Team Empowerment Research Articles

1984. A Multi-Disciplinary Team-based Quality Improvement Initiative to Reduce Clostridioides difficile Rates and Promote Antimicrobial Stewardship in Targeted Surgical Wards

BackgroundAt Stanford, two surgical wards, E3 and F3, were responsible for 1/5 of hospital-acquired Clostridioides difficile infection (HO CDI) cases in the fiscal year 2018 (FY2018). We used a quality improvement framework with a goal to reduce yearly HO CDI episodes by 1/2 on these wards.MethodsA multidisciplinary quality improvement team was created with frontline nursing leaders and representatives from colorectal surgery, gynecology oncology, antimicrobial stewardship (ASP), infection prevention, and pharmacy. Coaching and instruction on quality improvement were provided as part of Stanford’s “Realizing Improvement through Team Empowerment” (RITE) program. Using A3 problem solving, root cause analysis identified key drivers, and interventions were performed. Cumulative HO CDI cases in FY2019 and weekly antibiotic days of therapy (DOT) on E3/F3 were monitored.ResultsReview of FY2018 HO CDI cases (n = 14) revealed the most common key driver as inappropriate antibiotic prescribing (8 cases, 57%). Multiple interventions were instituted (Figure 1). Three ASP interventions began February 2019: nursing questioned antibiotic choice/duration on daily interdisciplinary rounds (Figure 2), automatic infectious disease consultation for > 72 hours of piperacillin/tazobactam on gynecology/oncology patients, and twice-weekly rounds between ASP and a colorectal attending. Data from ASP/colorectal rounds from March 19, 2019 to April 16, 2019 showed means of 18.2 minutes taken for chart review and 4.4 minutes for discussion. 25 charts reviewed led to 16 (64%) ASP recommendations and 14/16 (87.5%) of recommendations accepted. Common interventions included: appropriate duration of antibiotics, clarification of the team’s planned duration, and review of microbiology data to narrow therapy. Mean DOT decreased from 35.28 to 21.61 (39%) since July 2018 (Figure 3). Patient volume and case mix index remained stable throughout, suggesting no impact on DOT. Though CDI cases did not decrease, interventions were in place for only 2 months (Figure 4).ConclusionWhile too early to determine its impact on HO CDI rates, a multi-disciplinary team approach utilizing A3 problem solving was successful in implementing effective ASP measures including nursing-led ASP and structured antibiotic timeouts. Disclosures All authors: No reported disclosures.

How Empowerment and Innovation Climates Influence Employees' Innovative IS Use

The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of empowerment and innovation climates on employees' innovative use of information systems (IS) and the mechanisms through which the climates affect employees' innovative IS use. Drawing on the thriving theory, this study proposes a hierarchical research model that links team-level climates, individual-level thriving, and employees' innovative IS use in an integral model. In total, 174 copies of questionnaires from 38 teams were collected from ERP users of nine firms in China. The empirical results suggest that team innovation climate and team empowerment climate are positively related to innovative IS use. Thriving plays a fully mediating role between team empowerment climate and innovative IS use and a partially mediating role between the team innovation climate and innovative IS use. The findings of this study could provide guidelines for managers on how to promote IS users' innovative use from the perspectives of team climates.

Interactive Effects of Multi-Foci Justice Climates on Teams’ Psychological Empowerment

Psychological empowerment refers to the degree in which an employee feels that he controls events in the organization. This construct is studied on a group level as well, as a team members’ common experience. Team empowerment is a multidimensional construct that includes the collective belief about freedom, independence and discretion in decision-making (autonomy), teams’ effectiveness (potency), the importance and value of teams’ work (meaningfulness), and the contribution of the teams’ work to organizational performance (impact). Organizations are interested in empowering individuals and teams because empowerment relates to positive work outcomes. Justice climate, as an important component of the overall experience of the working environment, greatly determines psychological empowerment. The aim of this study is to verify the interactive effects of organizational, supervisory and peer justice climate on teams’ psychological empowerment. We analyzed data collected from 196 work teams from different organizations. Results of polynomial regression combined with response surface methodology show that with the increase of the level of congruence between multi-foci justice climates, teams’ psychological empowerment increases as well. Misalignment between different sources of justice climate, a situation in which one source is fair while the other is unfair, does not affect the team members’ joint perception of psychological empowerment. As long as the team perceives one source of justice as fair, the teams’ psychological empowerment is high, regardless of the injustice of another source. Although the cross- sectional study design does not allow inferring causality, the theoretical implications of the results for the application of the congruence theory in the organizational context in understanding the effects of (mis)alignment between different sources of justice climate, as well as the practical applicability of the results in human resource management, are discussed. Keywords: teams’ psychological empowerment, multi-foci justice climate

