Delayering Research Articles

SELF-MANAGED WORK TEAMS: AN EFFICIENCY-RATIONALE FOR PAY COMPRESSION

This article delves into the concept of self-managed work teams and investigates the efficiency-rationale for implementing pay compression within such teams. By examining existing research and theoretical frameworks, this study aims to shed light on the relationship between self-managed work teams, pay compression, and organizational efficiency. The findings highlight the potential benefits of pay compression in promoting teamwork, collaboration, and overall productivity within self-managed work teams. Self-managed work teams have gained attention as a means to enhance employee empowerment and organizational performance. In these teams, employees are responsible for decision-making, task allocation, and problem-solving, resulting in greater autonomy and collaboration. This article explores the efficiency-rationale for implementing pay compression within self-managed work teams. Pay compression, the reduction of wage differentials within teams, is proposed as a strategy to align compensation with the team-based approach and promote team cohesion. Drawing on existing literature and theoretical frameworks, this study examines the potential benefits of pay compression in improving team performance, cooperation, and overall organizational efficiency. The findings contribute to the understanding of how pay compression can be utilized as an effective tool to optimize team dynamics and drive productivity in self-managed work environments.

Research on the Current Status of Real Estate Development in the Era of Epidemic Situation

This paper mainly studies the impact of the epidemic on the real estate industry through consumer investment concepts, the reduction of rigid demand for real estate, insufficient housing production and supply, and other internal and external factors in the market to study the relationship between the economy and the development of the real estate industry in the post-epidemic era and propose solutions to some problems in the current traditional real estate industry and future development trends and directions. This paper adopts the literature review method and the survey method to demonstrate and elaborate on the above issues; conduct further research and discussion on the basis of existing views; make suggestions for the future development of real estate; and summarize and demonstrate the existing views. First of all, real estate enterprises need to combine the current trend of Internet development, integrate big data analysis and artificial intelligence and other high and new technologies into the future development to offset the impact of uncertainties such as the epidemic on the real estate industry. Additionally, practitioners in the traditional real estate industry usually show characteristics such as low education and low professionalism, so it is imperative for real estate companies to build a flat management structure in the post-epidemic era and realize the rejuvenation and specialization of sales personnel.

Soil, water and nutrient loss under simulated rainfall patterns in an area fertilised with chicken litter

The process of erosion, characterised by the loss of soil, water and nutrients, is the main cause of soil degradation and has numerous consequences for the agricultural sector and the environment. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the loss of soil, water and nutrients, and the chemical attributes of the soil, in an area with and without fertilisation with chicken litter under simulated rainfall in different rainfall patterns, in addition to the financial impact resulting from the loss of nutrients. Using the InfiAsper simulator, rainfall with Advanced (AV), Intermediate (IN), Delayed (DL) and Constant (CT) patterns were simulated in an area of a Dystric Acrisol, following a randomised block design, in a 2 × 4 factorial scheme totalling eight treatments, with four replications. The treatments comprised the areas with (WCL) and without (NCL) the surface application of chicken litter and subjected to the four rainfall patterns, giving a total of 32 experimental units. Rainfall was applied for 40 min at an average intensity of 45 mm h−1. The mean values of the runoff depths did not vary as a function of fertilisation, however there were differences in soil loss between the NCL and WCL treatments with the DL (10.55 and 34.98 g m−2) and CT (7.22 and 15.88 g m−2) patterns. The greatest nutrient loss in the WCL treatments, irrespective of the rainfall pattern, is related to the presence of chicken litter. In the WCL treatments, the IN pattern afforded the greatest loss of N (26.76 g kg−1) and P (14.58 g kg−1), while the AD pattern gave the greatest value for K (8.42 g kg−1). In the WCL plots, the mean value for total organic carbon loss was 202.01 g kg−1. In WCL areas, the greatest financial losses were seen for P2O5, reaching US$ 12.86 ha−1 in Baixada Fluminense, for sowing/transplanting in April, and 3.7 times greater in the Serrana region of the state of Rio de Janeiro, in January. In NCL areas, N presented greater financial loss. It can be concluded that in an area with the surface application of chicken litter, the rainfall pattern interferes with the loss of N, P and K, and that financial losses from the loss of nutrients caused by water erosion can be even more marked when considering areas of greater slope.

