Team reflexivity and innovation:the moderating role of team context

We developed and tested a team level contingency model of innovation, integrating theories regarding work demands, team reflexivity - the extent to which teams collectively reflect upon their working methods and functioning -, and team innovation. We argued that highly reflexive teams will be more innovative than teams low in reflexivity when facing a demanding work environment. The relationships between team reflexivity, a demanding work environment (i.e. quality of the physical work environment and work load) and team innovation was examined among 98 primary health care teams (PHCTs) in the UK, comprised of 1137 individuals. Results showed that team reflexivity is positively related to team innovation, and that there is an interaction between team reflexivity, team level workload, and team innovation, such that when team level workload is high, combined with a high level of team reflexivity, team innovation is also higher. The complementary interaction between team reflexivity, quality of physical work environment, and team innovation, showed that when the quality of the work environment is low, combined with a high level of team reflexivity, team innovation was also higher. These results are discussed in the context of the need for team reflexivity and team innovation among teams at work facing high work demands.

The effects of conflict in driving forward innovation in shared leadership management consultant teams

It is argued in this study that current investigations of the role of conflict in shared leadership teams and, thus, teams in which all members have the opportunity to participate in its decision-making process are insufficient as they have focused on the downsides of these conflicts. This study demonstrates that task conflict is beneficial in that it can have positive effects on innovation in teams. It shows that particularly in shared leadership management consultant teams task conflict can stimulate innovation. Therefore, this research investigates the relationships among shared leadership, conflict and innovation. The research develops and empirically tests a conceptual model which demonstrates the relationships between these concepts and for which the inclusion of multiple research methods was essential. The sequential explanatory approach included a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods, the order of which can be adapted for other domains of application. The conceptual model was first tested with a sample of 329 management consultants. This was followed by 25, in-depth, face-to-face interviews conducted with individual survey respondents. In addition, weekly meetings of a management consultant team in action were video recorded over several months. This allowed for an in-depth explanation of the findings from the survey by providing an understanding of the underlying processes. The inclusion of observational methods provided a validating role and explained how and why conflicts contributed to the development of team innovation, through the analysis of subtleties and fleeting disagreements in a real-life management consultant team. The results deliver an assessment of the theoretical model and demonstrate that task conflict can allow for additional innovation in management consultant teams operating under a shared leadership structure. A practical model and guidelines for management consultant teams wanting to enhance their innovatory capacities are provided. In addition, a novel-user methodology which includes video observations is developed, with recommendations and steps aiding researchers aiming to employ a similar combination of methods. An original contribution to knowledge is made regarding the positive effects that task conflict can have towards innovation in shared leadership teams. Collaboration and trust are identified as important mediators between shared leadership and task conflict and significant regarding the development of innovation. The effectiveness of shared leadership in reducing negative relationship conflict and the benefits of both shared leadership and task conflict in enhancing innovation are demonstrated.

Diversity and Inclusion As the Key to Innovating Talent Management in Law Firms?

In this chapter we argue that there is a need to reconceptualise what we mean by talent in the legal profession beyond a view that the most valuable people are those who have the highest fee-earning potential or the best CV packed with excellent grades and exceptional experiences and extra curricula achievements. And further we need a more sophisticated understanding of how organisational decision-making may be structured to provide developmental opportunities to allow talent to be nurtured and to flourish on individual and team levels. In turn, we suggest that planning, management and accountability cycles within legal entities need to be strengthened so as to ensure creativity and success in a context in which it is possible to deliver on the promise of fair access and promotion. Consequently, this chapter explores the diversity problem within the legal profession(s), further it interrogates what is “talent”, and how and why we should seek to manage and develop it. It then evaluates how talent diversity has been managed in the legal professional context, examined through what we have categorised as three waves of diversity strategies. We interrogate why diversity initiatives have not been more successful given the efforts placed on them by professional bodies and firms themselves. We posit that by using diversity as a case study in talent management legal entities may develop a more effective approach to talent management generally within law firms that will be of benefit to all lawyers and support professionals rather than just those who are from traditionally low participation groups.