The Development and Construct Validity of a Team Processes Survey Measure

Marks, Mathieu, and Zaccaro (2001) advanced a theory and framework of team processes that has garnered much attention and guided numerous investigations. They proposed that 10 first-order constructs (e.g., strategy formulation, coordination, conflict management) would map to three second-order constructs (i.e., transition, action, and interpersonal). Despite the popularity of this framework, we are unaware of any validated multiitem measures of the team processes they identified. Accordingly, we develop and demonstrate content and construct validity of 50-, 30-, and 10-item versions of a survey measure of team processes. Using data from over 700 teams, we test Marks et al.’s higher-order model and find results that are largely consistent with both their 10 first-order dimensions and the 10:3 second-order framework. Using samples of global virtual knowledge teams and health care employees, we provide evidence of the discriminant validity of our team process measure versus a measure of team empowerment. We provide recommendations for the use of these measures in future research and practice and encourage their use as part of a portfolio of measures of team processes.

Cross-country differences in new service development

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to test how national culture may help to explain cross-country differences in new service development (NSD) by comparing the impact of NSD success factors between Mexico and Sweden.Design/methodology/approachEight hypotheses based on prior literature on NSD and national culture were tested using covariance-based structural equation modeling and survey data from 210 Mexican and 173 Swedish firms.FindingsLaunch proficiency and customer interaction had a positive impact on NSD performance with no difference between the two cultures. NSD process formalization did not have clear positive impact on NSD performance but had a statistically significantly stronger impact in the structured culture (Mexico). Team empowerment affected NSD performance positively, but the difference between cultures was non-significant.Research limitations/implicationsThe impact of national culture depends on the type of NSD success factor. Some factors are unaffected by the cultural context, while factors congruent with the national culture enhance performance. Factors incongruent with national culture may even hurt NSD performance.Practical implicationsWhen choosing priorities in NSD improvement, managers need to consider the national culture environment.Originality/valuePaper directly tests how national culture moderates NSD performance using primary data. Findings suggest that the effects of NSD success factors are contingent on congruence with national culture.

Transformational leadership and team performance: an empirical study of the hotel industry of Pakistan

Pakistan has recently emerged as an important investment destination for the new hotel development. According to Pakistan Hotels Association (PHA), hotel industry has showed a rising trend after the courtesy launch of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). The basic aim of this study is to investigate the influence of transformational leadership (TFL) on the team performance of hotel industry of Pakistan through the mediation of team empowerment, knowledge sharing, team-efficacy and team prosocial motivation. This study is based on a sample of 245 employees from different hotels located in Pakistan. Structural equation modelling approach was applied to examine the hypothesised relationships by using smartPLS software. The findings of study revealed the significant positive influence of transformational leadership on knowledge sharing, team empowerment, team-efficacy and team prosocial motivation. Moreover, team empowerment, team prosocial motivation and team-efficacy powerfully mediate the relationship between TFL and team performance. However, knowledge sharing showed limited effect.

Transformational leadership and team performance: an empirical study of the hotel industry of Pakistan

Pakistan has recently emerged as an important investment destination for the new hotel development. According to Pakistan Hotels Association (PHA), hotel industry has showed a rising trend after the courtesy launch of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). The basic aim of this study is to investigate the influence of transformational leadership (TFL) on the team performance of hotel industry of Pakistan through the mediation of team empowerment, knowledge sharing, team-efficacy and team prosocial motivation. This study is based on a sample of 245 employees from different hotels located in Pakistan. Structural equation modelling approach was applied to examine the hypothesised relationships by using smartPLS software. The findings of study revealed the significant positive influence of transformational leadership on knowledge sharing, team empowerment, team-efficacy and team prosocial motivation. Moreover, team empowerment, team prosocial motivation and team-efficacy powerfully mediate the relationship between TFL and team performance. However, knowledge sharing showed limited effect.

