Multitasking Teams With Variable Complementarity: Challenges for Capability Management

Abstract

Wasted effort—work that is performed but not used—reduces capability effectiveness. A simple model shows that the simultaneous presence of complementary and substitutable tasks creates a vulnerability to diverse causes of wasted effort. Managerial interventions, such as providing output-based incentives or improving coordination, may backfire or fail if applied to the wrong problem or if problems interact. The model indicates when particular standard types of interventions are or are not likely to reduce wasted effort.