The management of bone tools from the Bronze Age site of El Portalón of Cueva Mayor, Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos

In this paper we analyze the set of Bronze Age bone tools recovered at the archaeological site of El Portalón of Cueva Mayor in the Sierra de Atapuerca (Burgos). The Bronze Age cultural period is the best represented in the cavity and its study has forced us to unify the different excavation and stratigraphical criteria undertaken from the earliest archaeological excavations developed by J.M. Apellániz during the 70s until the excavations of the current research team (EIA) since 2000. We propose here for the first time a relationship between the initial system of “beds” used by Apellániz and our recent sedimentary sequence that recognizes eleven stratigraphic levels radiometrically dated from the late Upper Pleistocene to the Middle Age. Within the bone industry assemblage we recognize a large variety of utensils and ornamental elements, with native and allochthonous features, that make evident a regional as well as long distance relationships of these populations of the interior of the Iberian Peninsula during the recent Prehistory.

A cross-sectional evaluation of community pharmacists’ perceptions of intermediate care and medicines management across the healthcare interface

Background Despite the importance placed on the concept of the multidisciplinary team in relation to intermediate care (IC), little is known about community pharmacists’ (CPs) involvement. 
Objective To determine CPs’ awareness of and involvement with IC services, perceptions of the transfer of patients’ medication information between healthcare settings and views of the development of a CP–IC service. 
Setting Community pharmacies in Northern Ireland. 
Methods A postal questionnaire, informed by previous qualitative work was developed and piloted. 
Main outcome measure CPs’ awareness of and involvement with IC. Results The response rate was 35.3 % (190/539). Under half (47.4 %) of CPs ‘agreed/strongly agreed’ that they understood the term ‘intermediate care’. Three quarters of respondents were either not involved or unsure if they were involved with providing services to IC. A small minority (1.2 %) of CPs reported that they received communication regarding medication changes made in hospital or IC settings ‘all of the time’. Only 9.5 and 0.5 % of respondents ‘strongly agreed’ that communication from hospital and IC, respectively, was sufficiently detailed. In total, 155 (81.6 %) CPs indicated that they would like to have greater involvement with IC services. ‘Current workload’ was ranked as the most important barrier to service development.
Conclusion It was revealed that CPs had little awareness of, or involvement with, IC. Communication of information relating to patients’ medicines between settings was perceived as insufficient, especially between IC and community pharmacy settings. CPs demonstrated willingness to be involved with IC and services aimed at bridging the communication gap between healthcare settings.

The role of Lean at the interface with between operations management and applied services within a large aerospace organisation: a boundary spanning perspective

Increased complexity in large design and manufacturing organisations requires improvements at the operations management (OM)–applied service (AS) interface areas to improve project effectiveness. The aim of this paper is explore the role of Lean in improving the longitudinal efficiency of the OM–AS interface within a large aerospace organisation using Lean principles and boundary spanning theory. The methodology was an exploratory longitudinal case approach including exploratory interviews (n = 21), focus groups (n = 2), facilitated action-research workshops (n = 2) and two trials or experiments using longitudinal data involving both OM and AS personnel working at the interface. The findings draw upon Lean principles and boundary spanning theory to guide and interpret the findings. It was found that misinterpretation, and forced implementation, of OM-based Lean terminology and practice in the OM–AS interface space led to delays and misplaced resources. Rather both OM and AS staff were challenged to develop a cross boundary understanding of Lean-based boundary (knowledge) objects in interpreting OM requests. The longitudinal findings from the experiments showed that the development of Lean Performance measurements and lean Value Stream constructs was more successful when these Lean constructs were treated as boundary (knowledge) objects requiring transformation over time to orchestrate improved effectiveness and in leading to consistent terminology and understanding between the OM–AS boundary spanning team.

Team Member’s Centrality, Cohesion, Conflict, and Performance in Multi-University Geographically Distributed Project Teams

This study examined team processes and outcomes among 12 multi-university distributed project teams from 11 universities during its early and late development stages over a 14-month project period. A longitudinal model of team interaction is presented and tested at the individual level to consider the extent to which both formal and informal network connections—measured as degree centrality—relate to changes in team members’ individual perceptions of cohesion and conflict in their teams, and their individual performance as a team member over time. The study showed a negative network centrality-cohesion relationship with significant temporal patterns, indicating that as team members perceive less degree centrality in distributed project teams, they report more team cohesion during the last four months of the project. We also found that changes in team cohesion from the first three months (i.e., early development stage) to the last four months (i.e., late development stage) of the project relate positively to changes in team member performance. Although degree centrality did not relate significantly to changes in team conflict over time, a strong inverse relationship was found between changes in team conflict and cohesion, suggesting that team conflict emphasizes a different but related aspect of how individuals view their experience with the team process. Changes in team conflict, however, did not relate to changes in team member performance. Ultimately, we showed that individuals, who are less central in the network and report higher levels of team cohesion, performed better in distributed teams over time.