Williamson and Organization Studies: Reclaiming a legacy

Following Oliver Williamson’s passing in 2020, associations and journals in institutional and organizational economics have undertaken various initiatives in recognition of his contribution. The organization research field, though, has remained quite silent, and I wish to not only raise a voice, but also reclaim a legacy. The article offers an organizational re-reading of what is often (mis)classified as an ‘economics of organization’, highlighting how organization as a discipline contributed to shaping that Nobel-prized vision of ‘a science of organization’ integrating the basic social sciences (most notably economics and law, but also, as retrieved here, sociology) with organization theory; and the methodological lessons for interdisciplinary research that can be drawn from it. The analysis then pushes the boundaries further, extracting from the ‘market and hierarchy’ perspective a ‘court of justice’ notion of hierarchy, and arguing that such type of hierarchy is consistent with, and even complementary to, the forms of horizontal organization and polycentric governance of our times, as well as the ‘thirdness’ of institutions prescribed by modern law.

A bibliometric analysis of team autonomy research

Organisations all around the globe are beginning to promote autonomy rather than imposing restrictions. Thus, the use of teams with certain levels of autonomy as an organisational structure has increased in recent years to achieve corporate objectives. The article aims to review the records in the team autonomy research domain. Given the number of possibly interchangeable terms connected to the teams with certain levels of autonomy (self-managing, self-organizing, self-regulating, self-directed or semi-autonomous), a bibliometric analysis was used to obtain data from the Web of Science and Scopus databases. According to annual scientific production and coverage of the terms over time in both databases, bibliometric analysis has shown that the Scopus covers more significantly the total number of records and the time span. The most used term in both databases was “self-managing team”. Further, the article provides specific occurrences and frequencies of the terms and descriptions of the records associated with its first occurrences. This article provides the first review of records using bibliometric methods in the team autonomy research domain. It helps to describe the development of the research domain and proposes several bases for future research opportunities.

A Social Regulation Perspective on Team Reflexivity: The Development of an Analytical Framework

Teams are nowadays seen as the cornerstones of organizations. Previous research has shown that team reflexivity is positively related to team performance. Traditionally, team reflexivity is conceptualized as a process that occurs during transition moments, ignoring reflexive moments during teams’ action phases. Moreover, most studies used self-reported questionnaires and cross-sectional designs and thus provided limited insights into how team reflexivity unfolds during both the action and transition phases of teams. In this study, we adopt a social regulation perspective to develop an analytical framework to study team reflexivity in the flow of work. The study was conducted in a software development setting and included 50 h of video recordings of different types of team meetings of six professional self-managing teams (a total of 33 team members). Using concepts from social regulation theory as developed in student learning settings as an analytical lens, an analytical framework with four components of social regulation (knowledge co-construction and regulation; regulation activities; focus of regulation, and type of interaction) was developed and applied. Outcomes show that in more than half of their conversations, the teams jointly engaged in regulation-related activities, of which most concerned planning activities and a very low occurrence of evaluation activities. Different patterns of team reflexivity were found in the action and transition phase but zooming in on the interactions also showed high interrelatedness of the different activities. The analytical framework could assist future research to further study the interaction between the different components and how they mutually relate to team performance.

Lord of the Flies in Project-Based Organizations: The Role of Passive Leadership on Creativity and Project Success

This study examines the role of passive project leadership in project success. The article deduces a theoretical model implying that passive project manager leadership behavior affects the success of information technology projects, directly and indirectly, via employees’ creativity. Self-regulation is proposed as a mitigating factor to minimize the destructive effects of passive leadership on creativity. The current study is based on a quantitative research design. A time lag design was used to collect data from 347 respondents working on information technology projects in Pakistan. SmartPLS was used for data analysis. The findings demonstrated that although passive leadership appears in flat organizations, it can have a negative impact on project success via creativity. Additionally, if the person is self-regulatory, it will not alter the results. The study added to the project management body of knowledge by confirming that a strong leadership role, instead of a passive one, is essential to boosting the creativity of project personnel. A passive leader remains inactive during situations where a strong leader is needed; however, self-regulation on the part of employees proved insufficient to propel a project toward success.

Exploratory Model of Collaboration Networks in the COVID-19 Era

knowledge networks and organizational collaboration reflect a culture of success, transformational leadership and a climate of relationships around which relationships of trust, support, innovation and goals are generated. These are bi-directional and horizontal organizations with equity and solidarity. The objective of the present study is to establish the correlations between the factors, a non-experimental, transversal and exploratory study was carried out with a selection of 300 administrative staff, students and teachers from a public university in central Mexico. to structural model. The results show that there is a dependence relationship between goal climate and collaboration. Based on these findings, research lines related to trust as a determinant of knowledge networks and organizational collaboration are noted.

