<p>Professionals currently working in consulting firms and job-applicants aiming to work in this industry are very often finding themselves in a situation where they experience a skill-gap regarding the skills consulting firms have claimed as the must-have ones. Confusion about which are those skills has increased since from academics to professionals, from researchers to higher education institutions and from students and graduates to job-searchers, they all have a different understanding of which ones are those skills. In fact even from one consulting firm to the next one the skills differ. Moreover current and available literature is yet to explore deeper the project teams working for consulting firms in order to grasp a real understanding and easy identification of these skills, since studies so far have provided mixed set of skills for traditional project teams rather than for consulting project-teams leading to mixed discoveries and inconclusive results. The findings in this study provide support for a controversial discussion occurring when trying to identify the skills consultants affirm their employer require and how these companies acquire, foster and retain these skills.</p>

Professionals currently working in consulting firms and job-applicants aiming to work in this industry are very often finding themselves in a situation where they experience a skill-gap regarding the skills consulting firms have claimed as the must-have ones. Confusion about which are those skills has increased since from academics to professionals, from researchers to higher education institutions and from students and graduates to job-searchers, they all have a different understanding of which ones are those skills. In fact even from one consulting firm to the next one the skills differ. Moreover current and available literature is yet to explore deeper the project teams working for consulting firms in order to grasp a real understanding and easy identification of these skills, since studies so far have provided mixed set of skills for traditional project teams rather than for consulting project-teams leading to mixed discoveries and inconclusive results. The findings in this study provide support for a controversial discussion occurring when trying to identify the skills consultants affirm their employer require and how these companies acquire, foster and retain these skills.

Globally distributed engineering teams are a reality in globally operating companies. However, research on teams is often done by psychologists, with a focus on general team building and working processes, and seldom on engineering teams and the challenges and benefits that are specific to them. In this thesis, experimental research on two globally distributed engineering teams is presented. First, one instance of globally distributed teams in computational fluid dynamics is scrutinized. Second, experimental research on idea generation methods used in globally distributed teams during the conceptual design phase of the product development process is presented. An experimental study simulating the global distribution of a three person Computational Fluid Dynamics team shows that successful sequential processing of a problem is possible given technological support by different internet based technologies. Three succeeding studies researched the influence of space and time during idea generation for an engineering problem, leading to the conclusion in the final study that idea generation in distributed engineering teams is a valid option. It is shown that the idea generation method has a significant effect on the number of ideas generated per team member. Further, the quality, novelty, and variety are each significantly influenced by both the idea generation method chosen and the team member’s location, but in different ways by the same level of each factor. Concluding, both experiments in distributed engineering teams show these teams have unused potential that can be utilized using appropriate process, procedures and tools.

New product development quality has been found to be a key determinant of the market success and profitability of a new product because of its contribution to superior customer value, the cornerstone of a firm¡¦s competitive advantage in the marketplace. Therefore, enterprises are increasingly utilizing new product development teams for new product development. Previous studies have suggested that the diverse backgrounds of cross-functional team members can increase the amount and variety of information available to design products, thereby improving design process efficiency and product development performance. However, researchers still know very little about how such teams can improve new product quality. Thus, our first research question was; what are the relationships between team characteristics and organization contextual factors and new product quality? In addition, as nationality has been shown to influence individual¡¦s cognitive schema, values, and nonverbal behavior, all of which influence behavior in teams, new product development teams pose a particular type of challenge in different countries. Team-based work designs have been easier to implement in countries with collectivist as opposed to individualist cultures. To address that issue, this study will examine the differences of how team characteristics and contextual influences affect new product quality in collectivist and individualist cultures. Thus, our second research question was; do team characteristics and organization contextual factors affect new product quality differently in collectivist cultures and individualist cultures? Because this was a cross-national research, samples were taken from two countries, one in Taiwan and the other in the U.S.A. We received 184 completed questionnaires from Taiwanese teams, and 176 completed questionnaires from American teams. In order to make sure that the instrument used in this study could measure what it was intended to measure, we used confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to examine the validity of the measurement models of both dependent variables and independent variables. We then used hierarchical moderated regression analysis to test the contingency hypotheses. Research results reveal two different outcomes of hypotheses testing. For Taiwanese teams, new product quality is positively affected by the capability of information integration in the team and quality orientation in the firm, but is negatively influenced by speed-to-market pressure and product innovativeness in the firm. Functional and tenure diversity have a moderate no effect on new product quality. The capability of information integration in a team can also reduce the negative effect of speed-to-market pressure on new product quality. In contrast, for American teams, new product quality is positively affected by functional diversity and the capability of information integration in the team and quality orientation in the firm, but is moderately negatively influenced by supplier involvement in the firm. Customer involvement in a firm can increase the positive effect of the capability of information integration on new product quality. In conclusion, the present study contributes to the literature on new product development teams in several ways. First, it extends research on new product development teams across collectivist and individualist cultures and identifies boundary conditions for theories of new product development teams. Second, this study is the first to empirically examine how team characteristics and organization contextual factors affect new product quality across cultures. Third, it provides a thorough and integrative review of the literature from diverse disciplines such as new product development, organizational behavior, and management and innovation as a means of establishing links among team characteristics, organization contextual factors, and new product quality. Finally, the model we have provided will assist managers in identifying the team characteristics and organization contextual factors needed to assist new product development teams in collectivist and individualist cultures to develop high-quality products. Since these factors can be directly manipulated by managers, they can create the effective conditions, specific to the industry characteristics they are engaged in, for new product development teams to develop high-quality products.

