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Work Teams (work + team)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Business, Economics, Finance and Accounting	65%

Selected Abstracts

PATTERNS OF INTERDEPENDENCE IN WORK TEAMS: A TWO-LEVEL INVESTIGATION OF THE RELATIONS WITH JOB AND TEAM SATISFACTION

PERSONNEL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 1 2001
GERBEN S. VAN DER VEGT
A questionnaire study in 17 school and 24 engineering teams examined affective reactions to task and goal interdependence at the group and individual level of analysis. Group-level task interdependence was positively related to group members' job and team satisfaction. Within-group differences in the degree of task interdependence were unrelated to affective responses. Interactions revealed that within-group task interdependence is positively related to both job and team satisfaction only if the degree of goal interdependence in the work team is high. [source]

Innovation and Conflict Management in Work Teams: The Effects of Team Identification and Task and Relationship Conflict

NEGOTIATION AND CONFLICT MANAGEMENT RESEARCH, Issue 1 2010
Helena Syna Desivilya
Abstract The current study attempted to elucidate the mechanisms whereby constructive-cooperative conflict management (integrating) fosters innovation in work teams. The proposed conceptual model postulated that the positive function of integrating in precipitating innovation is motivated by prosocial team atmosphere as manifested in team identity, the team's capacity to mitigate the adverse impact of relationship conflict and its capability to maximize the potential gains of task conflict. Specifically, it was hypothesized: (a) integrating would predict innovation. (b) Team identity would be positively related to integrating, and that integrating would mediate the positive relationship between team identity and team innovation. (c) Task conflict would be positively related to integrating whereas relationship conflict would be negatively related to integrating. This research embraced a team-level perspective and analysis. Seventy-seven intact work teams from high-technology companies participated in the study. The findings, by and large, supported the proposed conceptual model, especially the contention that teams' proclivities with respect to conflict management play a pivotal role in their capacity to function in an innovative manner. A team's integrating pattern meaningfully predicted team innovation. The mediating effect of the integrating strategy on the relationship between team identity and team innovation was also demonstrated. Finally, relationship conflict was negatively associated with a team's integrating pattern, while the positive association of task conflict with the cooperative strategy was marginally significant. [source]

Fireblight in Békés County (Hungary) in 1996/20021

EPPO BULLETIN, Issue 3 2004
M. Zsolt
Fireblight (Erwinia amylovora) appeared in Hungary in 1996. Most damage occurred on apple, pear, quince and medlar, and also on the ornamentals Pyracantha, Sorbus, Cotoneaster and Crataegus. In 1996,2006, an official programme for elimination of infected parts of plants started in Békés county. This mainly concerned trees in towns and villages, since there are few pome-fruit orchards in the county. Work teams under official direction pruned back or cut down trees. In total, some 13 000 trees were pruned back and nearly 11 000 were cut down. In addition, 21 villages were subjected to special phytosanitary measures. Infection decreased considerably between 1996 and 2002, but over 90% of the inhabited areas in the county remained subject to special measures, because of the very dispersed occurrence of fireblight. [source]

The Use of Person,Group Fit for Employment Selection: A Missing Link in Person,Environment Fit

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, Issue 3 2001
James D. Werbel
Given an increased emphasis on work teams in organizations, it is important to select applicants based on their ability to make contributions to a given work team. This paper proposes that person,group fit should be useful to select applicants for work teams and suggests that effective use of person,group fit will create both more cohesive work units and more effectively functioning work units. It proposes ways to make valid and reliable assessments of person,group fit that could be used to minimize bias in the selection process. Finally, it addresses several implications of using the person,group fit paradigm for human resource management practice. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. [source]

PATTERNS OF INTERDEPENDENCE IN WORK TEAMS: A TWO-LEVEL INVESTIGATION OF THE RELATIONS WITH JOB AND TEAM SATISFACTION

Absent and Accounted For: Absenteeism and Cooperative Learning,

DECISION SCIENCES JOURNAL OF INNOVATIVE EDUCATION, Issue 1 2006
G. D. Koppenhaver
ABSTRACT In a small section collaborative learning environment where student work teams promote mutual learning about investments, students limit the opportunity to learn from other students if they are absent from class. Absenteeism not only denies the student the opportunity to learn from others but also denies other members of the student's work team the opportunity to learn from the absent student. Other team members' absenteeism should be costly for individual performance if collaborative learning fosters learning and retention. The research finds that while absenteeism is detrimental to the student's own performance, absenteeism of other team members from team activities has a significant negative effect on both individual exam and homework scores. The conclusions validate the benefits of active learning and of encouraging attendance in collaborative learning environments in all disciplines. [source]

How Cadforce makes quality part of the bottom line for its distributed work teams

