The performance of a team depends not only on the abilities of its individual members, but also on how these members interact with each other. Inspired by this premise and motivated by a large number of applications in educational, industrial and management settings, this thesis studies a family of problems, known as team-formation problems, that aim to engineer teams that are effective and successful. The major challenge in this family of problems is dealing with the complexity of the human team participants. Specifically, each individual has his own objectives, demands, and constraints that might be in contrast with the desired team objective. Furthermore, different collaboration models lead to different instances of team-formation problems. In this thesis, we introduce several such models and describe techniques and efficient algorithms for various instantiations of the team-formation problem. This thesis consists of two main parts. In the first part, we examine three distinct team-formation problems that are of significant interest in (i) educational settings, (ii) industrial organizations, and (iii) management settings respectively. What constitutes an effective team in each of the aforementioned settings is totally dependent on the objective of the team. For instance, the performance of a team (or a study group) in an educational setting can be measured as the amount of learning and collaboration that takes place inside the team. In industrial organizations, desirable teams are those that are cost-effective and highly profitable. Finally in management settings, an interesting body of research uncovers that teams with faultlines are prone to performance decrements. Thus, the challenge is to form teams that are free of faultlines, that is, to form teams that are robust and less likely to break due to disagreements. The first part of the thesis discusses approaches for formalizing these problems and presents efficient computational methods for solving them. In the second part of the thesis, we consider the problem of improving the functioning of existing teams. More precisely, we show how we can use models from social theory to capture the dynamics of the interactions between the team members. We further discuss how teams can be modified so that the interaction dynamics lead to desirable outcomes such as higher levels of agreement or lesser tension and conflict among the team members.

In this work, we propose a PRivAcy-Diversity-Aware Team Formation framework, namely PRADA-TF, that can be deployed based on the trust relationships between users in online social networks (OSNs). Our proposed PRADA-TF is mainly designed to reflect team members' domain expertise and privacy preserving preferences when a task requires a wide range of diverse domain expertise for its successful completion. The proposed PRADA-TF aims to form a team for maximizing its productivity based on members' characteristics in their diversity, privacy preserving, and information sharing. We leveraged a game theory called Mechanism Design in order for a mechanism designer as a team leader to select team members that can maximize the team's social welfare, which is the sum of all team members' utilities considering team productivity, members' privacy preserving, and potential privacy loss caused by information sharing. To screen a set of candidate teams in the OSN, we built an expert social network based on real co-authorship datasets (i.e., Netscience) with 1,590 scientists, used the semi-synthetic datasets to construct a trust network based on a belief model called Subjective Logic, and identified trustworthy users as candidate team members. Via our extensive simulation experiments, we compared the seven different TF schemes, including our proposed and existing TF algorithms, and analyzed the key factors that can significantly impact the expected and actual social welfare, expected and actual potential privacy leakout, and team diversity of a selected team. / Master of Science / In this work, we propose a PRivAcy-Diversity-Aware Team Formation framework, namely PRADA-TF, that can be deployed based on the trust relationships between users in online social networks (OSNs). Our proposed PRADA-TF is mainly designed to reflect team members' domain expertise and privacy preserving preferences when a task requires a wide range of diverse domain expertise for its successful completion. The proposed PRADA-TF aims to form a team based on members' characteristics in their diversity, privacy preserving, and information sharing so as to maximize the performance of the team. We leveraged a game theory called Mechanism Design in order for a mechanism designer as a team leader to select team members that can maximize the team's social welfare, which is the sum of all team members' utilities considering team productivity, members' privacy preserving, and potential privacy loss caused by information sharing. To screen a set of candidate teams in the OSN, we built an expert social network based on real co-authorship datasets with 1,590 scientists, used the semi-synthetic datasets to construct a trust network representing the trust relationship between the users in OSNs, and identified trustworthy users as candidate team members. Via our extensive simulation experiments, we compared the seven different team formation (TF) schemes, including our proposed and existing TF algorithms, and analyzed the key factors that can significantly impact the expected and actual social welfare, expected and actual potential privacy leakout, and team diversity of a selected team.

