WorldWideScience

Sample records for culture change team

  1. A Change in Team Culture Towards an Autonomy Supportive Working Environment - A Case Study of the Finnish Women’s National Ice Hockey Team

    OpenAIRE

    Andler, Martin

    2017-01-01

    This study presents how the change in team culture has impacted the Finnish Women’s National Ice Hockey Team. The structure of the study is based on the self-determination theory, autonomy supportive coaching and change in team culture. The sub chapters’ focus on motivation, the coaches' and athletes' role within the autonomy supportive team working environment, autonomous goal setting and transformational leadership. The subchapter for cultural change is focused on the complex on-going proce...

  2. Culture and teams.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kirkman, Bradley L; Shapiro, Debra L; Lu, Shuye; McGurrin, Daniel P

    2016-04-01

    We first review research on culture effects in teams, illustrating that mean levels of team cultural values have main (i.e. direct) effects, indirect effects (i.e. mediated by intervening variables), and moderating influences on team processes and outcomes. Variance in team cultural values or on country of origin (i.e. nationality diversity) also has main effects on team functioning, and we highlight contextual variables that strengthen or weaken these main effects. We next review research examining the effect of variance in team cultural values on global virtual teams, specifically. Finally, we review research on how cultural values shape employees' receptivity to empowering leadership behavior in teams. We conclude by discussing critical areas for future research. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  3. Cultural Diversity and Team Performance

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hoogendoorn, Sander; Van Praag, Mirjam

    One of the most salient and relevant dimensions of team heterogeneity is cultural background. We measure the impact of cultural diversity on the performance of business teams using a field experiment. Companies are set up by teams of undergraduate students in business studies in realistic though...... similar circumstances. We vary the cultural composition of otherwise randomly composed teams in a multi-cultural student population. Our data indicate that a moderate level of cultural diversity has no effect on team performance in terms of business outcomes (sales, profits and profits per share). However......, if at least the majority of team members is culturally diverse then more cultural diversity seems to affect the performance of teams positively. Our data suggest that this might be related to the more diverse pool of relevant knowledge facilitating (mutual) learning within culturally diverse teams....

  4. Team Psychological Safety and Team Learning: A Cultural Perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cauwelier, Peter; Ribière, Vincent M.; Bennet, Alex

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this paper was to evaluate if the concept of team psychological safety, a key driver of team learning and originally studied in the West, can be applied in teams from different national cultures. The model originally validated for teams in the West is applied to teams in Thailand to evaluate its validity, and the views team…

  5. Driving and sustaining culture change in Olympic sport performance teams: a first exploration and grounded theory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cruickshank, Andrew; Collins, Dave; Minten, Sue

    2014-02-01

    Stimulated by growing interest in the organizational and performance leadership components of Olympic success, sport psychology researchers have identified performance director-led culture change as a process of particular theoretical and applied significance. To build on initial work in this area and develop practically meaningful understanding, a pragmatic research philosophy and grounded theory methodology were engaged to uncover culture change best practice from the perspective of newly appointed performance directors. Delivered in complex and contested settings, results revealed that the optimal change process consisted of an initial evaluation, planning, and impact phase adjoined to the immediate and enduring management of a multidirectional perception- and power-based social system. As the first inquiry of its kind, these findings provide a foundation for the continued theoretical development of culture change in Olympic sport performance teams and a first model on which applied practice can be based.

  6. Building a culture of safety through team training and engagement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thomas, Lily; Galla, Catherine

    2013-05-01

    Medical errors continue to occur despite multiple strategies devised for their prevention. Although many safety initiatives lead to improvement, they are often short lived and unsustainable. Our goal was to build a culture of patient safety within a structure that optimised teamwork and ongoing engagement of the healthcare team. Teamwork impacts the effectiveness of care, patient safety and clinical outcomes, and team training has been identified as a strategy for enhancing teamwork, reducing medical errors and building a culture of safety in healthcare. Therefore, we implemented Team Strategies and Tools to Enhance Performance and Patient Safety (TeamSTEPPS), an evidence-based framework which was used for team training to create transformational and/or incremental changes; facilitating transformation of organisational culture, or solving specific problems. To date, TeamSTEPPS (TS) has been implemented in 14 hospitals, two Long Term Care Facilities, and outpatient areas across the North Shore LIJ Health System. 32 150 members of the healthcare team have been trained. TeamSTEPPS was piloted at a community hospital within the framework of the health system's organisational care delivery model, the Collaborative Care Model to facilitate sustainment. AHRQ's Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture, (HSOPSC), was administered before and after implementation of TeamSTEPPS, comparing the perception of patient safety by the heathcare team. Pilot hospital results of HSOPSC show significant improvement from 2007 (pre-TeamSTEPPS) to 2010. System-wide results of HSOPSC show similar trends to those seen in the pilot hospital. Valuable lessons for organisational success from the pilot hospital enabled rapid spread of TeamSTEPPS across the rest of the health system.

  7. [Culture and cultural gaps in work teams: implications for organisational commitment].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sánchez, José C; Lanero, Ana; Yurrebaso, Amaia; Tejero, Blanca

    2007-05-01

    Some theoreticians of organisational commitment have proposed that culture is an important determinant of organisational commitment. Nevertheless, very few studies have examined the role that work teams culture (subculture) and their cultural gaps play in commitment. This study is an attempt to overcome this lack. Using a sample of 375 work teams from various public and private organisations, it was found that the results confirmed our proposals. Cultural gaps were negatively related to commitment; the teams subculture was positively related to commitment, and more highly to commitment to values than to commitment to continuing. Contrary to the results of other studies, the demographic variables (age, time on the team, time in the company) were not significant, except that educational level was related to the commitment to continue. The implications of these results are analysed.

  8. Republished: Building a culture of safety through team training and engagement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thomas, Lily; Galla, Catherine

    2013-07-01

    Medical errors continue to occur despite multiple strategies devised for their prevention. Although many safety initiatives lead to improvement, they are often short lived and unsustainable. Our goal was to build a culture of patient safety within a structure that optimised teamwork and ongoing engagement of the healthcare team. Teamwork impacts the effectiveness of care, patient safety and clinical outcomes, and team training has been identified as a strategy for enhancing teamwork, reducing medical errors and building a culture of safety in healthcare. Therefore, we implemented Team Strategies and Tools to Enhance Performance and Patient Safety (TeamSTEPPS), an evidence-based framework which was used for team training to create transformational and/or incremental changes; facilitating transformation of organisational culture, or solving specific problems. To date, TeamSTEPPS (TS) has been implemented in 14 hospitals, two Long Term Care Facilities, and outpatient areas across the North Shore LIJ Health System. 32 150 members of the healthcare team have been trained. TeamSTEPPS was piloted at a community hospital within the framework of the health system's organisational care delivery model, the Collaborative Care Model to facilitate sustainment. AHRQ's Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture, (HSOPSC), was administered before and after implementation of TeamSTEPPS, comparing the perception of patient safety by the heathcare team. Pilot hospital results of HSOPSC show significant improvement from 2007 (pre-TeamSTEPPS) to 2010. System-wide results of HSOPSC show similar trends to those seen in the pilot hospital. Valuable lessons for organisational success from the pilot hospital enabled rapid spread of TeamSTEPPS across the rest of the health system.

  9. Can cultural differences lead to accidents? Team cultural differences and sociotechnical system operations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Strauch, Barry

    2010-04-01

    I discuss cultural factors and how they may influence sociotechnical system operations. Investigations of several major transportation accidents suggest that cultural factors may have played a role in the causes of the accidents. However, research has not fully addressed how cultural factors can influence sociotechnical systems. I review literature on cultural differences in general and cultural factors in sociotechnical systems and discuss how these differences can affect team performance in sociotechnical systems. Cultural differences have been observed in social and interpersonal dimensions and in cognitive and perceptual styles; these differences can affect multioperator team performance. Cultural factors may account for team errors in sociotechnical systems, most likely during high-workload, high-stress operational phases. However, much of the research on cultural factors has methodological and interpretive shortcomings that limit their applicability to sociotechnical systems. Although some research has been conducted on the role of cultural differences on team performance in sociotechnical system operations, considerable work remains to be done before the effects of these differences can be fully understood. I propose a model that illustrates how culture can interact with sociotechnical system operations and suggest avenues of future research. Given methodological challenges in measuring cultural differences and team performance in sociotechnical system operations, research in these systems should use a variety of methodologies to better understand how culture can affect multioperator team performance in these systems.

  10. An Evaluation Method for Team Competencies to Enhance Nuclear Safety Culture

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hang, S. M.; Seong, P. H.; Kim, A. R.

    2016-01-01

    Safety culture has received attention in safety-critical industries, including nuclear power plants (NPPs), due to various prominent accidents such as concealment of a Station Blackout (SBO) of Kori NPP unit 1 in 2012, the Sewol ferry accident in 2014, and the Chernobyl accident in 1986. Analysis reports have pointed out that one of the major contributors to the cause of the accidents is ‘the lack of safety culture’. The term, nuclear safety culture, was firstly defined after the Chernobyl accident by the IAEA in INSAG report no. 4, as follows “Safety culture is that assembly of characteristics and attitudes in organizations and individuals which establishes that, as an overriding priority, nuclear plant safety issues receive the attention warranted their significance.” Afterwards, a wide consensus grew among researchers and nuclear-related organizations, that safety culture should be evaluated and managed in a certain manner. Consequently, each nuclear-related organization defined and developed their own safety culture definitions and assessment methods. However, none of these methods provides a way for an individual or a team to enhance the safety culture of an organization. Especially for a team, which is the smallest working unit in NPPs, team members easily overlook their required practices to improve nuclear safety culture. Therefore in this study, we suggested a method to estimate nuclear safety culture of a team, by approaching with the ‘competency’ point of view. The competency is commonly focused on individuals, and defined as, “underlying characteristics of an individual that are causally related to effective or superior performance in a job.” Similar to safety culture, the definition of competency focuses on characteristics and attitudes of individuals. Thus, we defined ‘safety culture competency’ as “underlying characteristics and outward attitudes of individuals that are causally related to a healthy and strong nuclear safety

  11. Team health, an assessment approach to engage first year students in cross-cultural and cross-discipline teams towards more effective team-working

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kathy Egea

    Full Text Available Specialists who work in a globalised environment, need to work in teams, if they are to be continuously effective. The challenge for IT educators is to design and implement inter-cultural teamwork practices into their curriculum. Investigating this challenge, this case study describes Team Health, an assessment approach designed to skill students to be more effective in team working in cross-cultural and cross-discipline teams. The educational context is teamwork practice within a first year introductory web design course. Framed by Saunders\\'s virtual team lifecycle model (relationship building and team processes and Hofstede\\'s cultural dimensions (communication and working cross-culturally, the assessment approach utilises reflective and iterative strategies to support team working. At three points in the semester, students complete a survey on these four concepts, identify team strengths and weaknesses from the results of the surveys and work towards addressing one team weakness. The final assessment activity requires students to reflect on team working for the semester. Key attributes for effective team working are identified from the three surveys and the final reflective summaries. This paper compares course outcomes such as team cohesion and student grades to the previous course offering and shows that with the introduction of Team Health, the more complex student cohorts under this study achieve equally well. It is concluded that the guided reflective practices underpinning Team Health can prepare students for first year approaches to teamwork, and thereby provide starting points for working in future global teams where members are both culturally diverse and from different discipline areas.

  12. Team Creativity: The Effects of Perceived Learning Culture, Developmental Feedback and Team Cohesion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Joo, Baek-Kyoo; Song, Ji Hoon; Lim, Doo Hun; Yoon, Seung Won

    2012-01-01

    This study investigates the influence of perceived learning culture, developmental feedback and team cohesion on team creativity. The results showed that the demographic variables, the three antecedents and their interactions explained 41 per cent of variance in team creativity. Team creativity was positively correlated with a higher level of…

  13. Development of an Evaluation Method for Team Safety Culture Competencies using Social Network Analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Han, Sang Min; Kim, Ar Ryum; Seong, Poong Hyun

    2016-01-01

    In this study, team safety culture competency of a team was estimated through SNA, as a team safety culture index. To overcome the limit of existing safety culture evaluation methods, the concept of competency and SNA were adopted. To estimate team safety culture competency, we defined the definition, range and goal of team safety culture competencies. Derivation of core team safety culture competencies is performed and its behavioral characteristics were derived for each safety culture competency, from the procedures used in NPPs and existing criteria to assess safety culture. Then observation was chosen as a method to provide the input data for the SNA matrix of team members versus insufficient team safety culture competencies. Then through matrix operation, the matrix was converted into the two meaningful values, which are density of team members and degree centralities of each team safety culture competency. Density of tem members and degree centrality of each team safety culture competency represent the team safety culture index and the priority of team safety culture competency to be improved

  14. Development of an Evaluation Method for Team Safety Culture Competencies using Social Network Analysis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Han, Sang Min; Kim, Ar Ryum; Seong, Poong Hyun [KAIST, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-05-15

    In this study, team safety culture competency of a team was estimated through SNA, as a team safety culture index. To overcome the limit of existing safety culture evaluation methods, the concept of competency and SNA were adopted. To estimate team safety culture competency, we defined the definition, range and goal of team safety culture competencies. Derivation of core team safety culture competencies is performed and its behavioral characteristics were derived for each safety culture competency, from the procedures used in NPPs and existing criteria to assess safety culture. Then observation was chosen as a method to provide the input data for the SNA matrix of team members versus insufficient team safety culture competencies. Then through matrix operation, the matrix was converted into the two meaningful values, which are density of team members and degree centralities of each team safety culture competency. Density of tem members and degree centrality of each team safety culture competency represent the team safety culture index and the priority of team safety culture competency to be improved.

  15. Multi-Cultural Teams as Sources for Creativity and Innovation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bouncken, Ricarda; Brem, Alexander; Kraus, Sascha

    2016-01-01

    . These data, based on semistructured interviews, provide us with rich information about effects of cultural diversity in teams in the innovation process. Data were analysed through a thematic network analysis and two coders inductively forming categories. Results indicate that cross-cultural teams have a high...... potential of creativity, but are confronted with difficulties arising from different working- and communication styles which have to be proactively managed from the beginning. While progressing, teams learn to cope with this diversity related to some more surface-level cultural dimensions and members even...

  16. Innovation in Sustainable Products: Cross-Cultural Analysis Of Bi-National Teams

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cleber José Cunha Dutra

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available Innovation has been required as a vital asset for organizational survival in many areas, especially in the sustainability organizational field of concerns. Changes in Brazilian consumers’ consumption are perceived from the growing demand for environmentally-friendly products and services which are pressuring companies to achieve environmental efficiency. Tools like Cleaner Production, Sustainable Supply-Chain Management, and Ecodesign are essential to help firms achieve this goal. However, these tools require integration between different functions in a company, demanding that members with different expertise work together as a team. Based on a long tradition of collaboration, Germany is a potential partner for Brazil, combining expertise in the development of innovations aimed at more sustainable products. In today’s global environment, transnational teams should become the most effective teams in an organization but, because of the potential for miscommunication and conflict, the management of these teams needs special attention. Cultural differences between German and Brazilian members of work teams represent risks/advantages for the management of process of innovative products development. The paper draws on previously reviewed studies to ground an analysis of cultural dimensions and national characters, within Brazilian-German teams. In essence, this study is an essay with the main aim to open perspectives for further research and to support organizations in their sustainable management practices.

  17. A theory-driven, longitudinal evaluation of the impact of team training on safety culture in 24 hospitals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, Katherine J; Skinner, Anne M; High, Robin; Reiter-Palmon, Roni

    2013-05-01

    Effective teamwork facilitates collective learning, which is integral to safety culture. There are no rigorous evaluations of the impact of team training on the four components of safety culture-reporting, just, flexible and learning cultures. We evaluated the impact of a year-long team training programme on safety culture in 24 hospitals using two theoretical frameworks. We used two quasi-experimental designs: a cross-sectional comparison of hospital survey on patient safety culture (HSOPS) results from an intervention group of 24 hospitals to a static group of 13 hospitals and a pre-post comparison of HSOPS results within intervention hospitals. Dependent variables were HSOPS items representing the four components of safety culture; independent variables were derived from items added to the HSOPS that measured the extent of team training, learning and transfer. We used a generalised linear mixed model approach to account for the correlated nature of the data. 59% of 2137 respondents from the intervention group reported receiving team training. Intervention group HSOPS scores were significantly higher than static group scores in three dimensions assessing the flexible and learning components of safety culture. The distribution of the adoption of team behaviours (transfer) varied in the intervention group from 2.8% to 31.0%. Adoption of team behaviours was significantly associated with odds of an individual reacting more positively at reassessment than baseline to nine items reflecting all four components of safety culture. Team training can result in transformational change in safety culture when the work environment supports the transfer of learning to new behaviour.

  18. The experience and effect of team sport in a migrant culture

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ryom, Knud; Stelter, Reinhard

    The experience and effect of team sport in a migrant culture Knud Ryom, Reinhard Stelter University of Copenhagen, Denmark Boys with migrant background have major difficulties to adjust and participate in the Danish school system and society (OECD,2010). This study aimed to investigate the possible...... effects of team sport as a social tool, used to develop social capability, identity and active citizenship in an area with major social challenges in Denmark. A team sport (football) was chosen because of positive results in social integration for individuals with a diverse cultural background...... in an area with major social challenges. Research implications will be discussed at the symposium. The experience and effect of team sport in a migrant culture. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/278674530_The_experience_and_effect_of_team_sport_in_a_migrant_culture [accessed Sep 15...

  19. Self-reported teamwork in family health team practices in Ontario: organizational and cultural predictors of team climate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Howard, Michelle; Brazil, Kevin; Akhtar-Danesh, Noori; Agarwal, Gina

    2011-05-01

    To determine the organizational predictors of higher scores on team climate measures as an indicator of the functioning of a family health team (FHT). Cross-sectional study using a mailed survey. Family health teams in Ontario. Twenty-one of 144 consecutively approached FHTs; 628 team members were surveyed. Scores on the team climate inventory, which assessed organizational culture type (group, developmental, rational, or hierarchical); leadership perceptions; and organizational factors, such as use of electronic medical records (EMRs), team composition, governance of the FHT, location, meetings, and time since FHT initiation. All analyses were adjusted for clustering of respondents within the FHT using a mixed random-intercepts model. The response rate was 65.8% (413 of 628); 2 were excluded from analysis, for a total of 411 participants. At the time of survey completion, there was a median of 4 physicians, 11 other health professionals, and 4 management and clerical staff per FHT. The average team climate score was 3.8 out of a possible 5. In multivariable regression analysis, leadership score, group and developmental culture types, and use of more EMR capabilities were associated with higher team climate scores. Other organizational factors, such as number of sites and size of group, were not associated with the team climate score. Culture, leadership, and EMR functionality, rather than organizational composition of the teams (eg, number of professionals on staff, practice size), were the most important factors in predicting climate in primary care teams.

  20. Cultural Issue and its Influence in the Management of Global Project Teams

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nadia Lima

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available The interactions between the project manager and team members may be affected by several variables, such as culture, leadership style of the project manager, and the complexity of the developed tasks. Focused in this context, the objective of this paper is to investigate and describe how the culture issue can affect the anagement of global project teams. It is a qualitative, descriptive study conducted in a large multinational company in the automotive sector. The results of this research show that cultural issues can influence both positively and negatively the management of project global teams and the managers of these projects have to deal with several management challenges that require the adoption of certain ways of dealing with culture impacts in managing their teams to minimize potential problems in this context.

  1. Study on team characteristics influencing on nuclear safety culture in Korea based on Bayesian networks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Young-gab, K.; Chan-ho, S.; Jeong-jin, P.

    2014-01-01

    The safety culture of Korean nuclear power plants has been settled down as an organizational culture since the Chernobyl accident in 1986. Reason (1997) proposed that safety culture is a sub-culture of corporate culture and sub-culture is a term that can be used interchangeably to a sub-group of people (i.e., department, workgroup). Therefore, the safety culture of organization comprised of various teams can be told as a culture to reflect team characteristics and interact with each other. Team characteristics have something to do with a successful task performance and task efficiency. However, the team characteristics in nuclear power plant have to consider safety preferentially rather than performance. Team characteristics for a safety are necessary to ensure and enhance the safety of safety-critical system. This paper proposed team characteristics for a safety which influence on the strong and vulnerable area of safety culture. These characteristics were analyzed on the basis of the safety culture evaluation which was performed to measure the level of plant workers' safety culture in 2013. The model of team characteristics was constructed considering Bayesian inference and the result was proposed according to workers' awareness. Safety team characteristics have a direct or indirect effect on the safety of nuclear power plants. Therefore, if they are improved and trained continuously, the safety of nuclear power plants might be enhanced. (author)

  2. Study on team characteristics influencing on nuclear safety culture in Korea based on Bayesian networks

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Young-gab, K.; Chan-ho, S.; Jeong-jin, P., E-mail: iamkyg@khnp.co.kr, E-mail: chsung@khnp.co.kr, E-mail: jjpark82@khnp.co.kr [Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co., Central Research Inst., Yuseong-gu, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2014-07-01

    The safety culture of Korean nuclear power plants has been settled down as an organizational culture since the Chernobyl accident in 1986. Reason (1997) proposed that safety culture is a sub-culture of corporate culture and sub-culture is a term that can be used interchangeably to a sub-group of people (i.e., department, workgroup). Therefore, the safety culture of organization comprised of various teams can be told as a culture to reflect team characteristics and interact with each other. Team characteristics have something to do with a successful task performance and task efficiency. However, the team characteristics in nuclear power plant have to consider safety preferentially rather than performance. Team characteristics for a safety are necessary to ensure and enhance the safety of safety-critical system. This paper proposed team characteristics for a safety which influence on the strong and vulnerable area of safety culture. These characteristics were analyzed on the basis of the safety culture evaluation which was performed to measure the level of plant workers' safety culture in 2013. The model of team characteristics was constructed considering Bayesian inference and the result was proposed according to workers' awareness. Safety team characteristics have a direct or indirect effect on the safety of nuclear power plants. Therefore, if they are improved and trained continuously, the safety of nuclear power plants might be enhanced. (author)

  3. Organizational culture, team climate, and quality management in an important patient safety issue: nosocomial pressure ulcers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bosch, Marije; Halfens, Ruud J G; van der Weijden, Trudy; Wensing, Michel; Akkermans, Reinier; Grol, Richard

    2011-03-01

    Increasingly, policy reform in health care is discussed in terms of changing organizational culture, creating practice teams, and organizational quality management. Yet, the evidence for these suggested determinants of high-quality care is inconsistent. To determine if the type of organizational culture (Competing Values Framework), team climate (Team Climate Inventory), and preventive pressure ulcer quality management at ward level were related to the prevalence of pressure ulcers. Also, we wanted to determine if the type of organizational culture, team climate, or the institutional quality management related to preventive quality management at the ward level. In this cross-sectional observational study multivariate (logistic) regression analyses were performed, adjusting for potential confounders and institution-level clustering. Data from 1274 patients and 460 health care professionals in 37 general hospital wards and 67 nursing home wards in the Netherlands were analyzed. The main outcome measures were nosocomial pressure ulcers in patients at risk for pressure ulcers (Braden score ≤ 18) and preventive quality management at ward level. No associations were found between organizational culture, team climate, or preventive quality management at the ward level and the prevalence of nosocomial pressure ulcers. Institutional quality management was positively correlated with preventive quality management at ward level (adj. β 0.32; p organizational culture, team climate, or preventive quality management at the ward level. These results would therefore not subscribe the widely suggested importance of these factors in improving health care. However, different designs and research methods (that go beyond the cross-sectional design) may be more informative in studying relations between such complex factors and outcomes in a more meaningful way. Copyright ©2010 Sigma Theta Tau International.

  4. Developing Expert Teams with a Strong Safety Culture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rogers, David G.

