Leader delegation and trust in global software teams

Virtual teams are an important work structure in global software development. The distributed team structure enables access to a diverse set of expertise which is often not available in one location, to a cheaper labor force, and to a potentially accelerated development process that uses a twenty-four hour work structure. Many software teams are partially distributed, that is, part of the team is colocated. Such partially distributed global software teams are an important work structure in software development projects. However, little is known about what affects or improves team members’ motivation and job satisfaction in the partially distributed environment. This study investigates the effects of leader delegation to sub-teams and trust between sub-teams on global software team members’ motivation and job satisfaction. It proposes a research framework based on specific hypotheses regarding these effects. A survey instrument was created and a pilot study conducted on student project teams in two U.S. universities. In addition, a study combining interviews and a survey distribution using industry software development teams was also conducted. The studies found that team competence predicts leader delegation to a sub-team in global software projects. Leader delegation related to teamwork process improves team members’ motivation and satisfaction with the leader. However, leader delegation may also generate negative consequences for the sub-teams, such as anxiety and pressure. Cultural distance and geographical distance impair trust development between members across sub-teams. Temporal distance causes conflicts related to excessive overtime and meeting scheduling. Trust in sub-teams is critical to improving motivation in a global software project. In addition, this study explores the impacts of language differences and software engineering profession culture on global software team members’ interactions. Suggestions are proposed for how to shape delegation strategies in partially distributed global software projects and how to improve team members’ trust in each other and their motivation. This work provides important findings for organizations interested in developing leadership skills for global software teams and retaining IT professionals at distributed sites

Leading and Working From Home in Times of COVID-19:On the Perceived Changes in Leadership Behaviors

Due to the COVID-19 crisis, managers and employees in many organizations suddenly are forced to work from home. Although working from home (WFH) is not a new phenomenon, it is new in its current scale and scope because of COVID-19. Against this background, we investigate the effect of WFH during the COVID-19 crisis on changes in leadership behaviors, and associated changes in perceived manager quality and productivity, at different hierarchical levels in organizations. Based on the literature, we develop two predictions in opposite directions. On the one hand, implementing WFH may force managers to show less direction and control and especially more delegation. On the other hand, research into the effects of exogenous shocks such as COVID-19, suggests that managers may become more controlling and delegate less. Consistent with the first prediction, we find that managers perceive they execute significantly less control and delegate more. Employees also perceive a significant decrease in control, however they perceive on average no change in delegation. Furthermore, and in line with the second prediction, employees of lower-level managers even report a significant decrease in delegation. Finally, our results show that increased delegation is associated with increased perceived productivity and higher manager quality. Together, these results suggest that in the context of the COVID-19 crisis, the effectiveness of WFH might be hampered by the fact that required changes in leadership behaviors, in particular in delegation, are difficult to realize in times of crisis

Financial industry in transformation: case research on the contemporary understanding and application of leadership in a large Swiss bank

Leaders in banks are particularly concerned with change, as the financial industry is in a transitional phase induced by crisis and regulatory development. With this qualitative case study, Wealth Management leaders in the large Swiss bank, the UBS, were examined. In particular, the research addresses bank leaders’ understanding and practice of contemporary leadership being influenced by the transformation in Switzerland’s financial industry. An integrative approach to leadership is adopted combining individual and mutual understanding and application that offers new insight and expansion of current thinking with the tentative case model of ‘the hybrid approach to heroic leadership’ embedding a mutual notion

The Effects of Participative Leadership Practices on Job Satisfaction for Highly Skilled Virtual Teams

Virtual-team professionals have reported experiencing low job satisfaction due to lack of face-to-face interaction leading to stress, miscommunication, and role-confusion. Dissatisfaction among virtual teams has increased turnover and management costs for organizations. Despite these known associations, there was a gap in the literature investigating efficient leadership practices to improve job satisfaction for highly skilled virtual teams. Participative leadership offers an effective approach to increase job satisfaction among face-to-face teams and innovative teams. This study explored the relationship between participative leadership and job satisfaction among highly skilled virtual teams within the global software industry. A quantitative study with a correlational design was utilized among 173 participants from the International Association for Software Architects. Participants took a voluntary online survey by responding to an invitation post on the group LinkedIn page. The questionnaire included participative leadership scale (Ismail, Zainuddin, & Ibrahim, 2010), job satisfaction scale (Wall, Cook, & Warr, 1979), and demographic questions. Correlation analysis indicated that there was a positive relationship between participative leadership and job satisfaction, r(172) = .67, p \u3c .001. Regression analysis revealed that job position had a control effect on job satisfaction, F(2, 170) = 89.46, p \u3c .001, R2 = .51. Higher-ranked professionals enjoyed higher job satisfaction when participative leadership was present. Study results are beneficial for global software organizations to streamline leadership practices for highly skilled virtual teams to ensure high levels of job satisfaction. Ensuring high job satisfaction among skilled global talent helps innovative organizations cut costs, increase competitive advantage, and ensure high work quality