Value of multidisciplinary peer mentoring

Biomedical acoustics is a multidisciplinary field. As such, both the scientific field and its members have the potential to benefit from the interactions and cross-fertilization of different subfields. Peer mentoring groups (PMGs) can promote multidisciplinary interaction. A PMG involves the intentional, structured, and consistent interaction of individuals at similar career stages. The horizontal organization of a PMG can promote a safe and supportive environment, enabling greater knowledge sharing. PMG knowledge sharing is bidirectional, providing benefits to all participants and an opportunity to leverage diversity, which yields outcomes. In one example from our institution, a research-active group of junior faculty from different academic divisions within a department of internal medicine met biweekly to review, on a rotating basis, active grant applications, critiques of rejected proposals, and career development challenges. Another example was an interdepartmental graduate program where doctoral students studying a range of fields (e.g., infectious diseases, cancer, metabolism, and cardiovascular disease) engaged in a journal club and a seminar series. In both settings, participants had the opportunity to benefit from the recognition of thematic and methodological overlap in their otherwise disparate studies, which promoted best practices in research. In summary, PMGs provide value to both participants and the field.

Motivation to Lead and Shared Leadership in Teams

More companies have started to adopt a model of self-managed team as their primary work design. As work environments get more complex, an appointed leader alone cannot fulfill all the necessary leadership responsibilities of a team. In this manner, the shared leadership within a team is of great importance for today's work environments. The primary purpose of the present study was to examine an antecedent of shared leadership. Focusing on leadership motivation, this study investigated how team members’ motivation to lead affects shared leadership of the team. This study also examined the effects of shared leadership on team performance using an objective team performance measure, which little previous studies have investigated. Data were obtained from 57 teams consisting of 3 to 5 members. They performed a computer-based business strategy game. Findings showed that the teams consisting of members with a high level of motivation to lead scores were positively related to shared leadership and shared leadership significantly predicted team performance. Theoretical and practical implications of this study are also discussed.

A framework for disability in the new ways of working

Organizations have been increasingly introducing new ways of working (NWW). Yet, it is still unclear how these new work practices (e.g. unassigned-desk policies; self-managing teams; telework) may affect the inclusion of people with disabilities (PWD). The framework developed in this paper theorizes the mechanisms through which NWW can enable or disable PWD's work outcomes (i.e. work-impairment coordination, perceptions of justice, isolation and privacy concerns). Additionally, we use the ideal worker concept to reason that, when combined, NWW practices create expectations for employees that can be incompatible with how PWD are often stereotypically perceived in the workplace. This article helps understand how NWW offer both opportunities and challenges for the socio-economic advancement of PWD and provides HR managers with specific recommendations to balance the enabling and disabling effects of the NWW.

The formation of self-management teams in higher education institutions. Satisfaction and effectiveness

ABSTRACT This paper explores how self-management work groups are formed in higher education institutions and how this affects the effectiveness of the teams. For this, we investigated the experiences of 560 students who were members of self-management learning teams, using factorial analysis, cluster analysis and ordinal logit regression. We focus on self-management teams, where students form work groups autonomously, and making decisions with whom to collaborate. Thus, students influence the composition of their groups, which will condition the internal dynamic of teams, and its subsequent effect on the effectiveness of the groups. Our paper contributes to the literature on student-centred perspectives highlighting how the formation of self-management teams has an impact on their satisfaction and effectiveness. Moreover, we identify four criteria (competencies, academic level, social relationships, and ad hoc) during the formation of self-management teams that have a differential impact on the effectiveness and potential conflict in the team. Additionally, our results reveal three groups of students, regarding the formation criteria of self-management teams: a first group where the academic level criteria prevails, a second group based on competencies, and finally, a group that combines social relationships and ad hoc criteria. Moreover, we find that self-management teams based on the competencies and academic level criteria have a higher level of effectiveness and satisfaction than the formation of self-management teams based on social relations and ad hoc decisions. Moreover, the results show that the exclusive use of academic level as a formation criteria is potentially a source of conflict in the self-management team.

