The main aim of this study was to test and ascertain, objectively, theexistence/occurrence of the phenomenon of Synergy in teams. To do this, the results of anonline course in Umea University, where students are invariably required to do a bunch ofindividual as well as team assignments, were analysed: the idea was to compare the marksobtained by the students in their team assignments with their marks in their individualassignments and to check if there was a reasonably good number of instances where the teammark was higher than the highest individual mark in that particular team. The basicassumption was that in case the team mark of a team was higher than the highest individualmark in that team, then, it can be presumed that synergy has taken place in that team for thatparticular team assignment. And, given a reasonably large sample of teams, it would beinstructive to see what percentage of groups/teams actually show synergy. In case a goodnumber of teams show such results then we could conclude that there was objective evidencein favour of the synergy. In case our analysis brought to fore such results then it would benatural to take the study one step ahead and test a broad causal relationship of synergy withthe complexity/difficulty of task at hand.After analysing the results of about 387 students, who worked in about 104 teams, itwas found that about 69.23% teams scored higher than the highest scoring individual; 93.26%teams faired better than the average score of team members; and, 98.07% teams can be said tohave performed better if compared to the lowest individual score.Further, one level below, when team-score and individual-score were compared acrossdifferent team and individual tasks (Case Studies), it still came to fore that teams hadoutperformed the individuals. And, when a single student’s marks in his team assignmentswere compared with his marks in his individual assignments, in five out of six comparisons itwas found that the team mark was convincingly higher than the individual mark.All these results strongly indicated the existence/occurrence of synergy in teams.In addition to this, an experiment on two teams of students was also performed toshow that synergy was more likely to happen if the task at hand was complex/ difficult. Theresults of this experiment seemed to corroborate the contention of the researchers.Keywords: Project Management, Team, Team Work, Individual work, Synergy

Abstract There are over 60 companies, which have had the experience in TPM implementation, but only 12 companies have got TPM Award until 2000. We may pose this issue, since they have the same TPM system and similar implementing structure/procedure or even the identical consultant, they have obtained total different result, what on earth it is? I attribute this different result to the incitement of teamwork, as well as different management style which may leads to the different achievement of TPM. Herewith, we will review firstly the theoretic character of TPM, and then study the theory of leadership, teamwork and synergy. After that, we will work out the inference of successful mode for the implementation of TPM. According to theoretic inference, a questionnaire was made, which had been listed questions on the basic information of company, the management style of key leader and promoting team of TPM. Above all, TPM performance is also included. This report will review all theoretic inference, and compare to the statistical result of questionnaire, which makes me organize a practical as well as successful mode, i.e. proper leadership and appropriate teamwork leads to high performance of TPM activity. Key Word: Total Productive Management (TPM), MP (Maintenance Prevention) Information, Management Style, Team Work and Synergy.

