For the exclusive use of L. Alfarraj, 2025. W37905 GORDON INSTITUTE OF BUSINESS SCIENCE: TEAM DYNAMICS IN A GENERAL MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM Jabu Maphalala wrote this case solely to provide material for class discussion. The author does not intend to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of a managerial situation. The author may have disguised certain names and other identifying information to protect confidentiality. This publication may not be transmitted, photocopied, digitized, or otherwise reproduced in any form or by any means without the permission of the copyright holder. Reproduction of this material is not covered under authorization by any reproduction rights organization. To order copies or request permission to reproduce materials, contact Ivey Publishing, Ivey Business School, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada, N6G 0N1; (t) 519.661.3208; (e) cases@ivey.ca; www.iveypublishing.ca. Our goal is to publish materials of the highest quality; submit any errata to publishcases@ivey.ca. i1v2e5y5pubs Copyright © 2024, Ivey Business School Foundation Version: 2024-08-28 It was Monday morning in the second week of June 2023 when Mike Stonier, the program director of the custom programs unit of the University of Pretoria’s Gordon Institute of Business Science, 1 abruptly stood up from his chair and started pacing around his office. Stonier always did this when he was deep in thought or worried about something. The source of Stonier’s disposition on that fine but chilly Johannesburg morning was an email he had just read from one of the syndicate team coaches in a program he was running. 2 In the email, the coach requested Stonier’s advice in dealing with a major conflict that threatened to fragment the syndicate team he was coaching. The coach explained there was an alleged lack of contribution by some of the syndicate members to the team’s Action Learning Project (ALP), 3 and he indicated that delegates who had contributed to the writing of the report had then threatened to submit the final report without the names of other members who had not contributed. The request in the email disrupted Stonier’s positive attitude that morning. He had finished his weekend in high spirits, as his favourite Formula 1 driver, Max Verstappen, had won Round 8 of the Formula 1 championship at the Spanish circuit. 4 Stonier had marvelled at the teamwork that had made that win possible. He now had to deal with an incident that could only be referred to as the opposite of teamwork. It was about three weeks before the syndicate teams were due to submit the final reports for their projects. The source of Stonier’s unease was his knowledge that delegates whose names were not cited as contributors in the report would not meet the requirements and would therefore fail the entire custom course in general management development. This failure would reflect badly on the school and be a potential blot on the school’s relationship with the Kraftfahrzeug Company (Kraftfahrzeug), the company whose Located in the suburb of Illovo in Johannesburg, South Africa, the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) is the University of Pretoria’s business school. See Gordon Institute of Business Science (website), accessed June 29, 2024, https://www.gibs.co.za/pages/landing. 2 The author was one of the Action Learning Project syndicate coaches. 3 Action learning is defined as a process through which a small group of people learn simultaneously as individuals, as a team, and as an organisation while working on real problems and taking action while doing so. Michael Marquardt et al., Optimizing the Power of Action Learning: Real-Time Strategies for Developing Leaders, Building Teams and Transforming Organizations, 3rd ed. (London: Hachette UK, 2018).. 4 “Spain 2023,” Formula 1, accessed accessed June 29, 2024, https://www.formula1.com/en/racing/2023/Spain.html. 1 This document is authorized for use only by Leenh Alfarraj in MBA-MGT508-2025-4SECTIONS taught by Abdullah Aldlaigan, Al Yamamah University from Feb 2025 to Aug 2025. For the exclusive use of L. Alfarraj, 2025. Page 2 W37905 employees were the delegates in the custom program. 5 Failing delegates who had not contributed to the report would be tantamount to the school’s not meeting its contractual undertakings with Kraftfahrzeug, which included providing the delegates with general management skills through the Action Learning Project. Stonier knew that a solution had to be found quickly to address the concerns of the aggrieved delegates while fulfilling GIBS’s contract with Kraftfahrzeug—an urgent demand because the submission date of the final ALP document was fast approaching. BACKGROUND The University of Pretoria’s Gordon Institute of Business Science was founded in 2000 on the back of a significant endowment from the businessman and philanthropist Sir Donald Gordon. 6 The school offered high-quality blended learning coupled with a commitment to meaningful experiential exposure. 