    2010-01-01

    Would you like to lead a world renowned team that draws out all the talents and expertise of its members and consistently out performs all others in the industry? Ever wonder why so many organizations fail to truly learn from past mistakes only to repeat the same ones at a later date? Are you a program/project manager or team member in a high-risk organization where the decisions made often carry the highest of consequences? Leadership, communication, team building, critical decision-making and continuous team improvement skills and behaviors are mere talking points without the attitudes, commitment and strategies necessary to make them the very fabric of a team. Developing Expert Teams with a Strong Safety Culture, will provide you with proven knowledge and strategies to take your team soaring to heights you may have not thought possible. A myriad of teams have applied these strategies and techniques within their organization team environments: military and commercial aviation, astronaut flight crews, Shuttle flight controllers, members of the Space Shuttle Program Mission Management Team, air traffic controllers, nuclear power control teams, surgical teams, and the fire service report having spectacular success. Many industry leaders are beginning to realize that although the circumstances and environments of these teams may differ greatly to their own, the core elements, governing principles and dynamics involved in managing and building a stellar safety conscious team remain identical.

  5. Change Makers: Empowering Ourselves Thro' the Education and Culture of Aboriginal Languages: A Collaborative Team Effort.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McLeod, Yvonne

    2003-01-01

    A British Columbian Native teacher education program is guided by a team of First Nations educators and elders, university faculty, a representative of the teacher federation, and students. Aboriginal languages are incorporated into a Native cultural studies course using a holistic approach based on the Medicine Wheel that empowers students to…

  6. Toward a culture-by-context perspective on negotiation: negotiating teams in the United States and Taiwan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gelfand, Michele J; Brett, Jeanne; Gunia, Brian C; Imai, Lynn; Huang, Tsai-Jung; Hsu, Bi-Fen

    2013-05-01

    Within the United States, teams outperform solos in negotiation (Thompson, Peterson, & Brodt, 1996). The current research examined whether this team advantage generalizes to negotiators from a collectivist culture (Taiwan). Because different cultures have different social norms, and because the team context may amplify the norms that are salient in a particular culture (Gelfand & Realo, 1999), we predicted that the effect of teams on negotiation would differ across cultures. Specifically, we predicted that since harmony norms predominate in collectivist cultures like Taiwan, the team context would amplify a concern with harmony, leading Taiwanese teams to negotiate especially suboptimal outcomes. In support, 2 studies showed that Taiwanese teams negotiated less-optimal outcomes than Taiwanese solos. We also used a moderated-mediation analysis to investigate the mechanism (Hayes, 2012), documenting that the interactive effect of culture and context on outcomes was mediated by harmony norms. By showing that the same situational conditions (team negotiations) can have divergent effects on negotiation outcomes across cultures, our results point toward a nuanced, sociocontextual view that moves beyond the culture-as-main-effect approach to studying culture and negotiations. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

  7. Working well in a culturally diverse team.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Day-Calder, Mandy

    2016-10-05

    Cooperative working is a core part of the nursing role, and it involves respecting your colleagues' needs and values. If you are part of a diverse team, you may need to develop your cultural competence, treating everyone compassionately and respectfully.

  8. A Multilevel Model of Team Cultural Diversity and Creativity: The Role of Climate for Inclusion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Ci-Rong; Lin, Chen-Ju; Tien, Yun-Hsiang; Chen, Chien-Ming

    2017-01-01

    We developed a multi-level model to test how team cultural diversity may relate to team- and individual-level creativity, integrating team diversity research and information-exchange perspective. We proposed that the team climate for inclusion would moderate both the relationship between cultural diversity and team information sharing and between…

  9. Managing multicultural teams.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brett, Jeanne; Behfar, Kristin; Kern, Mary C

    2006-11-01

    Multicultural teams offer a number of advantages to international firms, including deep knowledge of different product markets, culturally sensitive customer service, and 24-hour work rotations. But those advantages may be outweighed by problems stemming from cultural differences, which can seriously impair the effectiveness of a team or even bring itto a stalemate. How can managers best cope with culture-based challenges? The authors conducted in-depth interviews with managers and members of multicultural teams from all over the world. Drawing on their extensive research on dispute resolution and teamwork and those interviews, they identify four problem categories that can create barriers to a team's success: direct versus indirect communication, trouble with accents and fluency, differing attitudes toward hierarchy and authority, and conflicting norms for decision making. If a manager--or a team member--can pinpoint the root cause of the problem, he or she is likelier to select an appropriate strategy for solving it. The most successful teams and managers, the authors found, dealt with multicultural challenges in one of four ways: adaptation (acknowledging cultural gaps openly and working around them), structural intervention (changing the shape or makeup of the team), managerial intervention (setting norms early or bringing in a higher-level manager), and exit (removing a team member when other options have failed). Which strategy is best depends on the particular circumstances--and each has potential complications. In general, though, managers who intervene early and set norms; teams and managers who try to engage everyone on the team; and teams that can see challenges as stemming from culture, not personality, succeed in solving culture-based problems with good humor and creativity. They are the likeliest to harvest the benefits inherent in multicultural teams.

  10. Professional football squads as multicultural teams: Cultural diversity, intercultural experience, and team performance

    OpenAIRE

    Maderer, Daniel; Holtbrügge, Dirk; Schuster, Tassilo

    2014-01-01

    After the Bosman ruling in 1995, the cultural diversity of professional football teams in Europe has increased considerably. Recruiting players regardless of their nationality allows football clubs to make use of a global talent pool and to combine the specific strengths of individuals with different cultural backgrounds. At the same time, it confronts them with the challenge of having players who speak different languages and who have different football philosophies ingrained in them. Based ...

  11. Hierarchical cultural values predict success and mortality in high-stakes teams

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anicich, Eric M.; Swaab, Roderick I.; Galinsky, Adam D.

    2015-01-01

    Functional accounts of hierarchy propose that hierarchy increases group coordination and reduces conflict. In contrast, dysfunctional accounts claim that hierarchy impairs performance by preventing low-ranking team members from voicing their potentially valuable perspectives and insights. The current research presents evidence for both the functional and dysfunctional accounts of hierarchy within the same dataset. Specifically, we offer empirical evidence that hierarchical cultural values affect the outcomes of teams in high-stakes environments through group processes. Experimental data from a sample of expert mountain climbers from 27 countries confirmed that climbers expect that a hierarchical culture leads to improved team coordination among climbing teams, but impaired psychological safety and information sharing compared with an egalitarian culture. An archival analysis of 30,625 Himalayan mountain climbers from 56 countries on 5,104 expeditions found that hierarchy both elevated and killed in the Himalayas: Expeditions from more hierarchical countries had more climbers reach the summit, but also more climbers die along the way. Importantly, we established the role of group processes by showing that these effects occurred only for group, but not solo, expeditions. These findings were robust to controlling for environmental factors, risk preferences, expedition-level characteristics, country-level characteristics, and other cultural values. Overall, this research demonstrates that endorsing cultural values related to hierarchy can simultaneously improve and undermine group performance. PMID:25605883

  12. [Cultural diversity, tensions and solidarities within the nursing teams].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kessar, Zahia; Kotobi, Laurence

    2018-05-01

    Cultural and ethnic diversities present in the hospital as well as within the nursing teams impact on the way of working. Observing them from the point of view of the caregivers based on experiences of team guidance and training highlights issues related to the way the hospital teams experience these differences. These differences also have an effect conveyed through tensions, conflicts or solidarity. The place and the role of the managers are an important lever for supporting their teams, notably with regard to racism which can sometimes be expressed in the social relations present in the workplace. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  13. Culture, leaders, and operator team training

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sagan, G.

    1989-01-01

    Every nuclear utility has a culture which either drives or becomes a barrier to the vision of high performance and accountability of its personnel. This paper discusses two very powerful cultures at work in the nuclear power industry that may have very different values or ways of doing things. Employees from fossil plants have moved over to the nuclear plants where they meet with personnel who have been raised in the US Navy Nuclear Power Program. If these two cultures collide, as many plants have experienced, no one wins. Left alone, the two cultures may merge naturally, but if not, no amount of technical or procedural training will bridge the gulf. A second powerful influence within nuclear utilities is leadership. While culture explains how we do things around here, leadership has to do with the example people follow. This example may be set by a top executive in the corporate office or by a supervisor in the control room. The influence of leaders, whether positive or negative, can be seen at all levels of the utility. Team training, at any level, begins with a thorough understanding of the parent utility's culture, followed closely by an efficient method of implanting a culture suited to the company's strategy

  14. Organizational culture, team climate, and quality management in an important patient safety issue: nosocomial pressure ulcers

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bosch, M.; Halfens, R.J.; Weijden, T.T. van der; Wensing, M.J.P.; Akkermans, R.P.; Grol, R.P.

    2011-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Increasingly, policy reform in health care is discussed in terms of changing organizational culture, creating practice teams, and organizational quality management. Yet, the evidence for these suggested determinants of high-quality care is inconsistent. AIMS: To determine if the type of

  15. Team cohesion and ethnic-cultural identity in adolescent migrant athletes

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Morela, Eleftheria; Hatzigeorgiadis, Antonis; Kouli, Olga; Elbe, Anne-Marie; Sanchez, Xavier

    The purpose of this study was to examine the role of sport participation in the social integration of adolescents with non-dominant ethnic and cultural backgrounds. In particular, this study investigated the relationship between team cohesion and ethnic-cultural identity. Participants were 83 young

  16. Assessment of safety culture: Changing regulatory approach in Hungary

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ronaky, Jozsef; Toth, Andras

    2002-01-01

    Hungarian Atomic Energy Authority (HAEA) is changing its inspection practice and assessment methods of safety performance and safety culture in operating nuclear facilities. The new approach emphasises integrated team inspection of safety cornerstones and systematic assessment of safety performance of operators. (author)

  17. Effects of a team-based assessment and intervention on patient safety culture in general practice

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hoffmann, B; Müller, V; Rochon, J

    2014-01-01

    Background: The measurement of safety culture in healthcare is generally regarded as a first step towards improvement. Based on a self-assessment of safety culture, the Frankfurt Patient Safety Matrix (FraTrix) aims to enable healthcare teams to improve safety culture in their organisations....... In this study we assessed the effects of FraTrix on safety culture in general practice. Methods: We conducted an open randomised controlled trial in 60 general practices. FraTrix was applied over a period of 9 months during three facilitated team sessions in intervention practices. At baseline and after 12...... months, scores were allocated for safety culture as expressed in practice structure and processes (indicators), in safety climate and in patient safety incident reporting. The primary outcome was the indicator error management. Results: During the team sessions, practice teams reflected on their safety...

  18. Relationship of organizational culture, teamwork and job satisfaction in interprofessional teams.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Körner, Mirjam; Wirtz, Markus A; Bengel, Jürgen; Göritz, Anja S

    2015-06-23

    Team effectiveness is often explained on the basis of input-process-output (IPO) models. According to these models a relationship between organizational culture (input = I), interprofessional teamwork (process = P) and job satisfaction (output = O) is postulated. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between these three aspects using structural analysis. A multi-center cross-sectional study with a survey of 272 employees was conducted in fifteen rehabilitation clinics with different indication fields in Germany. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was carried out using AMOS software version 20.0 (maximum-likelihood method). Of 661 questionnaires sent out to members of the health care teams in the medical rehabilitation clinics, 275 were returned (41.6%). Three questionnaires were excluded (missing data greater than 30%), yielding a total of 272 employees that could be analyzed. The confirmatory models were supported by the data. The results showed that 35% of job satisfaction is predicted by a structural equation model that includes both organizational culture and teamwork. The comparison of this predictive IPO model (organizational culture (I), interprofessional teamwork (P), job satisfaction (O)) and the predictive IO model (organizational culture (I), job satisfaction (O)) showed that the effect of organizational culture is completely mediated by interprofessional teamwork. The global fit indices are a little better for the IO model (TLI: .967, CFI: .972, RMSEA .052) than for the IPO model (TLI: .934, CFI: .943, RMSEA: .61), but the prediction of job satisfaction is better in the IPO model (R(2) = 35%) than in the IO model (R(2) = 24%). Our study results underpin the importance of interprofessional teamwork in health care organizations. To enhance interprofessional teamwork, team interventions can be recommended and should be supported. Further studies investigating the organizational culture and its impact on interprofessional

  19. Maintenance culture and management of change - Intermediate report 2004

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Reiman, T.; Oedewald, P.; Kettunen, J.; Rollenhagen, C.; Kahlbom, U.

    2005-04-01

    Change management has emerged as an important topic in safety-critical organisations. A lot of knowledge on change management exists, but still lot of projects fail and the safety consequences of various changes are unclear. It seems that the problems of change management are interdisciplinary, but still solutions tend to only from one perspective (e.g. technical or personnel management). There also exists empirical evidence that change has been experienced as stressful in the nuclear power plants. The cultural perspective taken in this paper strives to combine technical approaches to human resources approaches. It raises new questions that are not usually explicitly taken into account in change management. Financial pressures, change of generation and other changes in the environment have forced many organisations to reorganise their practices (e.g. downsize, outsource, and develop team-based organisations). These changes have had an impact on the culture of the organisation (and the organisational culture has mediated these changes in the first phase). (au)

  20. DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS OF CORPORATE CULTURE FOLLOWING THE CHANGES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elenko Zahariev

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Corporate culture more sensibly makes additions to the economic knowledge, accompanies the strategy and tactics in management. It feels in manners and overall activity of the organization - it is empathy and tolerance, respect and responsibility. The new corporate culture transforms each participant, changes his/her mind in the general collaborations and working habits. The new corporate culture requires improving the management style. It is no longer necessary the leader only to rule, to administer and control, but to lead and inspire. The leader sets challenging targets, optimizes the performance of the teams, fuels an optimistic mood and faith, gains agreement between workers, monitors and evaluate the work in a fair way. Current study raises the problem of interpreting cultural profiles in modern organizations and analyzes corporate culture after the changes during the transition period in Bulgaria. The descriptive analysis of corporate culture allows the relatively precise identification of its various types based on the accepted classification signs.

  1. Comparison of metamotivational dominance and cultural identity between Japanese National Team and Māori All Blacks rugby players.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuroda, Yusuke; Palmer, Farah; Nakazawa, Makoto

    2017-11-01

    This pilot study used a reversal theory framework to examine metamotivational dominance of rugby players on the Māori All Blacks (MABs) squad of New Zealand and the Japanese National Team (JNT). Since the two groups have different cultural team demographics, cultural identity was also examined. Twenty six players from the MABs and 31 from the JNT completed questionnaires on metamotivational dominance and cultural identity. In terms of metamotivational dominance, the findings indicated that the MABs were more playful minded and spontaneous oriented than the JNT. Regarding cultural identity, the JNT showed a greater knowledge of their own culture and higher comfort level in their cultural context, while the MABs felt more positive and willing to sustain their own culture. The motivational personality differences between the teams may reflect the style of play that is valued within each team culture that is, flair, spontaneity and high-risk play within Māori rugby, and structure, team unity and conformity within the JNT. This suggests that metamotivational dominance of teams and players is influenced by the cultural identity of both the individuals and the group, which may have a further impact on team cohesion and performance.

  2. The importance of moral emotions for effective collaboration in culturally diverse healthcare teams.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cook, Catherine; Brunton, Margaret

    2018-04-01

    Moral emotions shape the effectiveness of culturally diverse teams. However, these emotions, which are integral to determining ethically responsive patient care and team relationships, typically go unrecognised. The contribution of emotions to moral deliberation is subjugated within the technorational environment of healthcare decision-making. Contemporary healthcare organisations rely on a multicultural workforce charged with the ethical care of vulnerable people. Limited extant literature examines the role of moral emotions in ethical decision-making among culturally diverse healthcare teams. Moral emotions are evident in ethnocentric moral perspectives that construct some colleagues' practices as 'other'. This article examines how moral emotions are evoked when cultural dissonance influences nurses' moral perceptions. We use a qualitative investigation of teamwork within culturally diverse healthcare organisations. We use Haidt's () account of moral emotions to examine practice-based accounts of 36 internationally educated and 17 New Zealand educated nurses practising in New Zealand. The study provides evidence that moral emotions are frequently elicited by communication and care practices considered 'foreign'. The main implication is that although safe practice in healthcare organisations is reliant on highly functioning teams, collaboration is challenged by interprofessional power relations of contested culturally shaped values. We address practice-based strategies that enable engagement with moral emotions to enhance effective teamwork. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  3. Comparison of metamotivational dominance and cultural identity between Japanese National Team and Māori All Blacks rugby players

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yusuke Kuroda

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available This pilot study used a reversal theory framework to examine metamotivational dominance of rugby players on the Māori All Blacks (MABs squad of New Zealand and the Japanese National Team (JNT. Since the two groups have different cultural team demographics, cultural identity was also examined. Twenty six players from the MABs and 31 from the JNT completed questionnaires on metamotivational dominance and cultural identity. In terms of metamotivational dominance, the findings indicated that the MABs were more playful minded and spontaneous oriented than the JNT. Regarding cultural identity, the JNT showed a greater knowledge of their own culture and higher comfort level in their cultural context, while the MABs felt more positive and willing to sustain their own culture. The motivational personality differences between the teams may reflect the style of play that is valued within each team culture that is, flair, spontaneity and high-risk play within Māori rugby, and structure, team unity and conformity within the JNT. This suggests that metamotivational dominance of teams and players is influenced by the cultural identity of both the individuals and the group, which may have a further impact on team cohesion and performance. Keywords: Sociology, Psychology

  4. Cultural impact on co-design teamwork in distributed bi- national teams

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Man, J.; Lu, Y.; Brombacher, A.C.; Ying, F.

    2014-01-01

    This paper is designed to study the impact of cultural difference on co-design teamwork. The aim of this study is to explore the impact of supporting and hindering cultural factors on codesign teamwork in distributed bi-national teams from Netherland and China. In order to achieve the research

  5. How do we Remain Us in a Time of Change: Culture and Knowledge Management at NASA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Linde, Charlotte

    2003-01-01

    This viewgraph representation presents an overview of findings of a NASA agency-wide Knowledge Management Team considering culture and knowledge management issues at the agency. Specific issues identified by the team include: (1) NASA must move from being a knowledge hoarding culture to a knowledge sharing culture; (2) NASA must move from being center focused to being Agency focused; (3) NASA must capture the knowledge of a departing workforce. Topics considered include: what must NASA know to remain NASA, what were previous forms of knowledge reproduction and how has technological innovations changed these systems, and what changes in funding and relationships between contractors and NASA affected knowledge reproduction.

  6. Cultural diversity and team performance in the Italian Serie A

    OpenAIRE

    Addesa, FA; Rossi, GB; Bove, V

    2017-01-01

    Cultural diversity features prominently in management studies. A diverse range of skills and perspectives can produce innovation and a greater variety of solutions to day to day problems. At the same time, however, the same heterogeneous approaches and experiences can result in communication and coordination problems, lack of trust and intra/intergroup conflict. We analyse a newly constructed dataset on team composition and performance for 29 teams, 1,238 players and 1,899 matches in the Ital...

  7. Team cohesion and ethnic-cultural identity in adolescent migrant athletes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Morela, Eleftheria; Hatzigeorgiadis, Antonis; Kouli, Olga

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine the role of sport participation in the social integration of adolescents with non-dominant ethnic and cultural backgrounds. In particular, this study investigated the relationship between team cohesion and ethnic-cultural identity. Participants were 83 young...... migrant athletes (mean age 15.60 years). Participants completed the Ethnic/Cultural Identity Salience Questionnaire and the Youth Sport Environment Questionnaire. Regression analyses showed that cohesion negatively predicted feelings of fringe and lack of interaction. Our findings suggest that sport...

  8. The association between culture, climate and quality of care in primary health care teams.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hann, Mark; Bower, Peter; Campbell, Stephen; Marshall, Martin; Reeves, David

    2007-09-01

    Culture and climate represent shared beliefs and values that may influence quality of care in health care teams, and which could be manipulated for quality improvement. However, there is a lack of agreement on the theoretical and empirical relationships between climate and culture, and their relative power as predictors of quality of care. This study sought to examine the association between self-report measures of climate and culture in primary care teams and comprehensive measures of quality of care. The data were derived from a cross-sectional survey of 492 professionals in 42 general practices in England. Self-report measures of culture (the Competing Values Framework) and climate (the Team Climate Inventory) were used, together with validated measures of quality of care from medical records and self-report. The majority of practices could be characterized as 'clan' culture type. Practices with a dominant clan culture scored higher on climate for participation and teamwork. There were no associations between culture and quality of care, and only limited evidence of associations between climate and quality. The current analysis would not support the hypothesis that culture and climate are important predictors of quality of care in primary care. Although larger studies are required to provide a definitive test, the results may suggest the need for a more complex model of the associations between culture, climate and outcomes, and further research may be required into the interaction between culture and climate with other determinants of behaviour such as internal and external incentives.

  9. Organizational culture, team climate and diabetes care in small office-based practices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bosch, Marije; Dijkstra, Rob; Wensing, Michel; van der Weijden, Trudy; Grol, Richard

    2008-08-21

    Redesigning care has been proposed as a lever for improving chronic illness care. Within primary care, diabetes care is the most widespread example of restructured integrated care. Our goal was to assess to what extent important aspects of restructured care such as multidisciplinary teamwork and different types of organizational culture are associated with high quality diabetes care in small office-based general practices. We conducted cross-sectional analyses of data from 83 health care professionals involved in diabetes care from 30 primary care practices in the Netherlands, with a total of 752 diabetes mellitus type II patients participating in an improvement study. We used self-reported measures of team climate (Team Climate Inventory) and organizational culture (Competing Values Framework), and measures of quality of diabetes care and clinical patient characteristics from medical records and self-report. We conducted multivariate analyses of the relationship between culture, climate and HbA1c, total cholesterol, systolic blood pressure and a sum score on process indicators for the quality of diabetes care, adjusting for potential patient- and practice level confounders and practice-level clustering. A strong group culture was negatively associated to the quality of diabetes care provided to patients (beta = -0.04; p = 0.04), whereas a more 'balanced culture' was positively associated to diabetes care quality (beta = 5.97; p = 0.03). No associations were found between organizational culture, team climate and clinical patient outcomes. Although some significant associations were found between high quality diabetes care in general practice and different organizational cultures, relations were rather marginal. Variation in clinical patient outcomes could not be attributed to organizational culture or teamwork. This study therefore contributes to the discussion about the legitimacy of the widespread idea that aspects of redesigning care such as teamwork and culture

  10. Organizational culture, team climate and diabetes care in small office-based practices

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    van der Weijden Trudy

    2008-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Redesigning care has been proposed as a lever for improving chronic illness care. Within primary care, diabetes care is the most widespread example of restructured integrated care. Our goal was to assess to what extent important aspects of restructured care such as multidisciplinary teamwork and different types of organizational culture are associated with high quality diabetes care in small office-based general practices. Methods We conducted cross-sectional analyses of data from 83 health care professionals involved in diabetes care from 30 primary care practices in the Netherlands, with a total of 752 diabetes mellitus type II patients participating in an improvement study. We used self-reported measures of team climate (Team Climate Inventory and organizational culture (Competing Values Framework, and measures of quality of diabetes care and clinical patient characteristics from medical records and self-report. We conducted multivariate analyses of the relationship between culture, climate and HbA1c, total cholesterol, systolic blood pressure and a sum score on process indicators for the quality of diabetes care, adjusting for potential patient- and practice level confounders and practice-level clustering. Results A strong group culture was negatively associated to the quality of diabetes care provided to patients (β = -0.04; p = 0.04, whereas a more 'balanced culture' was positively associated to diabetes care quality (β = 5.97; p = 0.03. No associations were found between organizational culture, team climate and clinical patient outcomes. Conclusion Although some significant associations were found between high quality diabetes care in general practice and different organizational cultures, relations were rather marginal. Variation in clinical patient outcomes could not be attributed to organizational culture or teamwork. This study therefore contributes to the discussion about the legitimacy of the widespread idea

  11. Building patient safety in intensive care nursing : Patient safety culture, team performance and simulation-based training

    OpenAIRE

    Ballangrud, Randi

    2013-01-01

    Aim: The overall aim of the thesis was to investigate patient safety culture, team performance and the use of simulation-based team training for building patient safety in intensive care nursing. Methods: Quantitative and qualitative methods were used. In Study I, 220 RNs from ten ICUs responded to a patient safety culture questionnaire analysed with statistics. Studies II-IV were based on an evaluation of a simulation-based team training programme. Studies II-III included 53 RNs from seven I...