A major challenge facing managers in current organizations is an increasingly diverse workforce (Jehn, Lindred, & Rupert, 2008). Diversity, “a characteristic of a social grouping that reflects the degree to which there are objective or subjective differences between people within the group” (Van Knippenberg & Schippers, 2007, p. 519), refers to an almost infinite number of dimensions of differences between group members, ranging from differences in age to nationality, from religious background to personality, from work skills to emotions (Van Knippenberg, De Dreu, & Homan, 2004). Until recently, the diversity field had been dominated by the main effects approach and thus mainly examined whether diversity has negative or positive effects on team outcomes. Typically, researchers draw on two seemingly contradictory theoretical perspectives to answer this question (see Williams & O'Reilly, 1998). The “value in diversity” perspective (Cox, Lobel, & Mcleod, 1991) proposes that diversity may improve team functioning due to an increased variety of knowledge, expertise, and opinions. An opposing, pessimistic perspective posits that diversity may result in social divisions and negative intra-group processes, which may detract from team functioning (Mannix & Neale, 2005). Despite the intuitive sense that both approaches make, two decades of research has resulted in highly inconsistent findings and corroborated the conclusion that the main effects approach is unable to account for the effects of diversity adequately (Bowers, Pharmer, & Salas, 2000). Consequently, researchers have recently begun to explore the question of whether, and how, the perspectives on the effects of diversity can be reconciled and integrated (Van Knippenberg et al., 2004). Prominent attempts to answer this question mainly rely on contingency models (e.g., Wegge, 2003), proposing that whether diversity results in negative or positive outcomes depends upon several moderators. The research agenda set by such models informs the major part of research efforts in the field. Indeed, the contingency approach has proved useful for the purpose of integrating past contradicting findings and advancing knowledge of the moderators and mediators underlying the effects of diversity. However, despite these notable theoretical developments, current research is still limited in its ability to capture the rich and wide-ranging influence of diversity in the workplace. This dissertation identifies two main sources for this weakness. First, the majority of diversity research regards diversity as an isolated phenomenon that occurs only on a single organizational level. Cross-level influences of diversity, however, are largely ignored. Second, despite the richness that the contingency approach has added to the study of diversity, it has not changed the fundamental goal guiding this field: examining the relationship between diversity and work outcomes. I shall argue that diversity research has so far overlooked other aspects of the influence of diversity and that it can benefit from turning into new and unexplored avenues. In particular, diversity research may benefit from examining team diversity in roles other than the independent variable, and especially explore the influence of diversity as a context (i.e., moderating) variable. Thus, in an attempt to overcome these two limitations, the overarching aim of this dissertation is to extend previous work by reassessing the role of diversity. In particular, this dissertation illustrates the empirical and theoretical usefulness of conceptualizing diversity as a cross-level moderator and explores the ways in which team diversity sets the context and influences work phenomena across organizational levels. Study 1 explored the cross-level relationship between organizational tenure and employee performance in a prospective design. It was found that employee tenure, team leader tenure, and team tenure diversity exert positive effects on employee performance. Additional finding, a three-way interaction between employee tenure, team tenure diversity, and team leader tenure on employee performance, suggests that the positive effect of employee tenure on performance is weaker when either team tenure diversity or team leader tenure or both are high. The hypotheses were tested using multi-level modeling and an objective measure of employee performance with a sample of 1767 employees and 256 leaders in intact working teams of a large financial services firm. The findings suggest that team diversity grants organizational tenure its meaning, thereby determining to what extent the benefits associated with organizational tenure will unfold. Study 2 further examined the empirical and theoretical usefulness of conceptualizing team diversity as a cross-level moderator. Particularly, the relationship between gender diversity in teams and individual-level health symptoms of men and women was examined in two consecutive years in 220 natural work teams (N 1st year = 4538; N 2nd year=5182). In an attempt to account for inconsistencies in the literature regarding the relationship between gender and health symptoms, I examined this relationship from a multilevel perspective. As expected, it was found that individual-level gender was not related to health symptoms but that team gender diversity determined this relationship. Specifically, while there were no individual-level differences between men and women in health symptoms, it was found that women report more health symptoms as the proportion of female employees in the team increased. In contrast, men’s self-reported health symptoms remained invariant with team gender diversity changes. These findings were found stable across two measurement points, over two years. Finally, Study 3 examined the role that subjective team diversity plays in facilitating affective linkages (i.e., the convergence of affect among team members over time) within teams. The results of Study A (170 employees in 33 Israeli teams) provide evidence that affective linkages among team members were moderated by perceived team diversity such that the linkages were stronger in teams with lower perceived diversity. Study B (304 employees in 61 German teams) replicated the findings of Study A and extended them by including an additional moderator, team identification. Using hierarchical linear modeling, it was found that team identification moderated the influence of perceived diversity on affective linkages. The most striking contribution that all three studies offer is a strong support for the usefulness of conceptualizing diversity as a cross-level moderator. Particularly, in Study 1 team tenure diversity determined whether and to what extent the positive effects of organizational tenure on individual performance might be realized. In Study 2, gender diversity determined the relationship between individual gender and health. Finally, in Study 3, perceived diversity influenced the strength of affective linkages in teams. The three studies are also consistent in illustrating the theoretical usefulness of conceptualizing team diversity as a context variable. To be exact, the current approach integrates the micro domain's focus on individuals with the macro domain's focus on groups. The result is a richer portrait of organizational life—one that acknowledges the influence of the team context on individuals' actions and perceptions. In sum, the findings demonstrate that viewing team diversity as a moderator broadens the focus of diversity research, illuminates new roles of team diversity, draws a richer and more complex portrait of other work phenomena, and opens new horizons for diversity research.

Incorporating team context into research and practice concerning team effectiveness in multinational organizations still remains an ongoing challenge. The purpose of this dissertation was to explore the influence of industry, corporate culture, structure, strategy and task characteristics on MNTs in business organizations and to develop a more comprehensive framework connecting the internal dynamics with contextual aspects of MNTs functioning in companies in Europe and the USA. The study was conducted in an Austrian (VA TECH), a German (Henkel) and an American company (K&M International). Forty-two problem-centered interviews were conducted with 22 team members and 20 team leaders. Levels of uncertainty, stress and turbulence influence organizations and MNTs since teams and organizations have to reshape their strategies. Multinational strategy has a positive impact on MNTs while companies with a global strategy assign low value to diversity. MNT norms in companies with a strong corporate culture are reflective of the organizational culture. MNTs at companies with a weak corporate culture develop their own unique cultures and deviate from the values and norms set by the organization. Team composition, size and length of cooperation have a moderating effect on MNTs. We could identify several team leader competences that contribute to team success. The results show how teams reduce the complexity of operations by facilitating the creation and transfer of explicit and tacit knowledge and by transferring appropriate dimensions of the HQ corporate culture between geographically dispersed business units. (author's abstract)

