Work Team Members Research Articles

A Theory-Based Approach for Identifying Nurse and Team Member Contributions in the Electronic Health Record.

Team-based care delivered by an interprofessional team has been shown to be an effective strategy for caring for diverse, complex patient populations. Interprofessional teams can improve outcomes, reduce costs, and enhance the patient experience through patient-centered care. Nurses are essential members of healthcare teams within and across settings. It is imperative for practicing nurses, educators, and researchers to be able to identify and report the contributions of nurses to team performance and care outcomes to prepare students for high-performance teamwork to improve practice and influence healthcare policy. Currently, the work of many nurses and other team members is not discoverable in electronic health records. Methods used to identify all members of the healthcare team may not be aligned with theories and definitions of teamwork embedded in emerging nursing and interprofessional accreditation guidelines. This paper describes a promising new, theoretically grounded approach to identify team members, including nurses, in electronic health records. Using operational constructs from a common team definition, grounded in theory, primary care teams were data mined from EHR data to find the hidden members of the team. Further testing and use of this approach have the potential to provide a robust strategy to identify and distinguish each team member's contributions to clinical outcomes while laying the foundation for a meaningful study of teams in large data sets like the electronic health record. New strategies to study nursing and team member contributions utilizing EHR data may lead to improved clinical outcomes. A better understanding of how teams are structured may enhance the understanding of each team member's contribution to outcomes and lead to more equitable recognition and reimbursement for all team members.

Missionaries of the Party: Work-team Participation and Intellectual Incorporation

AbstractAmong the most distinctive features of Chinese Communist Party governance is the frequent deployment of work teams to conduct campaigns, implement policies and troubleshoot crises. An underappreciated aspect of work-team operations from Land Reform to the present has been the active participation of educated intellectuals as key intermediaries between central leaders and grassroots society. Serving in effect as “missionaries” of the Party, intellectual work-team members function as trained “ritual specialists” in carrying out their appointed mission. Although work teams are often not the most efficient or effective means of governance, the impact of work-team experience on team members themselves is consequential. Employing quasi-religious practices designed to promote the ideological incorporation of intellectuals, work teams have helped to forestall the emergence in China of an alienated class of dissidents like those whose criticisms eroded the legitimacy of Communist regimes elsewhere in the world.

The dark side of teamwork–the relationship between social stressors, social resources and team member well-being in monocultural and multicultural work teams

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between cultural diversity in teams and team members' individual well-being. The paper further explores the relationship between social resources, social stressors, team member well-being and the influence of the type of team individuals are working in (mono- vs. multicultural), gender and individualism/collectivism (IC).Design/methodology/approachUsing data collected via an online survey, the authors analyzed 659 responses from individuals working in mono- and multicultural work teams. A theoretical model explaining the influence of social stressors, social resources, and social and demographic variables was proposed and tested using structural equation modeling.FindingsThe results indicate that members of multicultural work teams perceive significantly more social stressors and lower levels of social resources than do members of monocultural teams. Higher levels of social stressors suggest decreased psychological well-being, while social resources have an indirect positive effect on psychological well-being. Furthermore, personal characteristics, namely, individualism and gender, have direct effects on the perception of social stressors and indirect effects on team member well-being.Originality/valueThis paper demonstrates that cultural diversity in teams can influence the social stressors and resources that individual team members experience. Moreover, the pivotal role of social resources in the facilitation of team member well-being is highlighted primarily through its direct effect on social stressors and its concomitant indirect effect on well-being.

Researcher experiences in practice-based interdisciplinary research

Abstract This article reports on a study that followed up on an initial interdisciplinary project and focused specifically on the experiences of researchers involved in practice-based interdisciplinary research. We share an approach to research evaluation that focuses on the experiences of those conducting the research rather than the outputs. The study allowed those involved in the initial successful project to reflect post hoc on their experiences. We show that neglecting fundamental conceptions about how the research is conceptualized can lead to challenges with the research itself. In addition to alternative understandings of research and concepts, practical and logistical issues, whilst seeming trivial, feed into communication issues such as misunderstanding of terms and language. We argue that tensions and confusions around the very nature of the research—what was being researched, and what was valued as research, epistemological differences between the disciplinary perspectives—need to be explored and interrogated in order to maximize the benefits of interdisciplinary research. We conclude with considerations of the relationship between interdisciplinary research in a team and identity work of team members, and the implications this may have for research design, an area of research evaluation that certainly needs further exploration.

