Developing students as global learners: “Groups in Our World” blog

This case study investigates the use of online blogs as a teaching tool. A collaborative blog was implemented in parallel classes on group processes in the United States and Germany. Our goal was to connect American and German graduate students by helping them to talk about group communication and meeting behaviors. Collected data included transcripts of the messages, as well as students' evaluations of the blog (collected at the end of the project). Quantitative analyses assessed students' participation rates and the content of their postings. Qualitative analysis examined the use of the blog as a teaching and learning tool. The results showed that students interacted more on the blog than was required by the instructor. Students valued blogging as a new learning experience. We discuss the pedagogical implications of blog usage for teaching about groups and provide recommendations for instructors interested in using blogs in their own courses. © The Author(s) 2013

What happens during annual appraisal interviews? How leader-follower interactions unfold and impact interview outcomes

Despite a wealth of research on antecedents and outcomes of annual appraisal interviews, the ingredients that make for a successful communication process within the interview itself remain unclear. This study takes a communication approach to highlight leader–follower dynamics in annual appraisal interviews. We integrate relational leadership theory and recent findings on leader–follower interactions to argue (a) how supervisors’ task- and relation-oriented statements can elicit employee involvement during the interview process and (b) how these communication patterns affect both supervisors’ and employees’ perceptions of the interview. Moreover, we explore (c) how supervisor behavior is contingent upon employee contributions to the appraisal interview. We audiotaped 48 actual annual appraisal interviews between supervisors and their employees. Adopting a multimethod approach, we used quantitative interaction coding (N = 32,791 behavioral events) as well as qualitative open-axial coding to explore communication patterns among supervisors and their employees. Lag sequential analysis revealed that supervisors’ relation-oriented statements triggered active employee contributions and vice versa. These relation-activation patterns were linked to higher interview success ratings by both supervisors and employees. Moreover, our qualitative findings highlight employee disagreement as a crucial form of active employee contributions during appraisal interviews. We distinguish what employees disagreed about, how the disagreement was enacted, and how supervisors responded to it. Overall employee disagreement was negatively related to ratings of supervisor support. We discuss theoretical implications for performance appraisal and leadership theory and derive practical recommendations for promoting employee involvement during appraisal interviews

Team‐Meeting Behaviors in Germany and the United States

Intercultural theories describe core differences between the German and US cultures, and team meetings provide a context for examining such differences. This entry summarizes theoretical approaches to differences between Germany and the US and recent empirical findings on different team interactions in German and US American teams. These findings show that German teams focus more on problem analysis, whereas US teams focus more on solution production. Moreover, German team meetings are characterized by more procedural communication than US team meetings. Finally, US teams show more positive socioemotional meeting behavior such as providing support or encouraging participation than German teams. Recommendations for improving social interactions in intercultural teams are provided

Fotografia P010

Transformational leadership is generally considered helpful for team functioning. However, the social dynamics underlying the benefits of transformational leadership remain elusive to date. To understand how and why transformational leadership can foster team functioning, this study focuses on leader-follower communication dynamics during team interactions. From the perspective of leadership as social problem solving, we argue that transformational leadership is linked to functional team problem-solving processes because transformational leaders use solution-focused communication (mediator model). In a sample of 30 videotaped problem-solving team meetings from two organizations, we coded transformational leadership style and the verbal behavioral interactions of leaders and team members over the course of their entire meetings (30,128 behavioral units in total). Multilevel results showed that transformational leadership was positively linked to functional problem-solving communication by team members. This positive relationship was mediated by leaders' solution-focused communication. Moreover, at the micro-level of conversational dynamics within the meeting process, lag sequential analysis revealed that leaders' ideas and solutions triggered subsequent solution statements by team members and inhibited counterproductive communication by team members, such as running off topic, criticizing, or complaining. We discuss theoretical and methodological implications for conceptualizing dynamic leader-follower processes as well as managerial implications for leading effective meetings in organizations