The key to production effectiveness lies in the optimal utilisation of the organisations own employees. This has been accomplished by changing the power structure within organisations with the introduction of self-directed work teams. In addition to carrying out the work, SDWT members make decisions that are traditionally the jurisdiction of first line supervisors. This method of management and work planning can lead to added stress and behaviour not anticipated from employees. This behaviour, if not addressed, may have a debilitating effect on the team's performance and therefore on the organisations' bottom line. To address this behaviour, the specific causes must first be identified. The pressure within the teams of a gold mine is increased due to the fact that one day's loss of production can cost hundreds of thousands of rand. The objective of the research was to determine what causes certain dysfunctional behaviours in self-directed work teams, and the effect this has on the workplace and performance. A qualitative study was done whereby a single group of subjects was obtained. This group consisted of 40 subjects (N=40). Three different work groups were part of the case study. These groups were observed in the workplace, the group's interactions with other members in the group were observed, and the group's interactions with leadership figures were observed, and finally individual members participated in unstructured interviews in order to identify the experience of members in the work groups and also to discover what elements contributed to the dysfunctional behaviour identified in the workplace. Data from interviews was used to develop major groupings, or general classifications of broad categories of themes, where a theme is a recurrent topic of discussion or often mentioned key factor with regards to behaviour. Information was also gathered by observing individuals in their places of work. The results showed that the factors, which were most frequently sited, were the issues of contradictory demands and control (leadership). Another factor considered important by all role players was relationships. Other influences identified, but of less importance, were support, trust and communication, cultural diversity, role clarity and finally, individual needs. By way of conclusion, recommendations for future research are made. / Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2006.

This master’s final paper formulates possibilities to improve team work and organizational climate in advertisement agencies based on the team work and organizational climate diagnostic research made in the Joint Stock Company “Pramuštgalvis“. The paper analyses theoretical scientific material and this analysis allows to justify importance of team work and organizational climate and possibilities to improve it in the context of human resources management. The research of team work was made according the German test „Team Plus“ adapted in Lithuania. The organizational climate research was made according the test created by professor G. Merkys and his scientific group. 41 respondents from 6 teams of advertisement agency took part in the research. The data received was processed by the typical SPSS program. Evaluation of the statistical data allows to propose that team work in the advertisement agencies is little functional and organizational climate is rather poor. The hypothesis formulated by the author of this paper is proved. Team work and organizational climate are interdependent characteristics of human resources management.

This master’s work is part of team research work. The aim of the work is to analyze the expression of the team – work and organization climate in municipality of the X district, using two standart tests: the German "Team Puls" test and organization climates’ crisis test created by scientific group of prof. G. Merkys. The questionnaire was made up of 66 questions refering to various aspects of team work. The questionnaire of organization climates’ test consists 149 questions. The research work was carried out at municipality of the X district. The testing was anonymous. 63 respondents including 12 teams of different departments of organization were surveyed. The data was processed using typical SPSS programme. Special psychometrical rates testify the reliability of all the data. Considerable dispersal of attribute was stated. All this indicates that in some subdivisions team work is very efficient while the others have got room for improvement and unexhausted possibilities.

Magistro darbe nagrinėjama komandinio darbo raiška ir efektyvinimo prielaidos švietimo organizacijoje. Darbe išanalizuoti įvairių Lietuvos ir užsienio autorių komandinio darbo teoriniai aspektai, atsižvelgiant į švietimo organizacijos ypatumus. Remiantis teorine analize atliktas empirinis komandinio darbo švietimo organizacijose tyrimas, nustatant komandiniam darbui būdingus bruožus, bei komandinio darbo efektyvinimo prielaidas švietimo organizacijose. Išanalizavus gautus rezultatus, galima daryti išvadą, kad švietimo organizacijos turi potencialą komandinio darbo plėtrai ir jo efektyvinimui. Tačiau komandinis darbas švietimo organizacijose yra specifinė sritis, kuriai vadybos darbuose aprašomi komandinio darbo teoriniai aspektai gali būti taikomi tik atsižvelgus į savitus švietimo organizacijos bruožus. Apibendrinus gautus tyrimo rezultatus galima patvirtinti išsikeltą hipotezę, kad komandinis darbas ir jo efektyvumas didina švietimo organizacijos funkcionalumą ir darbo kokybę. / The supposed effectiveness of the team work and its expression is dealt in this work. Considering the special things in the educational organizations, theoretical aspects of the team work by Lithuanian and foreign authors have been analysed. On the basis of the theoretical analysis, an empiric experiment of the team work has been made and specific features stated. The analysis of the results give the opportunity to make a conclusion that educational organizations have a potential to make the team work more effective. Nevertheless, the team work in the educational organizations is a specific area and it should be applied only having in consideration specific features of educational organization. Summing up the results of the experiment, it can be proved, that the team work and its effectiveness make the quality of the educational organizations better.