Oncology social work practice behaviors: a national survey of AOSW members

Purpose Few studies have examined the practices of U.S. oncology social workers since the implementation of distress screening. This study presents data about oncology social work practice behaviors, including participation in distress screening and interdisciplinary team integration. Design Using a cross-sectional survey design, Association of Oncology Social Work (AOSW) members were invited to complete the anonymous web-based survey between June and September 2019. Sample AOSW members (N = 1116) were invited through email and listserv posts to participate in the survey with 533 (47.8%) responding. Methods A quantitative on-line survey was used to investigate demographics, distress screening roles and other practice behaviors. Descriptive analyses were conducted on the data. Results Respondents engaged in a range of practice behaviors consistent with the Standards and Scope of Practice published by AOSW, primarily engaging in patient-focused work. They reported viewing their role as integrated with the interdisciplinary team. Respondents were highly involved in distress screening processes, primarily receiving referrals from distress screening but also collecting/reviewing screening results and referring patients to other providers based on those results. Implications for Psychosocial Providers Knowledge about the ways that oncology social workers enact their role across settings and locations could be useful to those developing effective and integrated psychosocial oncology programs, especially distress screening protocols. Specific knowledge about the practice behaviors of oncology social workers in the U.S. may also help to delineate the role from the work of other interdisciplinary oncology team members.

Virtual team member perspectives on personal development: A sequential explanatory study

The use of virtual teams in organizations has shifted upward exponentially since the onset of COVID-19, yet available research does not include findings based on workplace virtual team members, as opposed to student populations. Research is limited on what virtual workplace team members consider important in the performance coaching and personal development processes. Research on virtual team member perspectives is valuable for human resource professionals and organizational leaders and particularly helpful to organizations struggling to respond to the new work-at-home environment. The purpose of the mixed-methods study was to explore the perspectives of virtual team members about how performance coaching, mentoring, and training contribute to their personal development. Participants for the study were members of social network virtual team groups who have been members of virtual work teams. The sequential explanatory study data was from a sample of 149 virtual team members (12 for the pilot survey and 137 for the full study). The Kruskal–Wallis results led to the rejection of the null hypothesis at an overall significance level of 0.05, with significance levels of 0.014 for coaching and 0.008 for mentoring, indicating a perceived positive contribution from performance development efforts (coaching and mentoring) on the personal development of individual virtual team members. These results on the interpersonal aspects of virtual teams from team members and consideration of perspectives on their personal development provide organizations, leadership, and human resources professionals, valuable information to improve virtual teams and the team member experience in normal and unusual work situations.

Curricular dynamics at the Universidad Autónoma del Noreste. Development of soft competencies in students for employability. Thematic core of the conference: Employability practices

