Running head: ASSIGNMENT 5, TEAM CASE STUDY PAPER #2 1

Assignment 5, A Study of Efficiency within the Brown Treesnake Program

Cheryl M. Calaustro
PUA 566 Group Dynamics in Public Administration
McDaniel College
ASSIGNMENT 5, TEAM CASE STUDY PAPER #2 2
A Study of Efficiency within the Brown Treesnake Program
The Practitioner
Cheryl Calaustro has developed numerous proposals and managed multiple grants
up to US$380,000 from federal and non-profit entities including the US Department of
the Interior, US Fish & Wildlife, and the National Audubon Society. Funding was
utilized to annually support individual programs and maintain needs for staffing,
resources, capital improvement and daily operations.
In Micronesia, Cheryl has been highly effective in executing regional plans
through partnerships with the Micronesia Regional Invasive Species Council to serve the
Micronesian Chief Executive Summit, as a collaborator with the Micronesia Biosecurity
Plan and as a member of the Micronesians in Island Conservation. Cheryl has extensive
experience with outreach and awareness to garner local community buy-in and support
from a variety of stakeholders to increase knowledge, attitudes and achieve the desired
outcome of changing behaviors to combat threats that people face within their
environment.
The Symptom
A local governmental agency, specializing in agriculture and natural resources, is
looking to improve efficiency and productivity of its Division of Aquatic and Wildlife
Resources, specifically its Brown Treesnake Program within the Wildlife Section. The
Chief of the Division was concerned that although he had experienced and dedicated staff
within the Brown Treesnake Program, morale was low and insubordination was high
among the wildlife technicians. The Brown Treesnake Program is a small team of four
that is not working as efficiently as they did previously. I was approached to assess the
ASSIGNMENT 5, TEAM CASE STUDY PAPER #2 3
situation and provide solutions that would help obtain programmatic objectives while
simultaneously promoting the mission of the agency through strategic planning and
organization.
Assessing the Problem
First, general interviews of all staff of the Wildlife Section were conducted.
These interviews included administrative staff, wildlife technicians, wildlife biologists
and upper management such as the Chief of the division. The general impressions were
that work gets done but not without much voiced complaint and frustration from the
wildlife technicians of the Brown Treesnake Program. At times, technicians within this
program have gone absent without authorized leave and purposely disobeyed orders from
the team leader. Project objectives are not always obtained despite much expense in time
and effort. Often work within the Wildlife Section must be redone or delayed due to
delays regarding budgets, procurement or lack of staff. Interviews and observations
continued with staff members who work directly on Brown Treesnake project
management, implementation and maintenance. Focus group interviews of the project
team members, the three wildlife technicians and wildlife biologist team leader, revealed
discrepancies in feelings toward team leadership roles. The team leader felt
uncomfortable with her position within the Wildlife Section. These wildlife technicians
felt taxed with other duties not fitting within their official position description and at
times felt over-utilized and micromanaged by the team leader. Finally, unobtrusive
observational sessions will help to clarify the current state of program functioning. A
series of assessment tools was arranged to measure critical thinking, job knowledge, role
ASSIGNMENT 5, TEAM CASE STUDY PAPER #2 4
analysis, personality and interpersonal skills. Results were examined at the individual
and team level for the Brown Treesnake Program.
Team Members Roles
There are 3 distinct roles for team members within the Brown Treesnake Project:
- Program Team Leader in charge of overall project management and logistics, is
also the Initiator/Contributor as she will provide project direction and set goals.
Additionally, this role may act as Information/Opinion Seeker as the person
currently acting in this capacity is not only new to the work environment but
should seek to make with insight from her partners and stakeholders (Forsyth,
1990).
- Head Wildlife Technician (not specifically filled at the current time but needed)
in charge of project implementation and reporting to the team leader. During
times of crisis they may act as Encourager or Harmonizer to help guide
management actions (Forsyth, 1990).