  12. The Cultural Challenges of Managing Global Project Teams: A Study of Brazilian Multinationals

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ivete Rodrigues

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available The internationalization of Brazilian companies brings a new reality: the need for implementation of global projects that bring, in turn, the challenge of managing multicultural teams. Since this is a recent phenomenon with little theoretical development, this study sought to understand the relationships between cultural characteristics and management teams of global projects in Brazilian multinationals. To carry this discussion forward, we studied six cases of Brazilian multinational companies, with the aim of deepening the understanding of the management of global teams, involving the planning, deployment, development and management of human resources. Among the projects studied, it was found that there is very little concern with the specific issue of multiculturalism and little inter-cultural incentive to the development of team members, which ends up hindering the construction of a global mindset, important for the Brazilian multinational companies to perform successfully abroad. Faced with this situation, each of the managerial processes mentioned were presented with a number of actions to be undertaken by the project manager in three different dimensions: the project itself, the organization and the global environment. The work contributes, thus, to enable Brazilian multinational companies to manage their global teams in order to maximize the advantages of global teams, such as increased creativity and innovative capacity, but avoid the problems that multiculturalism can bring, ranging from conflicts between people to project failure.

  13. Reducing Biases in Cross-Cultural Top Management Team Decision-Making Processes

    OpenAIRE

    David Strutton; William Carter

    2013-01-01

    Cross-cultural top-management-teams (cc-TMTs) are typically comprised of rational individuals. Yet cc-TMTs featuring uniformly wise and experienced executives often make irrational decisions (i.e., choices incompatible with reason or logic). Even most executives acknowledge this is true. Behavioral economics suggests a primary reason why is that iterative combinations of cultural and cognitive biases invariably arise and interact in cc-TMT settings. As they arise, these biases often undermine...

  14. A Study of Culture Dimensions, Organizational Ambidexterity, and Perceived Innovation in Teams

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Raul Pelagio Rodriguez

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available The impetus to innovate has emphasized the importance of organization’s ability to both explore and explot new ideas or what is referred to as ambidexterity. This study examined ambidexterity as a predictor of teams’ perception of their innovation. It also examined the impact of culture - power distance, uncertainty avoidance, collectivism, masculinity, and short-term orientation IT teams’ explorative and exploitative behaviors. The results also show that team ambidexterity is a predictor of innovation. Power distance is negatively related to explorative behavior. Collectivist characteristics are positively associated with both explorative and exploitative behaviors. Masculine behavior likewise predict more explorative behavior. The results can guide human resource development efforts geared to foster greater innovation within teams in organizations. Keywords: culture; power distance; uncertainty avoidance; collectivism; masculinity; explorative; exploitative; ambidexterity; innovation.

  15. The relationship between senior management team culture and clinical governance: Empirical investigation and managerial implications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prenestini, Anna; Calciolari, Stefano; Lega, Federico; Grilli, Roberto

    2015-01-01

    Health care organizations are pressured to improve the cost-effectiveness of service delivery. Clinical governance is an important trigger to improve care quality and safety and rank high in the reform agenda of health systems. The senior management team culture plays a major role in establishing clinical governance practices, because it strongly influences the values, attitudes, and behaviors of the members of an organization. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between senior management team culture and clinical governance in the public health care organizations of three Italian regions. The assessment of senior management culture was conducted using the Competing Values Framework and a corresponding instrument adapted for the Italian context. Clinical governance was assessed using an ad hoc instrument focused on the senior management team's perception and attitude toward clinical governance. The survey achieved a 54% response rate. The results of four different models demonstrate that organizations characterized by different dominant cultures are associated with significant differences in attitudes toward clinical governance. In particular, on average, dominant cultures with a prevailing external focus are associated with a more positive attitude toward clinical governance. The selection and appointments of top managers should consider the style of leadership that is most apt to facilitate the growth of rational and developmental cultures. Furthermore, the training of top managers and leading doctors should reinforce leadership aptitude and approaches that are consistent with the desired organizational cultures.

  16. Are they ready? Organizational readiness for change among clinical teaching teams.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bank, Lindsay; Jippes, Mariëlle; Leppink, Jimmie; Scherpbier, Albert Jja; den Rooyen, Corry; van Luijk, Scheltus J; Scheele, Fedde

    2017-01-01

    Curriculum change and innovation are inevitable parts of progress in postgraduate medical education (PGME). Although implementing change is known to be challenging, change management principles are rarely looked at for support. Change experts contend that organizational readiness for change (ORC) is a critical precursor for the successful implementation of change initiatives. Therefore, this study explores whether assessing ORC in clinical teaching teams could help to understand how curriculum change takes place in PGME. Clinical teaching teams in hospitals in the Netherlands were requested to complete the Specialty Training's Organizational Readiness for curriculum Change, a questionnaire to measure ORC in clinical teaching teams. In addition, change-related behavior was measured by using the "behavioral support-for-change" measure. A two-way analysis of variance was performed for all response variables of interest. In total, 836 clinical teaching team members were included in this study: 288 (34.4%) trainees, 307 (36.7%) clinical staff members, and 241 (28.8%) program directors. Overall, items regarding whether the program director has the authority to lead scored higher compared with the other items. At the other end, the subscales "management support and leadership," "project resources," and "implementation plan" had the lowest scores in all groups. The study brought to light that program directors are clearly in the lead when it comes to the implementation of educational innovation. Clinical teaching teams tend to work together as a team, sharing responsibilities in the implementation process. However, the results also reinforce the need for change management support in change processes in PGME.

  17. Top management team heterogeneity, strategic change and operational performance

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Naranjo Gil, D.; Hartmann, F.; Maas, V.S.

    2008-01-01

    This study examines the role of top management team (TMT) heterogeneity in facilitating strategic change. Based on the upper echelons literature, we argue that heterogeneous management teams are better able to handle the simultaneous and conflicting demands of refocusing the organization

  18. Taking action on overuse: Creating the culture for change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parchman, Michael L; Henrikson, Nora B; Blasi, Paula R; Buist, Diana S; Penfold, Robert; Austin, Brian; Ganos, Emily H

    2017-12-01

    Unnecessary care contributes to high costs and places patients at risk of harm. While most providers support reducing low-value care, changing established practice patterns is difficult and requires active engagement in sustained behavioral, organizational, and cultural change. Here we describe an action-planning framework to engage providers in reducing overused services. The framework is informed by a comprehensive review of social science theory and literature, published reports of successful and unsuccessful efforts to reduce low-value care, and interviews with innovators of value-based care initiatives in twenty-three health care organizations across the United States. A multi-stakeholder advisory committee provided feedback on the framework and guidance on optimizing it for use in practice. The framework describes four conditions necessary for change: prioritize addressing low-value care; build a culture of trust, innovation and improvement; establish shared language and purpose; and commit resources to measurements. These conditions foster productive sense-making conversations between providers, between providers and patients, and among members of the health care team about the potential for harm from overuse and reflection on current frequency of use. Through these conversations providers, patients and team members think together as a group, learn how to coordinate individual behaviors, and jointly develop possibilities for coordinated action around specific areas of overuse. Organizational efforts to engage providers in value-based care focused on creating conditions for productive sense-making conversations that lead to change. Organizations can use this framework to enhance and strengthen provider engagement efforts to do less of what potentially harms and more of what truly helps patients. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. A Transcription and Translation Protocol for Sensitive Cross-Cultural Team Research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clark, Lauren; Birkhead, Ana Sanchez; Fernandez, Cecilia; Egger, Marlene J

    2017-10-01

    Assurance of transcript accuracy and quality in interview-based qualitative research is foundational for data accuracy and study validity. Based on our experience in a cross-cultural ethnographic study of women's pelvic organ prolapse, we provide practical guidance to set up step-by-step interview transcription and translation protocols for team-based research on sensitive topics. Beginning with team decisions about level of detail in transcription, completeness, and accuracy, we operationalize the process of securing vendors to deliver the required quality of transcription and translation. We also share rubrics for assessing transcript quality and the team protocol for managing transcripts (assuring consistency of format, insertion of metadata, anonymization, and file labeling conventions) and procuring an acceptable initial translation of Spanish-language interviews. Accurate, complete, and systematically constructed transcripts in both source and target languages respond to the call for more transparency and reproducibility of scientific methods.

  20. Game playbooks: tools to guide multidisciplinary teams in developing videogame-based behavior change interventions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duncan, Lindsay R; Hieftje, Kimberly D; Culyba, Sabrina; Fiellin, Lynn E

    2014-03-01

    As mobile technologies and videogaming platforms are becoming increasingly prevalent in the realm of health and healthcare, so are the opportunities to use these resources to conduct behavioral interventions. The creation and empirical testing of game style interventions, however, is challenged by the requisite collaboration of multidisciplinary teams, including researchers and game developers who have different cultures, terminologies, and standards of evidence. Thus, traditional intervention development tools such as logic models and intervention manuals may need to be augmented by creating what we have termed "Game Playbooks" which are intervention guidebooks that are created by, understood by, and acceptable to all members of the multidisciplinary game development team. The purpose of this paper is to describe the importance and content of a Game Playbook created to aide in the development of a videogame intervention designed specifically for health behavior change in young teens as well as the process for creating such a tool. We draw on the experience of our research and game design team to describe the critical components of the Game Playbook and the necessity of creating such a tool.

  1. The NPD team conflict

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ma, Zheng; Lin, Chih-Cheng; Tanev, Stoyan

    2012-01-01

    elaborates on the role of culture diversity and geographical dispersion in NPD team conflict. A simulation is conducted where organizations may be regarded as complex systems to affect the team conflict with a variety of influences. The results firstly indicate that there are two dimensions of NPD team...... conflict: stable and unstable dimensions with four elements: task characteristics, group members’ relationship, cultural diversity and geographical dispersion; secondly, there are two phenomena whereby the geographical dispersion influences the NPD team interaction, and the influence between cultural...

  2. The culture of patient safety from the perspective of the pediatric emergency nursing team

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Taise Rocha Macedo

    Full Text Available Abstract OBJECTIVE To identify the patient safety culture in pediatric emergencies from the perspective of the nursing team. METHOD A quantitative, cross-sectional survey research study with a sample composed of 75 professionals of the nursing team. Data was collected between September and November 2014 in three Pediatric Emergency units by applying the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture instrument. Data were submitted to descriptive analysis. RESULTS Strong areas for patient safety were not found, with areas identified having potential being: Expectations and actions from supervisors/management to promote patient safety and teamwork. Areas identified as critical were: Non-punitive response to error and support from hospital management for patient safety. The study found a gap between the safety culture and pediatric emergencies, but it found possibilities of transformation that will contribute to the safety of pediatric patients. CONCLUSION Nursing professionals need to become protagonists in the process of replacing the current paradigm for a culture focused on safety. The replication of this study in other institutions is suggested in order to improve the current health care scenario.

  3. MANAGING MULTICULTURAL PROJECT TEAMS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cezar SCARLAT

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available The article is based on literature review and authors’ own recent experience in managing multicultural project teams, in international environment. This comparative study considers two groups of projects: technical assistance (TA projects versus information technology (IT projects. The aim is to explore the size and structure of the project teams – according to the team formation and its lifecycle, and to identify some distinctive attributes of the project teams – both similarities and differences between the above mentioned types of projects. Distinct focus of the research is on the multiculturalism of the project teams: how the cultural background of the team members influences the team performance and team management. Besides the results of the study are the managerial implications: how the team managers could soften the cultural clash, and avoid inter-cultural misunderstandings and even conflicts – in order to get a better performance. Some practical examples are provided as well.

  4. Managing the culturally diverse medical practice team: twenty-five strategies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hills, Laura

    2014-01-01

    A common misconception is that the phrase workplace diversity means meeting certain quotas in employee race or gender categories. In fact, diversity is much more than that. This article explores the unique benefits and challenges of managing a culturally diverse medical practice team and offers practice managers 25 practical strategies. It describes the two types of diversity training that are beneficial to practice managers and the kinds of policies, practices, and procedures that foster and promote diversity. This article also explores ethnocentrism, racism, ageism, sexism, stereotyping, and other potentially divisive issues among a diverse medical practice team. It provides an assessment instrument practice managers can use to evaluate their own diversity management skills. Finally, this article defines specifically what is meant by the term diversity and explores the top 10 diversity issues in workplaces today.

  5. International virtual teams engineering global success

    CERN Document Server

    Brewer, P

    2015-01-01

    As a complete guide to international virtual team communication with practical problem-solving strategies, this book is a must read for managers and engineers in all stages of their professional development This book provides essential information for creating and maintaining successful international virtual teams for those who manage, participate in, or train others in international virtual teaming. Based on new studies in engineering communication, this book presents processes and principles that can help managers and engineers establish global virtual teams that work, assess the virtual team climate, and maintain the effectiveness of virtual teams across cultural boundaries. It provides knowledge and tools necessary to understand the variable contexts of global virtual teams, so that organizations are able to respond to inevitable changes in technology and the global marketplace.

  6. National Culture and Business Model Change - A Framework for Successful Expansions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Stenskov, Lea Houmark; Lueg, Rainer

    2014-01-01

    This paper proposes a conceptual framework to analyse how a company’s business model needs to be adjusted if it is expanded into another cultural context. For this, we use the example of changes in the business model of a Danish ITcompany opening a new office in the U.S. Using a single case study......, we integrate the concepts of business models (Osterwalder and Pigneur, 2005) and national culture (Hofstede, 1980). Our findings explain why and how adjustments in the business model are necessary regarding the company’s communication, team composition, and customer involvement in projects....... As to implications, we construct a matrix combining business models and national culture that other multinational companies can use to achieve better understanding of their business model in different national contexts....

  7. The effects of job satisfaction, employee commitment, workplace friendship and team culture on service recovery performance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abednego Feehi Okoe

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available The existing literature has called for more studies to be conducted on how human resource activities affect service recovery performance. This study therefore ascertains the effects of Job Satisfaction, employee Commitment, Workplace Friendship and Team Culture on Service Recovery Performance. The survey research design was used in this study. The participants were frontline employees from the various service sectors in Ghana. The convenience sampling was used as the sampling technique. A total of 372 responses were used in the final analysis. The scale items were adapted from the existing literature. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to assess the fit of the model. Multiple linear regression was used to test the hypotheses. The findings indicate that Job Satisfaction, Employee Commitment, Workplace Friendship and Team Culture significantly exerts positive influence on Service Recovery Performance of frontline employees. The findings from the study imply that there are several antecedents to Service Recovery Performance. Team Culture, Workplace Commitment, and Employee Commitment can influence Job Satisfaction which in turn will affect Service Recovery Performance resulting in customer satisfaction and retention.

  8. The culture of excellence. Challenges and opportunities during changing times

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Suciu Marta-Christina

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available The main goal of the paper is to highlight the importance of supporting the promotion of the culture of excellence among people involved in a way or another in contemporary business. In order to support business excellence, the culture of excellence have to empower and engage all the people within an organization to think out of the box in a modern vision suitable to the challenging and changing times we are facing now. All over the world, in the most competitive countries, regions and sectors of activities there is a paradigmatic change of business strategies and policies oriented more and more towards performance and excellence. The paper highlights the importance of promoting the culture of excellence in the contemporary changing business environment. It suggests an important shift from a perspective that focuses on the so called ‘hero of excellence’ towards promoting the culture of excellence among the whole organization. Within modern business, in order to face challenges of the changing times and to explore their opportunities all the people from an organization are considered to manifest as ‘heroes of excellence’ by co-creating and co-working together within creative and innovative teams. They have to contribute and to participate actively to assure, preserve and develop the competitiveness and well being of the whole organization. The paper supports a holistic, cross disciplinary and integrated vision. It is structured into three parts including: a brief literature review based on an overview of the current state of the literature dedicated to the topic of culture of excellence (part 1; presentation of the main steps of the process of building a sustainable high performance organization (part 2; a brief presentation of examples of best practice and case studied identified internationally (part 3; conclusions that highlight the importance of culture of excellence in changing and challenging times.

  9. Understanding Soccer Team Supporters' Behavior and Culture in a Globalized Society from Social Learning Theory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Seungbum; Han, Keunsu

    2012-01-01

    Whereas there have been many academic studies on European soccer team supporters, relatively few studies have looked at supporters in Asia, especially regarding their supporting behavior and culture. Broadly, the purpose of this paper is to describe the behavior and culture of supporters of the Korean professional soccer league (K-League).…

  10. Moving Beyond Conventional Wisdom: Advancements in Cross-Cultural Theories of Leadership, Conflict, and Teams.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gibson, Cristina B; McDaniel, Dana M

    2010-07-01

    In this article, we discuss the importance of a cross-cultural approach to organizational behavior. To do so, we illustrate how cross-cultural research in the past two decades has enabled us to reconceptualize constructs, revise models, and extend boundary conditions in traditional organizational behavior theories. We focus on three domains-teams, leadership, and conflict-and review cross-cultural empirical evidence that has extended several theories in each of these domains. We support the claim that even well-established organizational behavior theories vary in the extent to which they may be applied unilaterally across cultures, thus identifying the critical need to advance these theories via a cross-cultural research agenda. © The Author(s) 2010.

  11. How psychological and behavioral team states change during positive and negative momentum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Den Hartigh, Ruud J R; Gernigon, Christophe; Van Yperen, Nico W; Marin, Ludovic; Van Geert, Paul L C

    2014-01-01

    In business and sports, teams often experience periods of positive and negative momentum while pursuing their goals. However, researchers have not yet been able to provide insights into how psychological and behavioral states actually change during positive and negative team momentum. In the current study we aimed to provide these insights by introducing an experimental dynamical research design. Rowing pairs had to compete against a virtual opponent on rowing ergometers, while a screen in front of the team broadcasted the ongoing race. The race was manipulated so that the team's rowing avatar gradually progressed (positive momentum) or regressed (negative momentum) in relation to the victory. The participants responded verbally to collective efficacy and task cohesion items appearing on the screen each minute. In addition, effort exertion and interpersonal coordination were continuously measured. Our results showed negative psychological changes (perceptions of collective efficacy and task cohesion) during negative team momentum, which were stronger than the positive changes during positive team momentum. Moreover, teams' exerted efforts rapidly decreased during negative momentum, whereas positive momentum accompanied a more variable and adaptive sequence of effort exertion. Finally, the interpersonal coordination was worse during negative momentum than during positive momentum. These results provide the first empirical insights into actual team momentum dynamics, and demonstrate how a dynamical research approach significantly contributes to current knowledge on psychological and behavioral processes.

  12. Cultural Diversity and the Changing Culture of Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nderu-Boddington, Eulalee

    2008-01-01

    The paper will examine the change in schools brought about by cultural diversity and examines the theories that surround the topic. I will evaluate and examine ways in which schools can accommodate cultural diversity. References will be made to cultural and social changes in our schools and how education is affected by such changes. The issue of…

  13. Virtual Teams and Knowledge Communication

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lehtonen, Miikka; Kampf, Constance Elizabeth

    2014-01-01

    How does culture affect virtual teams and the knowledge communication processes in which they engage? As virtual spaces are increasingly used to support teams and establish collaboration in cross-cultural projects, the notion of cross-cultural communication can be understood as shifting from...... contextual perspective to a semiotic perspective. That is to say, although the team members are using the same vocabulary they might attach different meanings to and have different knowledge about them thus highlighting the importance of approaching virtual teams and collaboration from a semiotic perspective....... To look at how knowledge about virtual work is established in a multinational context, we interviewed members of a team that connects Finland and India. Results reveal five objects shared between the team members with varying knowledge about them. By making these differences in knowledge visible through...

  14. A dynamical approach toward understanding mechanisms of team science: change, kinship, tension, and heritage in a transdisciplinary team.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lotrecchiano, Gaetano R

    2013-08-01

    Since the concept of team science gained recognition among biomedical researchers, social scientists have been challenged with investigating evidence of team mechanisms and functional dynamics within transdisciplinary teams. Identification of these mechanisms has lacked substantial research using grounded theory models to adequately describe their dynamical qualities. Research trends continue to favor the measurement of teams by isolating occurrences of production over relational mechanistic team tendencies. This study uses a social constructionist-grounded multilevel mixed methods approach to identify social dynamics and mechanisms within a transdisciplinary team. A National Institutes of Health-funded research team served as a sample. Data from observations, interviews, and focus groups were qualitatively coded to generate micro/meso level analyses. Social mechanisms operative within this biomedical scientific team were identified. Dynamics that support such mechanisms were documented and explored. Through theoretical and emergent coding, four social mechanisms dominated in the analysis-change, kinship, tension, and heritage. Each contains relational social dynamics. This micro/meso level study suggests such mechanisms and dynamics are key features of team science and as such can inform problems of integration, praxis, and engagement in teams. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  15. The Relationship of Cultural Intelligence, Transformational Leadership Style, and Team Performance in Culturally Diverse Student Leaders in Christian Higher Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Menna, Tamene Yoseph

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between cultural intelligence, transformational leadership, and team performance in one private Christian higher education institution in Southern California. The study further conducted initial exploration of how student leaders' Christian worldview (humility) influences their cultural…

  16. SCART guidelines. Reference report for IAEA Safety Culture Assessment Review Team (SCART)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2008-01-01

    The IAEA Director General stressed the role of safety culture in his concluding remarks at the Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Convention on Nuclear Safety in 2002: 'As we have learned in other areas, it is not enough simply to have a structure; it is not enough to say that we have the necessary laws and the appropriate regulatory bodies. All these are important, but equally important is that we have in place a safety culture that gives effect to the structure that we have developed. To me, effectiveness and transparency are keys. So, it is an issue which I am pleased to see, you are giving the attention it deserves and we will continue to work with you in clarifying, developing and applying safety culture through our programmes and through our technical cooperation activities.' The concept of safety culture was initially developed by the International Nuclear Safety Advisory Group (INSAG) after the Chernobyl accident in 1986. Since then the IAEA's perspective of safety culture has expanded with time as its recognition of the complexities of the concept developed. Safety culture is considered to be specific organizational culture in all types of organizations with activities that give rise to radiation risks. The aim is to make safety culture strong and sustainable, so that safety becomes a primary focus for all activities in such organizations, even for those, which might not look safety-related at first. SCART (Safety Culture Assessment Review Team) is a safety review service, which reflects the expressed interest of Members States for methods and tools for safety culture assessment. It is a replacement for the earlier service ASCOT (Assessment of Safety Culture in Organizations Team). The IAEA Safety Fundamentals, Requirements and Guides (Safety Standards) are the basis for the SCART Safety Review Service. The reports of INSAG, identifying important current nuclear safety issues, serve also as references during a SCART mission. SCART missions are based

  17. Safe leads and lead changes in competitive team sports

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clauset, A.; Kogan, M.; Redner, S.

    2015-06-01

    We investigate the time evolution of lead changes within individual games of competitive team sports. Exploiting ideas from the theory of random walks, the number of lead changes within a single game follows a Gaussian distribution. We show that the probability that the last lead change and the time of the largest lead size are governed by the same arcsine law, a bimodal distribution that diverges at the start and at the end of the game. We also determine the probability that a given lead is "safe" as a function of its size L and game time t . Our predictions generally agree with comprehensive data on more than 1.25 million scoring events in roughly 40 000 games across four professional or semiprofessional team sports, and are more accurate than popular heuristics currently used in sports analytics.