7 In November 2022, officials at Kraftfahrzeug finally signed the contract to enrol the company’s middle managers in a general management development course at GIBS. 8 This was one of the first companies to send its officials to a blended learning program at GIBS after the travel restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic were lifted. Despite the widespread use of telecommunications technology to facilitate remote work and remote learning during the pandemic lockdowns, 9 many companies reduced their training programs (see Exhibit 2). Stonier was acutely aware of the work Mathabo Khoadi and her team had done to get Kraftfahrzeug to renew its management development contract with GIBS. He was also aware of the important role he and his team of coaches played in ensuring the success of the program; its failure could undo the work done by Khoadi and other members of the value creation team and jeopardize future relationships with Kraftfahrzeug. ROLE OF THE VALUE CREATION TEAM IN THE CUSTOM PROGRAMS UNIT As the client engagement manager of the value creation team, Khoadi had initially led the team that courted Kraftfahrzeug to agree to send its team to GIBS and to subsequently renew its relationship with GIBS. Khoadi said, We are not the only ones playing in the corporate customs market, particularly in the larger Johannesburg area. Fortunately, the GIBS brand is quite well known, and people associate it with quality. That does not mean we don’t have to work as hard. It can take anywhere from six months to two years to sign a client. Sometimes after all that hard courting work, the client could just walk away and sign with another company. Sometimes because they don’t like you or someone in your team. It is not only the GIBS brand, it is also the relationship with other colleagues. Then there is also the feedback from delegates to the company. If they are unhappy, it will register with the client and we may not get the next batch of delegates. So it is important to put our best foot forward throughout the courting phase and the delivery process. The name of the organization has been disguised to protect its identity. The company was a large global, multi-divisional motor manufacturing company with operations in South Africa. 6 “Sir Donald Gordon Dies at the Age of 89, Leaves Behind a Legacy,” CFO South Africa, November 22, 2019, https://cfo.co.za/articles/sir-donald-gordon-dies-at-the-age-of-89-leaves-behind-a-legacy/. 7 “Our Story,” Gordon Institute of Business Science, accessed June 30, 2024, https://www.gibs.co.za/aboutus/pages/default.aspx. 8 Mathabo Khoadi, interview by Jabu Maphalala in Johannesburg, South Africa, on November 16, 2023. 9 John Hopkins and Anne Bardoel, “The Future is Hybrid: How Organisations Are Designing and Supporting Sustainable Hybrid Work Models in Post-pandemic Australia,” Sustainability 15, no. 4 (2023): 3086, https://doi.org/10.3390/su15043086. 5 This document is authorized for use only by Leenh Alfarraj in MBA-MGT508-2025-4SECTIONS taught by Abdullah Aldlaigan, Al Yamamah University from Feb 2025 to Aug 2025. For the exclusive use of L. Alfarraj, 2025. Page 3 W37905 According to Khoadi, each custom program was designed around client needs. Clients more or less know the capabilities of institutions like GIBS. For them, it is a matter of who can convince them that their needs will be met. Once the client is convinced that GIBS is the best option for them, we enter into the contracting phase which can take a long time to ensure that they get what they want. It is at the contracting phase that we bring members of the delivery team to go through all the details for delivering the programme. As he paced up and down in his office, Stonier thought about how much Khoadi’s team had worked to make the program happen before handing it over to the delivery team. The actual delivery of the program was the responsibility of the program manager, whose function was to coordinate all its different parts, including coaching teams, to ensure the program was successful. Stonier was part of the delivery team, and his responsibilities included leading the ALP. Delivering the Program for Kraftfahrzeug The general management development programs offered by GIBS were tailor-made for specific companies to develop existing and potential leaders. The transportation company Kraftfahrzeug had a nationwide footprint in South Africa covering all nine provinces (see Exhibit 1). For this intake, Kraftfahrzeug had initially sent 25 individuals to the course. Given the multiculturalism of South Africa, delegates identified for the program reflected the quintessential diversity of the country in their mix of language, race, and gender. When designing the delivery of the program, program managers had to identify which instructors would be the most suitable to deliver specific courses. For the ALP and personal development aspects of the course, the program manager worked within an ecosystem of coaches affiliated with GIBS through the Personal and Applied Learning (PAL) department. From this community of coaches, the program manager identified suitable and available coaches while bearing in mind the client’s requirements and the delegates’ needs. PAL had about 70 professional faculty and learning experts