- Wildlife Technical Staff will implement the project in the field and may act as
Information or Opinion Givers as needed to keep the project relevant within the
work and community context (Forsyth, 1990).
It should be noted that any staff favoring individual, selfish roles should be identified and
corrected as soon as possible.
Description of Cultural Backgrounds
The assessment tools revealed differing levels of knowledge and experiences for
each wildlife technician and the wildlife biologist team leader. Notably, the biologist
team leader had a high level of educational experience; the wildlife technicians did not.
ASSIGNMENT 5, TEAM CASE STUDY PAPER #2 5
Conversely, the wildlife technicians had high levels of practical field experience where as
the team leader did not. Additionally, the team leader position was held by a younger
woman while all the technician positions are filled by older men. Moreover, the woman,
who is Caucasian and originally from Canada, is a newcomer to the island and cannot
considered local while her technicians are all ethnically Chamorro, having been born
and raised on Guam. Chamorro society is traditionally matrilineal therefore local
women are known to be leaders of households, groups and organizations. However, there
is a local/non-local negative sentiment that has been prevalent since the colonization of
Guam. Moreover two out of three of these men are retired from the military. The
biologist in the leadership position of the Brown Treesnake Program seems to be overly
sensitive and easily distracted from her work due to extenuating circumstances
surrounding her personal life and projects. Despite the disparity in gender ratios, all staff
seem genuinely willing to cooperate when work and deadlines call for it. Unfortunately,
the wildlife technicians are not aware of project details or specific roles needed to
accomplish objectives.
Cultural Impact
There are obvious negative undertones due to differences in education, age,
gender and race that can cause biases. While the female biologist has more scientific
knowledge, the wisdom of field experience cannot be overlooked. If one wields the
heavy hand of book knowledge, there will be opposition met by those who have practical
insight. Age in this situation highlights the discrepancies of knowledge and attitudes as
generational differences are apparent in thought and behavior regarding work ethic and
practice (Mannix and Neale, 2005). The gender difference between the technical staff
ASSIGNMENT 5, TEAM CASE STUDY PAPER #2 6
and the team leader coupled with the military background of the technicians undoubtedly
causes conflict. The men have problems taking orders from a relatively inexperienced
young woman and as a result the young woman is feeling intimidated by her staff.
Finally, the cultural biases, although not overtly apparent, is prevalent within certain
villages as well as certain members in other divisions of the Department of Agriculture.
The wildlife technicians could be swayed by influential peer leaders and staff to act out
against non-locals in violent and non-violent protest.
Interventions
While it was obvious the current situation within the Brown Treesnake Project of
the Wildlife Section was functional, it was hardly efficient. I recommend improvements
in three areas: training, pay and organizational structure.
I recommend training for the staff of the Brown Treesnake Program in regards to
leadership and cultural sensitivity. Leadership training would help the team leader find
ways to mitigate staff problems through conflict resolution. Additionally, the team leader
will learn communication tactics that will help her relate to her staff. Open dialogue can
help establish her as a leader that honestly listens and acts upon the concerns of her staff.
Additionally, cultural sensitivity training for the program leader would help educate her
on basic historical, religious and social competency to feel comfortable in her current
interactions with her staff. Empowering the team leader will help give her confidence to
take charge and make informed decisions. Cultural training will help remove biases and
impediments as well as avoid misunderstandings due to a simple lack of cultural
knowledge and taboos.
ASSIGNMENT 5, TEAM CASE STUDY PAPER #2 7
While employees of the local government have access to discounted classes at the
local community college and university, I do not think the wildlife technicians of the
Brown Treesnake Project will take advantage of this opportunity (Compensation of
Public Employees, n.d.). Instead I recommend that the program staff acclimate one
another by going on ride alongs as a type of role training. Firsthand experience will
help the leader and technicians understand their respective roles within their program, the
scope of the local agency as well as the projects relevance within the larger Guam
community. Additionally, I have advocated to the technicians to utilize opportunities for
frank discussion regarding improvements to work procedures or their working
environment. Again, open communication would be mutually beneficial. Any lack of
self confidence in knowledge or ideas will be bolstered through increased interaction
within the project team members and the resulting trust that will be formed. Access to
knowledge will foster new ideas and hopefully encourage staff members who felt
intimidated by their lack of knowledge to participate more fully in their assigned roles.
