Despite much attention given to effective teams in the workplace, school counseling teams have been neglected in the research. The primary purpose of this mixed methods study was to learn what characteristics secondary counselors perceive contribute to an effective school counseling team. The first research phase conducted six team interviews; themes emerging from the interviews yielded the development of the Effective School Counseling Team Questionnaire (ESCTQ). The following research questions were investigated: What factors do counselors perceive contribute to their team's effectiveness?, Are the scores on the Effective School Counseling Team Questionnaire related to team effectiveness as described by school counselors? Is there a relationship between team characteristics (amount of time together, individual counseling experience, gender, age) and team effectiveness? Is there a relationship between the perceptions of members of effective and ineffective teams? The literature on effective team factors was reviewed and analyzed in three categories: internal, interpersonal, and external. Qualitative results indicated that the majority of participants viewed internal traits as the number one factor contributing to their team's success. Most frequent were competencies, respect, sharing duties, caring for each other and serving students. The second area participants listed as most important was interpersonal factors, such as communication, interactions, and planning. Overall, communication was cited as the number one factor needed for an effective team. Conclusions drawn suggested that teams need altruistic, personal qualities to feel most effective. These were summarized by participants as a team member who is caring, giving, and putting the needs of students first. The second key area for school counseling teams was support from external sources, primarily school administration and central office. In phase two, the questionnaire was developed and used to confirm the interview findings. During the second phase, the ESCTQ was administered to 199 secondary school counselors, yielding an 82.4% (n = 164) return rate. The survey when analyzed by teams did not show major significant differences between the teams; it did, however, confirm the qualitative findings of the internal and personal characteristics counselors of effective school teams posses. The survey also allowed team members to rate their current team and their ideal team. The difference between the two ratings (ie. gap score) showed there was a significant mean difference (20.50) between the means of those who perceived their team as highly effective (26.55) and those who perceived their team as least effective (6.05). When looking at the questionnaire this could be interpreted to mean that the team members who felt most effective had the smallest gap score between their current team and their ideal team. When teams' gap scores were compared to their overall team rating "global" scores, as the global score increased for a team their gap score decreased. Meaning an effective team had fewer discrepancies (smaller gap) between their current and ideal team. Clearly, teams that perceive their team as "relatively effective" are rating the team closer to their ideal team than those that see their team as "relatively ineffective". In order to enhance performance of a counseling team, this study was important to assess school counseling team's effectiveness. Two research methods were used to analyze effective teams; this research provides valuable information relating to school counselors and effective teams. / Ph. D.

Dagens arbetsliv kännetecknas av att arbete sker tillsammans med andra människor. Attarbeta i team med olika människor är idag vanligt och det ställer höga krav på förmågan attkunna hantera mellanmänskliga relationer. Ledarskap har stor påverkan på arbetsgruppersarbete och effektivitet och det krävs därför ett aktivt arbete från gruppernas ledare.Vi har gjort en kvalitativ studie där vi undersökt hur ledare leder effektiva team. Vi harundersökt vilken ledarskapsstil ledarna har, hur ledarna utövar sitt ledarskap i vardagligasituationer samt hur teammedlemmar upplever ledarstilen i effektiva team. Studien har gjorts ien nationell säljorganisation där vi har fokuserat på de tre mest effektiva teamen och derasledare, med fokus på ledaren. Vi valde semistrukturerade intervjuer som metod.Resultatet visar att samtliga ledare till största del använder sig av ett transformativt ledarskapmen även har inslag av andra typer av ledarskapsstilar. Ledarna utövar sitt ledarskap genomstöd, konsultation, kommunikation och uppmuntran. Mål- och resultatstyrning är också enstor del av ledarskapets utövande då organisationen kräver att teammedlemmarna har tydligamål för dagen, veckan och månaden. / The working life of today has become more team focused. It is common to work in differentgroups which puts high demands on managing inter human relations. The leadership has a biginfluence on the workgroups productivity and efficiency hence it requires an active role fromthe group leader.By using a qualitative method, this study examines how leaders lead effective teams. Wefocused on what leadership style the leaders had, how the leaders exercise their leadership ondaily bases and how the leadership style is perceived in the effective teams. The study wasperformed at a national sales organization in Sweden and we used semi-structured interviewsas method. We interviewed the three most effective teams and their leaders in theorganization, with focus on the leadership.The result shows that all leaders mostly use a transformative leadership but also haveinfluences from other leadership styles. The leaders exercise their leadership by support,consultation, communication and encouragement. Results-Based Management is also a bigpart of the leadership exercise since the organization requires the team members to haveindividually daily, weekly and monthly goals to reach.

