TRI-STATE: A MULTIPLE ROLE PLAY

Goals

^? To build skills in diagnosing organizational and group problems.

^? To focus attention on the interrelation between content and process issues.

Group Size

One six-person subgroup and any number of trios.

Time Required

Approximately two and one-half hours.

Materials

^? A copy of the Tri-State Background Sheet for each participant.

^? A copy of the appropriate Tri-State Role Instruction Sheet for each of the six role players.

^? A pencil and blank paper for each participant.

^? A copy of the Tri-State Consultant Work Sheet for each participant.

^? Newsprint and a felt-tipped marker (optional).

Process

 1. The facilitator gives a lecturrete on group and organizational dynamics, emphasizing the interaction between content and process in terms of organizational outcomes.

 2. The facilitator then selects six volunteers to act out the role play and gives each role player a Tri-State Background Sheet and a different Tri-State Role Instruction Sheet. The players are then given time to study their roles.

 3. The facilitator divides the remainder of the group members into trios and provides each trio with pencils, paper, three copies of the Tri-State Background Sheet, and three copies of the Tri-State Consultant Work Sheet.

 4. The facilitator reads the Tri-State Background Sheet to the group and informs the nonrole players that they will be acting as consultants.

 5. The role play is conducted in the center of the room, with the trios of “consultants” observing from an outer ring. The role play is allowed to continue for about thirty minutes, or until a severe block occurs in the interaction.

 6. When the role play is stopped, each consultant takes five minutes to complete an individual diagnosis and then collaborates with the two other members of the trio to present a unified diagnosis, according to the points listed on the Tri-State Consultant Work Sheet.

 7. One person from each consultant trio then presents the trio’s diagnosis to the role players. Still role playing, the staff is allowed to question each consultant concerning the trio’s diagnosis.

 8. After each trio’s diagnosis has been presented to the role players, the Tri-State members choose which consultant trio they want to employ as their advisers. This is done in a group-on-group-arrangement, with all consultants observing.

 9. After the consultants are chosen, the facilitator comments on the consultants’ presentations and then leads a general discussion of approaches to the issues involved in diagnosing a group problem and planning intervention.

Variations

^? While the trios are compiling and evaluating their data, the role players may leave their roles and act as consultants to the diagnostic trios.

^? Trios can prepare proposals for OD interventions (detailing budget, staff, time, etc.) that would follow from their diagnostic impressions.

TRI-STATE BACKGROUND SHEET

The Tri-State Industrial Maintenance Corporation produces, and markets directly, industrial maintenance items such as cleaners, floor finishes, industrial vacuum cleaners, and so on. The corporation services a three-state regional area. It has always put emphasis on the quality of its product and on good customer service; thus, although the company is small, it has always enjoyed a fair share of the market because of its reputation for customer satisfaction and customer loyalty.
Recently, however, Tri-State has suffered from decreased business because of an increase in competition from national corporations and the poor national economic situation. It has always been company policy that Tri-State will not cut a price.
Terry Kerr, the president and founder of Tri-State, has called in an organization development consultant to help the company cope more effectively with prevailing market conditions and to see if an analysis of the company’s processes could facilitate a return to its previous level of growth.
After talking to Terry, the consultant has agreed to do some organizational diagnostic work and then to confer with the top-management team in the hope of implementing change in a positive direction.
To start the diagnosis, the consultant will observe a staff conference and then report on what he or she sees as being functional or dysfunctional in terms of how well the team works together. Attending the conference will be:

Terry Kerr, founder and president
Robin Kerr, Terry’s eldest child and executive vice president
Dale Tubb, sales manager
Chris Smith, head of office operations
Pat MacPherson, head of research and development
Sam Walker, head of production and shipping

Tri-State employs a total of thirty-five employees. Actual production in the small factory occurs only in late spring and summer, allowing the organization to stockpile enough reserves to last about twelve months.

TRI-STATE ROLE INSTRUCTION SHEET

Terry Kerr. You are the president and founder of Tri-State Industrial Maintenance Corporation. You started the business thirty-five years ago and through hard work and diligence have built a successful operation. You attribute your success to hard work, honesty, and the quality of your service and your product. People deal with you because they respect you and what you stand for. You are convinced that what built the business is what will keep it successful. You feel that price cutting, fancy packaging, and slick advertising are only ways of compensating for a poor product and poor service.
You have called this staff meeting because you are aware that business is tougher to get and hold on to. You want to be open-minded; however, you are not about to change just for the sake of change.
Robin suggested bringing in a consultant, and you went along with it. Robin is a hard worker, but does not have that much experience in business.
Your basic approach to dealing with the present problem is to cut back on all unnecessary expenditures until things get better. This strategy has always been successful in the past. One thing you have been considering is to put all salespeople who are being paid a draw against commission on straight commission. That way, they either pull their weight or leave.