Document Management System: Strategic Plan, 1996

This Strategic Plan provides the Iowa Department of Transportation with guidelines for defining the acquisition and implementation of a document management system to automate current manual methods of document handling and distribution. In preparation for the production of the Strategic Plan, the USI Team conducted a series of user interviews at the DOT Ames and East Central Iowa Transportation Region facilities, and reviewed various documents relating to day-to-day operations.

Skapandet av ett webbaserat ärendehanteringssystem för affärssystemet Pyramid med Scrum : Creation of a web based case management system for the business system Pyramid with Scrum

The business system known as Pyramid does today not provide its user with a reasonable system regarding case management for support issues. The current system in place requires the customer to contact its provider via telephone to register new cases. In addition to this, current system doesn’t include any way for the user to view any of their current cases without contacting the provider.A solution to this issue is to migrate the current case management system from a telephone contact to a web based platform, where customers could easier access their current cases, but also directly through the website create new cases. This new system would reduce the time required to manually manage each individual case, for both customer and provider, resulting in an overall reduction in cost for both parties.The result is a system divided into two different sections, the first one is an API created in Pyramid that acts as a web service, and the second one a website which customers can connect to. The website will allow users to overview their current cases, but also the option to create new cases directly through the site. All the information used to the website is obtained through the web service inside Pyramid. Analyzing the final design of the system, the developers where able to conclude both positive and negative aspects of the systems’ final design. If the platform chosen was the optimal choice or not, and also what can be include if the system is further developed, will be discussed.The development process and the method used during development will also be analyzed and discussed, what positive and negative aspects that where encountered. In addition to this the cause and effect of a development team smaller than the suggested size will also be analyzed. Lastly an analysis of actions that could’ve been made in order to prevent certain issues from occurring will.

Adapting to a team of host culture domination: Experiences of Finnish and British expatriates

International teams are permanent features of the global market, and multinational companies cannot ignore them. This thesis discusses an individual’s adaptation to a team of host culture domination by looking at the experiences of Finnish and British expatriates. The research question is: How does a foreigner adapt to a Finnish-British team where all the other members are from the local culture? The theoretical framework of this thesis consists of theories on multicultural teamwork and Finnish and British cultures. Based on theories, the impact of diversity on teamwork and whether it improves or deteriorates a team’s performance is unclear but the idea of multicultural teams is not just to live with cultural differences but to use and benefit of them. The main differences between Finnish and British cultures are in management styles and level of hierarchy. Still, these two cultures seem to be very similar. This is a qualitative study and expert interviews were used as a method for data collection. The results of the empirical research showed that Finns and Brits have differences in decision-making, level of hierarchy and communication. None of the informants saw the challenges that they have faced to result from being the only representative of a foreign culture – they only perceived them resulting from the characteristics of the host culture. In addition, all the informants had to change their habits and behaviour in the host culture in order to fit into the new culture and to become a part of the team. However, all the informants saw advantages in cross-cultural teams. Based on this thesis, team members from the host culture do not value cultural differences and they seem to be an issue only for the team member from the minority culture. It seems that a Finn or a Brit adapts to a Finnish-British team where the host culture dominates by changing their own behaviour in order to become a part of the team – even though people often see their own culture’s methods and habits as the right ones. Finnish and British cultures seem to be similar in fundamental issues like views and attitudes, which could mean that it is fairly easy for a Finn to get used to working in a British team and vice versa. Even though there are many challenges in cross-cultural and bi-cultural teams, there are even more advantages.