Tема управления формированием проектных команд входит в десятку наиболее актуальных в современном менеджменте как в бизнес сфере, так и в образовании. На основе анализа существующих подходов и моделей командообразования, а также полученных эмпирических данных, был разработан пакет конкретных практических рекомендаций, адресованных общеобразовательным организациям, осуществляющим инновационную деятельность. Определена научная новизна: определены сущность и содержание понятия проектная команда, как группы по разработке и внедрению инновационных проектов. Выявлены специфика проектной команды в общеобразовательном учреждении (организационное построение, разнородность состава команды, характер решаемых задач), что расширяет имеющиеся в науке представления о командообразовании в общеобразовательных организациях; разработан алгоритм формирования проектных команд в общеобразовательном учреждении; разработана и апробирована модель управления формированием проектной команды в сфере общего образования; выявлены и обоснованы нормативно-правовые документы, регламентирующие проектное управление в общеобразовательной организации; организацию деятельности проектных команд при разработке и внедрении инновационных проектов; определена эффективная система мотивации креативных сотрудников к участию в проектной деятельности в составе команды. / The topic of managing the formation of project teams is among the top ten most relevant in modern management, both in the business sphere and in education. Based on the analysis of existing approaches and models of team building, as well as the empirical data obtained, a package of specific practical recommendations was developed for general education organizations engaged in innovative activities. The scientific novelty is determined: the essence and content of the concept of a project team as a group for the development and implementation of innovative projects are determined. The specificity of the project team in educational institution (organizational structure, the heterogeneity of the composition of the teams, the nature of tasks), which expands the available scientific ideas about team building in educational institutions; the algorithm of formation of project teams in educational institution; developed and tested a model of management of development of the project team in General education; identified and justified legal documents, regulatory project management in educational organizations; organization of project teams ' activities in the development and implementation of innovative projects; an effective system for motivating creative employees to participate in project activities as part of a team is defined.

The aim of this paper is to demonstrate whether stakeholders activating a project shape team building, the structure and magnitude of resource investment levels, and to what extent these levels impact ERP project effectiveness. The process view of an ERP project includes project initiation, system justification and funding, implementation, and early system use. Results from a nationwide empirical survey conducted in Austria (N = 88) show that activating actors influence team formation and resource investments, which impact project effectiveness levels. Resource-intensive justification and funding phases tend to precede resource-intensive implementations in heavy-weight projects, which seem to be less effective than light-weight projects. Resource and change conflicts are associated with lower project performance and are more common in resource-intensive ERP projects, where early system use appears to be relatively less stable. (author's abstract)

The objective of this research is to show the utility of roles and personality characteristics to the evaluation and formation of software development teams. The goals of this research include demonstrating empirically that Belbin's team roles can be used to form and evaluate software teams, providing a partial validation of the analyses by using the Belbin roles to analyze teams from the software industry, and comparing the personality data collected for this research to data from two previous studies and to the general population. In the highly competitive software industry, improving the software development process can be critical to a company's success. More specifically, improving a team's productivity can save employers significant time and money. This investigation addresses the productivity of software development teams in a series of studies. First, controlled studies empirically show that Belbin's roles can be used in team formation to improve team performance. Second, additional studies, both qualitative and quantitative, demonstrate that Belbin's roles can be used as criteria in team evaluation and formation. Finally, teams from the software development industry are evaluated, providing a partial validation of the usefulness of Belbin's roles to software teams. The cumulative effect of the results of the studies in this investigation demonstrate that Belbin's roles can be used effectively in team formation and evaluation. Specifically, Belbin's roles for leadership and innovation are shown in empirical studies to be important in the formation of software teams, and all of the Belbin roles are used in the evaluation of teams in academia as well as in industry. The results of this investigation should be used in team formation and evaluation, in an academic setting as well as in the software development industry. For team evaluation, deficiencies uncovered in the Belbin roles should be remedied, and positive aspects should be encouraged. In team formation, teams should contain the complement of Belbin roles and should specifically contain the leadership and innovation roles focused on as part of this investigation. It is clear from this investigation that Belbin's roles can be used effectively to improve software development teams. / Ph. D.

The entrepreneurial team plays a crucial part in the new venture’s growth and success. This notion is present among many investors as they often choose to bet on the “jockey” (i.e. the team) instead of on the “horse” (i.e. the idea). Previous research has pointed to how diverse teams are better equipped to handle the complex practices a new venture is faced with, compared to homogeneous teams. The entrepreneurial environment has a prevalent gender inequality that hinders many women from entering and contributing to the industry. The purpose of this research was therefore to investigate what hinders and supports the formation and upholding of gender diverse teams. The study was written on commission for a Swedish incubator which led to an approach exploring how an incubator can influence and contribute to establishing these teams. Based on a literature review, the study chose an explorative and qualitative approach to answer the research questions as it was found that this area was relatively unexplored and contained little research on how to form and uphold gender diverse teams, especially in the Swedish incubator context. Data was collected through conducting semi-structured interviews with three different types of samples. These were the commissioner (i.e. the incubator team), incubatees (i.e. new venture teams of different compositions), and a few external actors within the Swedish incubator environment.  The findings pointed to that there are several more obstacles towards forming and upholding gender diverse teams than factors supporting it. More obstacles were found in terms of forming these teams and they related to entrepreneurs experiencing a lack of knowledge on how to find the right members with complementary skills. Contextual factors also affect the possibility to adopt an appropriate strategy to find team members. An inherent fear of bringing in someone new was also present among entrepreneurs. There is an absence of female role models which increases the difficulty and gap between men and women as the step becomes even larger for women to enter and succeed in the entrepreneurial environment. In terms of upholding gender diverse teams, conflict due to experienced personal differences and more challenging communication is common and can negatively affect the venture if not managed properly. Gender roles and stereotypes also have a negative impact. On the other hand, some supportive measures were also identified. In regards to team formation, resource seeking was a better option than interpersonal relationships when it came to forming a gender diverse team. Additionally, the increased demand for diversity among several actors like state agencies, incubators, and investors further pushes new ventures to form gender diverse teams. Among the incubatees, a shared outlook of wanting greater diversity and recognizing what it contributes with, shared motives, values, and expectations further supported the upholding of gender diverse teams. Other supportive measures were creating ownership directives and shareholder agreements as well as having complementary competencies, good communication, cohesion, and cognition. Further supportive measures an incubator can adopt related to strategy, networks, and placing initial demands on new ventures.

