Preparing C&S Wholesale Grocers for Self-Managed Teams As an OD professional, helping Cohen determine whether self-managed teams are a good fit requires an organizational-level assessment to see if they are changing C&S operations Wholesale Grocers and personnel management can improve their effectiveness (Heskett, 2006). Using the open systems model, the first step is to evaluate organizational readiness; this will determine whether the environment, inputs, transformations and outputs are structured to accept self-management, the second assessment consists of 2) assessing preparedness at the individual level; particularly work design and organizational structure to support a team structure (Cummings & Worley, 2009). C&S Wholesaler Grocers had run an experiment with self-managing teams; the result was positive with an improvement in quality and productivity. The experiment provided two key benchmarks: 1) management was ready to consider a change in the way they do work and 2) employees were eager to be more involved in their work and take full responsibility of carrying out their work. Benchmarks indicate that the environment at C&S Wholesaler Grocers is ready to consider implementing self-managed teams to perform work in their warehouse. Designing Self-Managed Teams Designing self-managed teams starts with setting common goals, clear responsibilities, establishing a reward and compensation system to incentivize performance improvement, and ensuring the self-managed team has the support of the C&S Wholesale Grocers management team (How to build a self-managed team, 2009). Determining the autonomy and boundaries of a self-managing team has a considerable impact on the ability of teams to get work done and adapt tasks and responsibilities...... middle of paper ......295-321. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.Frankforter, S., & Christensen, S. (2005). Finding competitive advantage in self-managed work groups. Business Forum, 27(1), 20-24. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.Heskett, J. (2006). Are we ready for self-management? Retrieved from http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/5507.htmlHow do you build a self-managing team? (2009). American Laundry News, 35(9), 9. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.Kuipers, B., & Stoker, J. (2009). Development and performance of self-managed work groups: A theoretical and empirical examination. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 20(2), 399-419. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.Langfred, C. (2007). The downside of self-management: A longitudinal study of the effects of conflict on trust, autonomy, and task interdependence in self-managing teams. Journal of the Academy of Management, 50(4), 885-900. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.