Improving efficiency in neuroimaging research through application of Lean principles.

Introduction“Lean” is a set of management principles which focus on increasing value and efficiency by reducing or avoiding waste (e.g., overproduction, defects, inventory, transportation, waiting, motion, over processing). It has been applied to manufacturing, education, and health care, leading to optimized process flow, increased efficiency and increased team empowerment. However, to date, it has not been applied to neuroimaging research.MethodsLean principles, such as Value stream mapping (e.g. a tool with which steps in the workflow can be identified on which to focus improvement efforts), 5S (e.g. an organizational method to boost workplace efficiency and efficacy) and Root-cause analysis (e.g. a problem-solving approach to identify key points of failure in a system) were applied to an ongoing, large neuroimaging study that included seven research visits per participant. All team members participated in a half-day exercise in which the entire project flow was visualized and areas of inefficiency were identified. Changes focused on removing obstacles, standardization, optimal arrangement of equipment and root-cause-analysis. A process for continuous improvement was also implemented. Total time of an experiment was recorded before implementation of Lean for two participants and after implementation of Lean for two participants. Satisfaction of team members was assessed anonymously on a 5-item Likert scale, ranging from much worsened to much improved.ResultsAll team members (N = 6) considered the overall experience of conducting an experiment much improved after implementation of Lean. Five out of six team members indicated a much-improved reduction in time, with the final team member considering this somewhat improved. Average experiment time was reduced by 13% after implementation of Lean (from 142 and 147 minutes to 124 and 128 minutes).DiscussionLean principles can be successfully applied to neuroimaging research. Training in Lean principles for junior research scientists is recommended.

Empowering leadership and team creativity: understanding the direct-indirect path

This study investigated the relationship between empowering leadership and team creativity by integrating the theory of group behavior with componential theory of creativity. For this study, data was collected from two sources (343 Subordinates, 67 Supervisors) by temporally dividing data collection process into two points in time for independent, dependent, and mediating variables from employees of a bank operating in Pakistan. Random coefficient analysis technique was used with Mplus 7.0 to analyze nested data for preliminary analysis and analysis of mediation and indirect effects. Mediation was analyzed using the indirect effect of random models and further confirmed the confidence using bootstrapping procedure. Through this study, the researchers tried to explore the inconsistent relationship between empowering leadership behavior and team creativity. It was found that empowering leadership behavior affects the team level creativity of employees directly and indirectly through the mediation of team learning behavior and team psychological empowerment as team process and team emergent states respectively. The results indicated that empowering leadership enhances the learning potential of teams and team empowerment perception which in turn enhances team level creativity. Further research findings, implications, and future research directions also discussed in this research.

EMPOWERING LEADERSHIP AND TEAM CREATIVITY: UNDERSTANDING THE DIRECT-INDIRECT PATH

This study investigated the relationship between empowering leadership and team creativity by integrating the theory of group behavior with componential theory of creativity. For this study, data was collected from two sources (343 Subordinates, 67 Supervisors) by temporally dividing data collection process into two points in time for independent, dependent, and mediating variables from employees of a bank operating in Pakistan. Random coefficient analysis technique was used with Mplus 7.0 to analyze nested data for preliminary analysis and analysis of mediation and indirect effects. Mediation was analyzed using the indirect effect of random models and further confirmed the confidence using bootstrapping procedure. Through this study, the researchers tried to explore the inconsistent relationship between empowering leadership behavior and team creativity. It was found that empowering leadership behavior affects the team level creativity of employees directly and indirectly through the mediation of team learning behavior and team psychological empowerment as team process and team emergent states respectively. The results indicated that empowering leadership enhances the learning potential of teams and team empowerment perception which in turn enhances team level creativity. Further research findings, implications, and future research directions also discussed in this research.

