High-Performing Self-Managed Work Teams

A Comparison of Theory to Practice

Dale E. Yeatts, Cloyd Hyten

• Publisher: SAGE Publications, Inc
• Year: 1997
• Print ISBN: 9780761904700, 9780761904694
• eBook ISBN: 9781452250274
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Organisational Behaviour
• Index: Business

Since the mid-1970s, pressure from international competition has forced U.S. businesses to look for better ways to achieve and maintain a competitive position. At the same time, public organizations have been asked to produce their services with fewer dollars. The result of these trends has been a growing urgency among public and private organizations to find new ways of reducing their expenses while maintaining or increasing productivity and quality. One popular tool is the self-managed work team (SMWT). How is it different than a work group or short-term team? Which problems compel an organization to create an SMWT? What factors explain successful SMWTs? What must the organization do to develop high-performance, cost-effective teams? In High-Performing Self-Managed Work Teams, Dale E. Yeatts and Cloyd Hyten, Principle Investigators for the three-year National Science Foundation study of the performance of SMWTs, answer these questions and thoroughly examine the most widely accepted theories that attempt to explain SMWT performance. They introduce a synthesis of these theories based on 10 case studies from three different settings: manufacturing, public service, and health care. In an accessible style, the authors lead students and professionals to better understand the theory behind SMWTs as well as the practical aspects of when to use SMWTs to find solutions and how to develop achieving teams. This book appeals to practitioners and scholars in management, human resources, organization studies, industrial psychology, public administration, organizational communication, marketing, sociology, public health, and nursing.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Contents
• Preface and Acknowledgments
• Part I - Theoretical Frameworks for Understanding the Performance of Self-Managed Work Teams
• Chapter 1 - The Classical and Human Relations Theories
• Chapter 2 - Systems Theories and the Emergence of the Sociotechnical and SMWT Perspectives
• Chapter 3 - Contingency Theories: The Importance of Individual, Technical, and Environmental Differences
• Chapter 4 - Contemporary Theories Explaining SMWT Performance
• Chapter 5 - Development of a Theoretical Framework to Explain SMWT Performance
• Part II - The Work Process: Actually Doing the Work with Effort, Talent, Procedures, and Resources
• Chapter 6 - Effort Placed Directly on the Work
• Chapter 7 - Talent, Resources, and Procedures for Doing the Work
• Part III - The Interpersonal Process: The 6 Cs Plus Trust within and outside the Team
• Chapter 8 - Communication and Coordination
• Chapter 9 - Cooperation, Collaboration, and Conflict
• Chapter 10 - Cohesion and Trust
• Chapter 11 - Interpersonal Processes between the Team and Others
• Part IV - The Environment Surrounding the SMWT within and outside the Organization
• Chapter 12 - The Organization's Philosophy, Culture, and Mission for the SMWTs
• Chapter 13 - Performance Measurement: Appraisal and Assessment Systems
• Chapter 14 - The Reward System
• Chapter 15 - Types of Rewards
• Chapter 16 - Education and Training Systems
• Chapter 17 - Information Systems
• Chapter 18 - Management Support, Encouragement, and Roles
• Chapter 19 - Union, Customer, Supplier, and Ancillary Support within the Organization
• Chapter 20 - The Environment outside the Organization
• Part V - Team Member Characteristics
• Chapter 21 - Talents, Values, Needs, Interests, and Prejudices
• Chapter 22 - Personality and Demographic Characteristics
• Part VI - Team Design Characteristics
• Chapter 23 - Team Goals and Job Design
• Chapter 24 - Team Size and Composition
• Chapter 25 - Roles of Self-Managed Teams
• Chapter 26 - Decision-Making Methods and Processes
• Chapter 27 - Team Leader Roles and Responsibilities
• Appendix A: Research Methods
• Appendix B: In-Person Survey Instrument for All Team Members
• Appendix C: In-Person Survey Instrument for All Relevant Managers
• Appendix D: Survey Instrument Completed by Observer/Interviewer after Multiple Observations of the Team and in-Person Interviews
• Appendix E: Self-Administered Survey Instrument Completed by All Team Members
• References
• Other Suggested Readings
• Index
• About the Authors