  18. How guiding coalitions promote positive culture change in hospitals: a longitudinal mixed methods interventional study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bradley, Elizabeth H; Brewster, Amanda L; McNatt, Zahirah; Linnander, Erika L; Cherlin, Emily; Fosburgh, Heather; Ting, Henry H; Curry, Leslie A

    2018-03-01

    Quality collaboratives are widely endorsed as a potentially effective method for translating and spreading best practices for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) care. Nevertheless, hospital success in improving performance through participation in collaboratives varies markedly. We sought to understand what distinguished hospitals that succeeded in shifting culture and reducing 30-day risk-standardised mortality rate (RSMR) after AMI through their participation in the Leadership Saves Lives (LSL) collaborative. We conducted a longitudinal, mixed methods intervention study of 10 hospitals over a 2-year period; data included surveys of 223 individuals (response rates 83%-94% depending on wave) and 393 in-depth interviews with clinical and management staff most engaged with the LSL intervention in the 10 hospitals. We measured change in culture and RSMR, and key aspects of working related to team membership, turnover, level of participation and approaches to conflict management. The six hospitals that experienced substantial culture change and greater reductions in RSMR demonstrated distinctions in: (1) effective inclusion of staff from different disciplines and levels in the organisational hierarchy in the team guiding improvement efforts (referred to as the 'guiding coalition' in each hospital); (2) authentic participation in the work of the guiding coalition; and (3) distinct patterns of managing conflict. Guiding coalition size and turnover were not associated with success (p values>0.05). In the six hospitals that experienced substantial positive culture change, staff indicated that the LSL learnings were already being applied to other improvement efforts. Hospitals that were most successful in a national quality collaborative to shift hospital culture and reduce RSMR showed distinct patterns in membership diversity, authentic participation and capacity for conflict management. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the

  19. Ch-Ch-Ch-changes: how action phase functional leadership, team human capital, and interim vs. permanent leader status impact post-transition team performance

    OpenAIRE

    Maynard, M. Travis; Resick, Christian J.; Cunningham, Quinn W.; DiRenzo, Marco S.

    2017-01-01

    The article of record as published may be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10869-016-9482-5 This study addresses the following: (1) does a team leader change along with the quality of the team’s human capital affect post-change team performance?; (2) is functional leadership of the team’s human capital a driver of post-change team performance?; and (3) should interim vs. permanent leaders manage the team’s human capital differently? We analyzed archival data from Major League Baseba...

  20. Honorary Authorship Practices in Environmental Science Teams: Structural and Cultural Factors and Solutions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elliott, Kevin C; Settles, Isis H; Montgomery, Georgina M; Brassel, Sheila T; Cheruvelil, Kendra Spence; Soranno, Patricia A

    2017-01-01

    Overinclusive authorship practices such as honorary or guest authorship have been widely reported, and they appear to be exacerbated by the rise of large interdisciplinary collaborations that make authorship decisions particularly complex. Although many studies have reported on the frequency of honorary authorship and potential solutions to it, few have probed how the underlying dynamics of large interdisciplinary teams contribute to the problem. This article reports on a qualitative study of the authorship standards and practices of six National Science Foundation-funded interdisciplinary environmental science teams. Using interviews of the lead principal investigator and an early-career member on each team, our study explores the nature of honorary authorship practices as well as some of the motivating factors that may contribute to these practices. These factors include both structural elements (policies and procedures) and cultural elements (values and norms) that cross organizational boundaries. Therefore, we provide recommendations that address the intersection of these factors and that can be applied at multiple organizational levels.

  1. Assessing Trust and Effectiveness in Virtual Teams: Latent Growth Curve and Latent Change Score Models

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michael D. Coovert

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Trust plays a central role in the effectiveness of work groups and teams. This is the case for both face-to-face and virtual teams. Yet little is known about the development of trust in virtual teams. We examined cognitive and affective trust and their relationship to team effectiveness as reflected through satisfaction with one’s team and task performance. Latent growth curve analysis reveals both trust types start at a significant level with individual differences in that initial level. Cognitive trust follows a linear growth pattern while affective trust is overall non-linear, but becomes linear once established. Latent change score models are utilized to examine change in trust and also its relationship with satisfaction with the team and team performance. In examining only change in trust and its relationship to satisfaction there appears to be a straightforward influence of trust on satisfaction and satisfaction on trust. However, when incorporated into a bivariate coupling latent change model the dynamics of the relationship are revealed. A similar pattern holds for trust and task performance; however, in the bivariate coupling change model a more parsimonious representation is preferred.

  2. A "recipe" for culture change? Findings from the THRIVE survey of culture change adopters.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elliot, Amy; Cohen, Lauren W; Reed, David; Nolet, Kimberly; Zimmerman, Sheryl

    2014-02-01

    Descriptions of culture change adoption are often complex and varied, creating a challenge for those seeking guidance about which of the many components of culture change to adopt and in what order and combination. To begin to address this question, members of The Research Initiative Valuing Eldercare (THRIVE) developed and distributed an online survey to 327 known culture change adopters. Of these, 164 (50%) completed the survey. Data were analyzed to identify adopted components, co-occurrence of adopted components, and differences in these across various types of nursing home models (i.e., traditional unit, household, and small house). Our findings support unique co-occurrence of components across nursing home models. Results also show that homes with more traditional environments have been able to implement certain culture change components without large capital investments required by renovations. The adoption patterns suggest that the co-occurrence of components should be considered when pursuing organizational transformations to support culture change.

  3. Creating and Sustaining a Culture of Excellence: Insights from Accomplished University Team-Sport Coaches

    Science.gov (United States)

    Donoso-Morales, Daniela; Bloom, Gordon A.; Caron, Jeffrey G.

    2017-01-01

    Purpose: Winning several national championships is an extraordinary feat that very few university coaches have accomplished. The objective of this study was to investigate how some of Canada's most accomplished university team-sport coaches created and sustained a culture of excellence in their programs. Method: Six university coaches who had won…

  4. Development of Nuclear Safety Culture evaluation method for an operation team based on the probabilistic approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Han, Sang Min; Lee, Seung Min; Yim, Ho Bin; Seong, Poong Hyun

    2018-01-01

    Highlights: •We proposed a Probabilistic Safety Culture Healthiness Evaluation Method. •Positive relationship between the ‘success’ states of NSC and performance was shown. •The state probability profile showed a unique ratio regardless of the scenarios. •Cutset analysis provided not only root causes but also the latent causes of failures. •Pro-SCHEMe was found to be applicable to Korea NPPs. -- Abstract: The aim of this study is to propose a new quantitative evaluation method for Nuclear Safety Culture (NSC) in Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) operation teams based on the probabilistic approach. Various NSC evaluation methods have been developed, and the Korea NPP utility company has conducted the NSC assessment according to international practice. However, most of methods are conducted by interviews, observations, and the self-assessment. Consequently, the results are often qualitative, subjective, and mainly dependent on evaluator’s judgement, so the assessment results can be interpreted from different perspectives. To resolve limitations of present evaluation methods, the concept of Safety Culture Healthiness was suggested to produce quantitative results and provide faster evaluation process. This paper presents Probabilistic Safety Culture Healthiness Evaluation Method (Pro-SCHEMe) to generate quantitative inputs for Human Reliability Assessment (HRA) in Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA). Evaluation items which correspond to a basic event in PSA are derived in the first part of the paper through the literature survey; mostly from nuclear-related organizations such as the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (U.S.NRC), and the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO). Event trees (ETs) and fault trees (FTs) are devised to apply evaluation items to PSA based on the relationships among such items. The Modeling Guidelines are also suggested to classify and calculate NSC characteristics of

  5. Darwinism and cultural change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Godfrey-Smith, Peter

    2012-08-05

    Evolutionary models of cultural change have acquired an important role in attempts to explain the course of human evolution, especially our specialization in knowledge-gathering and intelligent control of environments. In both biological and cultural change, different patterns of explanation become relevant at different 'grains' of analysis and in contexts associated with different explanatory targets. Existing treatments of the evolutionary approach to culture, both positive and negative, underestimate the importance of these distinctions. Close attention to grain of analysis motivates distinctions between three possible modes of cultural evolution, each associated with different empirical assumptions and explanatory roles.

  6. Cultural Change: The How and the Why.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Varnum, Michael E W; Grossmann, Igor

    2017-11-01

    More than half a century of cross-cultural research has demonstrated group-level differences in psychological and behavioral phenomena, from values to attention to neural responses. However, cultures are not static, with several specific changes documented for cultural products, practices, and values. How and why do societies change? Here we juxtapose theory and insights from cultural evolution and social ecology. Evolutionary approaches enable an understanding of the how of cultural change, suggesting transmission mechanisms by which the contents of culture may change. Ecological approaches provide insights into the why of cultural change: They identify specific environmental pressures, which evoke shifts in psychology and thereby enable greater precision in predictions of specific cultural changes based on changes in ecological conditions. Complementary insights from the ecological and cultural evolutionary approaches can jointly clarify the process by which cultures change. We end by discussing the relevance of cultural change research for the contemporary societal shifts and by highlighting several critical challenges and future directions for the emerging field of cross-temporal research on culture and psychology.

  7. The patient safety culture as perceived by staff at two different emergency departments before and after introducing a flow-oriented working model with team triage and lean principles: a repeated cross-sectional study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burström, Lena; Letterstål, Anna; Engström, Marie-Louise; Berglund, Anders; Enlund, Mats

    2014-07-09

    Patient safety is of the utmost importance in health care. The patient safety culture in an institution has great impact on patient safety. To enhance patient safety and to design strategies to reduce medical injuries, there is a current focus on measuring the patient safety culture. The aim of the present study was to describe the patient safety culture in an ED at two different hospitals before and after a Quality improvement (QI) project that was aimed to enhance patient safety. A repeated cross-sectional design, using the Hospital Survey On Patient Safety Culture questionnaire before and after a quality improvement project in two emergency departments at a county hospital and a university hospital. The questionnaire was developed to obtain a better understanding of the patient safety culture of an entire hospital or of specific departments. The Swedish version has 51 questions and 15 dimensions. At the county hospital, a difference between baseline and follow-up was observed in three dimensions. For two of these dimensions, Team-work within hospital and Communication openness, a higher score was measured at the follow-up. At the university hospital, a higher score was measured at follow-up for the two dimensions Team-work across hospital units and Team-work within hospital. The result showed changes in the self-estimated patient safety culture, mainly regarding team-work and communication openness. Most of the improvements at follow-up were seen by physicians, and mainly at the county hospital.

  8. Spanish adaptation of the internal functioning of the Work Teams Scale (QFI-22).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ficapal-Cusí, Pilar; Boada-Grau, Joan; Torrent-Sellens, Joan; Vigil-Colet, Andreu

    2014-05-01

    The aim of this article is to develop the Spanish adaptation of the internal functioning of Work Teams Scale (QFI-22). The scale was adapted from the French version, and was applied to a sample of 1,055 employees working for firms operating in Spain. The article analyses the internal structure (exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis) and internal consistency, and provides convergent validity evidence of the scale. The QFI-22 scale shows the same internal structure as the original. Factor analysis confirmed the existence of two factors: interpersonal support and team work management, with good internal consistency coefficients (α1 = .93, α2 = .92). Regarding validity evidence, the QFI-22 scale has significant correlations with other correlates and alternative scales used for comparison purposes. The two factors correlated positively with team vision, participation safety, task orientation and support for innovation (Team Climate Inventory, TCI scale), with progressive culture (Organisational Culture, X-Y scale), and with creating change, customer focus and organisational learning (Denison Organizational Culture Survey, DOCS scale). In contrast, the two factors correlated negatively with traditional culture (X-Y scale). The QFI-22 scale is a useful instrument for assessing the internal functioning of work teams.

  9. Future Time Perspective in Occupational Teams: Do Older Workers Prefer More Familiar Teams?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Laura U. A. Gärtner

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Working in teams is quite popular across different industries and cultures. While some of these teams exist for longer time periods, other teams collaborate only for short periods and members switch into new teams after goals are accomplished. However, workers’ preferences for joining a new team might vary in different ways. Based on Carstensen’s socioemotional selectivity theory, we predict that emotionally meaningful teams are prioritized when occupational future time perspective (OFTP is perceived as limited. Building and expanding on studies outside of the work context, we expected that older as compared to younger workers prefer more familiar teams, and that this effect is mediated by workers’ OFTP. Moreover, we assumed that experimentally manipulated OFTP can change such team preferences. The hypotheses were tested in an online scenario study using three experimental conditions (within-person design. Four hundred and fifty-four workers (57% female, age M = 45.98, SD = 11.46 were asked to choose between a familiar and a new team in three consecutive trials: under an unspecified OFTP (baseline, under an expanded OFTP (amendment of retirement age, and under a restricted OFTP (insolvency of the current company. Whereas the baseline condition was always first, the order of the second and third conditions was randomized among participants. In the baseline condition, results showed the expected mediation effect of workers’ OFTP on the relation between workers’ age and preference for a familiar over a new team. Higher age was associated with more limited OFTP, which in turn was associated with higher preference for a familiar over a new team. Moreover, experimentally restricting OFTP increased preference for a familiar team over a new team regardless of workers’ age, providing further evidence for the assumed causal processes and showing interesting avenues for practical interventions in occupational teams.

  10. Future Time Perspective in Occupational Teams: Do Older Workers Prefer More Familiar Teams?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gärtner, Laura U. A.; Hertel, Guido

    2017-01-01

    Working in teams is quite popular across different industries and cultures. While some of these teams exist for longer time periods, other teams collaborate only for short periods and members switch into new teams after goals are accomplished. However, workers’ preferences for joining a new team might vary in different ways. Based on Carstensen’s socioemotional selectivity theory, we predict that emotionally meaningful teams are prioritized when occupational future time perspective (OFTP) is perceived as limited. Building and expanding on studies outside of the work context, we expected that older as compared to younger workers prefer more familiar teams, and that this effect is mediated by workers’ OFTP. Moreover, we assumed that experimentally manipulated OFTP can change such team preferences. The hypotheses were tested in an online scenario study using three experimental conditions (within-person design). Four hundred and fifty-four workers (57% female, age M = 45.98, SD = 11.46) were asked to choose between a familiar and a new team in three consecutive trials: under an unspecified OFTP (baseline), under an expanded OFTP (amendment of retirement age), and under a restricted OFTP (insolvency of the current company). Whereas the baseline condition was always first, the order of the second and third conditions was randomized among participants. In the baseline condition, results showed the expected mediation effect of workers’ OFTP on the relation between workers’ age and preference for a familiar over a new team. Higher age was associated with more limited OFTP, which in turn was associated with higher preference for a familiar over a new team. Moreover, experimentally restricting OFTP increased preference for a familiar team over a new team regardless of workers’ age, providing further evidence for the assumed causal processes and showing interesting avenues for practical interventions in occupational teams. PMID:29018376

  11. Future Time Perspective in Occupational Teams: Do Older Workers Prefer More Familiar Teams?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gärtner, Laura U A; Hertel, Guido

    2017-01-01

    Working in teams is quite popular across different industries and cultures. While some of these teams exist for longer time periods, other teams collaborate only for short periods and members switch into new teams after goals are accomplished. However, workers' preferences for joining a new team might vary in different ways. Based on Carstensen's socioemotional selectivity theory, we predict that emotionally meaningful teams are prioritized when occupational future time perspective (OFTP) is perceived as limited. Building and expanding on studies outside of the work context, we expected that older as compared to younger workers prefer more familiar teams, and that this effect is mediated by workers' OFTP. Moreover, we assumed that experimentally manipulated OFTP can change such team preferences. The hypotheses were tested in an online scenario study using three experimental conditions (within-person design). Four hundred and fifty-four workers (57% female, age M = 45.98, SD = 11.46) were asked to choose between a familiar and a new team in three consecutive trials: under an unspecified OFTP (baseline), under an expanded OFTP (amendment of retirement age), and under a restricted OFTP (insolvency of the current company). Whereas the baseline condition was always first, the order of the second and third conditions was randomized among participants. In the baseline condition, results showed the expected mediation effect of workers' OFTP on the relation between workers' age and preference for a familiar over a new team. Higher age was associated with more limited OFTP, which in turn was associated with higher preference for a familiar over a new team. Moreover, experimentally restricting OFTP increased preference for a familiar team over a new team regardless of workers' age, providing further evidence for the assumed causal processes and showing interesting avenues for practical interventions in occupational teams.

  12. Enhancing Adaptivity and Resilience through Team Member Change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thompson, Kevin S.; Noble, David

    2017-01-01

    The interest in aligning college graduates' skills, competencies, and experiences with what employers desire continues across academia. Employers seek higher levels of resilience than they see in most new employees. This article provides a review of the employee resilience literature and describes a team member change scenario focused on enhancing…

  13. Leadership, Culture and Organizational Change

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vladimir-Codrin Ionescu

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available An effective leadership, an evolutionary organizational culture and permanent connection to change may ensure a company’s success within an ever more dynamic competitive environment. The scientific approach of this paper is in line with theoretical and applied research in the field by the presentation of the connections existing among leadership, organizational culture and organizational change. The paper highlights the triad “vision – motivation – momentum”, the mission and the defining coordinates of leadership, the complementarity “new – tradition” in organizational culture, the stages of the change management process and the role of managers and leaders in the preparation and implementation of change projects. Leadership is essential in building and developing an appropriate cultural model, which, in its turn, is an important vector of organizational change processes in modern companies.

  14. Hamline/3M Project: Liaison for Curricular Change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rundquist, Andy

    2002-03-01

    This project was designed to catalyze curricular changes to better prepare students for the workplace. Industrial managers provided a list of 16 characteristics valued in the workplace: most were NOT related to science course content. The project formed 5 teams each including 3M professionals and students. Each team developed curricular changes in one of the 16 areas. Team goals were to improve skills in communication, data analysis, business/economics, team problem solving, and culture competency. Curricular changes realized include communication skill activities embodied in science courses and faculty communication teaching skill seminars, self learning tools in data analysis, statistics and model building, a new course developed with assistance from 3M personnel focussing on topics directly related to technological industries, high performance team problem solving training/coaching for faculty and workshops for students and faculty relative to importance of cultural competencies in the workplace, and a new course focusing on culture, team problem solving and conflict resolution in the technical workplace. Process for developing and content of curricular changes will be reported.

  15. Accelerating the culture change!

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klunk, S W; Panetta, J; Wooten, J

    1996-11-01

    Exide Electronics, a major supplier of uninterruptible power system equipment, embarked on a journey of changing a culture to improve quality, enhance customer responsiveness, and reduce costs. This case study examines the evolution of change over a period of seven years, with particular emphasis on the most recent years, 1992 through 1995. The article focuses on the Raleigh plant operations and describes how each succeeding year built on the successes and fixed the shortcomings of the prior years to accelerate the culture change, including corrective action and continuous improvement processes, organizational structures, expectations, goals, achievements, and pitfalls. The real challenge to changing the culture was structuring a dynamic approach to accelerate change! The presentation also examines how the evolutionary process itself can be created and accelerated through ongoing communication, regular feedback of progress and goals, constant evaluation and direction of the process, and measuring and paying for performance.

  16. Team-based working and employee well-being: A cross-cultural comparison of United Kingdom and Hong Kong health services

    OpenAIRE

    So, T.T.C; West, Michael; Dawson, J.F

    2010-01-01

    This study examined the impact of team-based working, team structure, and job design on employee well-being (in term of job satisfaction and work stress) in staff working in healthcare organizations in Hong Kong. Cross-cultural differences in the impact of job design, team structure, and employee well-being outcomes between United Kingdom and Hong Kong were also investigated. A group of 197 staff from two Hong Kong hospitals were compared to a sample of 270 UK staff working in National Health...

  17. How psychological and behavioral team states change during positive and negative momentum

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Den Hartigh, Ruud J.R.; Gernigon, Christophe; Van Yperen, Nico W.; Marin, Ludovic; Van Geert, Paul

    In business and sports, teams often experience periods of positive and negative momentum while pursuing their goals. However, researchers have not yet been able to provide insights into how psychological and behavioral states actually change during positive and negative team momentum. In the current

  18. College Drinking - Changing the Culture

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... about college alcohol policies College Drinking - Changing the Culture This is your one-stop resource for comprehensive ... More about special features College Drinking - Changing the Culture This is your one-stop resource for comprehensive ...

  19. ASCOT guidelines revised 1996 edition. Guidelines for organizational self-assessment of safety culture and for reviews by the assessment of safety culture in organizations team

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1996-01-01

    In order to properly assess safety culture, it is necessary to consider the contribution of all organizations which have an impact on it. Therefore, while assessing the safety culture in an operating organization it is necessary to address at least its interfaces with the local regulatory agency, utility corporate headquarters and supporting organizations. These guidelines are primarily intended for use by any organization wishing to conduct a self-assessment of safety culture. They should also serve as a basis for conducting an international peer review of the organization's self-assessment carried out by an ASCOT (Assessment of Safety Culture in Organizations Team) mission

  20. The Workings of a Multicultural Research Team

    Science.gov (United States)

    Friedemann, Marie-Luise; Pagan-Coss, Harald; Mayorga, Carlos

    2013-01-01

    Purpose Transcultural nurse researchers are exposed to the challenges of developing and maintaining a multiethnic team. With the example of a multicultural research study of family caregivers conducted in the Miami-Dade area, the authors guide the readers through steps of developing a culturally competent and effective team. Design Pointing out challenges and successes, the authors illustrate team processes and successful strategies relative to recruitment of qualified members, training and team maintenance, and evaluation of team effectiveness. Method With relevant concepts from the literature applied to practical examples, the authors demonstrate how cultural team competence grows in a supportive work environment. PMID:18390824

  1. Hamline/3M Corp. Project: Liason for Curricular Change*

    Science.gov (United States)

    Artz, Jerry L.

    2002-04-01

    This project was designed to catalyze curricular changes to better prepare students for the workplace. Industrial managers provided a list of 16 characteristics valued in the workplace; most were NOT related to science course content. The project formed 5 teams each including 3M professionals and students. Each team developed curricular changes in one of the 16 areas. Team goals were to improve skills in communication, data analysis, business/economics, team problem solving, and cultural competency. Curricular changes realized include communication skill activities embodied in science courses and faculty communication teaching skill seminars; self learning tools in data analysis, statistics and model building; a new course developed with assistance from 3M personnel focusing on topics directly related to technological industries; high performance team problem solving training/coaching for faculty; workshops for students and faculty relative to importance of cultural competencies in the workplace; and a new course focusing on culture, team problem solving and conflict resolution in the technical workplace. Process for developing and content of curricular changes will be reported. *Thanks to: NSF GOALI CHE-99010782

  2. Game-Changing Innovations: How Culture Can Change the Parameters of Its Own Evolution and Induce Abrupt Cultural Shifts

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-01-01

    One of the most puzzling features of the prehistoric record of hominid stone tools is its apparent punctuation: it consists of abrupt bursts of dramatic change that separate long periods of largely unchanging technology. Within each such period, small punctuated cultural modifications take place. Punctuation on multiple timescales and magnitudes is also found in cultural trajectories from historical times. To explain these sharp cultural bursts, researchers invoke such external factors as sudden environmental change, rapid cognitive or morphological change in the hominids that created the tools, or replacement of one species or population by another. Here we propose a dynamic model of cultural evolution that accommodates empirical observations: without invoking external factors, it gives rise to a pattern of rare, dramatic cultural bursts, interspersed by more frequent, smaller, punctuated cultural modifications. Our model includes interdependent innovation processes that occur at different rates. It also incorporates a realistic aspect of cultural evolution: cultural innovations, such as those that increase food availability or that affect cultural transmission, can change the parameters that affect cultural evolution, thereby altering the population’s cultural dynamics and steady state. This steady state can be regarded as a cultural carrying capacity. These parameter-changing cultural innovations occur very rarely, but whenever one occurs, it triggers a dramatic shift towards a new cultural steady state. The smaller and more frequent punctuated cultural changes, on the other hand, are brought about by innovations that spur the invention of further, related, technology, and which occur regardless of whether the population is near its cultural steady state. Our model suggests that common interpretations of cultural shifts as evidence of biological change, for example the appearance of behaviorally modern humans, may be unwarranted. PMID:28036346

  3. Green shoots of recovery: a realist evaluation of a team to support change in general practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bartlett, Maggie; Basten, Ruth; McKinley, Robert K

    2017-02-08

    A multidisciplinary support team for general practice was established in April 2014 by a local National Health Service (NHS) England management team. This work evaluates the team's effectiveness in supporting and promoting change in its first 2 years, using realist methodology. Primary care in one area of England. Semistructured interviews were conducted with staff from 14 practices, 3 key senior NHS England personnel and 5 members of the support team. Sampling of practice staff was purposive to include representatives from relevant professional groups. The team worked with practices to identify areas for change, construct action plans and implement them. While there was no specified timescale for the team's work with practices, it was tailored to each. In realist evaluations, outcomes are contingent on mechanisms acting in contexts, and both an understanding of how an intervention leads to change in a socially constructed system and the resultant changes are outcomes. The principal positive mechanisms leading to change were the support team's expertise and its relationships with practice staff. The 'external view' provided by the team via its corroborative and normalising effects was an important mechanism for increasing morale in some practice contexts. A powerful negative mechanism was related to perceptions of 'being seen as a failing practice' which included expressions of 'shame'. Outcomes for practices as perceived by their staff were better communication, improvements in patients' access to appointments resulting from better clinical and managerial skill mix, and improvements in workload management. The support team promoted change within practices leading to signs of the 'green shoots of recovery' within the time frame of the evaluation. Such interventions need to be tailored and responsive to practices' needs. The team's expertise and relationships between team members and practice staff are central to success. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group

  4. Group Development and Integration in a Cross-Disciplinary and Intercultural Research Team

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kirk-Lawlor, Naomi; Allred, Shorna

    2017-04-01

    Cross-disciplinary research is necessary to solve many complex problems that affect society today, including problems involving linked social and environmental systems. Examples include natural resource management or scarcity problems, problematic effects of climate change, and environmental pollution issues. Intercultural research teams are needed to address many complex environmental matters as they often cross geographic and political boundaries, and involve people of different countries and cultures. It follows that disciplinarily and culturally diverse research teams have been organized to investigate and address environmental issues. This case study investigates a team composed of both monolingual and bilingual Chilean and US university researchers who are geoscientists, engineers and economists. The objective of this research team was to study both the natural and human parts of a hydrologic system in a hyper-arid region in northern Chile. Interviews ( n = 8) addressed research questions focusing on the interaction of cross-disciplinary diversity and cultural diversity during group integration and development within the team. The case study revealed that the group struggled more with cross-disciplinary challenges than with intercultural ones. Particularly challenging ones were instances the of disciplinary crosstalk, or hidden misunderstandings, where team members thought they understood their cross-disciplinary colleagues, when in reality they did not. Results showed that translation served as a facilitator to cross-disciplinary integration of the research team. The use of translation in group meetings as a strategy for effective cross-disciplinary integration can be extended to monolingual cross-disciplinary teams as well.

