Team improvised adaptation: team performance in contexts of uncertainty and time scarcity

The main goal of this thesis is to propose, validate, and analyse the team improvised adaptation construct. It comprises one theoretical study and four empirical studies. Team improvised adaptation is the process of team adaptation when design and execution merge. Study 1 deconstructs and recombines team adaptation and team improvisation, proposing the team constructs of purposive improvisation, improvised adaptation and preemptive adaptation. Study 2 validates team improvised- and preemptive adaptation, revealing the moderation role of team learning behaviours on the mediation of improvised adaptation between shared temporal cognitions and team performance. Study 3 suggests that in-action and transitional reflexivity moderate the relationship between shared mental models similarity and improvised adaptive performance, and that transitional reflexivity moderates the relationship between shared mental models similarity and improvised adaptation learning. Study 4 uncovers the mediation effect of team improvised adaptation between future-orientation elevation and team performance. The findings also show that futureorientation diversity has a positive impact on team improvised adaptation learning. However, future-orientation elevation and future-orientation diversity have negative impacts on improvised adaptation learning and team performance, respectively. Finally, study 5 takes an inductive approach revealing two tensions of team improvised adaptation: a deployment tension between routine inertia and improvisation pressures, and a development tension between the need to plan and the need to act immediately. The resolution of these tensions unravels a process that ultimately leads to team learning outcomes. The thesis contributes to the understanding of teamwork, in particular when teams have to adapt to unexpected circumstances under conditions of extreme time scarcity.O objetivo principal desta tese é propor, validar e analisar o construto de adaptação improvisada em equipa. Compreende um estudo teórico e quatro estudos empíricos. A adaptação improvisada em equipa é o processo de adaptação da equipa quando o plano e a execução são simultâneos. O estudo 1 desconstrói e recombina a adaptação e a improvisação em equipa, propondo os construtos de improvisação premeditada, adaptação improvisada e adaptação preparada. O estudo 2 valida a adaptação improvisada e a preparada, revelando o papel de moderação dos comportamentos de aprendizagem em equipa, na mediação da adaptação improvisada entre as cognições temporais partilhadas e o desempenho da equipa. O estudo 3 sugere que as reflexividades em ação e transicional moderam a relação entre a semelhança dos modelos mentais partilhados e o desempenho adaptativo improvisado, e que a reflexividade transicional modera a relação entre a semelhança dos modelos mentais partilhados e a aprendizagem de adaptação improvisada. O estudo 4 expõe o efeito de mediação da adaptação improvisada em equipa entre a orientação futura da equipa e o seu desempenho. Os resultados também revelam que a diversidade na orientação futura da equipa tem um impacto positivo na aprendizagem de adaptação improvisada. No entanto, o construto de orientação para o futuro, composto para o nível da equipa através da elevação e através da diversidade, têm impactos negativos na aprendizagem de adaptação improvisada e no desempenho da equipa, respetivamente. Finalmente, o estudo 5 faz uma abordagem indutiva que revela duas tensões de adaptação improvisada em equipa: uma tensão inicial entre a inércia de rotina e as pressões de improvisação, e uma tensão de desenvolvimento entre a necessidade de planear e a necessidade de agir imediatamente. A resolução destas tensões despoleta um processo que, em última análise, leva à aprendizagem em equipa. Esta tese contribui para a compreensão do trabalho em equipa, em particular quando as equipas precisam de se adaptar a circunstâncias inesperadas em condições extremas de escassez de tempo

Agents for educational games and simulations

This book consists mainly of revised papers that were presented at the Agents for Educational Games and Simulation (AEGS) workshop held on May 2, 2011, as part of the Autonomous Agents and MultiAgent Systems (AAMAS) conference in Taipei, Taiwan. The 12 full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from various submissions. The papers are organized topical sections on middleware applications, dialogues and learning, adaption and convergence, and agent applications

Identifying Boundary Spanning Behaviours, Capital Conversions and Practices in Multicultural Teams