The value of social media for innovation: A capability perspective

Firms increasingly employ social media for innovation, yet current literature offers little guidance for developing their strategic uses. This study applies a qualitative, theory-building approach to derive a conceptual framework of the capabilities that allow companies to benefit by using social media throughout their innovation processes. This framework, designed to support applications of social media for innovation, sheds light on three key capabilities and related resources: social media managers who orchestrate social media activities across the innovation process; top management that cultivates support, team empowerment, and test-and-learn cycles; and agile processes that facilitate rapid decision making and knowledge flows across teams. This article enriches organizational capability theory as it pertains to innovation, and it provides managers with guidance for implementing social media strategies in practice.

Transformational Leadership, Team Empowerment and Goal Clarity, and Performance

This paper reports the testing of hypotheses within a model derived from transformational-leadership, psychological-empowerment and goal-setting theory. The survey-based data came from 2168 teacher...

A Study of Job Satisfaction of Front Line Sales Employees in Insurance Sector of India

The most vital role of Human Resource Management in an organization is the appropriate implementation of human resource development strategies to accelerate its growth and development. Researchers have emphasized on human resource strategies to enhance performance of individuals. It can be achieved through job satisfaction, strategic planning, good interpersonal relations and team empowerment. The recent studies have revealed that human resource is the key assets for any organisation. The same concept is applicable to the insurance sector as well. Insurance sector is a service sector, hence the role of its employees is even more important. The success and goodwill of the company relies on the efficiency of its employees. In today’s scenario, cause of concern for the HR managers in insurance sector is lack of job satisfaction amongst the employees. Hence this study aims to understand the factors that affect the job satisfaction of an employee in the insurance sector. The aim of the research is to identify the reasons for the job dissatisfaction in the employees. Further, it would help Human Resource manager to undertake measures to curb job dissatisfaction.

Supplemental Material for Multiple Team Membership and Empowerment Spillover Effects: Can Empowerment Processes Cross Team Boundaries?

Supplemental Material for Multiple Team Membership and Empowerment Spillover Effects: Can Empowerment Processes Cross Team Boundaries?

DEALING WITH PARADOXES OF AGILE PROJECT MANAGEMENT � TEAM-BASED SELF-ORGANIZATION BETWEEN PROMISES AND CHALLENGES

ABSTRACT In the last years we see an increasing use of agile frameworks like Scrum. One anchorpoint of agile methods is autonomous team-based self-organization and therefore an empowerment of agile teams and employees. However, we found two main paradoxes of agile project management: the paradox of heteronomous self-organization and the paradox of transparency. In this paper we would like to discuss our theoretical concept as well as our empirical insights. More precisely, we shed light on the self-organization and empowerment-approach of agile frameworks like Scrum in respect of the ‘agile promises’ given in the agile manifesto. Keywords agile project management, theory of paradoxes, critical management studies, Scrum, sociology of work, cooperation, organization

What has project characteristics got to do with the empowerment of individuals, teams and organisations?

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of project settings on empowerment experiences of individuals and teams by examining the effects of specific project characteristics on facets of the empowerment concept (i.e. the structural and psychological perspectives).Design/methodology/approachA parallel questionnaire survey of client, consultant and contractor organisations was conducted in Hong Kong to test hypotheses relating three facets of the empowerment concept and five project-level antecedents. Hierarchical linear modelling and ordinary least square regression were employed to test the hypotheses.FindingsThe analyses show that dynamic project environments, high project team integration and high interdependence of project tasks lead to high individual psychological empowerment, while public-client projects (compared with private-client projects), a hostile project environment and high client integration lead to a low individual psychological empowerment. Uncertainty in project technology also leads to high team psychological empowerment, while hostile project environments lead to low team psychological empowerment. Further, dynamic project environments lead to more empowering work climate, while hostile project environments lead to less empowering work climate. However, project team integration, project complexity, project lifecycle and quasi-public-client projects (compared with private-client projects) have no significant association with the empowerment of individuals and teams.Originality/valueThis study examined task-related factors (i.e. project in this case) which traditionally have not been the focus of studies examining the antecedents of empowerment. Further, project-level antecedents and their link to an integrated perspective of empowerment comprising a sociostructural perspective, a psychological perspective and a team-based perspective are examined, which is a significant departure from the unitary perspective of empowerment taken in most previous studies.