  5. Group Development and Integration in a Cross-Disciplinary and Intercultural Research Team.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kirk-Lawlor, Naomi; Allred, Shorna

    2017-04-01

    Cross-disciplinary research is necessary to solve many complex problems that affect society today, including problems involving linked social and environmental systems. Examples include natural resource management or scarcity problems, problematic effects of climate change, and environmental pollution issues. Intercultural research teams are needed to address many complex environmental matters as they often cross geographic and political boundaries, and involve people of different countries and cultures. It follows that disciplinarily and culturally diverse research teams have been organized to investigate and address environmental issues. This case study investigates a team composed of both monolingual and bilingual Chilean and US university researchers who are geoscientists, engineers and economists. The objective of this research team was to study both the natural and human parts of a hydrologic system in a hyper-arid region in northern Chile. Interviews (n = 8) addressed research questions focusing on the interaction of cross-disciplinary diversity and cultural diversity during group integration and development within the team. The case study revealed that the group struggled more with cross-disciplinary challenges than with intercultural ones. Particularly challenging ones were instances the of disciplinary crosstalk, or hidden misunderstandings, where team members thought they understood their cross-disciplinary colleagues, when in reality they did not. Results showed that translation served as a facilitator to cross-disciplinary integration of the research team. The use of translation in group meetings as a strategy for effective cross-disciplinary integration can be extended to monolingual cross-disciplinary teams as well.

  6. Restructuring Vocational Special Needs Education through Interdisciplinary Team Effort: Local Motion in the Pacific Basin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Garnett J.; Stodden, Robert A.

    1994-01-01

    The Restructuring through Interdisciplinary Team Effort project focuses on changing the culture and structure of vocational special needs education in the Pacific Basin. Its three dimensions are cognitive core (best practices, outcome-focused design, strategic planning); team network of stakeholders; and systemic renewal (school-to-work…

  7. Mindset Change in a Cross-Cultural Context

    Science.gov (United States)

    Loeve, Martin

    2007-01-01

    Imagine you are Thai and a member of a management team from a European company that acts in an Asian emerging market. Imagine you are a European expat with the assignment to double the turnover from that Asian company in a few years. Imagine you are a Change Maker and they ask you to facilitate the (multinational) management team of that Asian…

  8. Influencing Change : Organizational Change and the Implementation of Self-Managing Teams

    OpenAIRE

    Bergman, Amanda; Mashouri, Mastaneh

    2017-01-01

    Organizational changes are inevitable, yet up to 70% fail. Technological development and competition in a volatile environment require more flexible organizations. As such, implementing self-managed teams (SMTs) has become a more common approach. The fact that SMTs ought to be self-managed has further raised a debate, since it is argued that some form of manager still is required. Therefore, the following research question was proposed; How does the interplay of influences unfold between the ...

  9. Collective Global Leadership in Self-Managed Multicultural Teams

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Paunova, Minna; Lee, Yih-Teen

    2016-01-01

    Arguing that it is necessary to look into specific global leadership processes in specific contexts, this article focuses on collective global leadership in self-managed multicultural teams using an input-process-output model. Building on a study of nationally and culturally diverse self-managed...... teams, our work demonstrates that collective global leadership in these teams is critical for team performance (output). Our study also examines some of the affective or attitudinal antecedents of collective global leadership in self-managed multicultural teams (process) and their members’ goal...... orientations (input). Our findings suggest that a team learning orientation may greatly help multicultural teams overcome the liability of cultural diversity, create a positive intra-team environment, and enable collective global leadership. Our research also suggests that team performance orientation...

  10. Better team management--better team care?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shelley, P; Powney, B

    1994-01-01

    Team building should not be a 'bolt-on' extra, it should be a well planned, integrated part of developing teams and assisting their leaders. When asked to facilitate team building by a group of NHS managers we developed a framework which enabled individual members of staff to become more effective in the way they communicated with each other, their teams and in turn within the organization. Facing the challenge posed by complex organizational changes, staff were able to use 3 training days to increase and develop their awareness of the principles of teamwork, better team management, and how a process of leadership and team building could help yield better patient care.

  11. The Team Climate Inventory: Application in hospital teams and methodological considerations

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ouwens, M.A.; Hulscher, M.E.J.L.; Hermens, R.P.M.G.; Akkermans, R.P.; Grol, R.P.T.M.; Wollersheim, H.C.H.

    2008-01-01

    Understanding the feasibility of applying the Team Climate Inventory (TCI) in non-Western cultures is essential for researchers attempting to understand the influence of culture on workers’ perceived climate. This study describes the application of the TCI in such a setting using data from 203

  12. Conversations about Curriculum Change: Mathematical Thinking and Team-Based Learning in a Discrete Mathematics Course

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paterson, Judy; Sneddon, Jamie

    2011-01-01

    This article reports on the learning conversations between a mathematician and a mathematics educator as they worked together to change the delivery model of a third year discrete mathematics course from a traditional lecture mode to team-based learning (TBL). This change prompted the mathematician to create team tasks which increasingly focused…

  13. Advice on cultural policy matters: changing times for the Council for Culture

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lelieveldt, Philomeen; Minnaert, Toine

    The central question is the changing role of advisory councils in Dutch cultural policy and the subsequent change in discourse on culture and the arts within cultural policy. Our working hypothesis is that the role of the Council for Culture (Raad voor Cultuur), the formal advisory council, is

  14. TEAM LEADERSHIP AS A DIRECTION OF TRAINING PROFESSIONAL PSYCHOLOGISTS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tahir Y. Bazarov

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Nowadays, nearly all the specialists have to operate in unpredictable situations. The group leader has to be capable to realize effective group performance. As it has been already mentioned (Bazarov, Shevchenko, 2013, “The post-crisis era executive leader should possess such important traits as self adjustment; common sense in combination with intuition, emotions, and imagination; and the readiness to make choices in fifty-fifty situations. The most general definition of “self-adjustment” is the building of functional interconnections between (1 a subject’s actions and state and (2 the actions and state of the surrounding setting. Building such interconnections allows for introducing relevant and purposeful changes in the subject’s actions, depending on the feedback from the previous step. In other words, this is an algorithm of changes based on feedback. ”. So in our opinion, a framework is needed that integrates existing team leadership research and the full range of ways in which leadership can manifest itself within the team. 1. Four types of organization of joint activities predict the facet of the organizational culture 2. Four types of organizational culture give rise to four types of working groups 3. Four types of organizational culture assume four types of leadership as well 4. The essential difference between these cultures is determined by those forms of organization of joint activities which underlies them.

  15. Explaining variation in perceived team effectiveness: results from eleven quality improvement collaboratives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Strating, Mathilde M H; Nieboer, Anna P

    2013-06-01

    Explore effectiveness of 11 collaboratives focusing on 11 different topics, as perceived by local improvement teams and to explore associations with collaborative-, organisational- and team-level factors. Evidence underlying the effectiveness of quality improvement collaboratives is inconclusive and few studies investigated determinants of implementation success. Moreover, most evaluation studies on quality improvement collaboratives are based on one specific topic or quality problem, making it hard to compare across collaboratives addressing different topics. A multiple-case cross-sectional study. Quality improvement teams in 11 quality improvement collaboratives focusing on 11 different topics. Team members received a postal questionnaire at the end of each collaborative. Of the 283 improvement teams, 151 project leaders and 362 team members returned the questionnaire. Analysis of variance revealed that teams varied widely on perceived effectiveness. Especially, members in the Prevention of Malnutrition and Prevention of Medication Errors collaboratives perceived a higher effectiveness than other groups. Multilevel regression analyses showed that educational level of professionals, innovation attributes, organisational support, innovative culture and commitment to change were all significant predictors of perceived effectiveness. In total, 27·9% of the individual-level variance, 57·6% of the team-level variance and 80% of the collaborative-level variance could be explained. The innovation's attributes, organisational support, an innovative team culture and professionals' commitment to change are instrumental to perceived effectiveness. The results support the notion that a layered approach is necessary to achieve improvements in quality of care and provides further insight in the determinants of success of quality improvement collaboratives. Understanding which factors enhance the impact of quality improvement initiatives can help professionals to achieve

  16. SEM: A Cultural Change Agent

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barnes, Bradley; Bourke, Brian

    2015-01-01

    The authors advance the concept that institutional culture is a purposeful framework by which to view SEM's utility, particularly as a cultural change agent. Through the connection of seemingly independent functions of performance and behavior, implications emerge that deepen the understanding of the influence of culture on performance outcomes…

  17. The innovative rehabilitation team: an experiment in team building.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Halstead, L S; Rintala, D H; Kanellos, M; Griffin, B; Higgins, L; Rheinecker, S; Whiteside, W; Healy, J E

    1986-06-01

    This article describes an effort by one rehabilitation team to create innovative approaches to team care in a medical rehabilitation hospital. The major arena for implementing change was the weekly patient rounds. We worked to increase patient involvement, developed a rounds coordinator role, used a structured format, and tried to integrate research findings into team decision making. Other innovations included use of a preadmission questionnaire, a discharge check list, and a rounds evaluation questionnaire. The impact of these changes was evaluated using the Group Environment Scale and by analyzing participation in rounds based on verbatim transcripts obtained prior to and 20 months after formation of the Innovative Rehabilitation Team (IRT). The results showed decreased participation by medical personnel during rounds, and increased participation by patients. The rounds coordinator role increased participation rates of staff from all disciplines and the group environment improved within the IRT. These data are compared with similar evaluations made of two other groups, which served as control teams. The problems inherent in making effective, lasting changes in interdisciplinary rehabilitation teams are reviewed, and a plea is made for other teams to explore additional ways to use the collective creativity and resources latent in the team membership.

  18. UNEP-IOC-ASPEI global task team on the implications of climate change on coral reefs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1992-01-01

    The first meeting of the Global Task Team on the Implications of Climate Change on Coral Reefs was held to develop an authoritative scientific and technical review of the implications of climate change for coral reefs and their ecologically sustainable use. The Task Team is expected to provide expert advice and guidance in the implementation of the pilot activity on coral reef monitoring as part of the UNEP-IOC-WMO Long-Term Global Monitoring System of coastal and near-shore phenomena related to climate change. This would ensure coordination of various activities aimed at assessing the scale of impacts on natural environments and socio-economic systems particularly in the case of low-lying islands and other areas vulnerable to climate change and sea level rise. The work of the Task Team should ultimately assist the Governments concerned in mitigating the impacts of such changes.

  19. The impact of brief team communication, leadership and team behavior training on ad hoc team performance in trauma care settings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roberts, Nicole K; Williams, Reed G; Schwind, Cathy J; Sutyak, John A; McDowell, Christopher; Griffen, David; Wall, Jarrod; Sanfey, Hilary; Chestnut, Audra; Meier, Andreas H; Wohltmann, Christopher; Clark, Ted R; Wetter, Nathan

    2014-02-01

    Communication breakdowns and care coordination problems often cause preventable adverse patient care events, which can be especially acute in the trauma setting, in which ad hoc teams have little time for advanced planning. Existing teamwork curricula do not address the particular issues associated with ad hoc emergency teams providing trauma care. Ad hoc trauma teams completed a preinstruction simulated trauma encounter and were provided with instruction on appropriate team behaviors and team communication. Teams completed a postinstruction simulated trauma encounter immediately afterward and 3 weeks later, then completed a questionnaire. Blinded raters rated videotapes of the simulations. Participants expressed high levels of satisfaction and intent to change practice after the intervention. Participants changed teamwork and communication behavior on the posttest, and changes were sustained after a 3-week interval, though there was some loss of retention. Brief training exercises can change teamwork and communication behaviors on ad hoc trauma teams. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. Team Sport in the Workplace? A RE-AIM Process Evaluation of ‘Changing the Game’

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrew Brinkley

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Background: The workplace is a priority setting to promote health. Team sports can be an effective way to promote both physical and social health. This study evaluated the potential enablers and barriers for outcomes of a workplace team sports intervention programme‘Changing the Game’ (CTG. This study was conducted in a FTSE 100 services organisation. This process evaluation was conducted using the RE-AIM framework. Methods: A mixed methods approach was used. Data were collected from the participants in the intervention group prior to, during and at the end of the intervention using interviews (n = 12, a focus group (n = 5, and questionnaires (n = 17. Organisational documentation was collected, and a research diary was recorded by the lead author. The evidence collected was triangulated to examine the reach, efficacy, adoption, implementation and maintenance of the programme. Data was assessed through template analysis, and questionnaire data were analysed using multiple regression and a series of univariate ANOVAs. Results: CTG improved VO2 Max, interpersonal communication, and physical activity behaviour (efficacy over 12-weeks. This may be attributed to the supportive approach adopted within the design and delivery of the programme (implementation. Individual and organisational factors challenged the adoption and maintenance of the intervention. The recruitment and communication strategy limited the number of employees the programme could reach. Conclusion: The process evaluation suggests addressing the culture within workplaces may better support the reach, adoption and maintenance of workplace team sport programmes. Future research should consider investigating and applying these findings across a range of industries and sectors.

  1. Interprofessional education increases knowledge, promotes team building, and changes practice in the care of Parkinson's disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cohen, Elaine V; Hagestuen, Ruth; González-Ramos, Gladys; Cohen, Hillel W; Bassich, Celia; Book, Elaine; Bradley, Kathy P; Carter, Julie H; Di Minno, Mariann; Gardner, Joan; Giroux, Monique; González, Manny J; Holten, Sandra; Joseph, Ricky; Kornegay, Denise D; Simpson, Patricia A; Tomaino, Concetta M; Vandendolder, Richard P; Walde-Douglas, Maria; Wichmann, Rosemary; Morgan, John C

    2016-01-01

    Examine outcomes for the National Parkinson Foundation (NPF) Allied Team Training for Parkinson (ATTP), an interprofessional education (IPE) program in Parkinson's disease (PD) and team-based care for medicine, nursing, occupational, physical and music therapies, physician assistant, social work and speech-language pathology disciplines. Healthcare professionals need education in evidence-based PD practices and working effectively in teams. Few evidence-based models of IPE in PD exist. Knowledge about PD, team-based care, the role of other disciplines and attitudes towards healthcare teams were measured before and after a protocol-driven training program. Knowledge, attitudes and practice changes were again measured at 6-month post-training. Trainee results were compared to results of controls. Twenty-six NPF-ATTP trainings were held across the U.S. (2003-2013). Compared to control participants (n = 100), trainees (n = 1468) showed statistically significant posttest improvement in all major outcomes, including self-perceived (p < 0.001) and objective knowledge (p < 0.001), Understanding Role of Other Disciplines (p < 0.001), Attitudes Toward Health Care Teams Scale (p < 0.001), and the Attitudes Toward Value of Teams (p < 0.001) subscale. Despite some decline, significant improvements were largely sustained at six-month post-training. Qualitative analyses confirmed post-training practice changes. The NPF-ATTP model IPE program showed sustained positive gains in knowledge of PD, team strategies and role of other disciplines, team attitudes, and important practice improvements. Further research should examine longer-term outcomes, objectively measure practice changes and mediators, and determine impact on patient outcomes. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Creating and supporting a mixed methods health services research team.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bowers, Barbara; Cohen, Lauren W; Elliot, Amy E; Grabowski, David C; Fishman, Nancy W; Sharkey, Siobhan S; Zimmerman, Sheryl; Horn, Susan D; Kemper, Peter

    2013-12-01

    To use the experience from a health services research evaluation to provide guidance in team development for mixed methods research. The Research Initiative Valuing Eldercare (THRIVE) team was organized by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to evaluate The Green House nursing home culture change program. This article describes the development of the research team and provides insights into how funders might engage with mixed methods research teams to maximize the value of the team. Like many mixed methods collaborations, the THRIVE team consisted of researchers from diverse disciplines, embracing diverse methodologies, and operating under a framework of nonhierarchical, shared leadership that required new collaborations, engagement, and commitment in the context of finite resources. Strategies to overcome these potential obstacles and achieve success included implementation of a Coordinating Center, dedicated time for planning and collaborating across researchers and methodologies, funded support for in-person meetings, and creative optimization of resources. Challenges are inevitably present in the formation and operation of effective mixed methods research teams. However, funders and research teams can implement strategies to promote success. © Health Research and Educational Trust.

  3. An assessment of cultural values and resident-centered culture change in U.S. nursing facilities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Banaszak-Holl, Jane; Castle, Nicholas G; Lin, Michael; Spreitzer, Gretchen

    2013-01-01

    Culture change initiatives propose to improve care by addressing the lack of managerial supports and prevalent stressful work environments in the industry; however, little is known about how culture change facilities differ from facilities in the industry that have not chosen to affiliate with the resident-centered care movements. The aim of this study was to evaluate representation of organizational culture values within a random sample of U.S. nursing home facilities using the competing values framework and to determine whether organizational values are related to membership in resident-centered culture change initiatives. We collected reports of cultural values using a well-established competing values framework instrument in a random survey of facility administrators and directors of nursing within all states. We received responses from 57% of the facilities that were mailed the survey. Directors of nursing and administrators did not differ significantly in their reports of culture and facility measures combined their responses. Nursing facilities favored market-focused cultural values on average, and developmental values, key to innovation, were the least common across all nursing homes. Approximately 17% of the facilities reported that all cultural values were strong within their facilities. Only high developmental cultural values were linked to participation in culture change initiatives. Culture change facilities were not different from non-culture change facilities in the promotion of employee focus as organizational culture, as emphasized in group culture values. Likewise, culture change facilities were also not more likely to have hierarchical or market foci than non-culture change facilities. Our results counter the argument that culture change facilities have a stronger internal employee focus than facilities more generally but do show that culture change facilities report stronger developmental cultures than non-culture change facilities, which

  4. Action research, simulation, team communication, and bringing the tacit into voice society for simulation in healthcare.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Forsythe, Lydia

    2009-01-01

    In healthcare, professionals usually function in a time-constrained paradigm because of the nature of care delivery functions and the acute patient populations usually in need of emergent and urgent care. This leaves little, if no time for team reflection, or team processing as a collaborative action. Simulation can be used to create a safe space as a structure for recognition and innovation to continue to develop a culture of safety for healthcare delivery and patient care. To create and develop a safe space, three qualitative modified action research institutional review board-approved studies were developed using simulation to explore team communication as an unfolding in the acute care environment of the operating room. An action heuristic was used for data collection by capturing the participants' narratives in the form of collaborative recall and reflection to standardize task, process, and language. During the qualitative simulations, the team participants identified and changed multiple tasks, process, and language items. The simulations contributed to positive changes for task and efficiencies, team interactions, and overall functionality of the team. The studies demonstrated that simulation can be used in healthcare to define safe spaces to practice, reflect, and develop collaborative relationships, which contribute to the realization of a culture of safety.

  5. Change champions at the grassroots level: practice innovation using team process.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scott, J; Rantz, M

    1994-01-01

    A nursing administrative group recognized the critical value of staff participation in the formulation of a restructuring project and guidance throughout the project. Using a team approach, a task force of three staff nurses, two assistant nurse managers, a nurse clinician, a nursing practice specialist, and a representative from nursing administration came together. They were given responsibility for researching and setting the course for restructuring change. A unit-based team including a unit secretary, a nursing attendant, licensed practical nurse (LPN), and six staff nurses was formed from volunteers from the 40-bed medicine unit to develop that unit's plan for restructuring. The unit-based team analyzed patient care needs and staff member roles. They created a new patient care technician role as well as a nurse care coordinator role. The role of the LPN was envisioned as providing technical support. Staffing mix was also determined by the unit-based team. Both the task force and the unit-based team continue to evaluate, troubleshoot, and take every opportunity to sell their vision to solidify it further as the foundation for the future of patient care services at the hospital. The process will soon move forward to a large surgical unit.

  6. The IRSC Baccalaureate Transition Team: Leading Change in a Culture of Communication, Collaboration, and Creativity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Massey, Edwin R.; Locke, Mary G.; Neuhard, Ian P.

    2009-01-01

    No other Florida community college has successfully developed and launched nine baccalaureate degree programs at one time. Indian River State College accomplished this goal--and gained Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) Level II accreditation--in 12 months by establishing a college-wide Baccalaureate Transition Team within a…

  7. Development of a Novel Nuclear Safety Culture Evaluation Method for an Operating Team Using Probabilistic Safety Analysis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Han, Sangmin; Lee, Seung Min; Seong, Poong Hyun [KAIST, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2015-05-15

    IAEA defined safety culture as follows: 'Safety Culture is that assembly of characteristics and attitudes in organizations and individuals which establishes that, as an overriding priority, nuclear plant safety issues receive the attention warranted by their significance'. Also, celebrated behavioral scientist, Cooper, defined safety culture as,'safety culture is that observable degree of effort by which all organizational members direct their attention and actions toward improving safety on a daily basis' with his internal psychological, situational, and behavioral context model. With these various definitions and criteria of safety culture, several safety culture assessment methods have been developed to improve and manage safety culture. To develop a new quantitative safety culture evaluation method for an operating team, we unified and redefined safety culture assessment items. Then we modeled a new safety culture evaluation by adopting level 1 PSA concept. Finally, we suggested the criteria to obtain nominal success probabilities of assessment items by using 'operational definition'. To validate the suggested evaluation method, we analyzed the collected audio-visual recording data collected from a full scope main control room simulator of a NPP in Korea.

  8. Development of a Novel Nuclear Safety Culture Evaluation Method for an Operating Team Using Probabilistic Safety Analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Han, Sangmin; Lee, Seung Min; Seong, Poong Hyun

    2015-01-01

    IAEA defined safety culture as follows: 'Safety Culture is that assembly of characteristics and attitudes in organizations and individuals which establishes that, as an overriding priority, nuclear plant safety issues receive the attention warranted by their significance'. Also, celebrated behavioral scientist, Cooper, defined safety culture as,'safety culture is that observable degree of effort by which all organizational members direct their attention and actions toward improving safety on a daily basis' with his internal psychological, situational, and behavioral context model. With these various definitions and criteria of safety culture, several safety culture assessment methods have been developed to improve and manage safety culture. To develop a new quantitative safety culture evaluation method for an operating team, we unified and redefined safety culture assessment items. Then we modeled a new safety culture evaluation by adopting level 1 PSA concept. Finally, we suggested the criteria to obtain nominal success probabilities of assessment items by using 'operational definition'. To validate the suggested evaluation method, we analyzed the collected audio-visual recording data collected from a full scope main control room simulator of a NPP in Korea

  9. Diversity Management in Global Teams

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Clausen, Lisbeth

    2016-01-01

    implemented in the local organization? How are organizational culture, vision and images aligned with the team processes to accomplish the task? Does professional (functional) expertise influence team collaboration and finally how do individual experiences and coping strategies matter? The US and Japan...

