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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to bridge the gap between physical and metaphysical entities in the context of product/system design. The paper talks about the grey area of human psychology and presents a theoretical framework for the identification and selection of psychological attributes for designers.Design/methodology/approach On the basis of a literature review, this paper identifies various psychological attributes affecting the performance of designers in a team environment and then analyses the same.Findings The paper talks about a new shift in engineering design and designs for maintainability of mechanical systems.Practical implications A procedure based on the analytic hierarchy process method is applied. The developed procedure is useful in the assessment and selection of coveted psychological attributes for personnel in general and for designers in particular.Originality/value The paper highlights the immense role of psychology in engineering design, especially in the design for maintainability of mechanical systems. The paper will be useful to researchers, designers, maintenance personnel and professionals from the domain of engineering design, irrespective of their field of application. This paper is equally useful for human resource and management professionals/researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the principles of high reliability organisations (HROs), present in safety and crisis teams, as applied to innovation teams. Safety and crisis teams cannot fail, as failure leads to disaster and casualties. Innovation teams cannot fail either, as this harms the organisations’ competitiveness and effectiveness. Do HRO principles, rooted in mindful infrastructure, enable innovation resilience behaviour (IRB)?Design/methodology/approach A study of 18 innovation projects performed by project teams was carried out. A survey by team members/leaders of these teams was completed; team members/leaders of other projects were added to achieve a larger sample. Mindful infrastructure consists of team psychological safety, team learning, complexity leadership and team voice. The analyses assessed the teams’ mindful infrastructures as a causal condition enabling IRB.Findings Applying qualitative comparative analysis (QCA), the findings indicate that mindful infrastructure enables team IRB, which is a set of team behaviours indicating their resilience when encountering critical incidents. Teams apply different “paths” to IRB.Research limitations/implications The exploratory study’s generalizability is limited. The findings nonetheless indicate the usefulness of non-linear techniques for understanding different roads to successful innovation processes.Practical implications HRO principles are applicable by non-HROs. These require investments in organisational learning.Originality/value HRO studies fail to account for the antecedents of HRO principles. This study groups these antecedents of team behaviour into a mindful infrastructure. QCA has not been applied within the domain of HROs before and only scarcely within the domain of innovation teams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate independent school Boards as teams using a social cognitive perspective. Specifically, the study investigated Board processes and the nature of relationships between Board member self-efficacy, Board collective efficacy and performance of independent school Boards in New South Wales, Australia. Design/methodology/approach – A multiple case study design that used qualitative research methods was employed. An expert steering group provided advice on the categorization of governance structures. A stratified purposeful sample of eight independent school Boards within the Sydney metropolitan area, New South Wales Australia participated. Data were collected from individual, semi-structured, face-to-face interviews with the Head of school, Board Chair and two Board members from each school. The interviews were digitally recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data were analyzed using qualitative data analysis procedures suggested in the literature. Findings – The findings provide evidence that for independent school Board members in this study, self-efficacy and collective efficacy beliefs were related to perceptions of Board performance. Board member self-efficacy and Board collective efficacy appeared to be linked. Self-efficacy beliefs were primarily based on mastery experiences. Collective efficacy (at the individual level) primarily was based on members’ perceptions of Board past performance. Originality/value – This paper provides insight into individual Board member beliefs likely to shape processes associated with independent school Board performance in New South Wales, Australia. The study is one of only a few that have adopted an empirical and descriptive approach, rather than only providing normative direction and imperatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – MBIT is a manualised mentalization-based approach to working with hard to reach young people at risk of a wide range of life adversities including severe mental illness, substance misuse, family breakdown, school exclusion, offending and homelessness. The on-line manual (www.tiddlymanuals.com) describes how Adolescent Mentalization-Based Integrative Therapy (AMBIT) is a systemic intervention requiring attention to four different domains of intervention simultaneously; much emphasis is placed on the support systems for workers to maintain this balance in what are often chaotic working conditions. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate how these four main components of the AMBIT approach link together in actual clinical practice. Design/methodology/approach – The authors illustrate the core techniques of the AMBIT approach, namely, “working with your client”, “working with your team”, “ working with your network” and “learning as a team” with a series of case vignettes, demonstrating the inter-relationship of these components rather than seeing them as separate strands. Findings – A range of mentalization-based techniques such as “thinking together”, mentalized formulation, “disintegration grids” and web-based manualising are described and illustrated in relation to a series of case vignettes in order to address barriers to effective practice. The vignettes emphasise how these components must be linked together and held in balance, and how easily they become disconnected in working with young people’s ambivalent or even hostile relationships to help. Practical