Yturralde (2016) points out, that whether social or labor environments, demand to go beyond just recalling data, follow procedures to obtain a result, to have knowledge based on the time and discipline: he explains that to succeed today, you need to have well-developed soft competencies, or social skills, as Harvard University, Carnegie Foundation, and Standford Research Institute research exposed, on the importance of aptitude against social skills. They concluded that specialized technical knowledge generates 15% of success in professional and occupational activities, while 85% lies in the soft competencies, attitude, self-determination, the capacity of communication, teamwork, critical thinking, and conflict resolution primarily.The Universidad Autónoma del Noreste (UANE), aware of the requirements of the moment and future ones, to develop in students strategic skills, hard and soft competencies required by society and the labor market, began in the year 2005 this longitudinal research with a mixed approach to determine an application methodology for the four teaching techniques (4TD) throughout the learning process of the student and a continuous improvement system through the analysis of results of each semi-annual cross-section.Application of the 4TD strengthens UANE's educational model, which focuses on the construction of learning for life and work. It encourages student's learning by relating the curricular objectives with problematic situations of the professional practice and also promoting constructive social interaction among members of work teams, through Problem-Based Learning (PBL), Project-Oriented Learning (POL), Case Method (CM) and Collaborative Learning (CL).In the Students' Self-Evaluation of both semesters in 2018 and the first semester of 2019, students expressed that applicating the 4TD strengthened their cognitive and social skills. All our university campuses are qualified above 8 in the 4TDscale, which implies strength. It is also an excellent indicator of the teaching performance on developing the students' abilities, which gives relevance to the project.In 2018 the student satisfaction level of all UANE was 97% very satisfied with the application of the four teaching techniques, in general. In the 1st semester of 2019, students expressed 99% being very satisfied with the implementation of 4TD, the level of employability of our students is 70%.This project benefits the teachers with continuous training in the 4TD application, strengthens their teaching practice, and has an impact on the formation commitment to students to cover all current requirements. The project is sustainable over time, given the interest of the UANE in academic quality that sustains the student formation according to our institution Mission of: "Create opportunities to develop exemplary people, committed to their future."

School Library Team

In New Zealand school libraries, the nature of educational activities performed by school library staff is unclear. Three parallel case studies were conducted to explore the actual work of school library team members. Ways of working with teachers and each other were explored in interviews and focus groups and the characteristics of information service provision were compared with those reflected in the wider literature. While many practices were affirmed for their positive influence on teaching and learning, areas for further development were identified. These are discussed in terms of creating change and strengthening learning outcomes.

Team Characteristics Moderating Effect on Software Project Completion Time

This study highlights the importance of human factors in software projects developed in capability maturity model (CMM) level software development environments. While software process initiatives help streamline the development process, people factors can influence project outcomes. Using data procured from the International Software Benchmarking Standard Group, the effects of team turnover, team heterogeneity, and team member work experience were examined as they moderate project elapsed time for software projects developed in CMM level software development environments. Team member work experience and team functional heterogeneity were found to have significant moderating effects on project elapsed time to completion. The turnover of members on the team did not have a significant moderating effect on project elapsed time to completion. Previous studies have examined the benefits of raising the level of maturity as identified by the capability maturity model. This study identifies the importance of human factors as they moderate project success.

Methods to Choose IT Project Executors

Companies working in the field of IT technologies, in most cases, implement a project management approach. A significant problem of the project management paradigm is the creation of the project team. The main criterion that determines the possibility of choosing a specialist for the project team is the level of his compliance with the required set of competencies. The task can be solved using the system analysis. Hierarchical decomposition of functions and criteria allows us to form a relative assessment of applicants to assign for the project. The article examined an example of decomposition of the system of functions, criteria and the results of assessing relative importance of functions for the implementation of a project in the support department of accounting programs of the company "En + Digital". In the process of project implementation, it becomes necessary to address the issue of operational distribution and work redistribution adjusting appointed executors. The article discusses the methods of redistributing functions using internal resource and possibilities of hiring third-party performers. The research determined the necessity to use informational assessment of team members work load while managing the project.

Team Member Work Role Performance: The Organizational Benefits From Performance-Based Horizontal Pay Dispersion and Workplace Benign Envy

In the context of the current uncertain, complex, and interdependent work systems, teams have become organizations’ substantial working unit, which in turn challenges the traditional view of employee performance and ultimately results in the emergence of team member work role performance. Employee team-oriented work role behaviors with proficiency, adaptivity, and proactivity, which are integrated by the new construct, are so crucial to team effectiveness that many organizations keenly expect to achieve team member work role performance through implementing a dispersed pay-for-performance plan within a team. This study seeks to address the organizational practitioners’ main concern that whether pay dispersion among team members (i.e., horizontal pay dispersion, HPD) could actually help realize team member work role performance and further examines why and when an employee could respond to HPD within a team by engaging in team member work role behaviors from the perspective of the performance-shaping basis and team member’s workplace benign envy. Drawing on emotion-related theory, social comparison theory, legitimacy theory, expectation theory, and relative deprivation theory, it proposes that performance-based HPD could not only positively impact team member work role performance via workplace benign envy but also exert a direct-positive effect. Moreover, the activating effect of performance-based HPD on workplace benign envy and the mediating role are much stronger when a team member’s pay position is higher. The multi-source data including objective information and subjective perception among 362 ordinary employees within 66 Chinese organizational teams primarily supported the moderated mediation model. Yet, the direct-positive effect was not established.

