Economics - Theses
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ItemWork team effectiveness in high technology manufacturing( 1995)The purpose of this study is to formulate and test a causal model of work team effectiveness among work team members at a large automotive manufacturing company. The study seeks to integrate previous work team theories, but adopt a more parsimonious approach to work team effectiveness by taking into account the developmental stage or “maturity” of the work teams being studied. The study examines also the issue of level of analysis. The level of analysis is an important issue for this study because of the multiple-level phenomena that comprise the model of work team effectiveness. This issue is examined from both theoretical and empirical perspectives. Having identified the development of the work teams in the study to be at the storming and norming stages of development (Tuckman, 1965), team development theory is used to formulate hypotheses about the criteria of work team effectiveness and its determinants. The dependent variables in the causal model comprise several work team effectiveness criteria that are identified by team development theory, such as team satisfaction, acceptance of team norms, team citizenship behaviour and work team viability. A fifth measure of work team effectiveness, team performance, is drawn from the broader theoretical literature on work teams. Team factors, such as role clarity, team cohesion, interpersonal conflict and team leadership, are predicted by team development theory to be important determinants of work team effectiveness at the storming and norming stages of development. Other independent variables in the model, such as task and organisational factors, are drawn again from the broader theoretical literature on work teams. The results of the study provide general support for the model of work team effectiveness. Moreover, several developmental hypotheses are confirmed. In particular, the results support the important role of team leadership, team cohesion and interpersonal conflict, and the reduced role of external leaders in predicting work team effectiveness at the storming and norming stages of development. The theoretical, methodological and practical implications of the study are discussed.