Trust is an important asset in every profession, especially in those professions that are inherently dangerous. The majority of the scholarly research in the literature of trust and team's streams conceptualize trust as an antecedent of effective teams, where trust is necessary for teams to achieve their desired outcome. However, there has been little research that relates trust to high-performing teams, and no published research in academic journals describing how these high-performing teams build and maintain trust. Trust is essential to military teams and especially the elite Special Operation Forces teams. While reviewing the literature, a gap was found as it relates to the exploration of building and maintaining trust within high-performance teams. The research questions were as follows: How do you build trust and how do you maintain trust, within high-performance teams? This study systematically reviewed the empirical literature on the relationship between team performance and trust, specifically amongst high-performing teams. A grounded theory methodology was appropriate for this research because twenty-six special operation forces members were interviewed using semi-structured open-ended guided questions. The population consisted of special operation forces members with a minimum of eight years of experience and who had experience serving in combat. Data analysis followed the Percy, Kostere, and Kostere (2015) formulated step-by-step procedure for inductive analysis. The findings revealed five themes related to building trust: (a) proficiency (b) attitude, (c) humility, (d) values, and (e) motivation. There was also the reveal of four themes related to maintaining trust: (a) to suffer together is to grow together, (b) the willingness to experience failure, (c) self-discipline, and (d) resilience. To verify these themes, a set of follow-up questions were asked to see if the inverse themes would prevent trust, these were the themes that developed: (a) lack of self-discipline, (b) unreliability, (c) lack of motivation, and (d) arrogance. The operators shared what culture they felt their teams provided in order to facilitate trust, and these were the themes: (a) transparency, (b) communication, and (c) respect. All participants disclosed that they trusted their teammates and that they were willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for their team, the mission and this country. / Business Administration/Strategic Management

No description available.