PLANNING THE TEAMS FOR PROJECT MANAGEMENT OF THE AVIATION COMPANY

The authors of this article presented the means to create a balanced staff on the example of pilots – the flight personnel of commercial aviation companies. In modern economic conditions, state regulation of activities in the field of aviation and the use of airspace of Ukraine is aimed at ensuring aviation safety. Commercial provision of state interests, national security, and the needs of society and the economy in air transportation and aviation work.The ability to plan labor resources using the results of various types of testing, analysis of project management teams and the allocation of roles and responsibilities on an aircraft (airplane, helicopter), based on this analysis of candidates for rank and file officers to determine the compatibility of the work of team members of such projects. Based on the analysis of tests and response parameters of pilots, flight engineers, flight attendants, stewardesses, etc.Corresponding flight teams are formed from the rank and file and officers (service and engineering teams) since each aircraft crew is a separate unique project. The connection of this problem with important scientific and practical tasks. In projects, the longer the project is designed and the more important that the composition of the performers does not change during the project (namely, this situation occurs on aircraft), the more attention should be paid not only to the selection of the project management team, but to the entire staff project management.This task is important not only for aviation companies. In particular, for example, in projects for the creation of air, sea, electric, oil and gas routes, “trailers”, involving networks mainly outside the settlements, which also require the study of all project personnel. There are other commercial and economic practical situations.

Enhancing software development through project‐based learning and the quality of planning

R&D plays a crucial role in developing new products, the commercialisation of which can drive corporate growth. Over three decades, research has focused the new product development (NPD) process and it is known that developing new products is a knowledge‐intensive, risky activity. Since industry surveys show that many NPD projects, particularly software‐based ones, fail to meet their schedules and objectives. Consequently, today’s R&D managers still need ways to plan and conduct NPD more effectively. Project‐based Learning (PBL) – the generation of specific technical and process knowledge during and after a project – is a potential way to improve NPD. Therefore, this paper investigated the research question: Does PBL enhance the quality of planning in subsequent software development projects? The study used a sample of 47 software development projects at three multinational organisations. Significantly, the findings show that PBL does enhance the quality of planning of subsequent software development projects. In particular, the quality of planning is increased in projects with high levels of uncertainty; where team members work in a project‐based structure with strong collaboration; and when the pressure to deliver projects is high. The contribution of the research at a theoretical level is that it identified an important link between learning and the quality of planning in subsequent NPD projects. At a practical level, the study identifies specific steps R&D managers can take to improve the performance of software development projects, with all their associated challenges.

Sustaining Collaborative Effort in Work Teams: Exchange Ideology and Employee Social Loafing

To sustain the effort of work team members as a collaborative resource over time, organizations need to avoid the social loafing of employees. Recognizing the importance of this relationship, we investigated both individual (i.e., exchange ideology) and situational factors (i.e., task visibility and professional respect) that influence employees’ attitudes toward social exchange and team collaboration and thus their social loafing. Using survey responses of 223 employee–supervisor dyads in South Korean firms, hierarchical regression analyses demonstrated that employees with a low exchange ideology were unlikely to engage in social loafing. In addition, exchange ideology interacted with both task visibility and professional respect to influence social loafing. Specifically, task visibility was negatively associated with social loafing, and this effect was stronger when employees were low, rather than high, in exchange ideology. Moreover, professional respect was negatively associated with social loafing, and this effect was stronger among those low in exchange ideology. Thus, a low level of exchange ideology can reduce social loafing and can also enhance the potential for task visibility and professional respect to strengthen effort levels. Accordingly, this study suggested that individual characteristics, especially exchange ideology, are important in reducing social loafing and clearly stated what managerial guidelines can be implemented to practically reduce social loafing.