supporting the various programs at GIBS, including academic ones. 10 Stonier was thus well aware of the selection process for the coaches. As leadership was not one dimensional, the program was designed to ensure that in addition to class work, where delegates studied subjects such as change management, strategy, decision-making, communications, and other leadership and management skills, their learnings included creative, innovative, engaging, and experiential methods in an approach that blended classroom and online learning. In addition, the program included excursions to other organizations and areas of interest, as well as personal development and ALP coaching. Both the personal development and the ALP aspects of the program were facilitated by coaches. MIKE STONIER According to his LinkedIn profile, Stonier had studied economics and psychology at Rhodes University in Grahamstown in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. He commenced his career in the retail sector, where he worked in various roles. His corporate career culminated as head of Learning and Development for Edcon Group Ltd., which at the time was a major retail company in South Africa. In addition to his formal corporate position, Stonier also served on numerous working and steering committees and advisory boards for a range of learning, educational, community, and church organizations. Gordon Institute of Business Science 2024 Personal https://www.gibs.co.za/pages/personal-and-applied-learning. 10 and Applied Learning accessed July 10, 2024, This document is authorized for use only by Leenh Alfarraj in MBA-MGT508-2025-4SECTIONS taught by Abdullah Aldlaigan, Al Yamamah University from Feb 2025 to Aug 2025. For the exclusive use of L. Alfarraj, 2025. Page 4 W37905 He joined GIBS in 2000 as program director. During this period, he worked with senior leaders from a variety of blue chip companies in different industries on five continents, creating solutions for their learning and development needs that could be addressed through the programs offered by GIBS. Stonier’s focus on meeting the needs of clients was of the highest order, and he worked tirelessly to give clients the best results. 11 It was because of this focus that he was resolute in finding a solution to the dilemma he faced with the Kraftfahrzeug delegates to ensure that the program was delivered according to the needs of the client. The Action Learning Project As program director, Stonier was in charge of executing the ALP part of the program, including supporting the coaches in their various teams and handling all administrative aspects of coaching and other matters related to course delivery. His role was crucial because he ensured the delegates were not overburdened by competing aspects of the course and that their learning journey operated seamlessly while being mindful of their responsibilities in their respective jobs (see Exhibit 3). To ensure this seamless integration, the delivery team had to coordinate their activities, including setting timelines for the course, because delegates also had to study for exams in other parts of the course, undertake individual personal development programs, and work on their group ALPs. The course had five learning blocks in total. Delegates were introduced to the ALP part of the program in November, when they started work on their team and project charters. Coaches made face-to-face contact with their ALP syndicates during the third block. Reporting to Stonier was a team of three coaches whose role was to support their syndicate teams. There were four syndicates in this particular course, one of which was coached by Stonier: Coming out of the COVID-19 [pandemic] and its aftermath, companies were struggling with lean budgets. Training and development are usually perceived as luxuries in times like this. So, the Action Learning Projects had to incorporate value for the company and a measurable return on investment. This is why we ensured that, this time the Team sponsors were senior executives and people of influence in the organisation who would identify strategically relevant areas of focus for the syndicate teams to ensure that the value of the Action Learning Project went beyond the learning objectives. To ensure commitment, the syndicate team’s project had to incorporate a focus area that would not only be of interest to team members but also have strategic relevance to the organization. In addition to coaches, each syndicate group had a team sponsor whose role was to help identify an area of focus for the syndicate team, find stakeholders and information sources, and gain access to company officials who had information that could be useful for the syndicate teams. To ensure that the process of the ALP was transparent and beneficial to the organization, sponsors played an active role in the learning journey of delegates and in the marking of the project. According to Stonier, both sponsors and GIBS faculty contributed to the final mark of the ALP. To ensure clarity and provide guidance, Stonier and his team developed a project charter template that outlined the objectives of the ALP and met the interests of the team sponsor. 