Developing a Community of Practice for HIV Care: Supporting Knowledge Translation in a Regional Training Initiative.

Ensuring knowledgeable, skilled HIV providers is challenged by rapid advances in the field, diversity of patients and providers, and the need to retain experienced providers while training new providers. These challenges highlight the need for education strategies, including training and clinical consultation to support translation of new knowledge to practice. New England AIDS Education and Training Center (NEAETC) provides a range of educational modalities including academic peer detailing and distance support to HIV providers in six states. We describe the interprofessional perspectives of HIV providers who participated in this regional program to understand success and areas for strengthening pedagogical modality, content, and impact on clinical practice. This 2013 to 2014 mixed-methods study analyzed quantitative programmatic data to understand changes in training participants and modalities and used semistructured interviews with 30 HIV providers and coded for preidentified and emerging themes. Since 2010, NEAETC evolved modalities to a greater focus on active learning (case discussion, clinical consultation), decreasing didactic training by half (18-9%). This shift was designed to move from knowledge transfer to translation, and qualitative findings supported the value of active learning approaches. Providers valued interactive trainings and presentation of cases supporting knowledge translation. On-site training encouraged peer networking and sharing of lessons learned. Diversity in learning priorities across providers and sites validated NEAETC's approach of tailoring topics to local needs and encouraging regional networking. Tailored approaches resulted in improved provider-reported capacity, peer learning, and support. Future evaluations should explore the impact of this multipronged approach on supporting a community of practice and empowerment of provider teams.

Individual Goal Orientations, Team Empowerment, and Employee Creative Performance: A Case of Cross‐level Interactions

AbstractIntrigued by relationship between team motivational context and individual characteristics in the organizational reality, we developed and tested a cross‐level model to investigate the interactive effects of team empowerment and individual goal orientations on individual creative performance through the mediating mechanism of an individual's creative self‐efficacy. Using multi‐wave multi‐source data from 63 R&D teams in three IT companies, we found that (1) team empowerment, individual learning goal orientation, and individual performance orientation are all positively related to individual creative performance through mediation of creative self‐efficacy; (2) learning orientation and performance approach orientation could both supplement the effects of team empowerment on individual creative self‐efficacy. Our findings point to the importance of individual goal orientation in shaping the effects of team motivation climates and provide insights for both scholars and practitioners. The specific practical implications include but are not limited to (1) individuals with learning and performance approach orientations should be identified during hiring procedures given that they could still thrive in less empowered teams and maintain a relatively high level of creative self‐efficacy and creative outcomes; (2) managers should consider assigning employees who are more learning oriented to more empowering and open‐ended tasks in order to obtain better creative results.

Effects of team empowerment education on treatment compliance of patients with chronic aplastic anemia

Objective To explore the effects of team empowerment education on compliance of patients with chronic aplastic anemia. Methods From July 2011 to December 2013, 50 patients with aplastic anemia who were hospitalized in our hospital were treated routine education as control group. From January 2014 to June 2016, 51 patients with aplastic anemia who were hospitalized in our hospital were treated as observation group, and the team empowerment education was carried out on the basis of routine education. The treatment compliance, self efficacy and quality of life of the two groups were compared after the education. Results The patients in the observation group for the dimensions of completing the self-management, improving the general self-efficacy, achieving results and responding to questions were significantly higher than the control group, and the differences were statistically significant (t=4.635, 3.986, 3.352, 4.315; P<0.01) . Team empowerment education implementation of the intervention, their treatment compliance, timely review, reasonable rest, reasonable diet, reasonable exercise, prevention of infection, smoking and drinking in 7 dimensions and total score in the observation group were significantly higher than those of the control group, and there were significant differences between two groups (t=6.012, 6.963, 5.875, 5.021, 6.523, 5.675, 4.695, 5.858; P<0.01) . Physiological function, psychological function, social function, health self cognition and total quality of life scores in the observation group were improved significantly higher than that in control group, and the differences were statistically significant (t=5.264, 4.635, 4.265, 4.145, 3.598; P<0.01) . Conclusions Team empowerment education can increase the self-efficacy of patients, enhance the patients' self management and ability to keep healthy behavior, and improve the regeneration treatment compliance of patients with aplastic anemia. Key words: Anemia, aplastic; Empowerment education; Compliance

