<p>Traditional, corporate-level risk mitigation procedures and management-led performance improvement efforts tend to ignore the relationship dynamics of Architect-Engineer design teams, and instead focus on the credentials and abilities of the individual designers, the contractual framework surrounding the individual projects, and the process for inspecting and controlling the quality of the team&rsquo;s output, the design. Management may tacitly acknowledge the complex nature of the design process, but the notion of design teams as complex systems, or more precisely, Complex Adaptive Systems (CAS), with their inherently unpredictable behaviors, is not typically considered. </p><p> The research herein analyzed the team dynamics of 113 Architect-Engineer design projects to determine if teams that leveraged or embraced (deliberately or unknowingly) the <i>self-organizing</i> and <i>sense-making </i> properties of CAS, to include improvisation, an emphasis on intra- and cross-boundary communication, broad participation in decision-making, autonomy in managing resources, and deliberate use of conflict and uncertainty to alter standard behavior patterns, delivered more successful projects than teams whose leadership attempted (again, deliberately or unknowingly) to <i> overcome</i> those same CAS properties with detailed design or quality control (QC) procedures, a strong organizational identity that informed behavior, concentrated decision-making authority with a focus on efficiency of effort, and swift resolution of conflict. The parameters for measuring project success included adherence to schedule, project profitability, design errors, contractual disputes or litigation, and customer satisfaction. </p><p> An analysis of the data utilizing non-parametric analytical tools, to include Mann-Whitney Rank Sum analysis, calculation of Kendall&rsquo;s tau-b, and ordinal logistic regression, reveals that while encouraging a design team to improvise can improve project outcomes, fostering or allowing self-organization in general is not associated with improved project performance. On the other hand, an environment that promotes team members&rsquo; sense-making abilities (although the use of conflict or noise as tools to promote adaptive thinking remains problematic) leads to improvements in project success factors. Finally, the results suggest that Architect-Engineer design team management is not a linear enterprise, and that in determining project success, the relationships between design team members may be as important as the technical competency of the designers and the design or quality control procedures they follow. </p>

<p> Over the last 70 years, teams have become the ubiquitous unit of work in our organizations. The software industry heavily utilizes the Scrum methodology to develop software. Scrum is a team-based methodology that requires the constant formation and development of team capabilities. Researchers and practitioners dealing with work team dynamics have relied on the popular team developmental stages of forming, storming, norming, and performing, defined by Dr. Bruce Tuckman in 1965. However, this framework was conceived primarily from articles dealing with therapy groups and not modern teams. This study expands the body of research in work team stage development applied to Scrum, a methodology that itself has no social science foundation and minimal theoretical coverage. </p><p> A combined case study and grounded theory method is used to leverage the strengths of both to investigate the developmental stage of 5 Scrum teams at a high-tech company. A questionnaire along with team interviews were utilized to gather data on how teams relate to developmental factors found in the literature. Descriptive analytics were leveraged to uncover the questionnaire findings, and grounded theory analysis was applied to code interview answers into usable concepts, categories, and themes. Themes were further explored concerning their causal relationships. </p><p> The study proposed and validated 12 theoretical factors that contribute to the stage development of Scrum teams across 4 distinct stages. These factors interconnect and form 4 quadrants with unique dynamics associated with a team&rsquo;s mission, structure, execution, and teaming. Furthermore, higher stage teams proved to be self-managed and adaptable and able to handle higher task complexity. Leaders were observed shifting roles as teams evolved through stages. This latter finding is consistent with the theoretical model of Kozlowski, Watola, Jensen, Kim, and Botero. The research also identified common challenges that teams encounter in their development. </p><p> The findings from this study can help organizations who practice Scrum become more intentional about the development of their teams toward adaptability. A concerted effort by software organizations to optimize the evolution of teams across the factors found in the study could yield significant benefits, particularly for missions dealing with high complexity and innovation needs.</p><p>