Organizational Management of Distance Learning: An Analysis of Teacher Feedback Throughout Hampton Roads Public High Schools During the Covid-19 Pandemic Response

Public schools throughout the United States experienced closures and transitions to online curriculum in the spring of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, many of the policies and strategies implemented to manage teaching faculty were hastily designed and employed out of necessity. This study sought to examine organizational management policies and strategies throughout public high schools in the Hampton Roads region of Virginia through teaching faculty perspectives. This cross-sectional study examined descriptive and correlational statistics of survey responses to determine and evaluate how schools managed communication, responsibilities and delegation, and training for distance learning in order to provide policy recommendations for the remainder of the COVID-19 pandemic and future emergency action plans. Results from the survey indicated mostly positive teacher feedback to policies and strategies on communication and training. While the research did not find policies and strategies for responsibilities and delegation consistent throughout schools in region, this research discovered correlations between teachers’ opinions and organizational strategies for delegation. Finally, this study provides practical recommendations as well as considerations for further research on organizational management in public schools

A Program for Prevention and Intervention of Compassion Fatigue and Burnout Among Pastors in the Guyana Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

Problem The membership of the Guyana Conference of Seventh-day Adventist has surged to over 50,000 over the ten year period, 1997-2006; however, the professional Adventist clergy group has experienced a decrease over the same time period—from thirty-three to twenty-seven ministers (Guyana Conference of SDA Statistics). The ratio of clergy to laity is, thus, 1:1853, where it was previously 1:1039. Consequently, ministers in the Guyana Conference of SDA are likely to become victims of burnout—and its compassion fatigue form—as they encounter the demands of ministry. Methods and Procedures Following the case study method of qualitative research, the researcher utilized Eisner’s (1998) self as an instrument theory. He suggested that there is valuable information to be gleaned when self is utilized, since each person’s life experiences are unique. Thus, self as an instrument is not a disadvantage but an asset to research. In addition, Eisner (1998, p. 34) states that “the self is the instrument that engages in the situation and makes sense of it.” This project is designed to be utilized as a seminar consisting of six presentations for ministers. The researcher’s personal experience-validated by collegial conversations was coupled with information gleaned from significant literature for the development of this seminar. The presentations, as they seek to educate ministers about these phenomena are accompanied by activities for participants to become involved in a practical way. Anticipated Outcomes The discussion and investigation of this phenomenon----burnout, defined by Freudenberger and Richelson (1980) as “a debilitating psychological condition brought about by unrelieved work stress,, and its compassion fatigue form-which is associated with the physical, emotional/psychological, and mental price caregivers pay when attending to others who have experienced trauma or emotional aches (Figley, 1995a)— revealed that ministers fall prey as a result of the simple fact that most people turn to their faith or religious beliefs when they are confronted with crisis or traumatic circumstances. Thus, clergy are called upon in these times of personal, familial, and community stress. Also, ministers are faced with job stress as a result of the demands of the work defined by such factors as one minister pastoring numerous churches/members owing to the migration of many ministers. i After interaction with the information shared in each seminar, ministers will be more aware of the reality and dangers of these phenomena, and will be better equipped to prevent the same. Conclusion On the whole, the call to ministry is neither fleeting nor temporary; instead, it is permanent. It is the service of a lifetime. Health—both physical and spiritual—is needed for a minister to endure in this lifetime of service. S/he therefore cannot afford to work without pacing her/himself to finish the race. For this reason, the ministry calls for wise use of resources, not only those available in the form of human personnel who may be utilized through team ministry, but also the minister’s energy. As was noted earlier, this project contains tools that will equip the minister to be effective in ministry, while maintaining longevity; thus, burnout and compassion fatigue can be readily recognized and addressed so that ministers can continue to serve God’s children effectively

The Perspectives Of Saudi Arabian Professionals Regarding the Most Important Soft Skills for Leaders to Possess in Telecommuting Environments during Crisis: A Q Methodology Study

The purpose of this Q methodology study was to explore Saudi Arabian professionals’ perspectives regarding the soft skills they considered most important for leaders to possess in telecommuting environments during crises. Q methodology was developed to study human subjectivity and uses both quantitative and qualitative procedures to do so. As is the convention for a Q methodology study, a single question guided the research: What are the perspectives collectively held among Saudi Arabian professionals regarding the soft skills they consider most important for leaders to possess in telecommuting environments during crises? The researcher developed a 44-item Q sample of opinion statements, each reflecting an important soft skill. The researcher recruited 44 participants using purposeful and snowball sampling techniques. These 44 participants sorted the 44-item Q sample into a forced distribution in ways that reflected their perspectives. The researcher subjected the 44 Q sorts to a series of statistical procedures: first correlations were identified among the sorts and then those correlations were factor analyzed, rotated, and extracted. These procedures produced 6 distinct perspectives which were named Communicating Stability by Modeling Reliability, Honesty, and Credibility; Listening, Disclosing, Engaging, and Inviting Bidirectional Communication; Ethical Exemplars through Fairness, Goodness, and High Moral Values; Capable Solutions-Oriented Leadership; Future Orientation, Confidence, and Big Picture Leadership; and Leadership Skills that Convey Stability, Clarity, and Strength. Findings from this study hold implications that include how businesses and other organizations in Saudi Arabia might incorporate efforts to facilitate leader development of soft skills to better prepare organizations to respond to any future disruptive crises

