Team communication and performance during sustained working conditions

This thesis hypothesizes that providing task specific information to individual team members will improve coordination and decision-making, and therefore team performance, at time critical tasks. Major themes addressed in this research include teams and team processes, mental models, team mental models, work domain analysis, and hierarchical task analysis. Furthermore, the theory behind the development of complementary models is introduced. A unique method to identify the information sources and requirements in a complex team environment is first discussed in general and then specifically applied in two domains. The findings are presented of two experiments examining the effects of imposing different information distribution strategies that range from no complementariness to full complementariness of information. Team communication, team and individual task performance, workload, and timeliness and effectiveness of team decision making were assessed in nominal and off-nominal conditions. The first experiment used an automobile simulator and examined team navigation while driving. A second experiment was designed to incorporate additional measures to more specifically investigate individual performance, team workload, and clarity of information requirements using a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter simulator. The procedures used for both experiments provided for dynamic yet controlled environments through which critical factors that influence team process and performance could be evaluated accurately. Results of these experiments provide empirical evidence that providing task relevant information to individual team members in a time critical environment, while limiting their access to non-relevant information, improves individual and team performance. Furthermore, there is evidence of increased individual performance that indicates this method of distributing information among team members may provide individual crewmembers with a more accurate “task relevant” mental model of their own environment. This research provides new insight into how the distribution of information among team members effects the development of mental models, information requirements, team and individual performance, and communications, and highlights several directions for future research. The information distribution design principles presented in this thesis address the heterogeneity of teams; teams cannot be thought of as groups of identical individuals. The results concerning the communication, workload, performance and team of mental models were consistent across the domains in this research.

A team's ability to respond positively to adversities, problems, and obstacles during their season is an essential part of success in collective sports. Grounded in team resilience theory and using a multilevel analytical approach, this study examined the relationship of the characteristics of resilience and vulnerability under pressure with perceived individual and team performance. Participants were 676 soccer players (530 males and 146 females) aged 15-42 years (M=21.40, SD=5.38), who played on 64 senior and under-18 soccer teams of several national leagues in Spain. In the final month of the season, factors related to team resilience and individual and team performance were analyzed. We estimated multilevel models by including perceived individual and team performance as dependent variables. Characteristics of resilience and vulnerability under pressure were considered as fixed and random effects (i.e., individual- and team-level intercepts and slopes). At the individual level, results showed that characteristics of resilience were positively associated with subjective individual and team performance, whereas vulnerability under pressure was negatively related to perceived team (but not individual) performance. At the team level, only characteristics of resilience positively predicted team performance. These findings suggest that more resilient teams report more successful performance from an individual and team perspective, whereas teams that are more vulnerable under pressure report poorer team performance. Taken together, the study underscores the importance of practitioners to develop strategies that improve their teams' resilience, given that team resilience helps to achieve positive subjective individual and team outcomes.

Development of a 2nd-generation version of a Team Performance Assessment Technology (TPAT) is briefly described in this article. The TPAT resides in a computer-based simulation that provides real-time assessment of both team and individual performance in a complex decision-making and problem-solving environment. The TPAT system consists of a suite of interrelated software programs allowing for tailored scenario design, session supervisor control, running of the scenario, and analysis of both individual and team performance. It also includes a fully configured participant training program. The measurement system provides complex graphic scoring profiles, known as time/event matrices, which portray the planning and decision-making activities of individual, subteam, and total team performance. They also incorporate more than 50 measures to collect data on any individual player or any combination of players up to a total of 9, or both. The built-in scenario employs a strategic search and rescue scenario (know...

Effective teamwork is not only essential for teams themselves, but also for organizations and our society. To facilitate team processes and enhance team performance, feedback interventions are a widely used means. However, different types of feedback (i.e., individual vs. team-level feedback, performance vs. process feedback) can have various effects leaving the question of their effectiveness unanswered. This is especially important when team members’ attitudes (namely collective orientation) are considered. Thus, understanding the interplay between types of feedback and team members’ attitudes would reveal new opportunities for fostering reliable teamwork. The methodology of the present study is based on a laboratory approach. Teams (N = 142) of two worked together over four scenarios to extinguish forest fires in a microworld. We examined the effects of collective orientation on team coordination and team performance. To understand the interplay between feedback and attitudes we examined the effect of different feedback interventions on team performance and on a change in collective orientation. For analyzing multilevel mediation and changes over time, Bayesian multilevel models were applied. Results show a positive relationship between collective orientation and team performance mediated by coordination. Additionally, team-level process and performance feedback seem to be slightly more beneficial for maintaining performance over time with increasing difficulty of the task compared to individual-level process feedback. Feedback can lead to an increase in collective orientation if these values are low at the beginning. Our research highlights the importance of collective orientation and feedback interventions on team processes and performance for interdependently working teams.