  10. An Investigation of Agility Issues in Scrum Teams Using Agility Indicators

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pikkarainen, Minna; Wang, Xiaofeng

    Agile software development methods have emerged and become increasingly popular in recent years; yet the issues encountered by software development teams that strive to achieve agility using agile methods are yet to be explored systematically. Built upon a previous study that has established a set of indicators of agility, this study investigates what issues are manifested in software development teams using agile methods. It is focussed on Scrum teams particularly. In other words, the goal of the chapter is to evaluate Scrum teams using agility indicators and therefore to further validate previously presented agility indicators within the additional cases. A multiple case study research method is employed. The findings of the study reveal that the teams using Scrum do not necessarily achieve agility in terms of team autonomy, sharing, stability and embraced uncertainty. The possible reasons include previous organizational plan-driven culture, resistance towards the Scrum roles and changing resources.

  11. CHANGING ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE IN A ROMANIAN COMPANY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    CRIVEANU Maria Magdalena

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available The focus on studying the issue of change, migrated from the attention towards western countries, struggling with the growing spread of globalization, which affects all the changes in the environment, to the former socialist countries of Central and Eastern Europe, which have undergone dramatic changes since 1989. The most disturbing event was the transition from the centralized economy system to the market economy system, which led to a series of mutations at both psychological and organizational level. In this context, this article aims to identify both the dominant type of culture in the largest retail company in Romania and the dominant type of culture in other similar companies. This research project aims at studying the culture and its specificity within the company, but also its impact on society and on the organization. The issue at stake is a retail company in Romania, in which we tried to identify the dominant culture within the company and culture desired by its employees. We also conducted a parallel between the culture type identified in the Romanian company and the type of culture identified in other companies. The research results can be a starting point for the manager charged with change, as he can easily identify discrepancies between the dominant culture and culture desired by employees

  12. Perfecting Scientists' Collaboration and Problem-Solving Skills in the Virtual Team Environment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jabro, A.; Jabro, J.

    2012-04-01

    PPerfecting Scientists' Collaboration and Problem-Solving Skills in the Virtual Team Environment Numerous factors have contributed to the proliferation of conducting work in virtual teams at the domestic, national, and global levels: innovations in technology, critical developments in software, co-located research partners and diverse funding sources, dynamic economic and political environments, and a changing workforce. Today's scientists must be prepared to not only perform work in the virtual team environment, but to work effectively and efficiently despite physical and cultural barriers. Research supports that students who have been exposed to virtual team experiences are desirable in the professional and academic arenas. Research supports establishing and maintaining established protocols for communication behavior prior to task discussion provides for successful team outcomes. Research conducted on graduate and undergraduate virtual teams' behaviors led to the development of successful pedagogic practices and assessment strategies.

  13. Leading a Virtual Intercultural Team. Implications for Virtual Team Leaders

    OpenAIRE

    Chutnik, Monika; Grzesik, Katarzyna

    2009-01-01

    Increasing number of companies operate in the setup of teams whose members are geographically scattered and have different cultural origins. They work through access to the same digital network and communicate by means of modern technology. Sometimes they are located in different time zones and have never met each other face to face. This is the age of a virtual team leader. Virtual leadership in intercultural groups requires special skills from leaders. Many of these reflect leadership s...

  14. INSTITUTIONAL Change as Cultural Change. An Illustration by Chinese Postsocialist Transformation

    OpenAIRE

    EL KAROUNI, Ilyess

    2007-01-01

    Culture of a society reflects its social values. So, through Chinese experience, we want to show that institutional change is not only an economic or a political process but fundamentally a cultural one. It is therefore based on a change in values and mentalities. Like in a chemical reaction, we discern initial conditions, factors which triggered the reaction, catalysts and elements of synthesis. Chinese institutional change per se derived from a cultural shock induced by the Chinese economic...

  15. Leading team learning: what makes interprofessional teams learn to work well?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chatalalsingh, Carole; Reeves, Scott

    2014-11-01

    This article describes an ethnographic study focused on exploring leaders of team learning in well-established nephrology teams in an academic healthcare organization in Canada. Employing situational theory of leadership, the article provides details on how well established team members advance as "learning leaders". Data were gathered by ethnographic methods over a 9-month period with the members of two nephrology teams. These learning to care for the sick teams involved over 30 regulated health professionals, such as physicians, nurses, social workers, pharmacists, dietitians and other healthcare practitioners, staff, students and trainees, all of whom were collectively managing obstacles and coordinating efforts. Analysis involved an inductive thematic analysis of observations, reflections, and interview transcripts. The study indicated how well established members progress as team-learning leaders, and how they adapt to an interprofessional culture through the activities they employ to enable day-to-day learning. The article uses situational theory of leadership to generate a detailed illumination of the nature of leaders' interactions within an interprofessional context.

  16. Managing Intercultural Teams: The eOrganization Exercise

    Science.gov (United States)

    Humes, Michelle; Reilly, Anne H.

    2008-01-01

    In today's global environment, intercultural teams may become the most effective teams in an organization when their diversity is managed as an asset. However, because of miscommunication and conflict, intercultural teams often become dysfunctional. This experiential group exercise demonstrates how cultural dimensions such as individualism and…

  17. Culture, Urbanism and Changing Human Biology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schell, L M

    2014-04-03

    Anthropologists have long known that human activity driven by culture changes the environment. This is apparent in the archaeological record and through the study of the modern environment. Perhaps the largest change since the paleolithic era is the organization of human populations in cities. New environments can reshape human biology through evolution as shown by the evolution of the hominid lineage. Evolution is not the only process capable of reshaping our biology. Some changes in our human biology are adaptive and evolutionary while others are pathological. What changes in human biology may be wrought by the modern urban environment? One significant new change in the environment is the introduction of pollutants largely through urbanization. Pollutants can affect human biology in myriad ways. Evidence shows that human growth, reproduction, and cognitive functioning can be altered by some pollutants, and altered in different ways depending on the pollutant. Thus, pollutants have significance for human biologists and anthropologists generally. Further, they illustrate the bio-cultural interaction characterizing human change. Humans adapt by changing the environment, a cultural process, and then change biologically to adjust to that new environment. This ongoing, interactive process is a fundamental characteristic of human change over the millennia.

  18. Individual and team performance in team-handball: a review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wagner, Herbert; Finkenzeller, Thomas; Würth, Sabine; von Duvillard, Serge P

    2014-12-01

    Team handball is a complex sport game that is determined by the individual performance of each player as well as tactical components and interaction of the team. The aim of this review was to specify the elements of team-handball performance based on scientific studies and practical experience, and to convey perspectives for practical implication. Scientific studies were identified via data bases of PubMed, Web of Knowledge, SPORT Discus, Google Scholar, and Hercules. A total of 56 articles met the inclusion criteria. In addition, we supplemented the review with 13 additional articles, proceedings and book sections. It was found that the specific characteristics of team-handball with frequent intensity changes, team-handball techniques, hard body confrontations, mental skills and social factors specify the determinants of coordination, endurance, strength and cognition. Although we found comprehensive studies examining individual performance in team-handball players of different experience level, sex or age, there is a lack of studies, particularly for team-handball specific training, as well as cognition and social factors. Key PointsThe specific characteristics of team-handball with frequent intensity changes, specific skills, hard body confrontations, mental skills and social factors define the determinants of coordination, endurance, strength and cognition.To increase individual and team performance in team-handball specific training based on these determinants have been suggested.Although there are comprehensive studies examining individual performance in team-handball players of different experience level, sex, or age are published, there is a lack of training studies, particularly for team-handball specific techniques and endurance, as well as cognition and social factors.

  19. Trust in Diverse Teams

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Clausen, Lisbeth

    , maintaining team cohesiveness in multicultural teams to collaborate effectively presents a number of challenges. The present study employs the concept of trust to explore influences on team collaboration in high performing teams. The study is based on observation of teams in seven multinational corporations...... and interviews with managers from the US, Europe, China and Japan. The study presents a conceptual framework - a ‘trust buffer’ – which enables analysis and exemplification of the dynamics and challenges of teams as drivers of change. Each team has strategically important tasks, unique capacities and deal...... with change in particular ways: Each team is analyzed in relation to its global (HQ) mandate, local (national) stakeholders and organizational context. It is found that communication energy, resources and team mandate underscore the sense of trust in high performing teams. Diversity is understood...

  20. Improvisational Theater Games: Performatory Team-Building Activities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ingalls, Joan S.

    2018-01-01

    This article describes five improvisational theater games for building "teams" in the classroom and on the sports field. Particular attention is given to understanding how teams must challenge the hyper-individuality of modern culture. Improvisational theater games for team building are designed to help participants find a balance…

  1. Using Co-Design to Develop a Collective Leadership Intervention for Healthcare Teams to Improve Safety Culture

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marie E. Ward

    2018-06-01

    Full Text Available While co-design methods are becoming more popular in healthcare; there is a gap within the peer-reviewed literature on how to do co-design in practice. This paper addresses this gap by delineating the approach taken in the co-design of a collective leadership intervention to improve healthcare team performance and patient safety culture. Over the course of six workshops healthcare staff, patient representatives and advocates, and health systems researchers collaboratively co-designed the intervention. The inputs to the process, exercises and activities that took place during the workshops and the outputs of the workshops are described. The co-design method, while challenging at times, had many benefits including grounding the intervention in the real-world experiences of healthcare teams. Implications of the method for health systems research are discussed.

  2. Being Right Isn't Always Enough: NFL Culture and Team Physicians' Conflict of Interest.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McKinney, Ross

    2016-11-01

    The job of being a sports team physician is difficult, regardless of the level, from high school to the National Football League. When a sports league receives the intensity of attention leveled at the NFL, though, a difficult occupation becomes even more challenging. Even for the NFL players themselves, players' best interests regarding health issues are often unclear. Football players are, as a lot, highly competitive individuals. They want to win, and they want to help the team win. It's a warrior culture, and respect is earned by playing hurt. Should the team physician respect a player's autonomy when this means allowing him to make choices that might lead to further personal harm, especially if the player's choices align with the preference of the coach and management? Or should the doctor set limits and balance the player's choices with a paternalistic set of constraints, perhaps in opposition to both the player's and the team's desires? Simplification of this web of conflicts of interest is the goal of the model proposed by Glenn Cohen, Holly Lynch, and Christopher Deubert. In my view, their proposal is very clever. As an idea, it meets the expectations its authors set, namely, to minimize the problem of conflict of interest in the delivery of health care services to NFL football players. The ethics of the proposal align well with certain moral goals, like treating the player's interests more fairly and treating the player's health as an end instead of as the means to an end. But will such a proposal ever make headway in the pressurized environment of the NFL? © 2016 The Hastings Center.

  3. On Managing Cultural Integration and Cultural Change Processes in Mergers and Acquisitions

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bijlsma-Frankema, K.M.

    2001-01-01

    This article discusses success factors of cultural integration and cultural change processes in mergers and acquisitions. The focus of the project is on the effects of frictions between structure and cultures, and frictions between different cultures, on the functioning of the organisation. The

  4. Virtual team collaboration

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bjørn, Pernille; Ngwenyama, Ojelanki

    2009-01-01

    Managing international teams with geographically distributed participants is a complex task. The risk of communication breakdowns increases due to cultural and organizational differences grounded in the geographical distribution of the participants. Such breakdowns indicate general misunderstandi...

  5. GLOBAL TEAM MANAGEMENT: AN ESSENTIAL COMPONENT OF FIRMS’ INNOVATION STRATEGY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    AZİM ÖZTÜRK

    2013-05-01

    Full Text Available In the world marketplace some firms compete successfully and others fail to gain global competitive advantage. Some researchers argue that innovation strategy is the answer to successfully meeting today’s and tomorrow’s global business challenges.  An important aspect of the innovation strategy is managing global teams effectively.  Thus, firms of tomorrow will be characterized by values such as teamwork, innovation, cultural diversity, and a global mindset.  The rapid globalization of business, and increasing competition will continue to drive the need for effective teamwork and/in innovation management.  The purpose of our research is to gain insight into global team management and its role as a major component of innovation strategy.  We discuss the changing and developing functions of teamwork, examine the characteristics of global teams, and finally offer a process to achieve effective global team management.

  6. Leader–Member Skill Distance, Team Cooperation, and Team Performance

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tian, Longwei; Li, Yuan; Li, Peter Ping

    2015-01-01

    –member skill distance on team performance. We find the empirical support for our views with a mixed-methods design: a qualitative study interviewing informants in different cultures to clarify the psychological mechanisms, and also a quantitative study analyzing the data from US’s National Basketball...

  7. The effects of job satisfaction, employee commitment, workplace friendship and team culture on service recovery performance

    OpenAIRE

    Abednego Feehi Okoe; Henry Boateng; Tiniwah Deborah Mensah

    2016-01-01

    The existing literature has called for more studies to be conducted on how human resource activities affect service recovery performance. This study therefore ascertains the effects of Job Satisfaction, employee Commitment, Workplace Friendship and Team Culture on Service Recovery Performance. The survey research design was used in this study. The participants were frontline employees from the various service sectors in Ghana. The convenience sampling was used as the sampling technique. A tot...

  8. Working with sports organizations and teams.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McDuff, David R; Garvin, Michelle

    2016-12-01

    Athletes and coaches at all competitive levels will utilize sports performance and psychiatric services at very high rates if the services are offered on-site and free of charge and are broad in scope and culturally sensitive. Services should be available throughout the team year and cover areas such as team building, mental preparation, stress control, substance prevention, sleep and energy regulation, injury recovery, crisis intervention, and mental disorder treatment. The staff offering these services should be diverse by gender, profession, and culture, and the fees should be paid by the organization. When these services are endorsed by the team's leaders and integrated with the athletic training/medical/player development staff, their utilization will grow quickly and lead to positive outcomes individually and collectively.

  9. Interprofessional team management in pediatric critical care: some challenges and possible solutions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stocker, Martin; Pilgrim, Sina B; Burmester, Margarita; Allen, Meredith L; Gijselaers, Wim H

    2016-01-01

    Aiming for and ensuring effective patient safety is a major priority in the management and culture of every health care organization. The pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) has become a workplace with a high diversity of multidisciplinary physicians and professionals. Therefore, delivery of high-quality care with optimal patient safety in a PICU is dependent on effective interprofessional team management. Nevertheless, ineffective interprofessional teamwork remains ubiquitous. We based our review on the framework for interprofessional teamwork recently published in association with the UK Centre for Advancement of Interprofessional Education. Articles were selected to achieve better understanding and to include and translate new ideas and concepts. The barrier between autonomous nurses and doctors in the PICU within their silos of specialization, the failure of shared mental models, a culture of disrespect, and the lack of empowering parents as team members preclude interprofessional team management and patient safety. A mindset of individual responsibility and accountability embedded in a network of equivalent partners, including the patient and their family members, is required to achieve optimal interprofessional care. Second, working competently as an interprofessional team is a learning process. Working declared as a learning process, psychological safety, and speaking up are pivotal factors to learning in daily practice. Finally, changes in small steps at the level of the microlevel unit are the bases to improve interprofessional team management and patient safety. Once small things with potential impact can be changed in one's own unit, engagement of health care professionals occurs and projects become accepted. Bottom-up patient safety initiatives encouraging participation of every single care provider by learning effective interprofessional team management within daily practice may be an effective way of fostering patient safety.

  10. Creating a culture to support patient safety. The contribution of a multidisciplinary team development programme to collaborative working.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benson, Anne

    2010-01-01

    Effective teamwork is crucial for ensuring the provision of safe high quality care. Teams whose members collaborate through questioning, reflecting on and reviewing their work, offering each other feedback and where reporting is encouraged are more likely to promote a safe environment of care. This paper describes a multidisciplinary development programme intended to increase team effectiveness. The teams that took part developed their ability to work collaboratively together with levels of open dialogue, critical reflection and direct feedback increasing. The paper goes on to discuss aspects of the programme which were helpful in enabling these positive changes and concludes with a number of recommendations for those commissioning and facilitating team development initiatives. These include: the need for people from different disciplines and different levels within the hierarchy to spend time reviewing their work together, the need to explicitly address issues of power and authority, the usefulness taking an action orientated approach and requiring participants to work on real issues together, the importance of providing sufficient time and resource to support people to work with the challenges associated with implementing change and addressing team dynamics, The importance of skilled facilitation.

  11. Organisational culture and change: implementing person-centred care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carlström, Eric D; Ekman, Inger

    2012-01-01

    The purpose of this paper is to explore the connection between organisational cultures and the employee's resistance to change at five hospital wards in Western Sweden. Staff had experienced extensive change during a research project implementing person-centred care (PCC) for patients with chronic heart failure. Surveys were sent out to 170 nurses. The survey included two instruments--the Organisational Values Questionnaire (OVQ) and the Resistance to Change Scale (RTC). The results indicate that a culture with a dominating focus on social competence decreases "routine seeking behaviour", i.e. tendencies to uphold stable routines and a reluctance to give up old habits. The results indicate that a culture of flexibility, cohesion and trust negatively covariate with the overall need for a stable and well-defined framework. An instrument that pinpoints the conditions of a particular healthcare setting can improve the results of a change project. Managers can use instruments such as the ones used in this study to investigate and plan for change processes. Earlier studies of organisational culture and its impact on the performance of healthcare organisations have often investigated culture at the highest level of the organisation. In this study, the culture of the production units--i.e. the health workers in different hospital wards--was described. Hospital wards develop their own culture and the cultures of different wards are mirrored in the hospital.

  12. Managing Communication within Virtual Intercultural Teams.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grosse, Christine Uber

    2002-01-01

    Suggests that business students need to be prepared to manage the communication of intercultural teams. Discusses strategies for success such as: developing a network of good relationships built on trust and understanding; showing respect for other cultures and languages; and understanding how diversity strengthens the team. (SG)

  13. It's a team game: exploring factors that influence team experience

    OpenAIRE

    Martin, Eleanor

    2015-01-01

    Many multiplayer games feature teams, and whether they are pitted against each other or against the game itself it seems likely that the way these teams bond will affect the players' experience. What are the factors that influence the experience of being a team member in a game? To what extent can the game designer manipulate the cohesion of the teams by changing the game design? How does the satisfaction of the player with their team relate to their feeling of cohesion? How does cohesion dif...

  14. Helping fluid teams work: A research agenda for effective team adaptation in healthcare.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bedwell, Wendy L; Ramsay, P Scott; Salas, Eduardo

    2012-12-01

    Although membership changes within teams are a common practice, research into this phenomenon is relatively nascent (Summers et al.; Acad Manag J 55:314-338, 2012). The small literature base, however, does provide insight into skills required for effective adaptation. The purpose of this effort is to provide a brief research synopsis, leading to research hypotheses about medical team training. By generalizing previous scientific findings regarding skills required for effective membership adaptation in different kinds of teams, we posit mechanisms whereby teamwork training might also support adaptation among medical teams (Burke et al.; Qual & Saf Health Care 13:i96-i104, 2004 and Salas et al.; Theor Issues Ergon Sci 8:381-394, 2007). We provide an overview of the membership change literature. Drawing upon literature from both within and outside of the medical domain, we suggest a framework and research propositions to aid in research efforts designed to determine the best content for helping to create adaptable medical teams through team training efforts. For effective adaptation, we suggest ad hoc teams should be trained on generalizable teamwork skills, to share just "enough" and the "right" information, to engage in shared leadership, and to shift from explicit to implicit coordination. Our overarching goal was to present what is known from the general research literature on successful team adaptation to membership changes, and to propose a research agenda to evaluate whether findings generalize to member changes in medical teams.

  15. Implementing Role-Changing Versus Time-Changing Innovations in Health Care: Differences in Helpfulness of Staff Improvement Teams, Management, and Network for Learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nembhard, Ingrid M; Morrow, Christopher T; Bradley, Elizabeth H

    2015-12-01

    Health care organizations often fail in their effort to implement care-improving innovations. This article differentiates role-changing innovations, altering what workers do, from time-changing innovations, altering when tasks are performed or for how long. We examine our hypothesis that the degree to which access to groups that can alter organizational learning--staff, management, and external network--facilitates implementation depends on innovation type. Our longitudinal study using ordinal logistic regression and survey data on 517 hospitals' implementation of evidence-based practices for treating heart attack confirmed our thesis for factors granting access to each group: improvement team's representativeness (of affected staff), senior management engagement, and network membership. Although team representativeness and network membership were positively associated with implementing role-changing practices, senior management engagement was not. In contrast, senior management engagement was positively associated with implementing time-changing practices, whereas team representativeness was not, and network membership was not unless there was limited management engagement. These findings advance implementation science by explaining mixed results across past studies: Nature of change for workers alters potential facilitators' effects on implementation. © The Author(s) 2015.

  16. Visualizing team characteristics from the HRA perspective-its feasibility

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Park, Jinkyun [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2014-05-15

    In this study, as a method to visualize the nature of the team characteristics, the applicability of Hofstede's culture model is investigated. In this study, as a promising solution for visualizing the team characteristics, the applicability of Hofstede's culture model is briefly investigated. As a result, it is expected that the use of Hofstede's culture model allows us to have another viewpoint that is helpful for understanding the relationship between the team characteristics and the associated team performance. Actually, the following excerpts advocate the importance of a cultural aspect in understanding the responses of operating personnel working in NPPs: 'However, the Fukushima Daiichi NPP accident identified significant and new human, organisational and cultural challenges that also need to be addressed. The accident revealed the importance of applying existing concepts and technical knowledge throughout the decision-making processes for design, operation and accident management.' (p. 54) 'Nuclear industry culture has been described as culture of control where organisations and workers emphasise that risks are in control and they do not appreciate the inherent uncertainties. This has also been recognised by some of the Fukushima accident investigations. In reality many activities in the nuclear industry, for example maintenance, design work, construction of new plants and emergency management involve dealing with unforeseen situations and performing underspecified work tasks. In order to smoothly cope with these the culture of the organisation need to support flexibility and adaptability to some degree.' (p. 19) Therefore, although this study is still premature, it is reasonable to say that this study is a good starting point to scrutinize the nature of the team characteristics in a systematic manner, at least to some extent.

  17. Communication Skills to Develop Trusting Relationships on Global Virtual Engineering Capstone Teams

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zaugg, Holt; Davies, Randall S.

