European Business School, Diss.--Oestrich-Winkel, 2006.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2005. / Supervisors: D. Paul Newman and Shane S. Dikolli. Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.)--Ohio University, June, 2003. / Title from PDF t.p.

Thesis (MA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2006. / Bibliography. Also available via the Internet.

This research initiative responds to some of the issues raised by theoretical challenges leveled at Industrial Psychology (postmodernism), and practical challenges in the workplace (the use of teams) by investigating notions of what a team is via the postmodern methodology of discourse analysis. The research explores “team talk” – repertoires of speech employed by individuals to construct particular versions of “the team” for specific effects, of importance given emphasis placed on shared understanding, expectations and goals in a “team”. A Rhodes University Industrial Psychology Honours class required to work as a team (having participated in a team building exercise), as well as their lecturers who facilitated the team building process were interviewed to obtain “talk” to analyse. This uncovered a multiplicity of meaning, namely four ways of speaking about (constructing) the team. These repertoires are explored in terms of how they are constructed, how they differ across context and speakers, how they interrelate and what they function to achieve. The educational team repertoire constructs academic hierarchy, justifies individualism, positions members as experts and maintains distance from interpersonal processes. The machine repertoire divides work and interpersonal issues, regulates productivity and constructs team roles (defining individual activity and “team fit”), but is inflexible to change. The family repertoire voices emotive aspects to maintain cohesion via conformity, leaderlessness, group identity and shared achievement, but cannot accommodate conflict or workpersonal boundaries. The psychologised team repertoire constructs the team primarily as a therapeutic entity legitimately creating individual identities (and expertise) and facilitating personal growth, but this flounders when support in the “team” fails. Given that each repertoire has a different emphasis (reflective learning versus work processes versus building relationships versus personal growth), there are slippages / clashes between repertoires. This postmodern look at “the team” thus assists in recognizing and problematising these multiple meanings and identifying practical implications.

In many cases congregations are served not by an individual, but by a pastoral team. The optimal functioning of that team requires that careful consideration be given to the factors which govern its composition. The spiritual health and growth of a congregation is largely dependent on the effective functioning of that team. It is apparent, however, that many congregations, church councils or relevant leadership structures have neither the expertise nor the experience required to assemble or extend these teams. The mistakes thus made can prove costly to a congregation. Teams are assembled in which members neither complement, nor are compatible with each other. Considerable unnecessary conflict is thereby created, resulting in ineffective functioning of the team. This study was undertaken with a view to identifying factors which might have a bearing on the manner in which pastoral teams should be assembled for a congregation. It firstly examines whether any references in the Bible should be considered in the composition of the team. It then examines the reasons why pastors operate in teams, the appearance of pastoral teams in modern-day congregations and the manner in which such teams are assembled. It thereafter identifies the key factors to be considered in extending the pastoral team. These factors are then described in more detail. / Dr. GJ Basson

Clinical facilitation is a central function considered indispensable for achieving the integration of theory to practice for nursing students and staff. The aim of this study was to identify and prioritize the competencies required for clinical facilitators in acute care, private sector environments as well as identify the gaps that arise between the importance of the competency and the evidence that the competency exists in current practice. A structured questionnaire was administered by central collection method and e-mail to seven designations of nurses who were directly or indirectly involved with the function of clinical facilitation from three geographical regions in South Africa. Returns were analysed from 212 responses received. The results of the survey rank ordered the list of the importance of competencies as well as the evidence that the competency exists. The gap variables showed there is a definite need for training in all competencies. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

Global competition and advances in technology are leading to the explosion of virtual teams in order to execute business strategies. Adoption of permanent virtual team structures enables companies access to best talent with rich cultural diversity as a form of competitive advantage. This new way of working brings forth challenges regarding leadership. The main purpose of this research was to identify perceptions on the leadership preferences and important factors enabling or inhibiting the effective leadership to manage virtual teams. Two types of data collection methodologies were used, namely, qualitative and quantitative in two phases. The first phase was to gain in-depth knowledge on the themes and constructs to be used to develop the questionnaire. The survey for the second phase took the form of self-administered quantitative questionnaires. In total 59 responses were received; 13 virtual managers, 23 virtual subordinates and 23 respondents who were both virtual managers and virtual subordinates. The outcome revealed that soft leadership skills are core to the success of virtual teams. There was a consistent view on findings between managers, subordinates and respondents who are both managers and subordinates. By understanding the relative importance of key skills, enablers and inhibitors, virtual managers will be able to demonstrate the different leadership qualities and practices required to effectively lead virtual teams. The key finding of the study was that at the crux of effective leadership in virtual teams is the ability for managers to display socio-emotional capabilities. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

In the modern day organisation where the emphasis is largely on teams rather than individuals, it is of critical importance to have teams who can be regarded as high-performing. High performing teams will ensure that companies can achieve more with less in terms of resources required. However the creation of a high performing team remains a consistent challenge due to innate human behaviour and traits. One of the keys that could assist in the creation of a high-performing work team is a strength-based leadership approach. The study compromised of firstly, the philosophy of strength-based leadership and the underpinnings of this philosophy. Secondly, the author also looked at the high-performance team model, attributes associated with this model and the various theories of how a high-performing team can be created. Thirdly an empirical study was conducted using a selected management team within a major automotive manufacturer that was already following the strength-based leadership approach. The empirical study aimed to establish to what degree this leadership philosophy is being followed as well as gauging the current level of team performance. Finally the empirical findings were correlated with the theoretical back ground established, and recommendations were made. Overall the team studied can be regarded as a high-performing work team, partially due to their approach in following the strength-based leadership approach. Individual team members are very aware of their own strengths as well as those of their fellow team members. The manager also seeks to continually utilize the individual strengths of his team. The team also has a very positive attitude and subsequently team motivation and performance is very high. However conflict resolution is currently a potential barrier to further performance enhancement.

Numerous decisions in organisations are made by teams, groups or committees. The need for group decision making is brought about by the increased complexity of many decisions which require specialised knowledge in numerous areas usually not possessed by one person. As such there has also been an inherent recognition that different members bring different contributions and that a marshalling of these contributions enhances decision-making. Most research about how to make teams more effective has focused on identifying the task processes that distinguish the most successful teams - that is specifying the need for collaboration, involvement and commitment to goals. The assumption seems to be that, once identified; these processes can simply be imitated by other teams, with similar effects but it is not the case since they do not take the level of the team’s emotional intelligence into consideration. Emotional intelligence should always be considered in a team setting since teamwork is an inherently social activity and as such emotions play an important role in team processes including decision making. Surprisingly the study of the effects of emotions and emotional intelligence in decision making at group level is a relatively new research avenue. Research indicates that emotional intelligence has been the subject of a significant amount of literature for a number of years. However little has been contributed to how the behaviours associated with emotional intelligence may be practically applied to enhance both individual and group decision-making. Druskat and Wolff (2001a and 2001b) proposed a model for emotional intelligence at the group level. According to their model, groups develop a set of behavioural norms called the Group Emotional Competence Norms (GEC norms) which guide the emotional experience in groups. The proposed model by Druskat and Wolff was used to define and measure group emotional intelligence in this study. The aim of the study was to establish whether there was a relationship between team emotional intelligence and team decision making at Transnet Port Terminal’s Ngqura Container Terminal. The findings of the literature study and the empirical study were combined to evaluate whether team emotional intelligence affected team decision making in the chosen population.The literature study suggested that there was a relationship between team emotional intelligence and team decision making. The empirical study confirmed the relationship between group emotional intelligence and group decision making but failed to confirm whether the chosen population consisted of teams.