"Teams Made of Teams"—A Review of Research on Multi-Team Systems

The reason teams are so popular today is that as organizations reorganize to compete more effectively, they see them as a way to better leverage the talents of their employees. Teams can make products, deliver services, negotiate, coordinate projects, make recommendations, and make decisions. Next, let's briefly describe the four most common types of teams in organizations: problem-solving teams, self-managed teams, cross-functional teams, and virtual teams. Then, introduce the multi-team system, which uses a "team of teams" model. Such systems are becoming more common as the complexity of work increases. Multi-team collaboration is one of the effective ways to handle complex environments and accomplish dynamic tasks. It has been widely used in the field of cooperative R&D and emergency management, and has become an important topic of common interest in the practice and academic communities. This paper synthesizes previous research on multi-team systems and presents some suggestions and future research directions for MTS.

Fuzzy Fruit Fly Optimized Node Quality-Based Clustering Algorithm for Network Load Balancing

Recently, the fundamental problem with Hybrid Mobile Ad-hoc Networks (H-MANETs) is to find a suitable and secure way of balancing the load through Internet gateways. Moreover, the selection of the gateway and overload of the network results in packet loss and Delay (DL). For optimal performance, it is important to load balance between different gateways. As a result, a stable load balancing procedure is implemented, which selects gateways based on Fuzzy Logic (FL) and increases the efficiency of the network. In this case, since gateways are selected based on the number of nodes, the Energy Consumption (EC) was high. This paper presents a novel Node Quality-based Clustering Algorithm (NQCA) based on Fuzzy-Genetic for Cluster Head and Gateway Selection (FGCHGS). This algorithm combines NQCA with the Improved Weighted Clustering Algorithm (IWCA). The NQCA algorithm divides the network into clusters based upon node priority, transmission range, and neighbour fidelity. In addition, the simulation results tend to evaluate the performance effectiveness of the FFFCHGS algorithm in terms of EC, packet loss rate (PLR), etc.

The Effects of Self-Managed and Closely-Managed Teams on Labor Productivity and Product Quality: An Empirical Analysis of a Cross Section of Establishments

I estimate the effect of team production on labor productivity and product quality using a cross section of British establishments. A distinguishing feature of this study is its use of a structural model that treats as endogenous the organizations’ choices of teams and whether or not to grant autonomy to team members. One of the main findings is that the typical establishment enjoys statistically significant increases in labor productivity (but not product quality) from using teams, though there is no statistically significant difference between the predicted gains from autonomous versus non- autonomous teams. I show that standard methodological approaches that treat teams and autonomy as exogenous induce biases of two forms: 1) the benefits from teams are inflated, 2) the benefits of autonomous teams relative to those of non-autonomous teams are inflated. Both biases are particularly severe in the case of product quality.

Does entrepreneurial project monitoring and controlling process matter in social enterprises? Evidence from a developing African country

Social enterprises in developing countries act as development agents and are a constituent of the rising ‘social and solidarity’ economy whose established vision is to create social value and generate positive social outcomes. Traditional monitoring limit project managers’ capabilities to probe a project's ‘known – unknown’ impacts. Given that traditional monitoring arrangements persist to be challenging in resolving the high project failure rate in Africa, entrepreneurial project monitoring and controlling process enables project success. Corporate entrepreneurship literature has provided a strong theoretical basis for incorporating entrepreneurial actions, orientations, and decisions into ‘traditional’ project management process. This paper draws primary data from six selected social enterprises in Uganda to examine what constitute entrepreneurial project monitoring and controlling process. The findings support the need for (a) creating room for errors, (b) self-managed teams, and (c) soft skills maximisation amongst entrepreneurial project managers. Implications for strengthening social entrepreneurship ecosystems in developing economies to accelerate and scale-up social ventures to deliver social and economic value is discussed.

A competition–species model for water vapour-aerosol-cloud-rain interactions

In this paper, a non-linear bulk model inspired from species competition dynamics is proposed in order to describe the physics of water vapour-aerosol-cloud-rain interactions. Despite the complexity of such interactions, certain non-trivial aspects of the macro behavior of a cloud are predictable without concerning the full complexity of the dynamical system. The model is for warm clouds (no ice) and it consists in a set of three non-linear differential equations. This species-competition model is confronted with in situ measurements in different situations: for pristine environments (1) at the high-altitude Maïdo Observatory (Indian Ocean, Reunion Island) and (2) in a pure oceanic context around the Reunion Island (aeromarine field campaign) and for a continental urban context (3) in Lille (North of France). Compared with observations (radar, radiometric measurements), it is shown that, whatever the situation considered, the model reproduces efficiently the macro features of clouds, like cloud occurrences, cloud water content magnitudes, and cloud-rain links. The model is adapted to a two-dimensional (horizontal) grid and its predictions are compared with the era5 reanalyses above the Hauts-de-France region and in the pristine Southwest Indian Ocean (around Reunion Island). Furthermore, satellite data enable to corroborate that the model clearly shows promising results for the horizontal cloud field organization. The spatiotemporal resolution of this model is adaptable according to the needs and it can be used in any region and at the desired altitude provided that data be available for implementation. In this paper, it is also suggested that the model may be fruitful to derive from measurements, by means of an optimization scheme, different theoretical parameters not easy to determine. The model runs on a laptop with a relatively short time (of the order of the minute); it is not intended to supplant comprehensive models, but it may be fruitful to understand the essential mechanisms in warm cloud formation.

