41
2.1.2 Establish a Team for Life Cycle Management Initiatives
LCM has to be part of an organization management processes in which it involves
the participation of different parts of the organization and also different actors in the
product chain when relevant. LCM initiative can be organized in a coordination
group or team. The responsibility within a coordination group should lie with a
team leader, who is responsible for ensuring that the group functions, meetings are
arranged, minutes are taken, etc. The members of the coordination group should be
selected so that all relevant departments or functions are represented, including top
management, product development, production, product distribution, sales, marketing, and purchasing.
One possible option could be establishing a cross-functional team. It is a team
made up of individuals from different departments within an organization. They
should be not only environmental expertise, but from different backgrounds with
different expertise. Cross-functional team for the implementation of LCM could
be composed of members from relevant departments such as product development, production and distribution, sustainability and environment, fi nance and
procurement, etc. Some team members may be engaged in full-time bases in
order to secure continuous improvement of the environmental performance until
the targets are achieved and they may return to their routine roles once the time
frame is over. Other members could act as an ad hoc team in order to implement
specifi c tasks, which could be, for example, a supplier evaluation scheme with
the involvement of people from purchasing, product development and marketing.
For small- or medium- sized (SMEs) organizations a single but permanent
cross-functional team might be the best solution, but it depends on the specifi c
structure and culture of the organization. Whether the cross-functional team last
long or short, its members should maintain a strong link to their major responsibilities in their main department as well as maintain good relations with their
managers. Although it is important to establish a cross-functional team in order
to successfully implement LCM into business practice, it faces some challenges
such as priority due to several responsibilities, lack of motivation due to additional tasks and others.
The establishment of a cross-functional team is a key to place LCM into
action. A number of factors are crucial to successful cross-functional teams
(McDonough III 2000 ). Setting clear and well-defined goals offer several
benefi ts to the team members. They provide a common frame of reference,
which at the end results in facilitating the team cooperation and organize the
tasks. Empowerment in cross- functional team is another success factor. Allowing
individual team members a decision-making responsibility help them to be more
committed to the project and strive to meet the target goals. It also increases
their satisfaction of being a part of the team members. Supports from senior
management, such as demonstrating team commitments, providing help to overcome challenges and encouraging team members can also have a direct effect on
the performance of the cross-functional team. Another key success factor is
creating cross-functional team of interested people (McDonough III 2000 ).
4 How to Implement Life Cycle Management in Business?
2.1.2 Establish a Team for Life Cycle Management Initiatives
LCM has to be part of an organization management processes in which it involves
the participation of different parts of the organization and also different actors in the
product chain when relevant. LCM initiative can be organized in a coordination
group or team. The responsibility within a coordination group should lie with a
team leader, who is responsible for ensuring that the group functions, meetings are
arranged, minutes are taken, etc. The members of the coordination group should be
selected so that all relevant departments or functions are represented, including top
management, product development, production, product distribution, sales, marketing, and purchasing.
One possible option could be establishing a cross-functional team. It is a team
made up of individuals from different departments within an organization. They
should be not only environmental expertise, but from different backgrounds with
different expertise. Cross-functional team for the implementation of LCM could
be composed of members from relevant departments such as product development, production and distribution, sustainability and environment, fi nance and
procurement, etc. Some team members may be engaged in full-time bases in
order to secure continuous improvement of the environmental performance until
the targets are achieved and they may return to their routine roles once the time
frame is over. Other members could act as an ad hoc team in order to implement
specifi c tasks, which could be, for example, a supplier evaluation scheme with
the involvement of people from purchasing, product development and marketing.
For small- or medium- sized (SMEs) organizations a single but permanent
cross-functional team might be the best solution, but it depends on the specifi c
structure and culture of the organization. Whether the cross-functional team last
long or short, its members should maintain a strong link to their major responsibilities in their main department as well as maintain good relations with their
managers. Although it is important to establish a cross-functional team in order
to successfully implement LCM into business practice, it faces some challenges
such as priority due to several responsibilities, lack of motivation due to additional tasks and others.
The establishment of a cross-functional team is a key to place LCM into
action. A number of factors are crucial to successful cross-functional teams
(McDonough III 2000 ). Setting clear and well-defined goals offer several
benefi ts to the team members. They provide a common frame of reference,
which at the end results in facilitating the team cooperation and organize the
tasks. Empowerment in cross- functional team is another success factor. Allowing
individual team members a decision-making responsibility help them to be more
committed to the project and strive to meet the target goals. It also increases
their satisfaction of being a part of the team members. Supports from senior
management, such as demonstrating team commitments, providing help to overcome challenges and encouraging team members can also have a direct effect on
the performance of the cross-functional team. Another key success factor is
creating cross-functional team of interested people (McDonough III 2000 ).
4 How to Implement Life Cycle Management in Business?