    2013-01-01

    As universities seek to provide cost-effective, cross-cultural experiences using global virtual (GV) teams, the "soft" communication skills typical of all teams, increases in importance for GV teams. Students need to be taught how to navigate through cultural issues and virtual tool issues to build strong trusting relationships with…

  18. Understanding Culture and Influencing Change

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-03-01

    difference to significantly change the society from a collectivist to individualist culture .42 Pakistan scores fourteen which indicates a strongly...score lower than fifty indicating a more collectivist society. This helps the strategic leader to appreciate the importance class and culture play on...Pakistan which possess strong uncertainty avoidance scores (70) and low individualistic scores (14) - and are collectivists - rules and laws are

  19. The culture of patient safety from the perspective of the pediatric emergency nursing team.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Macedo, Taise Rocha; Rocha, Patricia Kuerten; Tomazoni, Andreia; Souza, Sabrina de; Anders, Jane Cristina; Davis, Karri

    2016-01-01

    To identify the patient safety culture in pediatric emergencies from the perspective of the nursing team. A quantitative, cross-sectional survey research study with a sample composed of 75 professionals of the nursing team. Data was collected between September and November 2014 in three Pediatric Emergency units by applying the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture instrument. Data were submitted to descriptive analysis. Strong areas for patient safety were not found, with areas identified having potential being: Expectations and actions from supervisors/management to promote patient safety and teamwork. Areas identified as critical were: Non-punitive response to error and support from hospital management for patient safety. The study found a gap between the safety culture and pediatric emergencies, but it found possibilities of transformation that will contribute to the safety of pediatric patients. Nursing professionals need to become protagonists in the process of replacing the current paradigm for a culture focused on safety. The replication of this study in other institutions is suggested in order to improve the current health care scenario. Identificar a cultura de segurança do paciente em emergências pediátricas, na perspectiva da equipe de enfermagem. Pesquisa quantitativa, tipo survey transversal. Amostra composta por 75 profissionais da equipe de enfermagem. Dados coletados entre setembro e novembro de 2014, em três Emergências Pediátricas, aplicando o instrumento Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture. Dados submetidos à análise descritiva. Não foram encontradas áreas de força para a segurança do paciente, sendo identificadas áreas com potencial de assim se tornarem: Expectativas e ações do supervisor/chefia para promoção da segurança do paciente e Trabalho em equipe. Como área crítica identificaram-se: Resposta não punitiva ao erro e Apoio da gestão hospitalar para segurança do paciente. O estudo apontou distanciamento

  20. Changes in information behavior in clinical teams after introduction of a clinical librarian service

    Science.gov (United States)

    Urquhart, Christine; Turner, Janet; Durbin, Jane; Ryan, Jean

    2007-01-01

    Objectives: The eighteen-month evaluation of a clinical librarian project (October 2003–March 2005) conducted in North Wales, United Kingdom (UK) assessed the benefits of clinical librarian support to clinical teams, the impact of mediated searching services, and the effectiveness of information skills training, including journal club support. Methods: The evaluation assessed changes in teams' information-seeking behavior and their willingness to delegate searching to a clinical librarian. Baseline (n = 69 responses, 73% response rate) and final questionnaire (n = 57, 77% response rate) surveys were complemented by telephone and face-to-face interviews (n = 33) among 3 sites served. Those attending information skills training sessions (n = 130) completed evaluations at the session and were surveyed 1 month after training (n = 24 questionnaire responses, n = 12 interviews). Results: Health professionals in clinical teams reported that they were more willing to undertake their own searching, but also more willing to delegate some literature searching, than at the start of the project. The extent of change depended on the team and the type of information required. Information skills training was particularly effective when organized around journal clubs. Conclusions: Collaboration with a clinical librarian increased clinician willingness to seek information. Clinical librarian services should leverage structured training opportunities such as journal clubs. PMID:17252062

  1. Political Culture and Covalent Bonding. A Conceptual Model of Political Culture Change

    OpenAIRE

    Camelia Florela Voinea

    2015-01-01

    Our class of models aims at explaining the dynamics of political attitude change by means of the dynamic changes in values, beliefs, norms and knowledge with which it is associated. The model constructs a political culture perspective over the relationship between macro and micro levels of a society and polity. The model defines the bonding mechanism as a basic mechanism of the political culture change by taking inspiration from the valence bonding theory in Chemistry, which has inspired the ...

  2. Virtual Team Governance: Addressing the Governance Mechanisms and Virtual Team Performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhan, Yihong; Bai, Yu; Liu, Ziheng

    As technology has improved and collaborative software has been developed, virtual teams with geographically dispersed members spread across diverse physical locations have become increasingly prominent. Virtual team is supported by advancing communication technologies, which makes virtual teams able to largely transcend time and space. Virtual teams have changed the corporate landscape, which are more complex and dynamic than traditional teams since the members of virtual teams are spread on diverse geographical locations and their roles in the virtual team are different. Therefore, how to realize good governance of virtual team and arrive at good virtual team performance is becoming critical and challenging. Good virtual team governance is essential for a high-performance virtual team. This paper explores the performance and the governance mechanism of virtual team. It establishes a model to explain the relationship between the performance and the governance mechanisms in virtual teams. This paper is focusing on managing virtual teams. It aims to find the strategies to help business organizations to improve the performance of their virtual teams and arrive at the objectives of good virtual team management.

  3. Sustaining organizational culture change in health systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Willis, Cameron David; Saul, Jessie; Bevan, Helen; Scheirer, Mary Ann; Best, Allan; Greenhalgh, Trisha; Mannion, Russell; Cornelissen, Evelyn; Howland, David; Jenkins, Emily; Bitz, Jennifer

    2016-01-01

    The questions addressed by this review are: first, what are the guiding principles underlying efforts to stimulate sustained cultural change; second, what are the mechanisms by which these principles operate; and, finally, what are the contextual factors that influence the likelihood of these principles being effective? The paper aims to discuss these issues. The authors conducted a literature review informed by rapid realist review methodology that examined how interventions interact with contexts and mechanisms to influence the sustainability of cultural change. Reference and expert panelists assisted in refining the research questions, systematically searching published and grey literature, and helping to identify interactions between interventions, mechanisms and contexts. Six guiding principles were identified: align vision and action; make incremental changes within a comprehensive transformation strategy; foster distributed leadership; promote staff engagement; create collaborative relationships; and continuously assess and learn from change. These principles interact with contextual elements such as local power distributions, pre-existing values and beliefs and readiness to engage. Mechanisms influencing how these principles sustain cultural change include activation of a shared sense of urgency and fostering flexible levels of engagement. The principles identified in this review, along with the contexts and mechanisms that influence their effectiveness, are useful domains for policy and practice leaders to explore when grappling with cultural change. These principles are sufficiently broad to allow local flexibilities in adoption and application. This is the first study to adopt a realist approach for understanding how changes in organizational culture may be sustained. Through doing so, this review highlights the broad principles by which organizational action may be organized within enabling contextual settings.

  4. Culture and cognition in health systems change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Evans, Jenna M; Baker, G Ross; Berta, Whitney; Barnsley, Jan

    2015-01-01

    Large-scale change involves modifying not only the structures and functions of multiple organizations, but also the mindsets and behaviours of diverse stakeholders. This paper focuses on the latter: the informal, less visible, and often neglected psychological and social factors implicated in change efforts. The purpose of this paper is to differentiate between the concepts of organizational culture and mental models, to argue for the value of applying a shared mental models (SMM) framework to large-scale change, and to suggest directions for future research. The authors provide an overview of SMM theory and use it to explore the dynamic relationship between culture and cognition. The contributions and limitations of the theory to change efforts are also discussed. Culture and cognition are complementary perspectives, providing insight into two different levels of the change process. SMM theory draws attention to important questions that add value to existing perspectives on large-scale change. The authors outline these questions for future research and argue that research and practice in this domain may be best served by focusing less on the potentially narrow goal of "achieving consensus" and more on identifying, understanding, and managing cognitive convergences and divergences as part of broader research and change management programmes. Drawing from both cultural and cognitive paradigms can provide researchers with a more complete picture of the processes by which coordinated action are achieved in complex change initiatives in the healthcare domain.

  5. Forming a new clinical team for frail older people: can a group development model help?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, Elizabeth Susan; Pollard, Lorraine; Conroy, Simon; Clague-Baker, Nicola

    2014-03-01

    Integrated services which utilise the expertise of team members along care pathways are evolving. Changes in service structure and subsequent team working arrangements can be a challenge for practitioners expected to redefine how they work with one another. These services are particularly important for the care of frail older people. This exploratory study of one newly forming team presents the views of staff involved in establishing an interprofessional healthcare advisory team for older people within an acute hospital admissions unit. Staff experiences of forming a new service are aligned to a model of team development. The findings are presented as themes relating to the stages of team development and identify the challenges of setting up an integrated service alongside existing services. In particular, team process issues relating to the clarity of goals, role clarification, leadership, team culture and identity. Managers must allow time to ensure new services evolve before setting up evaluation studies for efficiency and effectiveness which might prove against the potential for interprofessional teamworking.

  6. People and Teams Matter in Organizational Change: Professionals’ and Managers’ Experiences of Changing Governance and Incentives in Primary Care

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allan, Helen T; Brearley, Sally; Byng, Richard; Christian, Sara; Clayton, Julie; Mackintosh, Maureen; Price, Linnie; Smith, Pam; Ross, Fiona

    2014-01-01

    ObjectivesTo explore the experiences of governance and incentives during organizational change for managers and clinical staff. Study SettingThree primary care settings in England in 2006–2008. Study DesignData collection involved three group interviews with 32 service users, individual interviews with 32 managers, and 56 frontline professionals in three sites. The Realistic Evaluation framework was used in analysis to examine the effects of new policies and their implementation. Principal FindingsIntegrating new interprofessional teams to work effectively is a slow process, especially if structures in place do not acknowledge the painful feelings involved in change and do not support staff during periods of uncertainty. ConclusionsEliciting multiple perspectives, often dependent on individual occupational positioning or place in new team configurations, illuminates the need to incorporate the emotional as well as technocratic and system factors when implementing change. Some suggestions are made for facilitating change in health care systems. These are discussed in the context of similar health care reform initiatives in the United States. PMID:23829292

  7. Self-reported teamwork in family health team practices in Ontario

    Science.gov (United States)

    Howard, Michelle; Brazil, Kevin; Akhtar-Danesh, Noori; Agarwal, Gina

    2011-01-01

    Abstract Objective To determine the organizational predictors of higher scores on team climate measures as an indicator of the functioning of a family health team (FHT). Design Cross-sectional study using a mailed survey. Setting Family health teams in Ontario. Participants Twenty-one of 144 consecutively approached FHTs; 628 team members were surveyed. Main outcome measures Scores on the team climate inventory, which assessed organizational culture type (group, developmental, rational, or hierarchical); leadership perceptions; and organizational factors, such as use of electronic medical records (EMRs), team composition, governance of the FHT, location, meetings, and time since FHT initiation. All analyses were adjusted for clustering of respondents within the FHT using a mixed random-intercepts model. Results The response rate was 65.8% (413 of 628); 2 were excluded from analysis, for a total of 411 participants. At the time of survey completion, there was a median of 4 physicians, 11 other health professionals, and 4 management and clerical staff per FHT. The average team climate score was 3.8 out of a possible 5. In multivariable regression analysis, leadership score, group and developmental culture types, and use of more EMR capabilities were associated with higher team climate scores. Other organizational factors, such as number of sites and size of group, were not associated with the team climate score. Conclusion Culture, leadership, and EMR functionality, rather than organizational composition of the teams (eg, number of professionals on staff, practice size), were the most important factors in predicting climate in primary care teams. PMID:21571706

  8. 8 ways to build collaborative teams.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gratton, Lynda; Erickson, Tamara J

    2007-11-01

    Executing complex initiatives like acquisitions or an IT overhaul requires a breadth of knowledge that can be provided only by teams that are large, diverse, virtual, and composed of highly educated specialists. The irony is, those same characteristics have an alarming tendency to decrease collaboration on a team. What's a company to do? Gratton, a London Business School professor, and Erickson, president of the Concours Institute, studied 55 large teams and identified those with strong collaboration despite their complexity. Examining the team dynamics and environment at firms ranging from Royal Bank of Scotland to Nokia to Marriott, the authors isolated eight success factors: (1) "Signature" relationship practices that build bonds among the staff, in memorable ways that are particularly suited to a company's business. (2) Role models of collaboration among executives, which help cooperation trickle down to the staff. (3) The establishment of a "gift culture," in which managers support employees by mentoring them daily, instead of a transactional "tit-for-tat culture", (4) Training in relationship skills, such as communication and conflict resolution. (5) A sense of community, which corporate HR can foster by sponsoring group activities. (6) Ambidextrous leadership, or leaders who are both task-oriented and relationship-oriented. (7) Good use of heritage relationships, by populating teams with members who know and trust one another. (8) Role clarity and task ambiguity, achieved by defining individual roles sharply but giving teams latitude on approach. As teams have grown from a standard of 20 members to comprise 100 or more, team practices that once worked well no longer apply. The new complexity of teams requires companies to increase their capacity for collaboration, by making long-term investments that build relationships and trust, and smart near-term decisions about how teams are formed and run.

  9. Political Culture and Covalent Bonding. A Conceptual Model of Political Culture Change

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Camelia Florela Voinea

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Our class of models aims at explaining the dynamics of political attitude change by means of the dynamic changes in values, beliefs, norms and knowledge with which it is associated. The model constructs a political culture perspective over the relationship between macro and micro levels of a society and polity. The model defines the bonding mechanism as a basic mechanism of the political culture change by taking inspiration from the valence bonding theory in Chemistry, which has inspired the elaboration of the mechanisms and processes underlying the political culture emergence and the political culture control over the relationship between macro-level political entities and the micro-level individual agents. The model introduces operational definitions of the individual agent in political culture terms. The simulation model is used for the study of emergent political culture change phenomena based on individual interactions (emergent or upward causation as well as the ways in which the macro entities and emergent phenomena influence in turn the behaviors of individual agents (downward causation. The model is used in the ongoing research concerning the quality of democracy and political participation of the citizens in the Eastern European societies after the Fall of Berlin Wall. It is particularly aimed at explaining the long-term effect of the communist legacy and of the communist polity concept and organization onto the political mentalities and behaviors of the citizens with respect to democratic institutions and political power. The model has major implications in political socialization, political involvement, political behavior, corruption and polity modeling.

  10. Optimisation of simulated team training through the application of learning theories: a debate for a conceptual framework

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-01-01

    cultural context and social conditions to the learning experience. Embedding in situ team training sessions into a teaching programme to enable repeated training and to assess regularly team performance is mandatory for a cultural change of sustained improvement of team performance and patient safety. PMID:24694243

  11. A Study of Power and Individualism in Virtual Teams: Trends, Challenges, and Solutions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jablonski, Deirdre

    2013-01-01

    This study investigated the relationship between cultural values and effectiveness of virtual team processes. In order to render an acceptable degree of comparison, four specific team outcomes of virtual team effectiveness were aligned on Hofstede's cultural dimensions of power distance and individualism. The lack of awareness of how power and…

  12. Medical Team Training Improves Team Performance: AOA Critical Issues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carpenter, James E; Bagian, James P; Snider, Rebecca G; Jeray, Kyle J

    2017-09-20

    Effective teamwork and communication can decrease medical errors in environments where the culture of safety is enhanced. Health care can benefit from programs that are based on teamwork, as in other high-stress industries (e.g., aviation), with crew resource management programs, simulator use, and utilization of checklists. Medical team training (MTT) with a strong leadership commitment was used at our institution to focus specifically on creating open, yet structured, communication in operating rooms. Training included the 3 phases of the World Health Organization protocol to organize communication and briefings: preoperative verification, preincision briefing, and debriefing at or near the end of the surgical case. This training program led to measured improvements in job satisfaction and compliance with checklist tasks, and identified opportunities to improve training sessions. MTT provides the potential for sustainable change and a positive impact on the environment of the operating room.

  13. The human side of lean teams.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wackerbarth, Sarah B; Strawser-Srinath, Jamie R; Conigliaro, Joseph C

    2015-05-01

    Organizations use lean principles to increase quality and decrease costs. Lean projects require an understanding of systems-wide processes and utilize interdisciplinary teams. Most lean tools are straightforward, and the biggest barrier to successful implementation is often development of the team aspect of the lean approach. The purpose of this article is to share challenges experienced by a lean team charged with improving a hospital discharge process. Reflection on the experience provides an opportunity to highlight lessons from The Team Handbook by Peter Scholtes and colleagues. To improve the likelihood that process improvement initiatives, including lean projects, will be successful, organizations should consider providing training in organizational change principles and team building. The authors' lean team learned these lessons the hard way. Despite the challenges, the team successfully implemented changes throughout the organization that have had a positive impact. Training to understand the psychology of change might have decreased the resistance faced in implementing these changes. © 2014 by the American College of Medical Quality.

  14. Team Culture and Business Strategy Simulation Performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ritchie, William J.; Fornaciari, Charles J.; Drew, Stephen A. W.; Marlin, Dan

    2013-01-01

    Many capstone strategic management courses use computer-based simulations as core pedagogical tools. Simulations are touted as assisting students in developing much-valued skills in strategy formation, implementation, and team management in the pursuit of superior strategic performance. However, despite their rich nature, little is known regarding…

  15. Communication skills to develop trusting relationships on global virtual engineering capstone teams

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zaugg, Holt; Davies, Randall S.

    2013-05-01

    As universities seek to provide cost-effective, cross-cultural experiences using global virtual (GV) teams, the 'soft' communication skills typical of all teams, increases in importance for GV teams. Students need to be taught how to navigate through cultural issues and virtual tool issues to build strong trusting relationships with distant team members. Weekly team meetings provide an excellent opportunity to observe key team interactions that facilitate relationship and trust-building among team members. This study observed the weekly team meetings of engineering students attending two US universities and one Asian university as they collaborated as a single GV capstone GV team. In addition local team members were interviewed individually and collectively throughout the project to determine strategies that facilitated team relations and trust. Findings indicate the importance of student choice of virtual communication tools, the refining of communication practices, and specific actions to build trusting relationships. As student developed these attributes, collaboration and success was experienced on this GV team.

  16. How to manage organisational change and create practice teams: experiences of a South African primary care health centre.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mash, B J; Mayers, P; Conradie, H; Orayn, A; Kuiper, M; Marais, J

    2008-07-01

    In South Africa, first-contact primary care is delivered by nurses in small clinics and larger community health centres (CHC). CHCs also employ doctors, who often work in isolation from the nurses, with poor differentiation of roles and little effective teamwork or communication. Worcester CHC, a typical public sector CHC in rural South Africa, decided to explore how to create more successful practice teams of doctors and nurses. This paper is based on their experience of both unsuccessful and successful attempts to introduce practice teams and reports on their learning regarding organisational change. An emergent action research study design utilised a co-operative inquiry group. The first nine months of inquiry focused on understanding the initial unsuccessful attempt to create practice teams. This paper reports primarily on the subsequent nine months (four cycles of planning, action, observation and reflection) during which practice teams were re-introduced. The central question was how more effective practice teams of doctors and nurses could be created. The group utilised outcome mapping to assist with planning, monitoring and evaluation. Outcome mapping defined a vision, mission, boundary partners, outcome challenges, progress markers and strategies for the desired changes and supported quantitative monitoring of the process. Qualitative data were derived from the co-operative inquiry group (CIG) meetings and interviews with doctors, nurses, practice teams and patients. The CIG engaged effectively with 68% of the planned strategies, and more than 60% of the progress markers were achieved for clinical nurse practitioners, doctors, support staff and managers, but not for patients. Key themes that emerged from the inquiry group's reflection on their experience of the change process dealt with the amount of interaction, type of communication, team resilience, staff satisfaction, leadership style, reflective capacity, experimentation and evolution of new

  17. Team dynamics within quality improvement teams: a scoping review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rowland, Paula; Lising, Dean; Sinclair, Lynne; Baker, G Ross

    2018-03-31

    This scoping review examines what is known about the processes of quality improvement (QI) teams, particularly related to how teams impact outcomes. The aim is to provide research-informed guidance for QI leaders and to inform future research questions. Databases searched included: MedLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, Web of Science and SCOPUS. Eligible publications were written in English, published between 1999 and 2016. Articles were included in the review if they examined processes of the QI team, were related to healthcare QI and were primary research studies. Studies were excluded if they had insufficient detail regarding QI team processes. Descriptive detail extracted included: authors, geographical region and health sector. The Integrated (Health Care) Team Effectiveness Model was used to synthesize findings of studies along domains of team effectiveness: task design, team process, psychosocial traits and organizational context. Over two stages of searching, 4813 citations were reviewed. Of those, 48 full-text articles are included in the synthesis. This review demonstrates that QI teams are not immune from dysfunction. Further, a dysfunctional QI team is not likely to influence practice. However, a functional QI team alone is unlikely to create change. A positive QI team dynamic may be a necessary but insufficient condition for implementing QI strategies. Areas for further research include: interactions between QI teams and clinical microsystems, understanding the role of interprofessional representation on QI teams and exploring interactions between QI team task, composition and process.

  18. Team Performance and Error Management in Chinese and American Simulated Flight Crews: The Role of Cultural and Individual Differences

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davis, Donald D.; Bryant, Janet L.; Tedrow, Lara; Liu, Ying; Selgrade, Katherine A.; Downey, Heather J.

    2005-01-01

    This report describes results of a study conducted for NASA-Langley Research Center. This study is part of a program of research conducted for NASA-LARC that has focused on identifying the influence of national culture on the performance of flight crews. We first reviewed the literature devoted to models of teamwork and team performance, crew resource management, error management, and cross-cultural psychology. Davis (1999) reported the results of this review and presented a model that depicted how national culture could influence teamwork and performance in flight crews. The second study in this research program examined accident investigations of foreign airlines in the United States conducted by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). The ability of cross-cultural values to explain national differences in flight outcomes was examined. Cultural values were found to covary in a predicted way with national differences, but the absence of necessary data in the NTSB reports and limitations in the research method that was used prevented a clear understanding of the causal impact of cultural values. Moreover, individual differences such as personality traits were not examined in this study. Davis and Kuang (2001) report results of this second study. The research summarized in the current report extends this previous research by directly assessing cultural and individual differences among students from the United States and China who were trained to fly in a flight simulator using desktop computer workstations. The research design used in this study allowed delineation of the impact of national origin, cultural values, personality traits, cognitive style, shared mental model, and task workload on teamwork, error management and flight outcomes. We briefly review the literature that documents the importance of teamwork and error management and its impact on flight crew performance. We next examine teamwork and crew resource management training designed to improve

  19. Towards culture change in the operating theatre: embedding a complex educational intervention to improve teamwork climate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bleakley, Alan; Allard, Jon; Hobbs, Adrian

    2012-01-01

    Changing teamwork climate in healthcare through a collective shift in attitudes and values may be a necessary precursor to establishing a positive teamwork culture, where innovations can be more readily embedded and sustained. A complex educational intervention was initiated across an entire UK Trust's surgical provision, and then sustained. Attitudes towards teamwork were measured longitudinally to examine if the intervention produced sustainable results. The research aimed to test whether sustaining a complex education intervention to improve teamwork would result in an incremental, longitudinal improvement in attitudes and values towards teamwork. The intervention's larger aim is to progress the historical default position of multi-professional work to authentic inter-professional teamwork, as a positive values climate translates in time into behavioural change defining a safety culture. Attitudes were measured at three points across all surgical team personnel over a period of 4 years, using a validated Safety Attitudes Questionnaire with a focus on the 'teamwork climate' domain. Pre- and post-intervention 'teamwork climate' scores were compared to give a longitudinal measure as a test of sustainability. Mean 'teamwork climate' scores improved incrementally and significantly following the series of educational interventions, showing that practitioners' valuing of teamwork activity can be improved and sustained. Longitudinal positive change in attitudes and values towards teamwork can be sustained, suggesting that a deliberate, designed complex intervention can shape a safety climate as a necessary prerequisite for the establishment of a sustainable safety culture.

  20. Patient safety culture at neonatal intensive care units: perspectives of the nursing and medical team 1

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tomazoni, Andréia; Rocha, Patrícia Kuerten; de Souza, Sabrina; Anders, Jane Cristina; de Malfussi, Hamilton Filipe Correia

    2014-01-01

    OBJECTIVE: to verify the assessment of the patient safety culture according to the function and length of experience of the nursing and medical teams at Neonatal Intensive Care Units. METHOD: quantitative survey undertaken at four Neonatal Intensive Care Units in Florianópolis, Brazil. The sample totaled 141 subjects. The data were collected between February and April 2013 through the application of the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture. For analysis, the Kruskal-Wallis and Chi-Square tests and Cronbach's Alpha coefficient were used. Approval for the research project was obtained from the Ethics Committee, CAAE: 05274612.7.0000.0121. RESULTS: differences in the number of positive answers to the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture, the safety grade and the number of reported events were found according to the professional characteristics. A significant association was found between a shorter Length of work at the hospital and Length of work at the unit and a larger number of positive answers; longer length of experience in the profession represented higher grades and less reported events. The physicians and nursing technicians assessed the patient safety culture more positively. Cronbach's alpha demonstrated the reliability of the instrument. CONCLUSION: the differences found reveal a possible relation between the assessment of the safety culture and the subjects' professional characteristics at the Neonatal Intensive Care Units. PMID:25493670

  1. Organizational culture in an academic health center: an exploratory study using a competing values framework.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ovseiko, Pavel V; Buchan, Alastair M

    2012-06-01

    Implementing cultural change and aligning organizational cultures could enhance innovation, quality, safety, and job satisfaction. The authors conducted this mixed-methods study to assess academic physician-scientists' perceptions of the current and preferred future organizational culture at a university medical school and its partner health system. In October 2010, the authors surveyed academic physicians and scientists jointly employed by the University of Oxford and its local, major partner health system. The survey included the U.S. Veterans Affairs Administration's 14-item Competing Values Framework instrument and two extra items prompting respondents to identify their substantive employer and to provide any additional open-ended comments. Of 436 academic physicians and scientists, 170 (39%) responded. Of these, 69 (41%) provided open-ended comments. Dominant hierarchical culture, moderate rational and team cultures, and underdeveloped entrepreneurial culture characterized the health system culture profile. The university profile was more balanced, with strong rational and entrepreneurial cultures, and moderate-to-strong hierarchical and team cultures. The preferred future culture (within five years) would emphasize team and entrepreneurial cultures and-to a lesser degree-rational culture, and would deemphasize hierarchical culture. Whereas the university and the health system currently have distinct organizational cultures, academic physicians and scientists would prefer the same type of culture across the two organizations so that both could more successfully pursue the shared mission of academic medicine. Further research should explore strengthening the validity and reliability of the organizational culture instrument for academic medicine and building an evidence base of effective culture change strategies and interventions.