A Multi-Agent Simulation of Retail Management Practices

We apply Agent-Based Modeling and Simulation (ABMS) to investigate a set of problems in a retail context. Specifically, we are working to understand the relationship between human resource management practices and retail productivity. Despite the fact we are working within a relatively novel and complex domain, it is clear that intelligent agents do offer potential for developing organizational capabilities in the future. Our multi-disciplinary research team has worked with a UK department store to collect data and capture perceptions about operations from actors within departments. Based on this case study work, we have built a simulator that we present in this paper. We then use the simulator to gather empirical evidence regarding two specific management practices: empowerment and employee development.

WorldFish Center report on the opportunities and constraints to improved fisheries exploitation and management in the Maringa – Lopori – Wamba landscape

The WorldFish Center was contracted by Africa Wildlife Foundation to conduct a preliminary survey of the role of fisheries in livelihoods, and opportunities and constraints to improved fisheries exploitation and management, in the Maringa-Lopori-Wamba Landscape. In May 2007, a three person WorldFish Center team, supported by AWF staff, visited the landscape to explore how the fishery operates to meet local needs and identify scope for interventions that might improve fisheries livelihood opportunities without undermining its sustainability. It is clear that although fishing is important for both income and subsistence in the areas visited, profits are nonetheless modest and somewhat unpredictable. Moreover, fisherfolk should not be considered a homogeneous group: there are different sub-groups, using different gears and skills, involving women and men in both fishing and post-harvest activities, groups who are more or less dependent on farming, and who fish, on balance, more either for cash or subsistence needs. Thus the findings here need to be set within this context of different sub-groups, fishing for generally very modest remuneration, with the latter subject to considerable variability and uncertainty.

Multi-Agent Simulation and Management Practices

Intelligent agents offer a new and exciting way of understanding the world of work. Agent-Based Simulation (ABS), one way of using intelligent agents, carries great potential for progressing our understanding of management practices and how they link to retail performance. We have developed simulation models based on research by a multi-disciplinary team of economists, work psychologists and computer scientists. We will discuss our experiences of implementing these concepts working with a well-known retail department store. There is no doubt that management practices are linked to the performance of an organisation (Reynolds et al., 2005; Wall & Wood, 2005). Best practices have been developed, but when it comes down to the actual application of these guidelines considerable ambiguity remains regarding their effectiveness within particular contexts (Siebers et al., forthcoming a). Most Operational Research (OR) methods can only be used as analysis tools once management practices have been implemented. Often they are not very useful for giving answers to speculative ‘what-if’ questions, particularly when one is interested in the development of the system over time rather than just the state of the system at a certain point in time. Simulation can be used to analyse the operation of dynamic and stochastic systems. ABS is particularly useful when complex interactions between system entities exist, such as autonomous decision making or negotiation. In an ABS model the researcher explicitly describes the decision process of simulated actors at the micro level. Structures emerge at the macro level as a result of the actions of the agents and their interactions with other agents and the environment. We will show how ABS experiments can deal with testing and optimising management practices such as training, empowerment or teamwork. Hence, questions such as “will staff setting their own break times improve performance?” can be investigated.

Investigating the role of fan club membership on perceptions of team brand equity in football

Researchers have suggested that brand equity is vital for professional sport teams by focusing on the examination of sport fans in general. The current study aims to examine the differences in team brand equity perceptions between fan club members and nonmembers, and the predictive role of brand equity dimensions on behavioral intentions. Data were collected from fans of a professional football league (n = 2287) with an adapted version of the spectator-based brand equity scale. The results gathered through a confirmatory factor analysis provide evidence of fair psychometric properties of the measurement scale. A multi-group CFA analysis showed factorial stability of the model in both groups, while the latent mean comparisons revealed significant differences in the dimensions of brand mark, social interaction, commitment, team history, organizational attributes, team success, head coach, management, stadium, and internalization. In addition, a multi-group SEM analysis revealed that the relationships between brand equity dimensions and behavioral intentions are not significantly different among the groups. Social interaction, team success and internalization were the significant positive predictors of behavioral intentions among the overall sample. These findings highlight the importance of studying different types of consumers and suggest managerial implications, such as the need for clubs to establish reciprocal relationships with fans in order to increase their levels of internalization and contribute to increased behavioral intentions.

Radiological treatment of HCC: Interventional radiology at the heart of management

International audience