En ständigt föränderlig omgivning, påverkad av globalisering, konkurrens och nya trender fostrar en komplexitet som flertalet forskare hävdar kräva ett ökat fokus på teamarbete (McDonough, 2000; Sheard & Kakabadse, 2002). Därutöver skriver Cannon-Bowers och Bowers (2011) att intresset för team och hur de fungerar vuxit dramatiskt sedan början av 1900-talet. Inte minst tros pressen från en global ekonomi ligga bakom det ökade intresset, tillsammans med behovet av att optimera användandet av team inom organisationer världen över. Trots att teameffektivitet tycks ligga i de flestas intresse, verkar litteraturen på området inte hänga med i omvärldens förändring. Vi anser att diskrepansen mellan teori och praktik ger upphov till barriärer som hindrar utvecklingen av effektiva team. Syftet med denna studie har således varit att öka förståelsen för de barriärer som hindrar utvecklingen av effektiva team inom en svensk verksamhet. Vår studie har en kvalitativ ansats där nio semistrukturerade intervjuer genomförts med medarbetare från ett team på IKEA of Sweden AB. Våra resultat visar att det finns tydliga barriärer mellan utvecklingen av effektiva team, teorin och praktiken. Med grund i vår undersökning har vi kunnat identifiera de tre följande barriärerna: ledarskap, kommunikation och tillhörighet (LKT). Barriärerna får sina uttryck i olika konsekvenser där den övergripande konsekvensen är förhindrandet av utvecklingen av effektiva team, andra konsekvenser yttrar sig på såväl team- som på individnivå. Vidare har vi funnit att barriärerna (LKT) även kan agera möjliggörare för utvecklingen av effektiva team. Såväl litteraturen som praktiken bör således lägga ett större fokus på att implementera, utveckla och förstärka de tre identifierade faktorerna (LKT). Slutligen anser vi att det behöver utföras mer empiriskt grundad forskning och teoribildning som tar hänsyn till omvärldens förändringar för att finna fler åtgärder för att hantera de identifierade barriärerna. / A constantly changing environment, influenced by globalization, competition and new trends, fosters a complexity that most researchers claim to require an increased focus on teamwork (McDonough, 2000; Sheard & Kakabadse, 2002). In addition, Cannon-Bowers and Bowers (2011) write that the interest in teams and how they function has grown dramatically since the early 1900s. The pressure from a global economy is believed to be a cause of the increased interest, along with the need to optimize the use of teams within organizations worldwide. Although organizations and people are taking an increased interest in team effectiveness it seems as if the literature within the field is not keeping up. We believe that the discrepancy between theory and practice creates barriers that impede the development of effective teams. The purpose of this study has been to increase the understanding of the barriers that prevent the development of effective teams in a Swedish context. Our study is based on a qualitative research method by which nine semi-structured interviews have been carried out together with members from a team at IKEA of Sweden AB. Our results show that there are distinct barriers between the development of effective teams, theory and practice. Based on our research we have been able to identify the following three barriers: leadership, communication and a sense of belonging (LCB). The overall consequence caused by the barriers is the impediment to the development of effective teams, other consequences include effects on teams and individuals of the teams. Furthermore, we have found that the barriers (LCB) could act as facilitators for the development of effective teams. Both literature and practice should thus place a greater emphasis on implementing, developing and strengthening the three identified factors (LCB). Finally, we argue that more empirically based research, that is taking a constantly changing environment into account, has to be carried out. Hopefully that would result in more measures to deal with the identified barriers.

Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka sambandet mellan organisationsstöd och grupputvecklingsnivåer. För att svara på studiens syfte har följande fråga formulerats: Kan grupputvecklingsnivå prediceras utifrån de 7 aspekter av organisationsstöd?Metoden som används i denna studie är en tvärsnittsundersökningsdesign med en kvantitativ ansats. Data samlades in med hjälp av en enkätundersökning som distribuerades genom en snöbollsurvalsstrategi, där respondenterna identifierades och uppmuntrades att sprida undersökningen via sociala medier och sina nätverk. Insamlade data analyserades med hjälp av multipel regressionsanalys. Stickprovet bestod av 92 projektmedlemmar som arbetar i olika branscher med olika bakgrund. Grupptuvecklingnivå mättes med Group Development Questionnaire short (GDQS). Organisationsstöd mättes med Organisational Support Checklist (OSC).De sju aspekterna av organisationsstöd utgjorde oberoende variabler och grupptuvecklingnivå utgjorde den beroende variabeln. Resultatet visade att endast fyra av de sju aspekterna av organisationsstöd kunde predicera grupptuvecklingnivå, vilket är “Organisationens kultur”, “Tydligt uppdrag”, “Arbetsuppgifter och tekniskt stöd” samt “Återkoppling och erkännande”. Medan aspekten "Utbildningskvalitet" inte kunde inkluderas i analysen, på grund av att många har valt att inte svara på frågorna angående denna aspekt. De resterande två aspekterna “Autonomi och tillgänglighet” och “Utbildning och utveckling” kunde inte predicera grupputvecklingnivå i denna studie. Avseende studiens frågeställning kan följande slutsats dras att 4 av de 7 aspekterna av organisationsstöd har visat sig ha unika signifikanta bidrag till grupputvecklingsnivå, vilket är “Organisationens kultur”, “Tydligt uppdrag”, “Arbetsuppgifter och tekniskt stöd” samt “Återkoppling och erkännande” / The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between organizational support and group development levels. To answer the purpose of the study, the following question has been formulated: Can group development level be predicted from the 7 aspects of organizational support?The method used in this study is a cross-sectional survey design with a quantitative approach. Data was collected using a survey distributed through a snowball sampling strategy, where respondents were identified and encouraged to disseminate the survey through social media and their networks. Collected data were analyzed using multiple regression analysis. The sample consisted of 92 project members working in different industries with different backgrounds. The group development level was measured with the Group Development Questionnaire Short (GDQS). Organizational support was measured with the Organizational Support Checklist (OSC).The seven aspects of organizational support were independent variables and group development level was the dependent variable. The results showed that only four of the seven aspects of organizational support could predict group development level, which is "Organizational culture", "Clear mission", "Tasks and technical support" and "Feedback and recognition". While the aspect "Quality of training" could not be included in the analysis, since many have chosen not to answer the questions regarding this aspect. The remaining two aspects "Autonomy and availability" and "Training and development" could not predict team development level in this study. Regarding the study's question, the following conclusion can be drawn that 4 of the 7 aspects of organizational support have been found to have unique significant contributions to the level of team development, which are "Organizational culture", "Clear mission", "Tasks and technical support" and "Feedback and recognition".

