The Internship (Self-managing Teams)

Summary

Billy and Nick are salesmen whose careers have been torpedoed by the digital world. Trying to prove they are not obsolete, they defy the odds by talking their way into a coveted internship at Google, along with a battalion of brilliant college students. But, gaining entrance to this utopia is only half the battle. Now they must compete with a group of the nation's most elite, tech-savvy geniuses to prove that necessity really is the mother of re-invention.

(Source: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2234155/plotsummary)

Application of OB Concept: Self-managing Teams

To secure a job in Google, the interns are divided into groups and are assigned to accomplish certain tasks. They can perform the tasks anyway they want but they have to deliver results. One of the main tasks for their internship is to create an application that will generate the most number of downloads. Because there is no specific instructions as to how to come up with such application, Bill and Nick convinced their teammates to go out and party. Although this is not the conventional way of accomplishing a task, they were able to produce an app that prevents drunk people from reckless phone usage.

Reflection

Having self-managed teams in an organization provides employees a chance to be creative in doing their work. In the movie, Bill and Nick team were able to develop an app while drunk and they were like a natural work team when they discussed about the task. They were not forced to just sit on their desks and come up with something. Being given the autonomy on how to do your work is probably one of the best ways to develop one’s self in an organization. However, these teams should be responsible and accountable also for their actions.