Effects of Authentic Leadership and Team Empowerment on Team Commitment and Team-Level Organizational Citizenship Behavior : Coaching as a Moderator

본 연구는 진성리더십과 팀 임파워먼트가 팀 몰입과 팀 조직시민행동에 선행요인들이 될 수 있는지와 이들간의 관계들에서 코칭이 어떠한 역할을 하는지를 집단수준에서 알아본 연구이다. 진성리더십은 기존 리더십과 다르게 진정성 있는 모습을 보이는 리더십으로 구성원들의 팀에 대한 애착도인 팀 몰입도와 팀을 위해 자발적으로 행동하는 팀 조직시민행동을 높일 수 있다. 또한, 팀 구성원들에게 의사결정 및 영향력을 행사할 수 있도록 하는 팀 임파워먼트가 높아질수록 팀 몰입도와 팀 조직시민행동도 높아질 것이라고 예측하였다. 특히, 이들의 관계에서 리더의 코칭행동이 조절변수의 역할을 할 것이라고 예측하였다. 즉, 아무리 리더가 진성리더십을 발휘하고, 팀에 자율성이 주어지더라도 실제 업무를 할 때 생길 수 있는 어려움이나 문제들에 대한 해결방안을 마련하지 못한다면 높은 성과를 기대하기 힘들고 팀에 대한 애착도와 팀을 위한 자발적인 행동들이 나타나기 어려울 수 있다. 반대로 리더의 코칭행위는 진성리더십과 팀 임파워먼트의 효과성을 증대할 수 있을 것이라 기대하였다. 검증을 위한 표본으로는 81개 팀에 346명이 설문에 참여하였다. 분석결과, 진성리더십과 팀 임파워먼트는 팀 몰입 및 팀 조직시민행동과 긍정적인 관계들이 존재하는 것으로 나타났다. 특히, 진성리더십과 팀 임파워먼트는 두 결과변수들에 독자적인 영향력을 가지는 있으며, 리더가 진성리더십을 발휘할수록 팀에 임파워먼트가 확보될수록 구성원들은 팀에 대한 몰입도가 높아지고 팀을 위한 자발적인 행동인 팀 임파워먼트가 높아진다는 것을 의미한다. 또한, 진성리더십과 두 결과변수들 간의 정적인 관계들은 리더의 코칭행위에 의해 향상되는 것으로 나타났다. 이는 리더가 진성리더십을 발휘함과 동시에 구성원들에 대한 코칭이 이루어지면 팀에 대한 몰입도와 팀 조직시민행동이 더 향상되어질 수 있다는 것이다. 하지만, 팀 임파워먼트와 두 결과변수들 간의 정적인 관계들은 리더의 코칭행위에 의해 약화되는 것으로 나타났다. 즉, 팀 임파워먼트가 두 결과변수들에 미치는 긍정적인 영향들은 리더의 코칭행위가 높은 경우에 비해 낮은 경우에 더 크게 나타났다. 이는 팀 임파워먼트는 팀 내에 자율성이 확보된 상태에서 업무를 수행하는데, 리더가 코칭행위는 이러한 자율성을 저해하는 요소로 작용될 가능성을 제시해준다고 볼 수 있다. 이러한 결과를 토대로 여러 이론적 및 실무적인 함의점들을 가진다. 특히, 본 연구는 진성리더십과 팀 임파워먼트가 에 대한 이해의 폭을 넓힘과 동시에 코칭이 긍정적인 역할을 할 수 있는 상황과 그렇지 못한 상황이 존재할 수 있다는 점을 통해 코칭의 역할에 대한 새로운 방향을 제시해주고 있다. 실무적인 함의점으로 조직은 리더들이 진성리더십을 함양할 수 있는 기회와 함께 코칭행위를 발휘할 수 있도록 지원해주는 것이 필요할 것으로 여겨진다. 또한, 팀에 자율성을 주어 팀 임파워먼트를 확보해주는 것이 필요하지만, 이러한 경우에는 리더가 코칭행위를 자제하도록 하여 팀 임파워먼트가 가지는 긍정적인 효과를 극대화할 필요성이 있다.