12 Because of this, the charter had to be signed by the team sponsor. According to Roger Minton, head of leadership development at Anglo American, as stated on Stonier’s LinkedIn profile. Components of the project charter include its objectives, deliverables, key activities, scope, and critical success factors, as well as the identification of resources needed for its success. See Alexander S. Gillis, “Project Charter,” TechTarget, March 2023, https://www.techtarget.com/searchcio/definition/project-charter. 11 12 This document is authorized for use only by Leenh Alfarraj in MBA-MGT508-2025-4SECTIONS taught by Abdullah Aldlaigan, Al Yamamah University from Feb 2025 to Aug 2025. For the exclusive use of L. Alfarraj, 2025. Page 5 W37905 As with any other team, the rules and regulations of the syndicate team, as well as its parameters, had to be clear to all members. While the project charter described the goals, objectives, and resources required by the syndicate team, its team charter outlined the guidelines for how the team was to work together. The team charter outlined the identity of team members, their expected contribution, and their objectives in the Action Learning Project, as well as describing issues that could hinder or facilitate the success of the team in its quest. 13 A template for this charter was also developed. Both the project charter and team charter, once signed off by the team sponsor and team members, were to be submitted to the GIBS program manager. These documents were also intended to hold syndicate members individually and collectively accountable for fulfilling the obligations they undertook. The Turnaround Artist Syndicate Team The email that upset Stonier on that fine, chilly Monday morning came from the coach of the Turnaround Artist syndicate team. 14 This syndicate had six members who, as in the other syndicates, were grouped together to ensure a good cultural, gender, and racial mix so members could acquire the skills for working with a diverse group of individuals. In addition to dealing with issues of team dynamics, syndicate members also had to learn to work with each other despite coming from different cultural and social backgrounds and from different company divisions in different parts of the country (see Exhibit 1). While continuing to pace up and down his office, Stonier realized that he should have seen the signs. The Turnaround Artist syndicate team had performed very well during the mid-March interim presentation. On the surface, Stonier recalled, all had seemed well, perhaps too well. While their team charter was still outstanding, the syndicate group had also submitted their project charter during the mid-March interim presentations. The turnaround syndicate had been far ahead of other syndicate groups, which seemed to still be trying to find each other and identify who their sponsor would be. He remembered the happiness and excitement of the turnaround team when they found out they were on track while some of the other teams were still struggling. Their team leader had also found a sponsor for the group who, like their coach, was very helpful to the syndicate group. Stonier remembered that, based on his experience, this had seemed a bit out of kilter. He remembered asking the coach over coffee how the internal dynamics were in his team. The coach explained that in online conversations with the syndicate team, the two women seemed more proactive than the men. It was then that Stonier had asked the coach to monitor the situation going forward. In mid-May, when the ALP coaches team had their monthly meeting, the coach of the Turnaround Artist syndicate team reported that he had approached the team leader in private to ask about team dynamics. The syndicate team had had one team leader since its inception. After some probing, the team leader explained that sometimes she felt the need to just get things done and over with rather than waiting for others to submit their contributions which were usually late or find herself forced to make corrections on substandard submissions. According to the coach, she said what was important to her was to do well in the project because it was important for her career. The coach told Stonier that he had informed her that, as the leader of the team, it was also her duty to hold members accountable and have the tough conversations to ensure all group members contributed to the project. The coach said he had also pointed out to her that dealing the team charter, had they submitted theirs, would have provided guidelines on how to address issues like these. Kate Eby, “The Essential Guide to Creating an Effective Team Charter”, Smartsheet, December 7, 2023, https://www.smartsheet.com/essential-guide-creating-effective-team-charter. 14 The name of the syndicate has been disguised to conceal its identity. 