How Social Resources Build Team Serving Culture in Extreme Law Enforcement Environments

Research on extreme environments has highlighted the necessity of having response teams with a culture of serving both the community and the team. Though several researchers have discussed the need for “unit solidarity” or a “communal code,” our research is one of the first to empirically examine communal solidarity—that is, the building of unity in both the community and the team by serving both, which we operationalize as team serving culture—in an extreme environment. We use social contagion and social resource theories to develop a processual model showing how team serving culture starts with department servant leadership. We theorize that department servant leadership trickles down to influence team leader servant leadership, which enhances social resources including trust in team leader, team cohesion, and trust in team, which then relate to team serving culture. Finally, we show how team serving culture influences outcomes such as team service performance and team member work engagement. We test our model using a sample of 344 officers and 104 leaders enlisted in Brazil’s Battalion of Special Operations Police. Results support our theoretical model. Implications from this study inform work on team serving culture and how it can be enhanced even in non-extreme settings.

Auditors' and Specialists' Views About the Use of Specialists During an Audit

ABSTRACTAuditors often rely on the assistance of specialists from such fields as tax, information technology, valuation, and forensic accounting. Integration of the work of specialists with the work of audit team members is a challenge for both groups. This interview-based study of 34 practitioners from six accounting firms, including 12 auditors (partners and managers) and 22 specialists (tax, IT, valuation, forensic) examines auditors' and specialists' views about the current state of specialist use on audits. The regulatory environment creates pressure for financial statement auditors to use specialists on audits; however, financial statement auditors often seek to limit specialist involvement. Both auditors and specialists are dissatisfied with the current situation, but for different reasons. Auditors are concerned about budget overruns, delays, and harm to client relationships by (overly) meticulous specialists. Specialists are concerned about auditors limiting the scope of specialist involvement, and its effect on audit quality.JEL Classifications: M4; M40; M42.

An integrated model of team resilience: exploring the roles of team sensemaking, team bricolage and task interdependence

PurposeThe contemporary organizational environment calls for work team members to be more resilient in the face of likely setbacks, which are routinely experienced at the workplace. In two separate studies of work teams, we examine the impact of team sensemaking on team bricolage and subsequently, on team resilience. These studies further investigate whether task interdependence moderates the mediation of team bricolage for the relationship between team sensemaking and team resilience. In brief, these two studies conceptualize and test the relevance of team sensemaking, team bricolage and task interdependence for team resilience.Design/methodology/approachA sample of 213 team members participated in the self-administered survey for Study 1. For Study 2, a second sample collected from 81 teams, elicited team-level data by consensus among team members.FindingsFindings show that team sensemaking as an antecedent has a significant and positive impact on team resilience. The results also showhowandwhenthe relationship between team sensemaking and team resilience is facilitated through an underlying mechanism of team bricolage in the presence of task interdependence among team members. This research improves the understanding about the relationship between team sensemaking and team resilience by examining the underlying mechanism and boundary condition under which the relationship is the strongest.Practical implicationsThese findings have important implications for human resource managers. In face of adverse events, team sensemaking plays a pivotal role as it can enable team members to have better situational awareness, communication and reflection. Team sensemaking can be further facilitated for improved team resilience by embedding bricolage and task interdependence components in the employee orientation, job description and training of potential and current employees.Originality/valueThese findings demonstrate that in the wake of adverse events, team sensemaking can play a pivotal role as it enables team members to have better situational awareness, communication and reflection. For team resilience, the findings imply that team sensemaking can be further facilitated by team bricolage in the presence of task interdependence in work teams. Thus, managers of modern work teams and organizations can sensitize team members about these aspects through employee orientation, job description and on and off job training activities.