implications – First, developing a shared, mentalized formulation of a young person’s difficulties is an important aspect of working with highly troubled young people. Second, mentalizing is a relational process and is easily disrupted, for both workers and young people, by raised anxiety and affect, a common feature of working with this client group. AMBIT provides specific methods, for example, “thinking together” for supporting the mentalizing of individual workers in their team in an explicit way. Third, workers from different agencies may often find it difficult to make sense of each other’s behaviour and decision making. AMBIT proposes the use of a mentalizing approach to this difficulty using a technique called a disintegration grid. Finally, AMBIT proposes a new practitioner focused approach to manualising as a method by which a team can become more explicit about its methods of working in order to support systematic practice and evaluate outcomes. Originality/value – The innovative AMBIT approach proposes that clinicians need to attend to team and network relationships at least as much as their relationship with the client, in addition to adopting a stance of learning as a team from their casework. A high level of clinical skill is needed to support a team to achieve this balanced approach to casework. This work is of interest to all multi-disciplinary teams working with hard to reach young people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of psychological case formulation meetings for staff in a secure forensic learning disability and autism service. Design/methodology/approach – In total, 89 of the attendees completed a questionnaire prior to the formulation meeting and then another questionnaire following attendance at a formulation meeting. Findings – The results indicate that staff found these to be a helpful, informative and a positive experience professionally and personally. The results suggest that the formulation meetings developed staffs’ psychological understanding about the patient and their problems, helped to increase their empathy towards the patient, increased consistency in the teams’ views, and that the staff felt listened to. Research limitations/implications – Psychological formulation meetings are established in the current service, and therefore this may be a contributing to factor to the lack of significant change found in some of the items. Therefore, it would be beneficial for future services to complete a service evaluation at a much earlier point of implementation, as this may impact the level of significance. Originality/value – The findings of this service evaluation suggest that formulation is a beneficial and useful tool for teams and would be a helpful tool for psychologists to use in the clinical work with teams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to shed light on the antecedents of team turnover intentions in temporary organizations such as projects, programs, or temporary teams. Design/methodology/approach – The authors systematically combine the findings from the literature on the antecedents of turnover intentions in permanent organizations (PO) with the characteristics of temporary organizations (TO) and develop a research model comprising personal factors, job-related factors, and organization-related factors. Findings – A research model consisting of testable propositions that the authors derived from both specificities of TO and the antecedents of turnover intentions in PO. Originality/value – The authors contribute to literature by identifying potential antecedents of turnover intentions that are specific to TOs and those that also exist in POs but are adapted to a temporary context. The research model allows future empirical research on turnover in TO to be conducted in a systematic way and supports the development of theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether research and practice on task design and work teams could benefit from a more nuanced perspective on task (inter)dependencies among team members. Prior research often overlooked that task interdependence captures the average exchange of resources, while asymmetrical task dependence captures the inequalities within an individual's work relationships. To date, no study on work teams has combined the two aspects. Design/methodology/approach -- Data were obtained from 262 individuals working in 67 work teams. Multilevel and bootstrapping analyses were used. Findings -- Drawing from interdependence theory and power-dependence theory it was argued, and subsequently found, that asymmetrical task dependence interacts with task interdependence, and affects the job satisfaction of individuals and their affective commitment to their team. Practical implications -- A key practical implication is that both asymmetrical task dependence and task interdependence should be taken into account when optimizing intra-team task dependencies, for instance when (re-)designing jobs or teams. Originality/value -- This study contributes to research on asymmetrical task dependence within work teams, by investigating its interaction with task interdependence, its effects on the affective reactions of workers, and its effects on the individual level of analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – This paper aims to develop a scale to measure knowledge management holistically at team level and to provide an empirical integration to a fractured body of literature on knowledge management. Design/methodology/approach – Ten concepts commonly studied under the umbrella term “knowledge management” were reviewed. On the basis of literature review, a semi-structured interview was conducted with 24 information technology (IT) professionals. A scale was developed based on the literature review and the interviews. The scale was tested in two phases, on samples of 91 and 699 IT professionals. Team knowledge management was analysed on 512 respondents, belonging to 34 teams. Findings – Findings suggest that the newly developed scale is a reliable and valid measure of knowledge management. Exploratory factor analysis of the 27-item scale suggests that knowledge management should be measured along four dimensions: knowledge creation, sharing, retention and actionable knowledge support. Practical implications – Organizations expect their teams to make the best use of knowledge resources. This scale would help organizations diagnose knowledge management practices in teams and develop interventions according to the needs of each team. The scale and four-factor model will provide a framework and a tool to investigate relationship of knowledge