Darbo tikslas – įvertinti Gelgaudiškio specialiosios internatinės mokyklos Specialiojo ugdymo komisijos komandinio darbo efektyvumą bei darbuotojų požiūrį į komandinį darbą. Tyrime dalyvavo 63 Gelgaudiškio specialiosios internatinės mokyklos darbuotojai tiesiogiai dirbantys su protinę negalią turinčiais moksleiviais ir 9 Specialiojo ugdymo komisijos nariai, kurių pagrindinis uždavinys spręsti problemas susijusias su profesine pedagogine veikla. Jiems buvo pateiktos dvi anketos. Pirma buvo sudaryta remiantis M.Belbino specialaus savęs vertinimo testu ir antra anketa subalansuota specialiai komandinio darbo tema – anketą sudarė 20 specialiai ta tema suformuluotų klausimų. Tiriamieji buvo apklausti raštu. Tyrimo rezultatus apdorojome matematinės statistikos metodais. Apibendrinant tyrimo rezultatus galime teigti, kad taikant M. Belbino metodiką nustatėme, jog Gelgaudiškio specialiosios internatinės mokyklos Specialiojo ugdymo komisijos branduolį sudaro 13 narių, kurie pastoviai dalyvauja komandos pasitarimuose ir atlieka kitą komisijos funkcijose numatytą veiklą. Gelgaudiškio specialiosios internatinės mokyklos Specialiojo ugdymo komisijos komandą sudaro nariai, kurie turi asmenines savybes reikalingas visiems aštuoniems vaidmenims. Tačiau trijų vaidmenų – pirmininko, įkvepėjo ir stebėtojo-vertintojo dominuojančių savybių neturi nei vienas komandos narys. Gelgaudiškio specialiosios internatinės mokyklos Specialiojo ugdymo komisijos komandinis darbas gali būti efektyvus jei:... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The aim of the study – to estimate the efficiency of special education board and attitude towards team work in Gelgaudiškis boarding school for special educational needs students. We have assessed 63 workers, who are working with the children with intellectual disorders, and 9 members of special education board, who are responsible for solving the pedagogical problems of Gelgaudiškis boarding school for special educational needs students. They got two questionnaires. The first one was made by M. Belbin's special self estimation test and the second one was made by 20 questions of team working. The investigators were examined in writing. The results of study have been worked by method of mathematical statistics. The results showed that by applying the method of M. Belbin, 13 members from special education board are attending in all team meetings and performing all the needed actions in Gelgaudiškis boarding school for special educational needs students. All the members of special education board of Gelgaudiškis boarding school for special educational needs students have personal characteristics, which are needed for 8 castings. But nobody of the members has personal characteristics of 3 castings – chairman, inspirator and observer-estimator. The team work of special education board of Gelgaudiškis boarding school for special educational needs students can be effective, if:  The member, who has enough personal characteristics, will take the job of chairman.  The member, who... [to full text]

This work, finalizing the master’s degree studies, is the self-dependent part of a collegial research project. The key issue of a project is to adopt the specific tests to the specific cultural environment of Lithuania. Two different tests have been evaluated. One of them, - teamwork test “Team Plus” has been made & tested by Germans under the Lithuanian conditions, & another test of organizational microclimate- has been created locally in Lithuania. Tests have been checked with the teams of leather processing enterprise. The organizational microclimate of a typical workgroups has been targeted as the main issues of the test. This research, together with the written report about it, is the main part of a master’s degree work. Total number of a 115 respondents has fulfilled the questionnaires. The total respondent’s number represents the 11 teams. Data has been analyzed, using the typical SPSS program. Both: qualitative & quantitative research methods have been used. The influence of demographic variables (meaning the sex) on to the teamwork expression has been evaluated in this research. According to the processed research data, the influence of the sex appeared to be nonessential. In conclusion, the next key issues can be stated. The indicators of an effective teamwork can be noticed only in the departments with a positive organizational microclimate. On the other hand, the ineffective teamwork markers are tightly connected with a negative organizational microclimate.