<p> A general aviation industry segment member known as a Certified Non-scheduled Air Taxi Operator (CNATO) conducts passenger flights on-demand for hire. While airline accidents have reached historic lows, CNATO accident rates remain above one per 100,000 hours (NTSB, 2015b). Unlike airlines, the Federal Aviation Administration has not made safety management system implementation mandatory within CNATOs. As a result, there has been no decrease in CNATO organizational accidents over a 6-year period since 2009. Study goals strove to find a predictable method of variable identification influencing at-risk CNATOs. </p><p> The study utilized a sequential transformative design comprising quantitative surveys and aviation accident databases to answer four research questions. Research questions used explanatory correlational methodology of independent and intervening variables examining descriptive, relational, and comparative results. Safety Culture Indicator Scale Measurement System (SCISMS) and Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) Form 5x served as survey instruments that gathered leadership and safety culture information. Accident data was obtained from government sources through the Aviation Safety Information Analysis and Sharing (ASAIS) database. </p><p> An inclusion criterion, stratified random cluster, and systematic random sampling narrowed the entire 2,046 CNATO population to a sample size of 25 participants from three FAA flight standards regional offices. Each participant had 3-weeks to complete an online survey containing 106 questions. Twenty participants completed the survey. Data analysis followed a discriminant function analysis to develop quantitative correlations between multiple variables. Characteristics of each participant yielded no conclusive data to suggest CNATOs share common safety culture dimension dominance. Study results concluded there was no relationship between leadership style, safety culture dominance, and accident rates. A comparison of CNATOs using safety management systems and accident rates also showed no relationship exists. The final research question sought to find a relationship between leadership style, safety dimension, and accident rate. None was found, however, a statistical trend emerged outside the research questions as a result of sequential research design. Data indicated a relationship among transformational leadership characteristic scale and SCISMS mean score. While the study yielded seminal individual results, research questions proved safety culture remains difficult to define and found relationships to identify at-risk organizations remains elusive.</p><p>

<p> Researchers and practitioners continue to study the causes of high consequence failures in complex socio-technical systems. Often linear causal pathways are identified in investigations that blame individual human error, or technical malfunctions. This study represents a significant expansion in the analysis of high profile accidents, crimes, crises, and tragedies to accommodate system complexity. Presented is a model of socio-technical system wholeness that provides an integral framework with which socio-technical system deficiencies are analyzed. The research questions if lack of systemic wholeness is the cause for selected high profile events.</p><p> This case study used historical documents pertaining to 13 actual events that included espionage, high consequence accidents, mass killings, and the response to natural disasters. The documentation included government commission reports and previously recorded interviews. A hermeneutic analysis method guided the iterative development of deficiency codes. These codes were assigned to key statements in the documentation that described the varied deficiencies. The qualitative analysis software, Atlas.ti aided in the coding of approximately 5,000 of pages of documentation. Deficiency codes were then organized and the highest frequency codes are listed and are also shown graphically on the integral model, to reveal characteristic patterns.</p><p> In all of the cases, significant deficiencies are shown in all dimensions of the integral wholeness model. Deficiencies are described as systemic holes and shadow aspects. Holes and shadow aspects form patterns within and among cases, spanning the various subject areas. Systemic boundaries pertaining to each case are also described using the wholeness model. In several of the cases, multiple systems are shown with systemic links. Deficiencies in the links were also identified from the data and are presented.</p><p> The dynamic process of movement towards socio-technical systems wholeness is perpetual. It is also essential when the consequence of socio-technical systems failure threatens individuals, communities or the natural environment. The research shows the need for constant vigilance and attention to holes in protective defenses, and reconciliation with shadow aspects to avert systemic failure. This research has a broad span. Additional research opportunities include using this wholeness model for in-depth analysis of single socio-technical system prior to failure</p>

Teacher education programs focus on preparing teachers to instruct students, but they usually do not focus on preparing teachers to manage students’ behavior, which may prevent teachers from providing effective instruction. This project study evaluated a classroom behavior management model, CHAMPS, designed to help teachers manage student behavior so they can focus their time and energy on instruction and student success. Positive Behavior Systems (PBS), used in the field of behavioral management, served as the theoretical foundation for this study. The evaluation design followed Stufflebeam’s (2003) Context, Input, Process, and Product (CIPP) by employing the outcome-based approach, which evaluated the extent to which a program is meeting predetermined outcomes and objectives. The open-ended research questions explored whether the classroom management system accomplished its goal of guiding teachers in making effective decisions about managing behavior. Data were collected from a researcher-created qualitative questionnaire and phone interviews from a purposeful sample of 7 elementary school teachers who attended all 5 CHAMPS training sessions and who implemented CHAMPS strategies in their classrooms. Qualitative data were open coded and reoccurring themes including connections, support, structure, teach, and model were identified and interpreted for meaning. The findings indicated that CHAMPS, as a model for classroom management, successfully guided these participants in making effective decisions about managing students’ behavior. This study may contribute to a greater understanding of effective classroom management strategies and awareness of classroom behavior management issues for teachers, administrators, and district stakeholders.