Reference no: EM132214982
Teams at Cisco
Managers in companies large and small are using groups and teams to enhance performance, increase responsiveness to customers, spur innovation, and motivate employees. There are several reasons to use groups: to innovate, to motivate, to respond to customers, and to increase efficiency and performance. There are also several different types of formal and informal groups in an organization ranging from command groups to self-managed work teams.
In this exercise, you will read a report on Cisco Systems and analyze how it uses teams and the types of teams it uses. Cisco, ranked 41st on Fast Company’s 2011 list of the "World's Most Innovative Companies," is a global leader in providing networking solutions for the Internet. It designs and produces networking products, solutions, and services for businesses, governments, academic institutions, and consumers. In this rapidly changing industry, Cisco prides itself on innovation.
Read the case below and answer the questions that follow.
In the 2000s, John Chambers, Cisco's CEO and Chairman of the Board, realized that for Cisco to continue to innovate in a rapidly-changing industry amid perilous economic times, he would need to change how decisions were made at Cisco. Like many other large corporations (Cisco had over 60,000 employees), decisions at Cisco used to be made in a top-down manner by Chambers and other key executives. Recognizing that it is next to impossible for a small number of top decision-makers to fuel large-scale innovation in multiple markets simultaneously, Chambers realized that Cisco needed to involve many more employees in decision-making.
How did he do this? He did this essentially by creating a system of teams that do everything from charting the future direction of the company to working on individual projects. In terms of charting the overall direction of the company, Chambers is a member of a team called the Operating Committee, which includes 15 other high-level executives. The Operating Committee, however, does not make all major decisions at Cisco. Some teams, called councils, are empowered to decide on potential opportunities in the range of $10 billion. Each council has approximately 14 members, with two members being either senior or executive vice presidents of the company. Other teams, called boards, are empowered to decide on potential opportunities in the range of $1 billion. Each board has approximately 14 members, with two members being either vice presidents or senior vice presidents. Smaller teams of between two and ten members are formed temporarily to work on specific projects or issues. Opportunities uncovered or developed by these working groups are presented to one of the boards for consideration. By involving more employees in decisions, Chambers hoped to spur innovation in multiple businesses at Cisco. As Chambers puts it, "When you have command and control by the top 10 people, you can only do one or two things at a time. . . . The future is about collaboration and teamwork and making decisions with a replicable process that offers scale, speed, and flexibility."
Councils and boards include members from different functional areas, businesses, and even sometimes countries to gain a variety of perspectives on issues and opportunities. They are organized around key initiatives or product lines, and employees who have skills that could contribute to the teams are asked (and required) to join them. For example, Ron Ricci, a vice president at Cisco, formed a board of sports enthusiasts to focus on how Cisco might get more involved in the sports field. Ricci's 16-member board worked intensely to develop a new product called StadiumVision, which enables sports venues to give fans multiple high-definition video screens that provide customized live videos of games, programming, advertising, promotions, and other relevant and timely information. In collaboration with marketing and sales teams at Cisco, the board won contracts with major sports teams and venues, and a multimillion dollar business was launched in less than 4 months.
Cisco uses teams to collaborate for innovation as well as respond to problems that might arise. For example, teams helped Cisco rapidly respond with aid to China after a devastating earthquake in 2007.
Teams are also used at Cisco to expand into emerging markets. Although Cisco is headquartered in San Jose, California, Executive Vice President and Chief Globalization Officer Wim Elfrink created a second headquarters in Bangalore, India, to help staff teams focus on developing and selling products in emerging markets. In Bangalore, Elfrink recruits teams of qualified engineers from emerging markets to develop networks and infrastructures for companies and governments in a variety of countries such as Russia and Chile. Once a team has developed a product for a customer in another country, the team heads back to Bangalore to transform the customized solution it provided for a specific customer's needs into a more generalized product that can be sold to other customers in multiple countries.
The Operating Committee, made up of Chambers and 15 other high-level executives, is an example of a ______ team.
virtual
top management
command
synchronous
research and development
Several teams at Cisco have been formed temporarily to work on specific problems or issues. These would most likely be considered
top management teams.
innovation teams.
task forces.
virtual teams.
command groups.
Ron Ricci’s board of sports enthusiasts at Cisco formed to focus on how to involve Cisco more closely in the sports field. It developed StadiumVision and launched it within four months. This is an example of a successful
command group.
play group.
interest group.
top management team.
Cisco has a presence in not only the United States, but also in India, Russia, Chile, and many other countries. A team made up of members from each of these countries and who continue work in their home countries is most likely a(n) _____ team.
top management
co-powered
command
virtual
empowered
The Operating Committee and the various Boards and Councils at Cisco are all examples of _______ teams.
friendship
informal
virtual
command
formal
The Councils at Cisco can make decisions on projects costing up to $10 billion without seeking input from others. The Councils do extremely complex work and have extremely high levels of autonomy and responsibility. These elements are typical of
virtual teams.
task forces.
research and development teams.
self-managed work teams.
command teams.