ABSTRACT
AIM: This article is a report of a study that examines the relationship between team-level learning and performance in nursing teams, and the role of beliefs about the interpersonal context in this relationship. BACKGROUND: Over recent years, there has been an increasing interest in the learning processes of work teams. Researchers have investigated the impact of team learning on team performance, and the enabling conditions for this learning. However, team learning in nursing teams has been largely ignored. DESIGN: A cross-sectional field survey design was used. METHODS: The sample comprises a total of 468 healthcare professionals working in 89 nursing teams at different public hospitals throughout Spain. Members of nursing teams participated voluntarily by completing a confidential individual questionnaire. Team supervisors evaluated nursing teams' performance. Data were collected over 2007-2008. RESULTS: The results show a mediating effect of team learning on the relationship between beliefs about interpersonal context (psychological safety, perceived task interdependence, and group potency) and team performance. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that beliefs about interpersonal context and team learning are important to effective nursing team performance.
Subject(s)
Interpersonal Relations , Learning , Nursing Staff , Patient Care Team , Cross-Sectional Studies , SpainABSTRACT
This study tests whether the detrimental effects of strong diversity faultlines on team performance can be counteracted by combining 2 managerial strategies: task role crosscutting and superordinate goals. We conducted a 2 (crosscut vs. aligned roles) × 2 (superordinate vs. subgroup goals) experimental study. Seventy-two 4-person teams with faultlines stemming from gender and educational major performed a complex decision-making task. The results show that teams with crosscut roles perform better when they are assigned a superordinate goal than a subgroup goal, whereas teams with aligned roles are not affected by goal manipulations. This effect is mediated by elaboration of task-relevant information. Implications for theory and management of team faultlines are discussed.
Subject(s)
Cooperative Behavior , Decision Making/physiology , Goals , Group Processes , Role , Adult , Female , Humans , Male , Psychological Tests , Task Performance and Analysis , Young AdultABSTRACT
La coordinación en equipos de trabajo es un proceso que implica el uso de estrategias y patrones de comportamiento dirigidos a integraracciones, conocimientos y objetivos de miembros interdependientes, con el objetivo de alcanzar unas metas comunes. La coordinación garantiza que un equipo funcione como un todo unitario y es identificado como un proceso clave para entender la efectividad de los equipos de trabajo. Para explicar cómo se coordinan los equipos, la investigación se ha centrado tradicionalmente en la coordinación explícita, que incluye la planificación y la comunicación como mecanismos básicos. Trabajos recientes complementan nuestra comprensión del proceso con la noción de coordinación implícita, que tiene lugar cuando los miembros de un equipo anticipan acciones y necesidades tanto de sus compañeros como de la tarea que realizan, y adaptan su comportamiento dinámicamente sin necesidad de comunicarse entre sí o de planificar su actividad. El objetivo del presente artículo es revisar de manera integradora y sintética los principales estudios de coordinación en equipos que analizan dicho proceso desde perspectivas explícitas e implícitas. Para ello, atenderemos a distintos antecedentes y procesos de equipo concurrentes que modulan los efectos de la coordinación sobre la efectividad de los equipos. Adicionalmente, discutiremos las contribuciones que el estudio de la coordinación arroja sobre el desarrollo de métodos de evaluación e intervención en equipos, así como sus implicaciones prácticas para el ejercicio profesional (AU)
Team coordination is a process that involves the use of strategies and patterns of behavior aimed to integrate actions, knowledge and goals of interdependent members, in order to achieve common goals. Coordination ensures that a team functions as a unitary whole, and is identified as a key process to understand work team effectiveness. To explain how teams coordinate, research has traditionally focused on explicit coordination, including planning and communication as basic coordination mechanisms. Recent work complements our understanding of the process with the concept of implicit coordination that takes place when team members anticipate actions and needs of their peers and task requirements, and dynamically adapt their behavior without having to communicate with each other or to plan ahead. The objective of this paper is to review main studies on both explicit and implicit team coordination in an integrative and synthetic way. To do so, we examine the role of different antecedents and concurrent team processes that modulate the effects of coordination on team effectiveness. Additionally, we discuss the contributions of team coordination research to the development of assessment methods and interventions in work teams, as well as their practical implications for professional practice (AU)
Subject(s)
Humans , Task Performance and Analysis , Executive Function/classification , Group Processes , Intersectoral Collaboration , Comparative Effectiveness Research , Efficiency, Organizational , Structure of Services/organization & administrationABSTRACT
There has been increasing interest in team learning processes in recent years. Researchers have investigated the impact of team learning on team effectiveness and analyzed the enabling conditions for the process, but team learning in virtual teams has been largely ignored. This study examined the relationship between team learning and effectiveness in virtual teams, as well as the role of team beliefs about interpersonal context. Data from 48 teams performing a virtual consulting project over 4 weeks indicate a mediating effect of team learning on the relationship between beliefs about the interpersonal context (psychological safety, task interdependence) and team effectiveness (satisfaction, viability). These findings suggest the importance of team learning for developing effective virtual teams.
