Browsing by Subject "Teams in the workplace"
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Item Control in a teamwork environment: the impact of social ties on the effectiveness of mutual monitoring contracts(2002) Towry, Kristy Lynne; Kachelmeier, Steven J. (Steven John), 1958-Item Effects of human needs, group influence, and management style on change-related behavioral intentions in information systems(Texas Tech University, 1986-08) Mann, Gary JNot availableItem How leaders influence cohesive and productive teams in organizations(2003-05) Diaz Saenz, Hector Rene; Daly, John A. (John Augustine), 1952-Item Long-term information processing capacity in teams: the case for foundational memory(Texas Tech University, 2001-05) Esquivel, Ana M. C.It has been found that the limit for the information that individuals are capable to receive, process and retain in Short-Term Memory is seven plus or minus two (Miller, 1956). This limit has been used as the basis for the design of work systems for teams (tasks, procedures, size of teams, etc.) However, in reality work teams more likely perform work tasks that require the use of Long-Term Memory (Beruvides, 2000). Work systems are usually not designed to increase the ability of teams to process and handle information from Long-Term Memory. This creates the necessity of a new approach for teams to process the information that they require to effectively perform their work. This research tried to test the concept of Foundational Memory on teams by determining whether their capacity for processing information can be enhanced by the use of a theory formation methodology.Item Motivation and productivity in small, task-oriented groups(Texas Tech University, 1986-12) McDonald-Pierce, Linda GThe Worker Motivation Scale (WMS) was developed to assess the interactional styles of individuals in groups (Johnson, McDonald, & George, 1984). Three styles were identified. These were Team Motivation (TM), Prominence Motivation (PM), and Affiliation Motivation (AM). TM scores have been used successfully to predict helping behavior among group members. Members high in TM were more helpful than members low in TM. Group cohesion level and group norms have also been proposed as important helping behavior predictors. The present experiment was designed to examine the relationship among TM, cohesion, and norms for predicting helping behavior in small, task-oriented groups. Two students and one confederate participated in an interdependent task. The confederate, working slowly, created the situation in which help was needed. Students could increase group productivity by choosing to help the confederate, or choose not to help and continue to work on their own portion of the task. Results indicate, that regardless of TM or normatively prescribed behavior, students in highly cohesive groups were more helpful than students in groups low in cohesion [F(l, 76) = 3.74, p < .05, one tail]. These unexpected results were due to several factors. The designed task was too difficult. Only students extremely skilled at operating a calculator had the ability to improve the group's productivity. The selection procedure used created an artifactual negative correlation between TM and PM in the students chosen. Research has shown these scales to be independent. Choosing students in such a way as to produce the negative relationship between TM and PM negated the effect of TM. Finally, students assigned to the high TM, low cohesion condition were higher in AM than students in the other conditions. Theoretically, students high in AM are more affected by cohesiveness than are students moderate or low in AM. The effects of varying levels of TM, PM, and AM on group members' behavior is not fully understood. Future researchers will need to beware of possible differential effects. It is clear, however, that group cohesion is an important predictor of group effectiveness.Item Organizational transformation, effects on performance: a quasi-experimental field study(Texas Tech University, 1997-05) Farias, Gerard FrederickThis is a longitudinal research study of organizational transformation and its effects on organizational performance at ABC Company using a quasi-experimental design m a naturalistic field-setting. ABC is a multi-billion dollar, multi-international consumer products company whose corporate office and U.S. facilities are primarily in the Mid-Western part of the U.S.A. To maintain profitability and competitiveness in the fixture, organizational transformation efforts were initiated in all of the U.S. based manufacturing worksites of ABC Company. These change efforts focused on transforming the worksites from fairly traditional organizations to High Performance Learning Organizations (HPLO). Sites A and L, which are the focus of this research study, were the last two worksites of the division to design and implement a major organizational transformation. The HPLO design draws on Open Systems Theory which takes a holistic and integrated view of organizations and argues that the "interdependence" and "fit" among the organizational design features or action-levers are crucial for improved organizational effectiveness. Based on these HPLO design principles, a reduced organizational assessment model is developed and examined in this field study. The study utilizes a rare combination of several types of quantitative and qualitative data sources. The quantitative data consists of financial performance indicators, behavioral performance measures and employees' beliefs and perceptions about their quality of work life. The financial performance indicators include time-series data on labor productivity, product quality and capacity utilization. Behavioral performance measures include time-series data on employee turnover