IntroductionInterprofessional training wards (IPTW) aim to improve undergraduates' interprofessional collaborative practice of care. Little is known about the effects of the different team tasks on IPTW as measured by external assessment. In Heidelberg, Germany, four nursing and four medical undergraduates (= one cohort) care for up to six patients undergoing general surgery during a four-week placement. They learn both professionally and interprofessionally, working largely on their own responsibility under the supervision of the medical and nursing learning facilitators. Interprofessional ward rounds are a central component of developing individual competencies and team performance. The aim of this study was to evaluate individual competencies and team performance shown in ward rounds.MethodsObservations took place in four cohorts of four nursing and four medical undergraduates each. Undergraduates in one cohort were divided into two teams, which rotated in morning and afternoon shifts. Team 1 was on morning shift during the first (t0) and third (t1) weeks of the IPTW placement, and Team 2 was on morning shift during the second (t0) and fourth (t1) weeks. Within each team, a tandem of one nursing and one medical undergraduate cared for a patient room with three patients. Ward round observations took place with each team and tandem at t0 and t1 using the IP-VITA instrument for individual competencies (16 items) and team performance (11 items). Four hypotheses were formulated for statistical testing with linear mixed models and correlations.ResultsA total of 16 nursing and medical undergraduates each were included. There were significant changes in mean values between t0 and t1 in individual competencies (Hypothesis 1). They were statistically significant for all three sum scores: “Roles and Responsibilities”, Patient-Centeredness”, and “Leadership”. In terms of team performance (Hypothesis 2), there was a statistically significant change in mean values in the sum score “Roles and Responsibilities” and positive trends in the sum scores “Patient-Centeredness” and “Decision-Making/Collaborative Clinical Reasoning”. Analysis of differences in the development of individual competencies in the groups of nursing and medical undergraduates (Hypothesis 3) showed more significant differences in the mean values of the two groups in t0 than in t1. There were significant correlations between individual competencies and team performance at both t0 and t1 (Hypothesis 4).DiscussionThe study has limitations due to the small sample and some sources of bias related to the external assessment by means of observation. Nevertheless, this study offers insights into interprofessional tasks on the IPTW from an external assessment. Results from quantitative and qualitative analysis of learners self-assessment are confirmed in terms of roles and responsibilities and patient-centeredness. It has been observed that medical undergraduates acquired and applied skills in collaborative clinic reasoning and decision-making, whereas nursing undergraduates acquired leadership skills. Within the study sample, only a small group of tandems remained constant over time. In team performance, the group of constant tandems tended to perform better than the group of random tandems. The aim of IPTW should be to prepare healthcare team members for the challenge of changing teams. Therefore, implications for IPTW implementation could be to develop learning support approaches that allow medical and nursing undergraduates to bring interprofessional competencies to team performance, independent of the tandem partner or team.

There is a growing literature on the relationship between teamwork and patient outcomes in intensive care, providing new insights into the skills required for effective team performance. The purpose of this review is to consolidate the most robust findings from this research into an intensive care unit (ICU) team performance framework. Studies investigating teamwork within the ICU using PubMed, Science Direct, and Web of Knowledge databases. Studies investigating the relationship between aspects of teamwork and ICU outcomes, or studies testing factors that are found to influence team working in the ICU. Teamwork behaviors associated with patient or staff-related outcomes in the ICU were identified. Teamwork behaviors were grouped according to the team process categories of "team communication," "team leadership," "team coordination," and "team decision making." A prototype framework explaining the team performance in the ICU was developed using these categories. The purpose of the framework is to consolidate the existing ICU teamwork literature and to guide the development and testing of interventions for improving teamwork. Effective teamwork is shown as crucial for providing optimal patient care in the ICU. In particular, team leadership seems vital for guiding the way in which ICU team members interact and coordinate with others.

Teams are a critical aspect of organizational life and understanding the taxonomy and processes extant in team life is a critical first step in learning how to optimize team and individual performance. This chapter examines key components of both team structure and team processes that form the fundamental underpinnings of team performance. Once leaders understand these constructs and the role they play in team performance, leaders can devise interventions to build better teams. The best teams produce the best team performances and contribute to enhancing the skill development of each individual team member. The relationship between the team and its members is symbiotic. Given this, a leader has the potential to impact the development of teams and individual team members simultaneously.

Investigating the effects of time pressure on new product development teams

Empirical research suggests that the positive relationship between team decision comprehensiveness - how team members systematically gather quantities of information and how extensively they consider and analyze these - and team performance is nuanced. However, there has been scant research on the influence of more proximate cognitive contextual factors, such as shared perceptions, on the comprehensiveness-performance relationship. In this study of 56 teams, we examine how perceived socio-cultural similarity - the extent to which team members view themselves as having few surface-level, demographic differences - moderates the relationship between team decision comprehensiveness and team performance. Our findings suggest that decision comprehensiveness positively contributes to team performance only when perceived socio-cultural similarity among team members is low.