<p>The purpose of this thesis has been to investigate the effect of introducing the qualitystandard ISO 9001:2000 at Metso Paper Service in Sundsvall. The investigation has been focused on implementation of the new method of work, Continuous improvements. The implementation has been studied in a case study with both a qualitative and quantitative method. </p><p>Continuous Improvements is a way of working focused on continuously increasing the efficiency and having the purpose of achieving the formulated goals. This is often accomplished by the organisation carrying out the changing process to a great extent in small but efficient teams. </p><p>The effects of Metso’s introduction of the system are many. Above all the possibility of influence on the changing process has increased. This study also shows significant increase of the motivation and engagement of the employees as well as the number of ideas of improvements. This documentation ends with recommendations for further improvements of the system.</p>

The purpose of this thesis has been to investigate the effect of introducing the qualitystandard ISO 9001:2000 at Metso Paper Service in Sundsvall. The investigation has been focused on implementation of the new method of work, Continuous improvements. The implementation has been studied in a case study with both a qualitative and quantitative method. Continuous Improvements is a way of working focused on continuously increasing the efficiency and having the purpose of achieving the formulated goals. This is often accomplished by the organisation carrying out the changing process to a great extent in small but efficient teams. The effects of Metso’s introduction of the system are many. Above all the possibility of influence on the changing process has increased. This study also shows significant increase of the motivation and engagement of the employees as well as the number of ideas of improvements. This documentation ends with recommendations for further improvements of the system.

Studien undersöker kommunikationens betydelse för effektiva team inom fastighetsförvaltning. Teamarbete, där kommunikationen har stor betydelse, är ett verktygsom företag kan använda för att skapa effektivitet. Studien motiveras av fastighetsbranschens betydande roll för bostadsbrist och rådande effektivitetskrav. Detta undersöks genom tidigareforskning, intervju av anställda på förvaltningsföretag och analys. Teambuilding, konflikthantering och arbetstillfredsställelse belyses som komponenter kring ämnesområdet. / This paper investigates the meaning of communication in effective teams. This is done by qualitative research and interviews with the purpose of creating a theoretical framework to describe how communication can be used to improve effectiveness. The paper focuses on property- and facility management due to the meaningful role these industries have on the shortage of housing that occurs today. A demand for effectiveness is there fore a fact for these industries which also is a motivation for this study to be done. The study investigates the impact on communication due to the components of conflict management and job satisfaction.This is done because these components have not been linked to communication and/oreffective teams in previous research.