprise.

References

Brown, K., & Hyer, N. (2009). Managing projects: A team-based approach (1st ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill Education.

Masterson, K. (2014). A team-based approach to primary care. Retrieved on March 20, 2017 from https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2014/08/116856/team-based-approach-primary-care

Palaveev, P. (2012). The ensemble practice: A team-based approach to building a superior wealth management firm (1st ed.). New York: Bloomberg Press. Retrieved on March 30, 2017 from http://epc.ucsc.edu/research-evaluation/team-base.html