Case #9
“Mod IV Product Development Team”
Harvard Business Case #9-490-030 (Rev. March 5, 1991)
Academic instructors who are registered with the publisher’s
website (http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu) may download the Teaching
Note #5-491-086 (Rev. February 28, 1991) for this case free of
charge.
ABSTRACT
Cross-functional teams are useful to pursue critical
activities such as product development, marketing, and business
expansion. This case studies the complex issues that affect
TEACHING OBJECTIVES
The objective of teaching this case is to highlight the
diverse issues related to the functioning of a product
future teams.
SUGGESTED QUESTIONS FOR CLASSROOM DISCUSSION
1. What is this case about?
2. How has Mod IV team ended up where it is now? (a) What forces
3. What do you expect will in fact happen at a team meeting (to
resolve the modules issue)? (a) If you were in Linda Whitman’s
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4. What needs to be done? (a) Ideally, how would you like to see
the team act? (b) To what extent should all team members be
ANALYSIS
1. What is this case about?
This case is about (a) compatibility of the company culture
with team work; (b) difficulties such as requirements and
2. How has Mod IV team ended up where it is now? (a) What forces
are affecting the Mod IV team’s culture and outcome? (b) What
were the major controversies involved in the team development? (c)
How well is the Mod IV team working together and why? (d) How are
team members evaluated? (e) Where does the Mod IV team stand at
this time?
A. Forces affecting the Mod IV team’s culture and outcome are:
(1) technology (electronics and micro-electronics – new expertise
and products) and competition from the market place (for example,
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C. The Mod IV team, already in its 4th year, is not working well.
During its first two years, the team was engineering-driven. Its
objective was risky and pervasive. After 2 years of pursuing
technical activities in a sequential manner, marketing was added
D. The team members are evaluated by their respective functional
line managers and not by the team managers. This performance
evaluation policy reduces the teams to working as traditional
E. Currently the status of the Mod IV team is as follows: (1)
there will likely be a delay of product introduction (i.e.,
introduction scheduled for August ‘89, manufacturing must start
3. What do you expect will in fact happen at a team meeting (to
resolve the modules issue)? (a) If you were in Linda Whitman’s
shoes, how would you feel about the team and Mod IV? (b) If you
were in Larry Rodgers’ shoes, how would you feel about the team
and Mod IV? (c) If you were in John Bailey’s shoes, how would you
feel about the team and Mod IV?
A. If I were Linda Whitman, Director of HVAC Controls with P/L
responsibility for Mod IV and marketing, my principal concerns
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would be the speed of introduction and product features that
ensure customer satisfaction. Engineering and manufacturing are
B. If I were Larry Rodgers, the Chief Design Engineer on the Mod
IV team, I would feel strongly that the marketing demand on the
motor size and the control module were not realistic as these
The Mod IV was claimed to be the most important product for
BCD. Yet there were insufficient resources devoted to it to
ensure its success. The late involvement of marketing in the Mod
IV team stood in for another complication to the teamwork.
C. If I were John Bailey, BCD head, I would feel that the team
would help me to achieve the goals I set (e.g., faster to market,
financial performance, high quality, participation, and
involvement). I would have high expectations of the team, but
would know that there were significant difficulties in getting
the team to work out.
4. What needs to be done? (a) How would you ideally like to see
the team act? (b) To what extent should all team members be
responsible for doing things to ensure the team’s success,
regardless of organizational support? (c) What does the team need
from upper management?
A. The preferred way for the team to act includes being able to
negotiate for reasonable compromises with respect to speed,
quality and features, all of which are important for BCD.
B. In a cooperative team environment, all team members must do
their best to ensure that the team objectives are met as success
and failure is shared by all. This is practical only if the team
5. Summarize the long-term and short-term problems elucidated in
this case.
Teams are the logical choice among organizational forms to
deal with complex issues related to technologies, competition in
the marketplace, time to market demands, customization of
products, and company profitability. Teams exemplify a new way of
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that the teamwork planning is lacking (e.g., no training and
marketing was not involved in the Mod IV team in first two years),
and that the division’s priorities are confusing. For example,
BCD wants to emphasize cost and quality to pursue the cash cow