GLOBAL BUSINESS AND ORGANIZATIONAL EXCELLENCE, Issue 2 2009
Cliff Moser
When state-of-the-art technology and explicit work processes could not assure the quality of its deliverables, a drafting outsourcing firm turned to other tools to bridge critical learning and communication gaps between project teams on opposite sides of the world, as well as making the client part of the quality equation. Cadforce eliminated a layer of onshore project management and clarified accountabilities for quality; made training a core part of the project work flow; and synchronized onshore and offshore work cycles through a results-oriented work environment that incorporates new media, supplemented with a "human touch," to enhance collaboration and expedite communication between teams. Cadforce also involved clients in trade-off decisions by making the cost of quality an explicit part of its pricing strategy. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source]

Healthcare in a land called PeoplePower: nothing about me without me

HEALTH EXPECTATIONS, Issue 3 2001
Tom Delbanco MD
In a 5-day retreat at a Salzburg Seminar attended by 64 individuals from 29 countries, teams of health professionals, patient advocates, artists, reporters and social scientists adopted the guiding principle of ,nothing about me without me' and created the country of PeoplePower. Designed to shift health care from ,biomedicine' to ,infomedicine', patients and health workers throughout PeoplePower join in informed, shared decision-making and governance. Drawing, where possible, on computer-based guidance and communication technologies, patients and clinicians contribute actively to the patient record, transcripts of clinical encounters are shared, and patient education occurs primarily in the home, school and community-based organizations. Patients and clinicians jointly develop individual ,quality contracts', serving as building blocks for quality measurement and improvement systems that aggregate data, while reflecting unique attributes of individual patients and clinicians. Patients donate process and outcome data to national data banks that fuel epidemiological research and evidence-based improvement systems. In PeoplePower hospitals, constant patient and employee feedback informs quality improvement work teams of patients and health professionals. Volunteers work actively in all units, patient rooms are information centres that transform their shape and decor as needs and individual preferences dictate, and arts and humanities programmes nourish the spirit. In the community, from the earliest school days the citizenry works with health professionals to adopt responsible health behaviours. Communities join in selecting and educating health professionals and barter systems improve access to care. Finally, lay individuals partner with professionals on all local, regional and national governmental and private health agencies. [source]

The Use of Person,Group Fit for Employment Selection: A Missing Link in Person,Environment Fit

U.S. High-Performance Work Practices at Century's End

INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS, Issue 4 2006
JOSEPH R. BLASI
This study examines the incidence, industry differences, and economic environment of work practices in the United States in 1994 and 1997 using census data from a nationally representative random sample of establishments. Self-managed work teams were used by a majority of workers in some sites. Work-related meetings had higher incidence. A high-performance work organization is used in about 1 percent of establishments. There were significant industry differences associated with globalization, namely, imports and exports. [source]

ORGANIZATIONAL AND OCCUPATIONAL COMMITMENT: KNOWLEDGE WORKERS IN LARGE CORPORATIONS*

JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES, Issue 6 2002
TAM YEUK-MUI MAY
Previous discussion of knowledge work and workers tends to overlook the importance of contextual knowledge in shaping the organizational form of knowledge workers who are employees in large corporations. This paper proposes a model to understand the way knowledge base and organizational form are related to the work commitment, effort and job satisfaction of knowledge workers. The model is derived from (1) a critical examination of the market model of knowledge work organization, and (2) the results of empirical research conducted in two large corporations. We argue that contextual knowledge is important in the relationships between the corporation and knowledge workers. A dualistic model and an enclave organizational form are suggested to examine the relationships between the commitment, work effort and job satisfaction of knowledge workers. We noted from our empirical cases that enclave-like work teams enhanced the expertise and job autonomy of knowledge workers vis-à-vis management. These work teams together with the performance-based pay system, however, led to unmet job expectations including limited employee influence over decision-making and careers, and communication gaps with senior management. Under these circumstances, and in contrast to the impact of occupational commitment, organizational commitment did not contribute to work effort. The study highlights the importance of management's strategy in shaping the organizational form of knowledge work. The paper concludes by noting general implications of our study for the management of expertise and for further research. [source]

Team conflict management and team effectiveness: the effects of task interdependence and team identification

JOURNAL OF ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR, Issue 3 2009
Anit Somech
The present study explores the dynamics of conflict management as a team phenomenon. The study examines how the input variable of task structure (task interdependence) is related to team conflict management style (cooperative versus competitive) and to team performance, and how team identity moderates these relationships. Seventy-seven intact work teams from high-technology companies participated in the study. Results revealed that at high levels of team identity, task interdependence was positively associated with the cooperative style of conflict management, which in turn fostered team performance. Although a negative association was found between competitive style and team performance, this style of team conflict management did not mediate between the interactive effect of task interdependence and team identity on team performance. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

Transition to self-directed work teams: implications of transition time and self-monitoring for managers' use of influence tactics