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Working on teams with professionals from other fields is often challenging. Researchers from the fields of Management and Writing Studies have frequently emphasized the tension and conflict experienced in such inter-professional, or cross-functional, teams. Whether studying engineering project teams, groups of medical professionals, or business teams, researchers have found that inter-professional work is often complicated by misunderstanding and miscommunication due to problems associated with inter-group professional identity. This interdisciplinary research draws from the fields of Management and Writing Studies in the exploration of a modern, inter-professional proposal writing team working at a commercial enterprise. A modified version of Grounded Theory, coupled with Rhetorical Genre Studies analysis, serves as a methodological framework for the study. The analytical framework is provided by the combination of Rhetorical Genre Studies, a model of successful team interactions, borrowed from Management Studies, and an expanded version of Wenger’s conceptualization of multiple communities of practice (CoPs). The research reveals the complexity of inter-professional team work. Professional identity of the team’s member is also presented as more complicated than previously anticipated. The study indicates that the team has been heavily influenced by a former, or an antecedent, CoP to which some of the team members belong. The genre and leadership preferences of the antecedent CoP are shown to moderate much of the predicted tension and conflict in the work of the team. The interdisciplinary study reveals the effects of antecedent CoPs and professional identity of the team members on the inter-professional team dynamics. Both researchers and practitioners may benefit from the findings of the study and a broader interdisciplinary approach used to investigate and interpret the dynamics of inter-professional teams.

The purpose of this paper is to explore group creative processes in a virtual environment to better understand how virtual communication influences creativity. After reviewing literature, a theoretical foundation in creativity was established and with three common themes derived: Task motivation and task orientation, social environment and participation, and communication. This was coupled with a review of current virtual team interaction theories, demonstrating intersections between them. The method used was a qualitative exploration using semi-structured in-depth interviews. The interviews were conducted via VOIP, with notes and recordings taken for further analysis. Analysis was conducted on the three common creative themes viewing virtualization as the mediator. Trends emerged demonstrating that asynchronous communication had a substantial influence on group creative processes. Conversely, virtual teams employing real-time communication found little influence on the creative process. Other anecdotal trends can be seen regarding motivation and social environment. This paper identifies key areas where virtualization influences the group creative process, and provides a base for future suggested research.

This is a mixed-methods study investigating parental satisfaction and wait times as parents inquire about an autism spectrum disorder diagnosis for their child in a Northern Ontario community. Satisfaction and wait times of those diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) by a single practitioner were compared to satisfaction and wait times of those diagnosed by the multidisciplinary assessment team in the Sudbury/Manitoulin region (the Autism Diagnostic Team; ADT). No significant differences were noted between groups on satisfaction or wait times. However, ADT group received much more consistent service, with less variation in wait times between clients, and more consistent provision of comprehensive services prior to the diagnostic meeting. Points of interest are noted for practitioners including increased wait times for parents of children with milder forms of ASD and for girls. No differences in wait time or satisfaction were noted between language groups. Content analysis of the qualitative interviews representing mainly single practitioners saw the emergence of themes including difficulty activating the assessment process, concerns regarding the wait, and appointment demands. The importance of professional expertise, empathy, and respectful communication also emerged. Parents felt the experience was deeply distressing and they often experienced abandonment following the diagnostic process. Additionally, parents whose children did not receive a diagnosis often felt confusion about what to do next. Reducing wait times, increasing professional expertise, completing comprehensive assessments, and using truly interdisciplinary teams should continue to be the focus of service improvements that may translate into improved satisfaction.

Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Auburn University, 2006. / Abstract. Includes bibliographic references.

Thesis (Ph.D.) - Carleton University, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 433-448). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.