No description available.

Darbo uždaviniai: Apibrėžti projektų valdymą, galimas problemas apibrėžti personalo vadybos sampratą; atskleisti mokymosi šiuolaikinėje organizacijoje svarbą; ištirti apmokymų poreikį realiai egzistuojančioje Lietuvos organizacijoje; pateikti apibendrinančias išvadas. Šio darbo pagrindinis uždavinys buvo atskleisti ir išanalizuoti projektų valdymo problemas personalo vadybos aspektu. / This work „Project managment, problems, prevency soliutions“ is analizy of the training importance in the successful activity of the company and project management. It was necessary to show that increasing results of the company activity depend on human resourses management. It’s showed the need to organize training regulary. Calculated results of the questionnaire allow organizing directly the training of staff. Tha main conclution – future belongs to those companies and organizations, who organize training regularlt, especially in project management and modern technologies.

Positional tracking data is widely used in football for performance analysis. Many teams use GNSS integrated wearable devices to track physical metrics. However, utilizing GNSS data for tactical analysis is not common practice today. This thesis project aims to examine if GNSS data can be used in recognizing game phases in football. To achieve this, a system for filtering predefined sequences of the game was developed. We achieved nearly 80% accuracy in finding events, and 53% accuracy for filters. After in-depth analysis, it was shown that with small adjustments in filters, accuracy for over 80% can be achieved. Potential for finding sequences for over 90% accuracy after further research, is believed to be possible. A system with high accuracy could be used to automatically generate specified video feedback, game statistics, and validate manually collected event data. This kind of system would significantly save time and resources for teams and sports analysts. / Positionsspårningsdata används i stor utsträckning inom fotboll för prestationsanalys. Många lag använder GNSS-integrerade bärbara enheter för att spåra fysiska mätvärden. Att använda GNSS-data för taktisk analys är dock inte standard idag. Detta examensarbete syftar tillatt undersöka om GNSS-data kan användas för att känna igen spelfaser i fotboll. För att uppnå detta utvecklades ett system för att filtrera fördefinierade sekvenser av spelet. Vi uppnådde nästan 80% noggrannhet i att hitta händelser och 53% noggrannhet för filter. Efter en djupgående analys visade det sig att med små justeringar i filter kan noggrannhet för över 80% uppnås. Potential för att hitta sekvenser med över 90% noggrannhet efter ytterligare forskning tros vara möjlig. Ett system med hög noggrannhet skulle kunna användas för att automatiskt generera specificerad videofeedback, spelstatistik och validera manuellt insamlade händelsedata. Denna typ av system skulle avsevärt spara tid och resurser för lag och sportanalytiker.

In the digital domain, virtual teams within organizations and corporations are becoming common. Restructuring an organization or corporation is vital because competition and globalization are increasing. In this era of globalization, distributed working groups need to develop a competitive advantage in these ever-changing environments. Historically, teams had experienced problems stemming from geographical and temporal limitations. With the increase of technology in telecommunications, organizations are increasingly forming virtual teams, which have become critical to the survival of nearly any corporate entity. Virtual teams have some of the same problems that regular teams have. One of the key challenges is the method of forming teams, while such challenge is exacerbated in digital environments. Despite the difficulties, the digital environment has made successful team development all the more challenging. The variation in people's skills makes the formation of teams even more difficult. This is why organizations cannot determine in advance if a virtual team will be a success. To evaluate the success of team formation in a virtual setting, this research study assessed the role of different computer-mediated communications (CMC) levels employed (no-CMC/face-to-face, online learning system, online learning system + social networking site) on the success of team formation measured by the level of task performance (TP), team cohesiveness (TC), computer skills (CS) and social bond (SB), while assessing the differences on such relationships when controlled for demographic information such as gender, age, education level, academic major, as well as academic year. Empirical data was collected from students at the Medical Sciences Campus in the University of Puerto Rico with 140 usable records. Using three teams and 140 participants, the results indicated that there is a statistically significance difference in the role of CMC levels employed (no-CMC/face-to-face, online learning system, online learning system + social networking site) on the level of perception of CS in team formation. Significant differences were also found in the role of CMC levels employed on the levels of TP, when controlled for gender. In addition, there is a significance difference in the role of CMC levels employed (no-CMC/face-to-face, online learning system, online learning system + social networking site) on the levels of CS, when controlled for education, academic major and academic year. The outcomes of the study contributed to the body of knowledge for both practice and research, to help organizations identify ways to support effective team formations in virtual environments.