and employee safety. Most of the performance time series data is for 54 continuous months and involves time periods "before," "during" and "after" the change effort. The quality of work life indicators, are drawn from two matched employee surveys administered about thirteen months apart. The qualitative data consists of detailed design documents, access to key informants (internal and external) and employee interviews conducted at one of the worksites. The time-series data are graphed and analyzed utilizing a time-series regression procedure. The employee's quality of worklife measures are analyzed utilizing a matched pairwise t-test method. Twenty-one hypotheses, focusing on 'within" site organizational performance improvements over time (before, during and after) as well as differences "across" the two worksites, are tested. Except for improvements in product quality, twenty of the hypotheses were not supported. One of the major reasons for the lack of support of the hypotheses was high performance levels of both worksites prior to the change efforts. Seemingly, there was little room for improvement. These results are discussed and analyzed m great depth considering all the different types of data (both quantitative and qualitative) and possible reasons for these mixed results are suggested. The rich data set, the quasi-experimental research design, the naturalistic field setting, and the utilization of "experimental" and "comparison" sites makes this unique study an important contribution to the very limited empirical literature on organizational transformation, organizational design and organizational change. However, a within company" study of this kind raises the issue of generalizability of the results across other organizations. Future research potential arising from this study are identified and discussed.Item The effects of cohesion on organizational performance: a test of two models(Texas Tech University, 1992-05) Wong, LeonardNot availableItem Three essays on teams and synergy(2005) Autrey, Romana Louise; Newman, D. Paul.; Dikolli, Shane S.Item Total quality management and parenting styles: a test of the spillover model(Texas Tech University, 1997-12) Chisholm, Karrie A.Work and family are two of the primary components of adult life. The relationship among dimensions of work and family life are of increasing importance as more families are confronted with demands from both environments. As of 1993, 50% of all families in the U.S. were being maintained by two or more workers (Statistical Abstract of the United States, 1996), with the proportion of working families expected to increase. Such statistics indicate that the importance of examining work/family relationships is greater than ever before. Although researchers have examined work and family issues for several decades, much of the research focused on these domains independently. Research on work examined the relationship between job characteristics and worker outcomes. For example, Gecas and Seff (1989) found that complexity of work was positively related to self-evaluations. Other dimensions of the work environment, such as supervisors' consideration behaviors, task variety, and job stmcture, are positively related to work quality and satisfaction (Martin & Hanson, 1985; Gilmore, Beehr, & Richter, 1979). In tum, work characteristics such as routinization, low autonomy, close supervision, and low demand for complex work, were inversely related to self-esteem, personal control, and intellectual flexibility (Gecas & Seff, 1989; Mortimer & Borman, 1988; Kohn & Schooler, 1973).Item The transformation of the newsroom : the collaborative dynamics of journalists' work(2008-08) Schmitz Weiss, Amy Christine, 1976-; Sylvie, George; Tremayne, MarkThis study examines online news production through a cross-national comparative ethnography of two newsrooms: The Chicago Tribune in Chicago, Illinois and El Norte in Monterrey, Mexico. The researcher looks specifically at the extent of collaborative group work in the online newsroom. First, the researcher investigates the degree to which online newsrooms operate organizationally as collaborative groups when producing content for the website, as opposed to functioning individualistically when producing content for the website. The second facet examined is the cultural variability (Hofstede, 1980) of collaboration in the two online newsrooms, particularly whether the United States and Mexican online newsrooms support a collectivistic or individualistic and a high-context or low-context culture schema (Hofstede, 1980; Hall 1976). The last facet explored is how the collaborative behavior of the journalists in the two newsrooms supports or interferes with the practice of journalistic principles of verification and comprehensiveness and if this helps to make journalism better. This study found the El Norte newsroom has a collectivistic and high-context communication culture whereas The Chicago Tribune newsroom has an individualistic and low-context communication culture. Both newsrooms support the principles of verification and context in the news that is produced for the Website that helps to make the news accurate and comprehensive. It can be inferred, however, that the collectivistic, high-context communication culture is more supportive of a collaborative work environment that is conducive to making the journalists work together to help make the news accurate and comprehensive for the public. When the news is accurate and comprehensive, the public has better-informed citizens to make decisions in their daily lives as part of a democratic society. This study also has implications for the journalism and business industry as to the benefits of collaborative groupwork on the service or product outcome in an organization.