This study concerns boundary spanning within and across multicultural teams, and will examine the impact of behaviours, roles, and boundary spanning practices in a multicultural team environment. Definitions of boundaries, boundary roles and boundary spanning behaviours and practices will be reviewed from social network and forms of capital literature, including recent conceptual rethinking on brokerage as ongoing processes (Obstfeld, 2014): of note conduiting and mediation. Conduiting is a form of indirect brokerage where an intermediary is the lone link between two agents across a boundary, and it involves false starts at brokering. The examination of false starts as they occur on a longitudinal basis will be attempted. With this approach, it is hoped to carry out a fresh examination of how conduiting may convert to mediation, namely a direct brokering process where a more successful intermediary succeeds in linking erstwhile separate parties together for communal collaboration (Obstfeld 2005; Lingo and O'Mahony, 2010). Reviews of ambassador and of task co-ordinator roles (Ancona and Caldwell, 1992) will include their negotiating behaviours within and between groups, and the forms of capital they accrue and convert between on a longitudinal basis. Key gatekeeping behaviours will be reviewed in terms of negotiation (Friedman and Podolny, 1992); as well as those of un-nominated emerging technology gatekeepers (Tushman and Scanlan, 1981). The emphasis of this study is the examination of the concept of boundary roles in simulated multicultural teams of higher education students (Popov et al, 2012). This is timely given that the brokerage processes of informal social structure have been found in experimental educational studies to boost the effectiveness of multicultural teams (Di Marco, Taylor and Alin, 2010). This thesis will explore the nature of informal social processes that develop during collaboration within and between multicultural teams with respect to: role negotiation processes (Ryan and Cosliger, 2011); gatekeeping behaviours (Levina and Vaast, 2005); and barriers to boundary spanning (Schotter and Beamish, 2011). Semi structured interviews and focus groups will be used in a longitudinal inter-subjective approach, in a multicultural team context over 30 weeks' duration. Purposive sampling will be employed to identify respondents in a three - pronged data collection process with the first set of focus groups at 15 weeks into the project, the second at 27 weeks, and individual interviews at 30 weeks. Manual coding will be employed to capture subtle details of boundary spanning practices. Key findings included barrier breaking practices, and associated capital conversions. Contributions from this longitudinal approach to multicultural teams include the identification of: barrier breaking practices based on social inclusion and processes of constituting social space associated with boundary spanning in practice; and the nature of associated capital conversions by key boundary roles

Team adaptation in complex work environments

A adaptação é fundamental para a eficácia do trabalho em equipa em ambientes complexos. A literatura sugere que as características dos membros da equipa, os processos episódicos e os estados emergentes contribuem para a capacidade de as equipas se comportarem de forma adaptativa. No entanto, as causas e condições em que estas variáveis se relacionam e contribuem para a adaptação em ambientes de trabalho complexos exige mais investigação. Nesta dissertação, vamos concentrar-nos nas dinâmicas multinível, transversais e longitudinais que caracterizam o processo adaptativo. Os participantes dos estudos feitos nesta dissertação foram estudantes universitários, e trabalhadores de diversos contextos organizacionais (e.g. gestão; saúde hospitalar; policia). O teste das hipóteses de investigação foi feito através de metodologias de regressão e equações estruturais. A metodologia de regressão foi utilizada para estimar os efeitos diretos, indiretos e condicionados. A modelagem com equações estruturais foi utilizada para estimar os efeitos indiretos, multinível e longitudinais. No geral, os resultados sugerem que a performance adaptativa contribui para a eficácia das equipas em ambientes de trabalho complexos. Os nossos resultados também clarificam a natureza das relações entre as características dos membros das equipas, os processos e estados emergentes. Esta dissertação contribui para a teoria e a prática, uma vez que amplia o conhecimento prévio sobre as dinâmicas de adaptação do trabalho em equipa, e tece recomendações de como e por que razões as práticas de GRH devem incorporar os resultados desta dissertação na gestão de pessoas.Team adaptation is paramount for effective teamwork in complex work environments. Literature suggests that team member characteristics, episodic team processes, and emergent states contribute to collective ability to behave adaptively. However, we know very little about the causes and conditions under which these constructs relate to predict adaptation and effectiveness in complex work environments requires further clarification. In this dissertation, we focus on the multilevel, cross-level and longitudinal examination of the dynamics of team member characteristics, episodic team processes, and emergent states driving team adaptation in the work place. In this dissertation data collection was done in simulated and field settings. Participants were university students and professional workers from diverse organizational settings (e.g. business; healthcare; police). Hypotheses testing were done through regression and structural equations modelling. Regression was used to estimate direct, indirect, and conditioned effects. Structural equations modelling were used to estimate indirect, multilevel and longitudinal effects. Overall, the results suggest that team adaptation contributes to team effectiveness in complex work environments. Our results also contribute to clarify the entanglement between team member characteristics, processes and emergent states in teams. This dissertation contributes to theory and practice as it extends previous knowledge on the dynamics of team adaptation, and it makes recommendations of why and how HRM practices should incorporate our findings in people management