These days, some work groups use the publication of employees’ performance information as feedback on their work, such as sales champions in car sales or real estate sales, to improve group performance by using well-performing employees to motivate poor-performing employees to promote their individual work effort. Social comparison theory helps people to evaluate their abilities when lacking an absolute objective standard. This study explored the effects of individual ability level, the combination of ability levels, and personality traits on social comparison among co-operators. Method: A three-way mixed design of 2 (work condition: individual work; group work) X 3 (individual ability level: high ability; medium ability; low ability) X 3 (combination of ability levels: the combination of two high-ability, one medium-ability and one low-ability; the combination of one high-ability, two medium-ability and one low-ability; the combination of one high-ability, one medium-ability and two low-ability) was used, with 180 subjects completing the illusion ensemble task and completing the personality trait questionnaires (including Rosenberg self-esteem scale, Eysenck Personality Inventory(EPQ), Social Comparison Orientation Scale(INCOM) and social comparative effect scale) under different experimental conditions. Results: The results indicated that work condition significantly influenced individual performance. Besides, individual ability level had a significant effect on social comparison. The impact of work condition on individual performance was different for subjects with varying levels of ability: the performance of high-ability subjects significantly decreased, while both medium-ability and low-ability subjects significantly increased, and low-ability subjects had significantly higher performance improvement than medium-ability subjects. Moreover, different combinations of ability levels significantly impacted subjects' individual behavior. Low-ability subjects in the combination of one high-ability, one medium-ability, and two low-ability subjects had the most significant improvement, which was the combined result of the upward identification and parallel comparison. Furthermore, personality traits play a crucial role in social comparison. Self-esteem had a significant effect on participation in social comparison. Subjects with low self-esteem were more inclined to participate in social comparisons and changed sharply in individual performance relative to those with high self-esteem. In addition, neuroticism was associated with adverse effects caused by social comparison (e.g., upward-contrast effect and downward-identification effect), whereas extraversion was associated with positive effects induced by social comparison (e.g., upward-identification). Apart from this, social comparison propensity was found to be positively associated with changes in individual performance and negatively related to self-esteem scores. Additionally, performance change in medium-ability subjects may primarily come from the effect of the downward-contrast effect from the result of the social comparison effect scale. Conclusions: This study illustrates the impact of individual ability and personality traits on social comparison, and provides feasible suggestions for the work organization to improve group performance. Based on the performance changes across groups, an increment in the number of high-ability subjects caused a decrease in team performance, whereas an increment in the number of low-ability subjects positively affected overall team performance. Therefore, group work organizations can improve team performance by increasing the number of low-ability members and reducing the number of high-ability members in future management.

Current research highlights the importance of workplace relationships (e.g., leader-member exchange and team-member exchange) on individual and team performance. However, there is a lack of understanding of the effects of leader-star exchange relationship (LSX), defined as the dyadic relationships between team leader and team star performer. Drawing on theories of justice, we empirically examine both direct and indirect effects of LSX on nonstar individual and team performance in a three-wave multi-source, multi-level study of 190 teams, consisting of 190 leaders and 798 employees. Our findings suggest that through impacting the collective justice climate (CJC), LSX is positively related to both nonstar individual and team performance. In addition, through CJC, LSX moderates the relationships of leader-member exchange (LMX) and leader-member exchange differentiation (LMXD) on nonstar individual performance such that it significantly influences the direction of these relationships. Specifically, LSX strengthens the positive relationship between nonstar LMX and nonstar individual performance. On the other hand, LMXD is positively related to nonstar individual performance when there is high LSX between the leader and star performers and negatively related to nonstar individual performance when LSX is low. Implications of the effects of the leader’s relationship with star performers are discussed.

Orientation: This study examined the linkage between team communication, team motivation and search and rescue (SAR) team performance.Research purpose: The study intends to investigate the impact of selected team factors that affect team performance, while adding to the scarce studies done on SAR team performance (especially in Malaysia).Motivation for the study: Search and rescue teams are skilled elite teams that can reflect the true characteristics of a team’s performance.Research approach / design and method: The study comprised 850 individual team members who were aggregated into 209 teams. Teams were among the SAR teams of the Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department. The study used a quantitative approach, employing the purposive sampling technique. The relationships between team communication, team motivation and SAR team performance were analysed using the structural equation modelling (SEM).Main findings: The results indicate that team communication affects SAR team performance; however, the relationship is not mediated by team motivation.Practical/managerial implications: Team communication is vital to the achievement of teams’ objectives. However, in life-and-death situations, which are usual for SAR teams, team motivation does not have a role in how communication affects the teams’ performance. Team leaders and the managers of SAR teams need to focus on effective communication techniques in order to achieve excellent performance. This includes the use of appropriate verbal and non-verbal communication.Contribution/value-add: This study adds value to the current literature on team performance, specifically SAR team performance.