management with other variables. Originality/value – The attempts to integrate literature on knowledge management have largely been theoretical, and there has been little empirical work to provide an integrative framework for knowledge management concepts. This paper presents an empirical basis for the integration of knowledge management concepts. The paper also presents development of a scale which measures knowledge management practices in teams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to address both the socio-moral climate and how teams process debate and decision comprehensiveness as pre-conditions for team innovation. Design/methodology/approach – A total of 67 teams comprising 413 participants were surveyed. Data were analyzed with a multiple-step multiple-mediation procedure. Findings – The socio-moral climate was positively related to innovation. The positive relation between the socio-moral climate and innovation was mediated stepwise through debate and decision comprehensiveness. Research limitations/implications – To overcome the limitations of a cross-sectional design, future research opportunities exist in the longitudinal evaluation of participatory socio-moral climates and comparisons between organizations. Debate and decision comprehensiveness can be further studied using behavior-based methodological designs, such as observation. Practical implications – From this study, practitioners can learn of the needs and opportunities for participative approaches when managing innovation in teams. Promoting a socio-moral climate of cooperation, communication, openness, appreciation, trust and respect and leaving open the possibility that debating can help integrative decision comprehensiveness and thus innovation. Originality/value – This paper expands the literature on organizational climate, debate, decision comprehensiveness, and innovation. On the one hand, the results empirically linked the socio-moral climate, a theoretically well-founded climate construct, to process variables. On the other hand, the literature on debate and decision comprehensiveness was expanded by adding the socio-moral climate as a pre-condition of debate and decision comprehensiveness. Furthermore, both were linked to a crucial outcome variable, innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to look at human interdependence and its significance in project management. Design/methodology/approach – The paper focuses solely on human interaction in the context of a short-term project consisting of preparing a small "international" fair in Gatineau, Québec (Canada). For this purpose, an established questionnaire was used which aimed to evaluate the predator-prey dynamic between team members (as described by Mesly in a recent paper). Findings – Human interdependence indeed plays a key role in the functioning of short-lived projects (and, this paper assumes, of long-term projects as well). Originality/value – The paper places emphasis on considering the human power-game factor (predator-prey) more strongly in future project endeavors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – Computer-mediated communication systems (CMCSs) have become the standard for supporting virtual teamwork. However, interpersonal trust formation though CMCSs is impaired due to limited media richness of the communication channels. The aim of this paper is to identify trust forming cues that occur naturally in face-to-face environments and are suitable to include in CMCSs design, to facilitate greater trust in virtual teams. Design/methodology/approach – To select cues that had a strong effect on fostering trust behaviour, a non-participatory ethnographic study was conducted. Two student teams at the University of Waterloo were observed for 6-12 months. Researchers identified mechanisms used for building trust and bridging team developmental barriers. Findings – The paper identifies five trust tokens that were effective in developing trust and bridging team developmental barriers: expertise, recommendations, social capital, willingness to help/benevolence, and validation of information. These behavioural cues, or behavioural trust tokens, which are present in face-to-face collaborations, carry important trust supporting information that leads to increased trust, improved collaboration, and knowledge integration. These tokens have the potential to improve CMCSs by supplementing the cues necessary for trust formation in virtual environments. Practical implications – This study identifies important mechanisms used for fostering trust behaviour in face-to-face collaborations that have the potential to be included in the design of CMCSs (via interface design objects) and have implications for interface designers, team managers, and researchers in the field of teamwork. Originality/value – This work presents the first ethnographic study of trust between team members for the purpose of providing improved computer support for virtual collaboration via redesigned interface components. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine how, within a team, the value of their best member depends critically on the performance of the rest. Analysis of the interdependent team members complements the traditional focus of resource-based-view analyses of isolated resources. Design/methodology/approach – The authors used data from 584 National Basketball Association teams (30 teams collected over 21 seasons). Findings – The authors find a positive relationship between best member performance and team performance that increases as the rest of the team members' performance improves. Practical implications – Having team members with a high individual performance does not imply that the team will have a competitive advantage over the rest. To gain this advantage, it is also necessary that the rest of the team members also show a high individual performance. Originality/value – These results contribute to the team literature increasing our knowledge about the effect of complementary resources on gaining competitive advantage. Additionally, sports teams offer the possibility of using objective data to assess team members' individual value within a team. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – This study aims to describe implementation of simulator-based medical team training and the effect of this programme on inter-professional working in an intensive care unit (ICU). Design/methodology/approach – Over a period of two years, 90 percent (n=152) of the staff of the general ICU at Karolinska University Hospital, Huddinge, Sweden, received inter-professional team training in a fully equipped patient room in their own workplace. A case study method was used to describe and explain the planning, formation, and results of the training programme. Findings – In interviews, the participants reported that the training had increased their awareness of the importance of effective communication for patient safety. The intervention had even had an indirect impact by creating a need to talk, not only about how to communicate efficaciously, but also concerning difficult care situations in general. This, in turn, had led to regular reflection meetings for nurses held three times a week. Examples of better communication in acute situations were also reported. However, the findings indicate that the observed improvements will not last, unless organisational features such as staffing rotas and scheduling of rounds and meetings can be changed to enable use of the learned behaviours in everyday work. Other threats to sustainability include shortage of staff, overtime for staff, demands for hospital beds, budget cuts, and poor staff communication due to separate meetings for nurses and physicians. Originality/value – The present results broaden our understanding of how to create and sustain an organizational system that supports medical team training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - We review how team members' identities and interests affect team functioning, paying special attention to subgroup dynamics triggered by faultlines and coalitions. This review sets the stage for describing novel pathways through which identities and interests, when considered together, can affect team processes and outcomes. Design/approach - We use an extended example of a hypothetical team's decision-making process to illustrate how team members' identities and interests intertwine to affect the distribution and flow of information, subgroup dynamics, and team decisions. Findings - We develop three specific ideas to demonstrate the utility of this integrative approach. First, we show how the formation of identity-based subgroups can shape information sharing to create a hidden profile where there was none initially. Second, we describe how individual defection can weaken subgroup competition and, paradoxically, increase the chance that a team will optimize its collective welfare. Third, we analyze how shared identities can shape team members' side conversations in ways that create shared interests and information among those with similar identities, even before the team begins its formal meetings. Originality/value - By identifying new routes through which identities and interests can affect learn functioning, we provide a foundation for scholars in this domain to theoretically develop and empirically test these and related ideas. More generally, we encourage scholars to study the interplay among identities, interests, and information in their own research to paint a more complete picture of how individuals, subgroups, and teams perform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – This paper aims to explore the independent and interactive leadership style and team processes on organisational learning in an Indian context. Design/methodology/approach – The methodology used is survey based. Primary data were collected from 36 Indian manufacturing sector executives and in total there were three teams (n=11, n=13 and n=12). Findings – It was found that overall leadership style and transactional leadership had significant positive impact on organisational learning. Furthermore, team processes like cohesion and support and confrontation and problem solving were also found to be important predictors of organisational learning. The interactive effect of independent variables on dependent variable was also positive and significant. Research limitations/implications – Discussions are performed and conclusions are drawn in the light of existing literature. The study bears implications for researchers to take on similar research in other contexts. Practical implications – The study bears significant implications for executives working in manufacturing organisations. It is suggested that transactional leadership style should be employed to contribute towards organisational learning in such firms. Moreover, the use of team processes will also help in enhancing learning at the team and organisational levels. Originality/value – This paper identifies two significant criterion variables to predict organisational learning. It is a pioneering effort to use team processes and leadership style together as predictors of organisational learning in Indian context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- There is a tendency in team research to employ concepts of stepwise models, reaching from the primitive to the excellent, to suggest that a higher level of evolution is better than the basic and simple. This tendency includes typologies of teams. This article aims to question the relevance of this view. Design/methodology/approach -- Data were collected in three steps. In the first step, articles and books analyzing teams and teamwork from stepwise analytical models were collected. In the second step the collected data were classified into different themes. Each stepwise model was classified into one essential denomination. This classification resulted in eight themes. In the third step each theme was analyzed, which led to the fusion of some of the themes. Findings -- The conclusion is that a synchronous, complementary or mature team is not necessarily optimal. Contrary to this, a differentiated, sequential or multi team approach can be optimal for some purposes. Team research needs to establish a more open, inductive and critical attitude than at present. Originality/value -- The paper highlights the need to observe and use team theories in a balanced and critical way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach – This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings – Using a survey conducted on 436 candidates belonging to 126 teams, He et al. (2014) found that cognitive and affective conflicts have different implications for team innovations. Further, conflict management styles moderate these relationships. Given the emphasis on innovation in organizations and the realization that innovation can offer sustainable competitive advantage, the findings of this research by He et al. (2014) have implications for practitioners and organizations. Practical implications – The paper provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world’s leading organizations. Originality/value – The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]