From Failure to Excellence: A Capa Plan for Improving CIBMTR Data Submission

Topic Significance & Study Purpose/Background/Rationale Transplant centers that maintain membership in the Center for International Blood & Marrow Transplantation Research (CIMBTR) are required to submit clinical treatment and patient outcome data. To ensure data integrity, the CIMBTR performs audits of submitted data. The audit benchmark is to have a data reporting error rate that is less than or equal to three percent (≤3%) on Transplant Essential Data (TED) and other selected forms. Adverse consequences are instituted if repeated audit failures occur. Audits at our center in 2007, 2011, and 2015 all exceeded the CIMBTR benchmark (>3%). Corrective action plans were implemented after each audit; however, they were not fully completed or successful. Methods, Intervention, & Analysis After the third audit failure in 2015, a systemic review of the data reporting process was performed by the BMT Clinical Nurse Specialist, Research Nurse and Data Manager. Deficiencies were identified in numerous areas: inadequate staffing for data management, lack of ongoing training/development of the data manager, lack of retention of critical documents in the shadow charts, infrequent consultation with content experts, poor design of physical space for storage, and conversion from a paper-based medical records system to an electronic medical record (EMR). A comprehensive corrective action/preventive action plan (CAPA) was implemented to improve the data reporting process and decrease the error reporting rate. The following actions influenced a reduction in errors: structured shadow charts; additional data management support, expansive training of a new data manager, robust internal audit process, and re-commitment by medical staff as content experts for disease-based and GVHD reporting. Findings & Interpretation Internal audits demonstrated improvement over the next three years. A formal audit by CIMBTR in 2019 demonstrated an overall audit error rate of less than one percent ( Discussion & Implications We found the focused use of TED form instructions, extensive auditing and real time audit feedback to be beneficial. The key factor of success for improvement in the data reporting process and subsequent decreased error rate was collaborative work of multiple team members from multiple disciplines within the transplant program.

A Group Approach to Team Creativity

Are new products accomplished by highly creative individuals, or by creative teams? This paper will start from the assumption that some creative team achievements cannot be reduced to the work of separate team members. Does this assumption mean that some major strands of research on creativity become irrelevant to the study of new product development, as new products are often developed by teams. And has research on group creativity grown to the extent that it can be used as a vantage point for studying new product development? The present paper will discuss these questions, arguing that recent studies suggesting a relation between group diversity and group creativity do offer some notable insights, but also arguing that a paradox seems to emerge: The same requirement of ‘shared views’ that is supposed to be for team functioning may be harmful for creativity. Suggestions are made to deal with this paradox, in particular Fiol’s proposal to open up the concept of consensus, and an argument that starts from Allen’s observation that engineers integrate ‘messages’ rather than generating completely new ideas.After a brief discussion of research on idea-generation techniques, the paper concludes that research on the creativity of organizational teams must take the organizational context into account, by distinguishing different ways to organize innovation and by acknowledging that the perceptions (or judgments) of others in the organization are relevant if an answer is to be given on some basic questions: Is this a creative group? Is this a creative idea?

Establishing field-based consulting experience for MBA students: Lessons learned by a small-sized university

Most major universities expect MBA students to take a full-course load each term. Also, as a condition of graduation, MBA students must work full-time in small teams on focused-based consulting (FBC) projects for large-sized corporations. After being given the assignment and deadline, team members work tirelessly to complete their project. Such experiences facilitate the transition of major universities’ MBA students into the real business world. On the other hand, most MBA students at small-sized universities work full-time for a company during the day and take one or two courses in the evening each semester. Despite these constraints, Indiana University Kokomo (IUK) (Kokomo, Indiana, USA) was able to successfully develop and implement a required MBA-level FBC course (C599). In addition to having a positive influence on IUK’s MBA students, this course has had a significant impact upon the economic development of small-sized firms in northcentral Indiana. This paper chronicles the “trials and tribulations” the School of Business encountered in creating and executing C599. After presenting representative comments from client companies and MBA students, six implementation problems with C599 are discussed along with subsequent modifications. Finally, suggestions for small-sized universities like IUK who want to develop and implement their own MBA consultative course are presented.