Toxic behavior in online video games is frequent and problematic. Previous research has linked toxic behavior with worsened performance. No study, however, has investigated a causal relationship between toxic behavior and worsened performance, nor investigated potential moderators such as individual motivation. Using 716 players of League of Legends, a popular team-based video game, the effect of toxic behavior on performance and the influence of motivation was assessed. Players were exposed to either a control condition where a confederate behaved neutrally or an experimental condition where a confederate operationally “flamed” participants. Performance statistics were gathered from the NA.OP.GG database. Motivation was self-reported after matches (N = 139). Toxic behavior significantly worsened the multivariate vector of team and individual performance. Motivation influenced baseline individual performance but did not significantly moderate the effect of toxic behavior on individual performance. These results encourage individuals to refrain from engaging in online toxic behavior and provide motivation for gaming communities to take steps to decrease toxic behavior. Future research should take a closer look at the role of individual differences and underlying cognitive processes involved in toxic behavior.

Case-based learning (CBL) and team-based learning (TBL) in preclerkship medical education are popular learning methods. Our institution utilizes a novel approach of using CBL as prework for TBL. Research has shown that smaller group sizes are better for CBL, whereas larger group sizes are better for TBL. Further, the spatial relationship of students in classrooms and subsequent academic performance has been studied previously but has not yet explored the medical student population during active learning methods. We investigated the effect of group size in active learning, classroom location, and subsequent performance on TBL and final exam questions. Student performance data from 4 preclerkship medical cohorts were analyzed. Descriptive statistics was conducted to compare performance of each cohort. Regression analysis was conducted to determine the explanatory and predictive power of group size and location on individual and team TBL performance and exam performance. Larger groups had increased individual and team performance on TBL. Classroom location had mixed effects on TBL and exam performance. One cohort experienced a change in group sizes and learning environment which may be related to the lower TBL scores compared to other cohorts. We found no significant relationships between group size and exam scores. Our findings indicate that larger groups are associated with increased TBL performance. Exam scores are more likely impacted by individual factors, as opposed to group factors. Our findings were mixed in comparison to previous research, reaffirming the need to further study group sizes and locations specifically within the health science education active learning.

In today’s sports world, decision makers, coaches, trainers, and athletes readily embrace sport performance analytics (SPA) and expect decisions to be based on such analyses. Organizations adept at collecting data, analyzing data, and applying findings enjoy a competitive advantage on the field―and a positive impact on the bottom line. For sport management students with a passion for sports and an aptitude for analytics, SPA presents an enticing career choice―one in high demand. Sport Performance Analytic Methods With HKPropel Access not only introduces students to the field of sport performance analytics but also walks them through the entire SPA process. This unparalleled approach equips students to employ SPA tools and techniques to make informed decisions affecting organization performance and success. The content of the book is driven by the SPA model, a seven-step process providing a guided pathway for conducting SPA analyses: Establish what you want to knowDefine the data you will collectDetermine the data collection process and collect dataAnalyze the dataInterpret the resultsPresent the resultsMake data-based decisions The opening chapter emphasizes the importance of establishing the SPA objectives. The focus then shifts to understanding foundational data concepts, with discussions on quantitative and qualitative data, types and scale of variables, temporal aspects of data, process and product data, and validity and reliability of data. Methods and tools for collecting data are explored next, including technology-assisted data acquisition tools such as wearable devices and biometric sensing devices. Students will then examine quantitative statistical concepts that can be used to analyze data and even help make predictions about future player or team performance. Key concepts include descriptive statistics, data sets, inferential statistics, group comparisons, and linear regressions. The text also addresses techniques for collecting and analyzing qualitative data―including observation, content, narrative, discourse, thematic, and grounded theory analyses―ensuring that all forms of data are considered to produce successful outcomes. Finally, the text demonstrates how to present SPA data in a format useful to apply in decision making. Students learn how coaches and performance data analysts use data to inform pre- and postcompetition strategic and tactical plans, make in-game decisions, evaluate team and individual performance, and make decisions for teams, players, and organizations. Related online resources, delivered via HKPropel, provide students with hands-on learning tools. In addition to descriptions of the primary SPA software packages, included are nine learning modules that allow students to go through various statistical procedures step by step, checking results, and improving performance. With Sport Performance Analytic Methods, students will gain a solid understanding of the principles made famous by Moneyball, and they will learn to use sport analytics to improve sport performance outcomes. Note: A code for accessing HKPropel is included with all new print books.