TRI-STATE ROLE INSTRUCTION SHEET II

Robin Kerr. You are the executive vice president, which means that you have your hand in most phases of the business. Although you see the value of this position, you still chafe at being under Terry’s thumb. All you really can do is suggest; Terry is the one who decides. Last week Terry wouldn’t even listen to your ideas on a new line of vacuum cleaners.
Basically you support Terry’s philosophy but you also realize that something has got to be done to stimulate business. The old way is good, but it is just not enough to compete under prevailing conditions of competition and economic pressure.
You think that one good approach would be to invest in some good, professional sales training for the sales force and to modernize the labeling for the products. You are, frankly, embarrassed by the old 1920-type scroll work.
At the staff meeting you are going to try to make Terry understand that Tri-State is going to have to invest a little if it is to pull out of this successfully. You know that Dale will support this approach.

TRI-STATE ROLE INSTRUCTION SHEET III

Dale Tubb. You are the sales manager for Tri-State’s fifteen-person sales force. You and Robin have struck up a pretty close friendship over the past few years.
You honestly like and respect Terry, but feel that some of the president’s views are antiquated. There is little question that quality and service are important; however, the recent infusion of competitive salespeople from nationally known organizations, coupled with the present economic situation, is putting very heavy pressure on your sales force.
Your present sales force is quite effective. You are afraid that Terry might want to cut back on it as a means of cutting costs. The president would probably do this by cutting out the draw for the newer, less experienced salespeople, making everyone go on straight commission. You think that this would be a mistake, since you have two younger sales representatives who are developing new territories and need the draw until the territories start paying for themselves. These two are good, and you would hate to lose them.
What you would like to do is to purchase local advertising, increase the commission rate by 3 percent, and run a major sales contest. The sales force has become increasingly demoralized. You are sure that your recommendations would give the organization the boost it needs to withstand the present conditions.



TRI-STATE ROLE INSTRUCTION SHEET IV

Chris Smith. You have been with Tri-State for five years and are in charge of all office operations. You supervise the clerical workers and are responsible for maintaining the rotating inventory, filing, billing, written communications, and the like.
You know that things are tough, and it looks like they are going to get tougher. The thing that bothers you the most is that there has been an awful lot of tension and arguing in the past few months, and it is getting worse. Just last week Robin stormed out of Terry’s office, and they haven’t said a civil word to each other since then. Everybody has been short-tempered with everyone else, and this just isn’t the happy organization it used to be.
You feel that if all this bickering and tension would stop, everybody could pull together to get out of the present situation. It’s just all so depressing.

TRI-STATE ROLE INSTRUCTION SHEET V

Pat MacPherson. You are a chemist and came to Tri-State eighteen months ago to be in charge of research and development. You have known Terry and Robin for years and finally signed on with Tri-State the last time Terry made the offer.
Although things were quite good in the beginning, product improvement and new product development have taken a back seat to other organizational considerations. You and your two assistants are left with little constructive work to do.
Although Terry hired you with the best of intentions, you are dissatisfied with the way things are going. You feel that if the company is going to pull out, it is going to have to spend some of its resources on product improvement. The national outfits are coming in with the latest in floor finishes, and if Tri-State cannot come up with something competitive in the same price range, it is going to lose this piece of the business regardless of economic conditions. You feel that Terry is going to have to either use you or lose you.



TRI-STATE ROLE INSTRUCTION SHEET VI

Sam Walker. You have been with Terry Kerr as head of production and shipping since the day the business started. Back in the old days, Terry and you made the stuff and packed it, Terry sold it, and you delivered it. Terry has always been good to you and has helped you out in times of real need.
Robin is a nice kid—you even used to change Robin’s diapers—but Robin will never be like Terry. You don’t like the fact that Robin and Dale spend so much time together; Robin should be supporting Terry, not teaming up with that slick sales manager.
You know, from what you have overheard, that Terry Kerr is worried about the business and that there is going to be a meeting to discuss the problem. You are not sure what you can contribute to this, but you are pleased that Terry asked you to sit in. You are sure that the president knows more about what is best for the business than any of the others. You are also very concerned about the faulty master valve in the number three tank and need Terry’s approval to replace it. The valve will cost about $350.

TRI-STATE CONSULTANT WORK SHEET

Instructions: You are to observe the role play and make notes on this form for later use. After the role play is terminated, you will work with the other members of your consulting trio to develop a unified diagnosis and proposal for the Tri-State situation.

Problem Area

1. Clarity of definition of the problem.

2. Causes of the problem.

3. Underlying issues.

4. Different views of the problem.

5. Unknown data needed to understand the problem.

6. How you see the problem.

Group Process

1. Effectiveness of communication.

2. Task effectiveness.

3. Openness.

4. Attention to group maintenance.

5. Decision-making pattern.

6. Group energy level

7. Needed interventions.

Intervention Strategy

1. Data gathering.

2. Proposed initial step.

3. Long-range goal.

TRI STATE A MULTIPLE ROLE PLAY