JOURNAL OF ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR, Issue 1 2004
Ceasar Douglas
In the face of heightened competitive pressures, elevated quality expectations, and calls for worker empowerment, more and more organizations have turned to self-directed work teams (SDWTs). A review of the literature devoted to SDWTs suggests that managers often struggle with the transition to SDWTs because of the required shift in control to SDWT members. To promote the development of work teams, managers must modify their use of influence tactics in direct response to the control shift. In this study, we explore changes in managers' usage of influence tactics during the transition to SDWTs within a large aluminum manufacturing plant. Analyses of longitudinal data show that despite the new team environment, managers' use of influence tactics was focused at the individual level. We also found that transition time accounts for variance in managers' choices of influence tactics. Finally, an exploratory analysis suggests that high as opposed to low self-monitoring managers may be more prone to increase their usage of soft influence tactics and decrease their usage of hard influence tactics over the course of the transition; the influence behavior of low self-monitoring managers remained unchanged. Implications for future research are discussed. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

An analysis of trust among globally distributed work teams in an organizational setting

KNOWLEDGE AND PROCESS MANAGEMENT: THE JOURNAL OF CORPORATE TRANSFORMATION, Issue 3 2007
Sue Newell
Regardless of whether a project team is located in the same workplace or distributed around the world, trust remains an important element deemed necessary to facilitate knowledge sharing and collaborative work. At the same time, distribution across sites presents challenges to trust building that are not present among co-located teams. A further complicating factor in trust building among distributed teams is national culture. As we demonstrate, the impact of nationality can be increased when organizations put the distributed sites in a competitive frame. Using the Newell and Swan threefold typology of trust, this paper analyzes trust among IT work teams whose members are located at sites that are distributed in the United States, Ireland, and India. Our case analysis confirms the problematic nature of trust building among globally distributed teams. Specifically, we found that due to situational factors and socio-psychological dynamics an ,Us versus Them' attitude prevails among the distributed sites. This paper concludes that the traditional approaches used by organizations to address the challenges of global collaboration are insufficient and that trust building in an organizational setting requires project managers to actively work on relationship management to minimize the impact of an inter-group perspective. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

Analysis of algorithms for two-stage flowshops with multi-processor task flexibility

NAVAL RESEARCH LOGISTICS: AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL, Issue 1 2004
George L. Vairaktarakis
Abstract In this article we introduce a 2-machine flowshop with processing flexibility. Two processing modes are available for each task: namely, processing by the designated processor, and processing simultaneously by both processors. The objective studied is makespan minimization. This production environment is encountered in repetitive manufacturing shops equipped with processors that have the flexibility to execute orders either individually or in coordination. In the latter case, the product designer exploits processing synergies between two processors so as to execute a particular task much faster than a dedicated processor. This type of flowshop environment is also encountered in labor-intensive assembly lines where products moving downstream can be processed either in the designated assembly stations or by pulling together the work teams of adjacent stations. This scheduling problem requires determining the mode of operation of each task, and the subsequent scheduling that preserves the flowshop constraints. We show that the problem is ordinary NP-complete and obtain an optimal solution using a dynamic programming algorithm with considerable computational requirements for medium and large problems. Then, we present a number of dynamic programming relaxations and analyze their worst-case error performance. Finally, we present a polynomial time heuristic with worst-case error performance comparable to that of the dynamic programming relaxations. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2004. [source]

Innovation and Conflict Management in Work Teams: The Effects of Team Identification and Task and Relationship Conflict

ASSESSING THE INCREMENTAL VALIDITY OF TEAM CONSENSUS RATINGS OVER AGGREGATION OF INDIVIDUAL-LEVEL DATA IN PREDICTING TEAM EFFECTIVENESS

PERSONNEL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 3 2001
BRADLEY L. KIRKMAN
Using data collected from 98 work teams, empowerment levels were assessed based on the aggregation of individual team member ratings as well as on a team consensus approach utilized after aggregation. These 2 methods of measuring team empowerment were then compared on their ability to predict manager ratings of team effectiveness on 4 dimensions. Findings demonstrated that the consensus method of measuring team empowerment explained significantly greater variance in team effectiveness than did the aggregation method alone. We discuss implications for team research and practice based on these findings and include a discussion on when using consensus after aggregation may be most appropriate. [source]

Parental substance misuse and child care social work: research in a city social work department in England

CHILD ABUSE REVIEW, Issue 1 2004
Carol Hayden
Abstract This research set out to establish evidence about the scale and impact of and response to parental substance misuse in child care social work teams in a city social services department in England. The article draws on some aspects of the data collected in the research, which includes: a snapshot survey of all child care social work caseloads in the city; group interviews with practitioners and parents in recovery; individual interviews with parents using a pilot project that focused on parental substance misuse. The research provides evidence of parental substance misuse as a key factor that needs greater consideration within child care social work assessments and as an issue to target in developing preventative responses to child welfare concerns. Child care social workers are shown to need specialist support in undertaking this task to best effect. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]