13 This document is authorized for use only by Leenh Alfarraj in MBA-MGT508-2025-4SECTIONS taught by Abdullah Aldlaigan, Al Yamamah University from Feb 2025 to Aug 2025. For the exclusive use of L. Alfarraj, 2025. Page 6 W37905 Stonier remembered agreeing with the coach as leadership skills were part of the learning process in Action Learning Projects. Stonier did not recollect hearing anything more on this matter until that June morning when he received the email. THE CONFLICT Stonier’s pacing had helped him clear his head and go over the process. He smiled as he recollected something he had learned many years ago: it was always useful to understand “how we got here.” He sat back down at his desk and re-read the coach’s email. Stonier established that the coach had been compelled to write the email following a conversation with the team sponsor. According to the coach, the team leader had informed the sponsor that some of her teammates had not met their obligations in the deliverables to enable the preparation of the report, which was due to the coach in about a week’s time. She indicated that it was only fair to submit the report listing just the names of those who had contributed to the report. In his email, the coach suggested to Stonier that the team leader may have decided to raise this issue with the team sponsor out of exasperation but wanted to avoid having a difficult conversation with the coach, who had discussed the issue with her before. Apparently, the non-contributing team members had used their time focusing on their own individual assignments and happy to do as little as possible on group projects as the team leader had always been prepared to correct and adjust their contributions. In his email, the coach speculated that she may have felt used and resented that. MEETING THE MANDATE As he thought about this, Stonier suddenly stood up to resume his pacing, but this time with a broad grin on his face. He immediately looked around to see if anyone had noticed and thought he was out of his mind—an impression not too far-fetched given that Stonier usually displayed a stoic demeanour. The sudden grin was due to the realization that the team leader may have learned much more about leadership in this course than had initially been planned, while the other team members still had the opportunity to meet their obligations to the program and their teammates. Stonier sat back down at his desk and drafted an email to his team of coaches calling for an urgent online meeting that afternoon. The meeting was to discuss the way forward for the Turnaround Artist syndicate team. A lot was riding on their success as a team. He once again reflected on how the GIBS team composed of the value creation team had played its part before handing the reins over to the delivery team. He smiled wryly as he thought how, like a Formula 1 team, one individual, or one unit, could lead to the loss of the race. His team was not going to be the one that dropped the ball. With that, he stood up to get himself a cup of coffee. This document is authorized for use only by Leenh Alfarraj in MBA-MGT508-2025-4SECTIONS taught by Abdullah Aldlaigan, Al Yamamah University from Feb 2025 to Aug 2025. For the exclusive use of L. Alfarraj, 2025. Page 7 W37905 EXHIBIT 1: MAP OF SOUTH AFRICA WITH PROVINCES AND LARGEST CITIES Source: Map of South Africa, OpenStreetMap, accessed July 13, 2024. https://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=6/28.676/24.677. EXHIBIT 2: GLOBAL CORPORATE EXPENDITURE ON LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT 2018-2020 372 370 368 366 364 362 360 358 356 354 352 350 2018 2019 2020 Source: Created by the author based on data from Gabriel “Gabo” von Knorring, “How Much Do Companies Spend on Leadership Development?” Sancus Leadership. Oct 26, 2023. https://www.sancusleadership.com/how-companies-spend-onleadership-development/ Accessed July 13, 2024. This document is authorized for use only by Leenh Alfarraj in MBA-MGT508-2025-4SECTIONS taught by Abdullah Aldlaigan, Al Yamamah University from Feb 2025 to Aug 2025. August 1–5: Study block 1, face to face Sept. 2022 Nov. 2022 Nov. 7–10: Study block 2, online November 10, 2022: Introduction of the ALP Oct. 2022 Dec. 2022 Jan. 2023 Mar. 2023 March 30, 2023: First draft of ALP report due to coach March 13–15: Study block 4, online Feb. 2023 Feb. 6–9: Study block 3, face to face March 15, 2023: ALP interim presentations July 2023 July 6, 2023: Final ALP report due June 2023 June 29, 2023: 75% of ALP report due to coach May 2023 W37905 July 20, 2023: Dry run of final presentations July 21, 2023: Final presentations and program completion May 19: Examinations Apr. 2023 April 19– 20: Study block 4, face to face Note: ALP = Action Learning Project. Source: Gordon Institute of Business Science general management program—Illustrative project timeline. ALP related dates are not greyed out. Aug. 2022 November 18, 2022: Team charter submission due to coach November 25, 2022: Team sponsor signs off on project charter EXHIBIT TN-1: ACTION LEARNING PROJECT TIMELINE WITH STUDY BLOCKS AND EXAMINATION PERIOD August 1, 2022: General management development program launched Page 8 For the exclusive use of L. Alfarraj, 2025. This document is authorized for use only by Leenh Alfarraj in MBA-MGT508-2025-4SECTIONS taught by Abdullah Aldlaigan, Al Yamamah University from Feb 2025 to Aug 2025. 
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