Groupthink 2.0: An empirical analysis of customers' conformity-seeking in online communities

Online communities have witnessed an ongoing interest from both digital practitioners and scholars alike. Whilst the motives for and outcomes of customers' participation have been convincingly evidenced, there is a lack of conceptual and empirical understanding on the decision-making processes within virtual groups. This study employs Janis' (1972) Groupthink theory to investigate customers' tendency to conform when making decisions in a financial online community. Based on a sample of 343 respondents and multiple regression analysis, it is shown that perceived stress and group insulation have a positive influence upon Groupthink, whilst group cohesion has a negative effect. The findings support the applicability of Groupthink theory in an online context and emphasise defective social decision-making processes in online communities as a key priority for future research. Digital marketers gain insight on strategies to manage their customers' conformity-seeking tendencies and to prevent dysfunctional decision-making processes

The impact of cultural differences in temporal perception on global software development teams

This dissertation investigated the impact of cultural differences in temporal perception on globally dispersed software development teams. Literature and anecdotal evidence suggest that these temporal differences affect individual communication quality, which in turn will affect individual satisfaction and trust within global teams. Additionally, the temporal dispersion of the team was expected to affect an individual\u27s sense of temporal disruption which, in turn, was expected to affect individual satisfaction and trust. Differences in temporal perception were expected to moderate this impact on perceived temporal disruption. A Fortune 100 Company that carried out software testing in Ireland, the United States, China and India provided the respondent population which resulted in all testing teams having global membership. The research used two methods for data collection: survey and interviews. The survey instrument\u27s constructs were developed via pilot tests conducted on student software development teams and through a card sorting task. Four temporal perception constructs were used: Future Orientation, Lateness Attitude, Temporal Rigidity and Temporal Urgency. Team members answered the temporal perception questions twice; once for how they felt their remote team members would answer the questions and once for how they felt their local team members would answer the questions. A gap analysis was performed on this data yielding temporal perception difference scores. A Gap Magnitude that looked at the size of the gaps was also calculated to provide measures of the size of the cultural differences. Semi-structured interviews were carried out on fifteen percent of the respondent population to explore the temporal perception differences in more detail. Survey results only partially supported the hypotheses that cultural differences in temporal perceptions affect Individual Communication Quality. Specifically, it was found that group differences in the temporal perceptions of Sense of Urgency and Lateness Attitude significantly impacted Individual Communication Quality. Sense of Urgency also impacted Individual Trust. Follow-up interviews suggested that differences were recognized, but other factors such as an orientation to a future benefit by working hard now, the prestige of working with people in the Company\u27s home country and possibly a sense of being a professional, may have outweighed the examined temporal differences. It also was found that Temporal Distance affected an individual\u27s Temporal Disruption, that Individual Communication Quality affected Individual Trust, and Individual Satisfaction. Gap Magnitude helped identify areas of potential problems that corresponded to areas identified by management, and mentioned by the employees in their interviews. Overall, the research suggests that certain Temporal Perceptions affect Individual Communication Quality, which in turn affects Trust and Individual Satisfaction. Communication, itself, seemed to be a large cause of problems, in part, because of the language differences, in part, because of the need to convey complex problems requiring detailed solutions, and, in part, because of the extreme temporal disruptions that time zone differences caused in a global team members working life

Developing On-line Collaborative Research Across International Boundaries: Exploring the Potential of New Technologies

The development of on-line research practice across international boundaries is now a viable proposition using available asynchronous technologies such as computer conferencing. As has been reported in previous papers (Grodzinsky, et al, 2002; Griffin, et al, 2002) such use has proved to be extremely valuable for supporting the teaching of computing and ethics. However, asynchronous computer conferencing not only offers new opportunities for teaching and for supporting students, it also offers a valuable resource to researchers. Taking advantage of such opportunity must, of course, address a number of issues. Prime amongst these are concerns as to how to overcome the variety of barriers that are likely to be encountered in establishing effective research collaboration within a text-based virtual environment. This paper will, therefore, outline how such research collaboration was initiated across international boundaries as well as providing an overview of the activity undertaken. The primary goal of this paper is, therefore, to illustrate both the challenges and benefits of undertaking on-line research collaboration