Organisations as complex adaptive systems : implications for the design of information systems

Today a paradigm shift in the field of organisation and management theories is no longer disputed and the need to switch from the Command-and-Control to the Leaming Organisation Paradigm (LOP) in the area of organisational theory is well understood. However, it is less well appreciated that learning organisations cannot operate effectively if supported by centralised databases and tailor-made application programs. LOP emphasises adaptability, flexibility, participation and learning. It is important to understand that the changes in organisational and management strategies will not on their own be able to produce the desired effects unless they are supported by appropriate changes in organisational culture, and by effective information systems. This research demonstrates that conventional information system strategies and development methods are no longer adequate. Information system strategies must respond to these needs of the LOP and incorporate new information systems that are capable of evolving, adapting and responding to the constantly changing business environment. The desired adaptability, flexibility and agility in information systems for LOP can be achieved by exploiting the technologies of the Internet, World Wide Web, intelligent agents and intranets. This research establishes that there is a need for synergy between organisational structures and organisational information systems. To obtain this desired synergy it is essential that new information systems be designed as an integral part of the learning organisational structure itself. Complexity theory provides a new set of metaphors and a host of concepts for the understanding of organisations as complex adaptive systems. This research introduces the principles of Complex Adaptive Systems and draws on their significance for designing the information systems needed to support the new generation of learning organisations. The search for new models of information system strategies for today's dynamic world of business points to the 'swarm models' observed in Nature

Eliciting experts’ knowledge in emergency response organizations

Purpose: Experienced fire ground commanders are known to make decisions in time-pressured and dynamic environments. The purpose of this paper is to report some of the tacit knowledge and skills expert firefighters use in performing complex fire ground tasks. Design/Methodology/Approach: This study utilized a structured knowledge elicitation tool, known as the critical decision method (CDM), to elicit expert knowledge. Seventeen experienced fire-fighters were interviewed indepth using a semi-structured CDM interview protocol. The CDM protocol was analyzed using the emergent themes analysis (ETA) approach Findings: Findings from the CDM protocol reveal both the salient cues sought, which we termed critical cue inventory (CCI), and the goals pursued by the fire ground commanders at each decision point. The CCI is categorized into five classes based on the type of information each cue generates to the incident commanders Practical Implications: Since the critical decision method is a useful tool for identifying training needs, this study discussed the practical implications for transferring experts’ knowledge to novice firefighters Originality/Value: Although many authors recognize that experts perform exceptionally well in their domains of practice, the difficulty still lies in getting a structured method for unmasking experts’ tacit knowledge. This paper is therefore relevant as it presents useful findings following a naturalistic knowledge elicitation study that was conducted across different fire stations in the UK and Nigeria

Explaining Sales Pay Strategy Using Agency, Transaction Cost and Resource Dependence Theories

The purpose of this study was to investigate, using data gathered from 325 French-Canadian organizations, the influence of key constructs related to agency, transaction cost and resource dependence theories on the proportion of salary in sales compensation. Level of task programmability, capacity to observe behavior, career opportunities and financial resources offered were associated with an increased use of salary pay. In contrast, difficulty of measuring result outcomes, availability of product/service-related resources and high marginal sales force productivity were associated with decreased use of the salary component. Results supported the argument that integration of multiple theoretical perspectives offered a better explanation of pay policy. However, the results have not supported the ability of market and selling uncertainty to predict the proportion of salary L'objectif de cette étude était d'examiner, auprès d'un échantillon de 325 organisations, l'influence des construits clés relatifs à la théorie de l'agence, la théorie des coûts de transaction et la théorie de la dépendence des ressource sur la proportion du salaire dans l'enveloppe de la rémunération directe du personnel de vente. Le niveau de programmation des tâches, la capacité à observer les comportements, les opportunités de carrière et les ressources financières offertes étaient associés à une augmentation du recours de la composante salariale. En revanche, le degré de difficulté à mesurer les résultats, la disponibilité de ressources reliés aux produits/services et un grand différentiel de performance étaient associés à une diminution de la composante salaire. Les résultats supportent l'argument de l'intégration d'une multitude de perspecttives théoriques pour expliquer le choix des stratégies salariales.Sales, compensation, agency theory, cost analysis theory, resource dependence theory, Représentants aux ventes, rémunération, théorie de l'agence, théorie des coûts de transaction, théorie de la dépendance des ressources