Teamwork, Theories, Design & Dynamics
Lecture 1
Articles:
● Courtright, S. H., Thurgood, G. R., Stewart, G. L., & Pierotti, A. J. (2015).Structural
interdependence in teams: An integrative framework and meta-analysis. Journal of Applied
Psychology, 100(6), 1825.
● Hackman, J. R. (2002). Why teams don’t work. In Theory and research on small groups (pp. 245-
267). Springer, Boston, MA.
● Ilgen, D.R., Hollenbeck, J. R., Johnson, m., & Jundt, D. (2005). Teams in organizations: From
input-process-output models to IMOI models. Annual Review of Psychology, 517-543.
Part I: What are work teams?
Work teams = Interdependent collections of individuals who share responsibility for specific outcomes
for their organization.
Teams are popular because teams offer the potential for synergy, that wonderful state when a group
‘clicks’ and members achieve something together that no one of them could possibly have accomplished
alone (Hackman).
So teams are popular because (RDF):
● Teams bring more resources: resources can be different things such expertises, manpower,
experience etc
● Diversity in background and expertise
● Flexibility, keep the work going: teamwork allows for flexibility, one person can do the project
but multiple people allows more time to work on the project. No one is available 100% of the
time.
Courtright et al. Article
Interdependence = The depends of two or more people or things on each other.
Interdependence is not unique to teams, it is everywhere.
Business dependency model hoef
je niet te leren voor het examen.
Interdependence is a defining feature of the team but it can be low or high. Features of the team can be the
task and required output that define interconnectedness of team members.
,In the literature there are 3 different types of interdependence (PRS, klinkt als press van pressure):
- Pooled: both do your part and in the end you merge the project. Is a form of low interdependence
- Sequential: first person writes something and the other person continues the project when the
other is finished, etc. This is a medium form of interdependence.
- Reciprocal: People constantly work together, the people are coordinating together to create a
product. High interdependence.
With low interdependence redundancy takes place, one person can easily drop out of the project without
it affecting the end goal too much.
2 different types interdependence:
- Task interdependence: Degree of interdependence, are people dependent on each other's
output?
- Outcome interdependence: Degree to which goals are formulated and outcomes are rewarded in
terms of collective rather than individual contributions. Think of Redbull with F1 or soccer teams.
Hackman article
Main take: Hackman was very critical of teams. He says there is no synergy. It would be better if
individual people just do their part. It doesn’t mean teams don’t work. The implication of this article is
just that you have to work hard to make teams work as teamwork doesn’t necessarily mean success.
A concert is a form of perfect synergy.
How can teams be effective in terms of TASK:
- Do not use a team for work that is better done by individuals
, - Some projects turn out better when performed by one talented individual on behalf of a group
than by the group as a whole working in lockstep. Make interdependence very low.
How can teams be effective in terms of STRUCTURE:
- To reap the benefits of teamwork one must actually build the team.
- Set boundaries, define relationships, divide tasks, form relationships with stakeholders, etc.
How can teams be effective in terms of LEADERSHIP AND SUPPORT:
- Leaders need to give direction to avoid ambiguity.
- The organizational context needs to provide support that is specifically tuned to the needs of work
teams.
- It is important to reward collective outcomes.
Science article, not an official article
You can have too many good players in your team. At a certain point more is less, this because the inter
team coordination goes down as soon as you have more top talent. In baseball for example it doesn’t
matter how many top talents there are as the interdependence is very low.
IMO model Ilgen et al. Article
Input
Mediation: explains why input has impact on the output
Output: output allows for feedback on the input.
Input factors (CoTeT):
- Team design:
- Composition (who is in the team, size, stability)
- Interdependence
- Leadership and authority
- Task Factors (complexity, requirements)
- Context (culture, resources)