Subject(s)
Attitude , Cooperative Behavior , Group Processes , Group Structure , Interpersonal Relations , Learning , Problem Solving , Social Identification , User-Computer Interface , Adult , Feedback , Female , Goals , Humans , Male , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
There has been increasing interest in team learning processes in recent years. Researchers have investigated the impact of team learning on team effectiveness and analyzed the enabling conditions for the process, but team learning in virtual teams has been largely ignored. This study examined the relationship between team learning and effectiveness in virtual teams, as well as the role of team beliefs about interpersonal context. Data from 48 teams performing a virtual consulting project over 4 weeks indicate a mediating effect of team learning on the relationship between beliefs about the interpersonal context (psychological safety, task interdependence) and team effectiveness (satisfaction, viability). These findings suggest the importance of team learning for developing effective virtual teams (AU)
En los últimos años, se ha producido un creciente interés por los procesos de aprendizaje grupal en equipos de trabajo. Se ha investigado la influencia del aprendizaje de equipo en la efectividad grupal, así como las condiciones que facilitan dicho aprendizaje. Sin embargo, pocos trabajos han analizado los procesos de aprendizaje en equipos virtuales. Este estudio examina la relación entre aprendizaje de equipo y efectividad en equipos virtuales, así como el papel de las creencias compartidas sobre el contexto interpersonal en esta relación. 48 equipos desarrollaron un proyecto de consultoría de manera virtual durante cuatro semanas. Los resultados mostraron un efecto de mediación del aprendizaje de equipo en la relación entre las creencias sobre el contexto interpersonal (seguridad psicológica, interdependencia de tarea) y la efectividad grupal (satisfacción, viabilidad). Estos hallazgos sugieren la importancia del aprendizaje de equipo para desarrollar equipos virtuales efectivos (AU)
Subject(s)
Humans , Group Processes , Goals , Motivation , Learning , User-Computer Interface , Regression AnalysisABSTRACT
Este artículo tiene un doble objetivo. Primero, sintetizar e integrar los principales resultados de la investigación actual sobre equipos de trabajo; y segundo, ofrecer un conjunto de conclusiones y recomendaciones orientadas a la práctica profesional. Para ello, nos centramos inicialmente en los modelos explicativos de la eficacia de los equipos utilizando una aproximación (inputs, procesos, outputs), y posteriormente en los métodos para mejorar su eficacia
The aim of this article is two fold. First, we synthesize and integrate the main results of the current research on work teams. Secondly, we provide a set of conclusions and suggestions for practitioners. In doing so, we focus on the explanatory models of team effectiveness built on an input-process-output approach and suggest techniques for improving team effectiveness
Subject(s)
Humans , Group Processes , Group Structure , Organization and Administration , Efficacy , Social Identification , Group Practice , Efficiency, OrganizationalABSTRACT
El constructo sistema de memoria transactiva (SMT) es una de las aproximaciones teóricas más extendidas para comprender el papel de los mecanismos cognitivos a nivel grupal en la efectividad de los equipos de trabajo. Este estudio examinó las relaciones entre SMT, rendimiento, satisfacción y comunicación funcional en equipos de toma de decisiones. 40 equipos de cuatro personas realizaron una tarea que requería asesorar en el papel de equipos expertos a una compañía ficticia sobre cómo gestionar un problema con los empleados. Los resultados mostraron un efecto de mediación de los SMT en las relaciones entre comunicación funcional, rendimiento percibido y satisfacción. En contra de lo esperado, los SMT no se relacionaban con el rendimiento evaluado por observadores externos. Estos hallazgos sugieren la importancia de la comunicación grupal en la formación de los SMT, así como las implicaciones de éstos para la efectividad de los equipos de toma de decisiones
The transactive memory system (TMS) construct is one of the most extended theoretical approaches to understand the role of cognitive processes at group level in the effectiveness of work teams. This study examined the relationships among TMS, performance, satisfaction and functional communication in decision-making teams. 40 four-person teams were asked to suppose they were expert consulting teams advising a ficticious organization on how to solve a problem with their employees. Results showed a mediating effect of TMS on the relationships between functional communication, perceived team performance and satisfaction. Contrary to our expectations, TMSs were not related to performance as evaluated by external raters. These findings suggest the importance of team communication in the formation of TMSs, as well as their implications for the effectiveness of decision-making teams
Subject(s)
Humans , Group Processes , Memory , Decision Support Techniques , Employee Performance Appraisal , Achievement , Cognition , Mental Processes , Job Satisfaction , Interpersonal RelationsABSTRACT
The transactive memory system (TMS) construct is one of the most extended theoretical approaches to understand the role of cognitive processes at group level in the effectiveness of work teams. This study examined the relationships among TMS, performance, satisfaction and functional communication in decision-making teams. 40 four-person teams were asked to suppose they were expert consulting teams advising a fictitious organization on how to solve a problem with their employees. Results showed a mediating effect of TMS on the relationships between functional communication, perceived team performance and satisfaction. Contrary to our expectations, TMSs were not related to performance as evaluated by external raters. These findings suggest the importance of team communication in the formation of TMSs, as well as their implications for the effectiveness of decision-making teams.