Horizontal collaborations and the competitiveness of dairy farmers in Brazil

The efficiency of an agricultural system depends not only on how its agents work and solve problems individually but also on how they interact with each other and with their environment. In Brazil, dairy farmers have found it difficult to remain and grow in business. To overcome market and institutional challenges, agents of the dairy production chain have developed different forms of organization and coordination. This study aimed to determine whether dairy farmers who participate in horizontal organizations have greater competitiveness than those who do not. Primary data were collected from 347 dairy farms located in two important milk-producing states in Brazil, namely Paraná and São Paulo. Competitiveness indicators were developed using factor analysis. Fourteen variables were combined into four competitiveness indicators: productive capacity (PC), institutional knowledge (IK), perception of market transactions and incentives (PMTI), and quality of milk transportation. Dairy farmers who participated in horizontal organizations had higher PC, IK, and PMTI scores than non-participants. Efficient horizontal organizations can increase the competitiveness of dairy farms.

Implementing Buurtzorg-derived models in the home care setting: a Scoping Review.

Buurtzorg is a pioneering healthcare organization founded in the Netherlands. Buurtzorg has established independent, self-managing teams of nurses and promises high-quality home care at a lower cost through person-centered care, continuity of care, building trusting relationships, and networks in the neighborhood. Traditional home care services are increasingly reorganized according to the Buurtzorg-principles. This review aims to describe the experiences gathered during the implementation of the Buurtzorg-derived model outside the Netherlands. It further outlines their potential effects. Scoping Review. Several electronic databases were searched for relevant articles, supplemented by hand-searching and internet searches for gray literature. Various publication types that described the implementation of the Buurtzorg model or its outcomes in countries other than the Netherlands were included. The data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Two authors coded the data in several cycles and created categories and subcategories. The review identified 25 publications reporting the experiences or outcomes of Buurtzorg-derived models outside the Netherlands. Upon implementing elements of Buurtzorg, the home care organizations adopted a person-centered care approach, with improved communication with patients and family caregivers, and could establish new networks with other services. The main challenges were related to the self-managed working culture, the organizational framework, or national healthcare policies, which hindered the implementation process. The implementation of Buurtzorg-derived models is complex, challenging, and requires adaptations on several levels: upskilling of networking and staffing competencies in teams, leadership and IT requirements in the organization, and policy changes in the healthcare system. Individualized approaches and solid conceptual preparation are required for implementation. Experiences with the implementation of Buurtzorg in home care services outside the Netherlands. A scoping review @HegeduesAnna.

Spatial self-segregation of pioneer cyanobacterial species drives microbiome organization in biocrusts

Microbial communities are typically characterized by some degree of self-organization. In biological soil crust (biocrust) communities, vertical organization of resident populations at the mm scale is driven by organismal adaptations to physicochemical microniches. However, the extent of horizontal organization and its driving processes are unknown. Using a combination of observational and genetic mapping, we provide evidence for a highly defined, horizontal self-organization (patchiness) at the mm to cm scale in a successionally early biocrust community dominated by the pioneer cyanobacteria, Microcoleus vaginatus (Microcoleaceae) and Parifilum sp. (Coleofasciculaceae). Experiments with representative isolates of each species demonstrate that the phenomenon is driven by active spatial segregation based on cross-species sensing through the exometabolome acted upon with motility responses. Further, we show that both species share the ability to enrich for specialized cyanospheres of heterotrophic bacteria at smaller scales, and that these cyanospheres are characterized by compositional host-specificity, thus expanding the reach of spatial patchiness beyond primary producers. Our results highlight the importance of specific microbial interactions in the emergence of microbiome compositional architecture and the enhancement of microbial diversity.