Value of Diversity The Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism has gathered four people from

different backgrounds to assess whether Singapores road transport policy (road pricing depending on time, limit car ownership) can be applied to Japans highway. The Democratic Party of Japan has implemented toll-free highway policy, which has resulted in boosting traffic volumes. In order to solve the problem of heavy traffic, the four people were assigned the task of proposing a better highway policy. Characters 1. Mr. Kawata (leader): He is the project leader who is primarily responsible for the content of the project. Specific responsibilities include putting the team together, supporting the research process, reviewing their progress, and giving the final approval. Mr. Kawata is characterized as being strict and not flexible. 2. Ken (subordinate #1): Ken is a Japanese returnee who spent most of his childhood in Nepal. He studied philosophy in university, and joined the Ministry after completing his bachelors degree. As a new employee, Ken is polite, passive, and listens more than he speaks. He also prefers to maintain a harmonious relationship with the other workers, rather than being aggressive and challenging other peoples ideas and opinions. 3. Catherine (subordinate #2): Raised in the United States, Katherine is an assertive, self-confident, and stubborn individual. She has a short temper, and needs things to be exactly her way at all times. 4. Anne (subordinate #3): Anne has been working at the Ministry for over 10 years, and she finds her job to be rather boring and mundane. She has been married to her husband for 3 years, but the marriage is not working out. She often shows disruptive and annoying behavior in the middle of team work. Situation 1: Team Members Meet for the First Time 1. Focus on team development. Please refer to the 4 stages of team development on page 520. What stage of team development are they in? Why? How can the team members improve to progress to the next stage of development?

Situation 2: Evaluating Team Performance 1. Focus on the team leader. Please refer to the concepts of building team leader credibility from page 529 to 531. Does the team leader show credibility? Which aspects of team leader credibility does he/she show? 2. Focus on the team members. Please refer to the concepts covered in team membership (especially task-facilitating roles and relationship-building roles) from page 534 to 539. Do the team members play positive roles that enhance team performance? How do the characters show such positive roles?