Groupthink will be minimized when the project staff feel confident in their knowledge
base as well as their standing in the group (Franz, 2012).
Through interviews with the wildlife technicians of the project, it was brought to
light that they were due salary increases and promotions. The three gentlemen in these
positions have a combined work history of almost 60 years and yet one of them is still
considered as an entry pay level employee. I have brought this detail up to the team
leader and she is looking into why pay raises and promotions are lacking. If raises and a
promotion can be secured, this will help to alleviate the frustration and insubordination
that accompanies working overtime without compensation or taking on duties beyond
ASSIGNMENT 5, TEAM CASE STUDY PAPER #2 8
their official position description. Position descriptions for all staff members should be
evaluated on an annual basis to ensure all staff are performing as expected. If they
perform beyond what is expected, they should be rewarded to sustain motivation and
morale.
Finally, a rotating position of head wildlife technician for the Brown Treesnake
Program should be instituted to cement relationships between the team leader and her
staff, give additional management training and experience to technical staff as well as
facilitate intra-team communication. It also may be beneficial to have a regular,
reoccurring project meeting to assure communication and maintenance of deadlines,
budgets and objectives. There should be opportunities for team members to report
personal or project successes, problems and make suggestions for improvement. The
Chief and Wildlife Supervisor should take part in these meetings to be updated of current
project details. As the team leader is relatively new to the island and work situation,
more frequent meetings are recommended as needed to help evolve management styles
and coping mechanisms. Likewise, the normal process of group storming or jockeying
for position, should be allowed to occur as the addition to staff or new group skill sets
and ideas need to be validated within the group (Tuckman, 1965). Establishment and
maintenance of roles will result and aid in group management.
Follow-up
General questionnaire surveys will be conducted bi-monthly for at least 6 months
after the training and organizational restructuring of the Brown Treesnake Project of the
Wildlife Section. These surveys will be administered to all staff to gauge the
effectiveness of intervening actions as well as effectiveness of the Brown Treesnake
ASSIGNMENT 5, TEAM CASE STUDY PAPER #2 9
Project team leader. The Chief in particular will be queried regarding improvement of
section efficiency and productivity. Additionally, focus group interviews of all staff
within the Brown Treesnake Project will occur monthly to monitor staff morale and
enthusiasm. Project team member composition should be adjusted according to
individual skill set, knowledge level and personal preferences if possible. Finally it is
highly recommended that regular team meetings and encouragement of participation be
maintained throughout the life of the team or project (Wageman, 1997). At the end of the
project, or adjournment of the team, there should be a final opportunity for team members
to assess their performance as an individual and as a team and suggest improvements to
act upon for future teams (Forsyth, 1990).

ASSIGNMENT 5, TEAM CASE STUDY PAPER #2 10
References
Compensation of Public Employees. (n.d.). Guam Courts. Org. Retrieved December 14,
2013 from http://www.guamcourts.org/compileroflaws/GCA/04gca/4gc006.PDF
Forsyth, D. R. (1990). Group Dynamics, Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole Publishing.
Franz, T. (2012). Group Dynamics and Team Interventions: Understanding and
Improving Team Performance (First Edition). UK: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Mannix, E., and Neale, M.A. (2005). What differences make a difference? The promise
and reality of diverse teams in organizations. Psychological Science in the Public
Interest, 6, 31-55.
Tuckman, B. (1965). Developmental Sequence in Small Groups. Psychological
Bulletin, 63, pp. 384-399.
Wageman, R. (1997). Critical success factors for creating superb self managing teams.
Organizational Dynamics, 26, 49-61.