  2. Changing the Engineering Student Culture with Respect to Academic Integrity and Ethics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    VanDeGrift, Tammy; Dillon, Heather; Camp, Loreal

    2017-08-01

    Engineers create airplanes, buildings, medical devices, and software, amongst many other things. Engineers abide by a professional code of ethics to uphold people's safety and the reputation of the profession. Likewise, students abide by a code of academic integrity while learning the knowledge and necessary skills to prepare them for the engineering and computing professions. This paper reports on studies designed to improve the engineering student culture with respect to academic integrity and ethics. To understand the existing culture at a university in the USA, a survey based on a national survey about cheating was administered to students. The incidences of self-reported cheating and incidences of not reporting others who cheat show the culture is similar to other institutions. Two interventions were designed and tested in an introduction to an engineering course: two case studies that students discussed in teams and the whole class, and a letter of recommendation assignment in which students wrote about themselves (character, strengths, examples of ethical decisions) three years into the future. Students were surveyed after the two interventions. Results show that first-year engineering students appreciate having a code of academic integrity and they want to earn their degree without cheating, yet less than half of the students would report on another cheating student. The letter of recommendation assignment had some impact on getting students to think about ethics, their character, and their actions. Future work in changing the student culture will continue in both a top-down (course interventions) and bottom-up (student-driven interventions) manner.

  3. Does emotional intelligence change during medical school gross anatomy course? Correlations with students' performance and team cohesion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holman, Michelle A; Porter, Samuel G; Pawlina, Wojciech; Juskewitch, Justin E; Lachman, Nirusha

    2016-01-01

    Emotional intelligence (EI) has been associated with increased academic achievement, but its impact on medical education is relatively unexplored. This study sought to evaluate change in EI, performance outcomes, and team cohesion within a team-based medical school anatomy course. Forty-two medical students completed a pre-course and post-course Schutte Self-Report Emotional Intelligence Test (SSEIT). Individual EI scores were then compared with composite course performance grade and team cohesion survey results. Mean pre-course EI score was 140.3 out of a possible 160. During the course, mean individual EI scores did not change significantly (P = 0.17) and no correlation between EI scores and academic performance was noted (P = 0.31). In addition, EI did not correlate with team cohesion (P = 0.16). While business has found significant utility for EI in increasing performance and productivity, its role in medical education is still uncertain. © 2015 American Association of Anatomists.

  4. Variables associated with work performance in multidisciplinary mental health teams.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fleury, Marie-Josée; Grenier, Guy; Bamvita, Jean-Marie; Chiocchio, François

    2017-01-01

    This study investigates work performance among 79 mental health teams in Quebec (Canada). We hypothesized that work performance was positively associated with the use of standardized clinical tools and clinical approaches, integration strategies, "clan culture," and mental health funding per capita. Work performance was measured using an adapted version of the Work Role Questionnaire. Variables were organized into four key areas: (1) team attributes, (2) organizational culture, (3) inter-organizational interactions, and (4) external environment. Work performance was associated with two types of organizational culture (clan and hierarchy) and with two team attributes (use of standardized clinical tools and approaches). This study was innovative in identifying associations between work performance and best practices, justifying their implementation. Recommendations are provided to develop organizational cultures promoting a greater focus on the external environment and integration strategies that strengthen external focus, service effectiveness, and innovation.

  5. Managing the negatives of experience in physician teams.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoff, Timothy

    2010-01-01

    Experience is a key shaper of thought and action in the health care workplace and a fundamental component of management and professional policies dealing with improving quality of care. Physicians rely on experience to structure social interaction, to determine authority relations, and to resist organizational encroachments on their work and autonomy. However, an overreliance on experience within physician teams may paradoxically undermine learning, participation, and entrepreneurship, affecting organizational performance. Approximately 100 hours of direct observation of normal workdays for physician teams (n = 17 physicians) in two different work settings in a single academic medical center located in the Northeastern part of the United States. Qualitative data were collected from physician teams in the medical intensive care unit and trauma/general surgery settings. Data were transcribed and computer analyzed through an interactive process of open coding, theoretical sampling, and pattern recognition that proceeded longitudinally. Three particular experience-based schemas were identified that physician teams used to structure social relations and perform work. These schemas involved using experience as a commodity, trump card, and liberator. Each of these schemas consisted of strongly held norms, beliefs, and values that produced team dynamics with the potential for undermining learning, participation, and entrepreneurship in the group. Organizations may move to mitigate the negative impact of an overreliance on experience among physicians by promoting bureaucratic forms of control that enable physicians to engage learning, participation, and entrepreneurship in their work while not usurping existing and difficult-to-change cultural drivers of team behavior.

  6. Identifying influential individuals on intensive care units: using cluster analysis to explore culture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fong, Allan; Clark, Lindsey; Cheng, Tianyi; Franklin, Ella; Fernandez, Nicole; Ratwani, Raj; Parker, Sarah Henrickson

    2017-07-01

    The objective of this paper is to identify attribute patterns of influential individuals in intensive care units using unsupervised cluster analysis. Despite the acknowledgement that culture of an organisation is critical to improving patient safety, specific methods to shift culture have not been explicitly identified. A social network analysis survey was conducted and an unsupervised cluster analysis was used. A total of 100 surveys were gathered. Unsupervised cluster analysis was used to group individuals with similar dimensions highlighting three general genres of influencers: well-rounded, knowledge and relational. Culture is created locally by individual influencers. Cluster analysis is an effective way to identify common characteristics among members of an intensive care unit team that are noted as highly influential by their peers. To change culture, identifying and then integrating the influencers in intervention development and dissemination may create more sustainable and effective culture change. Additional studies are ongoing to test the effectiveness of utilising these influencers to disseminate patient safety interventions. This study offers an approach that can be helpful in both identifying and understanding influential team members and may be an important aspect of developing methods to change organisational culture. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  7. Changing patient safety culture in China: a case study of an experimental Chinese hospital from a comparative perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gu, Yong Hong; Ng, Chui Shan; Cai, Xiao; Xu, Jun; Zhang, Xin Shi; Ke, Dong Ge; Yu, Qian Hui; Chan, Chi Kuen

    2018-01-01

    Background The World Health Organization highlights that patient safety interventions are not lacking but that the local context affects their successful implementation. Increasing attention is being paid to patient safety in Mainland China, yet few studies focus on patient safety in organizations with mixed cultures. This paper evaluates the current patient safety culture in an experimental Chinese hospital with a Hong Kong hospital management culture, and it aims to explore the application of Hong Kong’s patient safety strategies in the context of Mainland China. Methods A quantitative survey of 307 hospital staff members was conducted using the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture questionnaire. The findings were compared with a similar study on general Chinese hospitals and were appraised with reference to the Manchester Patient Safety Framework. Results Lower scores were observed among participants with the following characteristics: males, doctors, those with more work experience, those with higher education, and those from the general practice and otolaryngology departments. However, the case study hospital achieved better scores in management expectations, actions and support for patient safety, incident reporting and communication, and teamwork within units. Its weaknesses were related to non-punitive responses to errors, teamwork across units, and staffing. Conclusions The case study hospital contributes to a changing patient safety culture in Mainland China, yet its patient safety culture remains mostly bureaucratic. Further efforts could be made to deepen the staff’s patient safety culture mind-set, to realize a “bottom-up” approach to cultural change, to build up a comprehensive and integrated incident management system, and to improve team building and staffing for patient safety. PMID:29750061

  8. Culture and change blindness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Masuda, Takahiko; Nisbett, Richard E

    2006-03-04

    Research on perception and cognition suggests that whereas East Asians view the world holistically, attending to the entire field and relations among objects, Westerners view the world analytically, focusing on the attributes of salient objects. These propositions were examined in the change-blindness paradigm. Research in that paradigm finds American participants to be more sensitive to changes in focal objects than to changes in the periphery or context. We anticipated that this would be less true for East Asians and that they would be more sensitive to context changes than would Americans. We presented participants with still photos and with animated vignettes having changes in focal object information and contextual information. Compared to Americans, East Asians were more sensitive to contextual changes than to focal object changes. These results suggest that there can be cultural variation in what may seem to be basic perceptual processes. 2006 Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

  9. Red Teaming: Past and Present

    Science.gov (United States)

    2008-05-22

    cultural and ethnocentric bias, and a focus on fully exploring alternatives. The purpose of this monograph is to examine historical and...Planning and Orders Production, introduces red team principles into the army problem solving method.14 Additionally, TRADOC staffed and funded the...organization, incorporating alternative perspectives in an attempt to eliminate cultural and ethnocentric bias, and a focus on fully exploring

  10. Team Satisfaction and Student Group Performance: A Cross-Cultural Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zeitun, Rami M.; Abdulqader, Khalid Shams; Alshare, Khaled A.

    2013-01-01

    The authors examined the relationship between team satisfaction and students' performance in group projects in two universities, one from the United States and one from Qatar. The results showed that there is a significant positive correlation between team satisfaction and group performance only for the American students. Demographic factors such…

  11. Organizational Change, Leadership and Learning: Culture as Cognitive Process.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lakomski, Gabriele

    2001-01-01

    Examines the claim that it is necessary to change an organization's culture in order to bring about organizational change. Considers the purported causal relationship between the role of the leader and organizational learning and develops the notion of culture as cognitive process based on research in cultural anthropology and cognitive science.…

  12. Web Team Development

    Science.gov (United States)

    Church, Jennifer; Felker, Kyle

    2005-01-01

    The dynamic world of the Web has provided libraries with a wealth of opportunities, including new approaches to the provision of information and varied internal staffing structures. The development of self-managed Web teams, endowed with authority and resources, can create an adaptable and responsive culture within libraries. This new working team…

  13. Directional cultural change by modification and replacement of memes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cardoso, Gonçalo C; Atwell, Jonathan W

    2011-01-01

    Evolutionary approaches to culture remain contentious. A source of contention is that cultural mutation may be substantial and, if it drives cultural change, then current evolutionary models are not adequate. But we lack studies quantifying the contribution of mutations to directional cultural change. We estimated the contribution of one type of cultural mutations--modification of memes--to directional cultural change using an amenable study system: learned birdsongs in a species that recently entered an urban habitat. Many songbirds have higher minimum song frequency in cities, to alleviate masking by low-frequency noise. We estimated that the input of meme modifications in an urban songbird population explains about half the extent of the population divergence in song frequency. This contribution of cultural mutations is large, but insufficient to explain the entire population divergence. The remaining divergence is due to selection of memes or creation of new memes. We conclude that the input of cultural mutations can be quantitatively important, unlike in genetic evolution, and that it operates together with other mechanisms of cultural evolution. For this and other traits, in which the input of cultural mutations might be important, quantitative studies of cultural mutation are necessary to calibrate realistic models of cultural evolution. © 2010 The Author(s). Evolution© 2010 The Society for the Study of Evolution.

  14. Virtual TeamSTEPPS(®) Simulations Produce Teamwork Attitude Changes Among Health Professions Students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sweigart, Linda I; Umoren, Rachel A; Scott, Patrician J; Carlton, Kay Hodson; Jones, James A; Truman, Barbara; Gossett, Evalyn J

    2016-01-01

    The majority of the estimated 400,000 or more patient deaths per year in the United States are from preventable medical errors due to poor communication. Team training programs have been established to teach teamwork skills to health professions students. However, it is often challenging to provide this training at a physical site. A brief intervention using a virtual learning environment with TeamSTEPPS(®)-based scenarios is described. Using a pretest-posttest design, the effects on teamwork attitudes in 109 health professional students from two institutions and multiple disciplines were measured using the TeamSTEPPS Teamwork Attitudes questionnaire. Participants showed significant attitude changes in the categories of leadership, situation monitoring, mutual support, and communication (p ⩽ .05), with significance in four of the six indicator attitudes in the communication section at the p ⩽ .001 level. These findings indicate the potential impact that virtual learning experiences may have on teamwork attitudes in learners across professions on multiple campuses. Copyright 2016, SLACK Incorporated.

  15. Team Sport in the Workplace? A RE-AIM Process Evaluation of ‘Changing the Game’

    OpenAIRE

    Andrew Brinkley; Hilary McDermot; Fehmidah Munir

    2017-01-01

    Background: The workplace is a priority setting to promote health. Team sports can be an effective way to promote both physical and social health. This study evaluated the potential enablers and barriers for outcomes of a workplace team sports intervention programme‘Changing the Game’ (CTG). This study was conducted in a FTSE 100 services organisation. This process evaluation was conducted using the RE-AIM framework. Methods: A mixed methods approach was used. Data were collected from the par...

  16. Not all cultural values are created equal: Cultural change in China reexamined through Google books.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Rui; Weng, Liping

    2017-06-20

    Given its major transformations in recent decades, China has figured prominently in research on cultural change. Previous research converges in showing a general trend towards individualism in contemporary China while noting that rising individualism tends to coexist with enduring collectivism. To further understand this, we tested whether perceived traditional importance of cultural values would modulate the trajectory of cultural change reflected in word usage frequencies in published books. We re-analysed Google's Chinese corpus since 1980 based on a broad sample of words associated with individualism-collectivism. We replicated the pattern of rising individualism and declining collectivism among words of modest and low perceived traditional importance. Most important, however, collectivistic words of high perceived traditional importance increased in usage frequencies with time, thus departing from the general trend towards individualism. Overall, our research underscores the role of core culture in cultural maintenance during times of rapid cultural change. © 2017 International Union of Psychological Science.

  17. Book Review. Cultural Heritage in a Changing World

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ashika Prajnya Paramita

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Edited by Karol Jan Borowiecki, Neil Forbes, and Antonella Fresa, this collection of essays was developed within the RICHES Project to address the issues surrounding cultural heritage in the era of digital technologies. The 21st century has witnessed rapid developments in digital technologies that have led to major changes in all aspects of society. This book aims to reflect the relationship between cultural heritage and these changes. Written by experts from various background, this book implements an interdisciplinary approach its observations, and provides a comprehensive view of the changes that occur in the society. In various perspectives, the collection show how cultural heritage, mainly in Europe, should be preserved through digital availability and accessibility.

  18. Technology Change And Working Conditions – A Cultural Perspective

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sørensen, Ole Henning

    2004-01-01

    When technology change improves working conditions, the success is often attributed to skilful change agents. When it is not, the blame is on “resistance to change” and “resilient cultures”. How can these failures be understood differently? A cultural perspective on technology change might be a way...... to facilitate technology change processes that lead to improved working conditions. The research based project described here has developed a special homepage that explains how this might be achieved. The homepage is targeted at working life professionals. The homepage presents theoretical explanations...... of the concept of organizational culture, a model for analysis and several practical case stories. This paper explains how the project tries to reach a broad spectrum of professionals in order to facilitate their use of a cultural perspective. It also discusses the ethical consequences of the cultural...

  19. When in Rome: the role of culture & context in adherence to robot recommendations

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wang, L.; Rau, P.-L.P.; Evers, V.; Robinson, B.K.; Hinds, P.

    2010-01-01

    In this study, we sought to clarify the effects of users' cultural background and cultural context on human-robot team collaboration by investigating attitudes toward and the extent to which people changed their decisions based on the recommendations of a robot collaborator. We report the results of

  20. Biomedical engineering education through global engineering teams.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scheffer, C; Blanckenberg, M; Garth-Davis, B; Eisenberg, M

    2012-01-01

    Most industrial projects require a team of engineers from a variety of disciplines. The team members are often culturally diverse and geographically dispersed. Many students do not acquire sufficient skills from typical university courses to function efficiently in such an environment. The Global Engineering Teams (GET) programme was designed to prepare students such a scenario in industry. This paper discusses five biomedical engineering themed projects completed by GET students. The benefits and success of the programme in educating students in the field of biomedical engineering are discussed.

  1. Family, Team or Something Else?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    John Murtha

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available When referring to staff, is the term "family" or "team" most accurate? John Murtha explores the importance of setting a company's core value to create and maintain a positive culture, expectations, and support hiring practices.

  2. Team Learning Ditinjau dari Team Diversity dan Team Efficacy

    OpenAIRE

    Pohan, Vivi Gusrini Rahmadani; Ancok, Djamaludin

    2010-01-01

    This research attempted to observe team learning from the level of team diversity and team efficacy of work teams. This research used an individual level of analysis rather than the group level. The team members measured the level of team diversity, team efficacy and team learning of the teams through three scales, namely team learning scale, team diversity scale, and team efficacy scale. Respondents in this research were the active team members in a company, PT. Alkindo Mitraraya. The total ...

  3. Team Learning Ditinjau dari Team Diversity dan Team Efficacy

    OpenAIRE

    Vivi Gusrini Rahmadani Pohan; Djamaludin Ancok

    2015-01-01

    This research attempted to observe team learning from the level of team diversity and team efficacy of work teams. This research used an individual level of analysis rather than the group level. The team members measured the level of team diversity, team efficacy and team learning of the teams through three scales, namely team learning scale, team diversity scale, and team efficacy scale. Respondents in this research were the active team members in a company, PT. Alkindo Mitraraya. The total ...

  4. Folk Beliefs of Cultural Changes in China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yi eXu

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available For the last several decades, Chinese society has experienced transformative changes. How are these changes understood among Chinese people? To examine this question, Part 1 in this research solicited folk beliefs of cultural change from a group of Chinese participants in an open-ended format, and the generated folk beliefs were rated by another group of participants in Part 2 to gauge each belief’s level of agreement. Part 3 plotted the folk beliefs retained in Part 2 using the Google Ngram Viewer in order to infer the amount of intellectual interests that each belief has received cross-temporarily. These analyses suggested a few themes in Chinese folk beliefs of cultural change (1 rising perceived importance of materialism and individualism in understanding contemporary Chinese culture and Chinese psychology relative to those of the past (2 rising perceived importance of freedom, democracy and human rights and (3 enduring perceived importance of family relations and friendship as well as patriotism. Interestingly, findings from Parts 2 and 3 diverged somewhat, illuminating possible divergence between folk beliefs and intellectual interests especially for issues related to heritage of Confucianism.

  5. Managing Geographically Dispersed Teams: From Temporary to Permanent Global Virtual Teams

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Svane Hansen, Tine; Hope, Alexander John; Moehler, Robert C.

    2012-01-01

    for organisations to move towards establishing permanent Global Virtual Teams in order to leverage knowledge sharing and cooperation across distance. To close this gap, this paper will set the scene for a research project investigating the changed preconditions for organisations. As daily face-to-face communication......The rise and spread of information communication technologies (ICT) has enabled increasing use of geographically dispersed work teams (Global Virtual Teams). Originally, Global Virtual Teams were mainly organised into temporary projects. Little research has focused on the emergent challenge...... generation of self-lead digital natives, who are already practising virtual relationships and a new approach to work, and currently joining the global workforce; and improved communication technologies. Keywords: Global Virtual teams, ICT, leadership, motivation, self-management, millenials....

  6. Can varying the number of teams in a shift schedule constitute a preventive strategy?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hans Jeppe Jeppesen

    2004-12-01

    Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: The study examines the implications for shiftworkers of applying different numbers of teams in the organization of shiftwork. METHODS: The participating operators came from five different companies applying continuous shift rotation systems. The companies shared the same product organization and a common corporate culture belonging to the same multinational company. Each company had a shift system consisting of four, five or six teams, with the proportion of shifts outside day work decreasing as the number of teams increased. Questionnaire and documentary data were used as data sources. RESULTS: Operators in systems with additional teams had more daywork but also more irregular working hours due to both overtime and schedule changes. Operators using six teams used fewer social compensation strategies. Operators in four teams were most satisfied with their work hours. Satisfaction with the time available for various social activities outside work varied inconsistently between the groups. CONCLUSIONS: In rotating systems the application of more teams reduces the number of shifts outside day work. This apparent improvement for shiftworkers was counteracted by a concomitant irregularity produced by greater organizational requirements for flexibility. The balance of this interaction was found to have a critical impact on employees.

  7. ROLE OF THE REWARD SYSTEM IN MANAGING CHANGES OF ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE

    OpenAIRE

    Biljana Bogićević Milikić

    2007-01-01

    The paper intends to investigate how companies can efficiently manage their organisational cultures through changes in the reward system. The paper is based on a research which has taken place in one Serbian company which decided to change its organisational culture, as a prerequisite for further organisational changes. As the main instrument for changing organisational culture, the top management used changes in the reward system. The findings suggest that in the short run only narrow change...

  8. Error or "act of God"? A study of patients' and operating room team members' perceptions of error definition, reporting, and disclosure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Espin, Sherry; Levinson, Wendy; Regehr, Glenn; Baker, G Ross; Lingard, Lorelei

    2006-01-01

    Calls abound for a culture change in health care to improve patient safety. However, effective change cannot proceed without a clear understanding of perceptions and beliefs about error. In this study, we describe and compare operative team members' and patients' perceptions of error, reporting of error, and disclosure of error. Thirty-nine interviews of team members (9 surgeons, 9 nurses, 10 anesthesiologists) and patients (11) were conducted at 2 teaching hospitals using 4 scenarios as prompts. Transcribed responses to open questions were analyzed by 2 researchers for recurrent themes using the grounded-theory method. Yes/no answers were compared across groups using chi-square analyses. Team members and patients agreed on what constitutes an error. Deviation from standards and negative outcome were emphasized as definitive features. Patients and nurse professionals differed significantly in their perception of whether errors should be reported. Nurses were willing to report only events within their disciplinary scope of practice. Although most patients strongly advocated full disclosure of errors (what happened and how), team members preferred to disclose only what happened. When patients did support partial disclosure, their rationales varied from that of team members. Both operative teams and patients define error in terms of breaking the rules and the concept of "no harm no foul." These concepts pose challenges for treating errors as system failures. A strong culture of individualism pervades nurses' perception of error reporting, suggesting that interventions are needed to foster collective responsibility and a constructive approach to error identification.

  9. CULTURAL CHANGE IN TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMPANIES: A CASE STUDY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cristiane Alves Anacleto

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available This work aims to propose a model for the conduct of cultural change in the IT department of a company in the telecommunications industry. To achieve the goal proposed exploratory, technical procedures used were the case study and literature review. The techniques of data collection in the case study were: participant observation, unstructured interview and document analysis. The proposed model consists of five steps: analysis of the company's strategic planning, cultural diagnosis of the IT department, brainstorming with the staff and managers, compared to the case studies surveyed and proposed actions for the conduct of cultural change. We conclude that a receptive environment, employees not only understand why the changes are necessary, but engage with the process and faithfully executes the steps required, favoring the strategic positioning of the company.

  10. Effects of team-building on communication and teamwork among nursing students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yi, Y J

    2016-03-01

    The aim of this study was to assess the effects of team-building on communication and teamwork (i.e. teamwork skills and team effectiveness) among nursing students. Team-building is effective for improving communication and teamwork among the nursing organization. However, the effects of team-building are not well known especially in Korea. This study used a quasi-experimental design. The sample was composed of 195 junior-year nursing students in Korea. The experimental group (100 subjects) participated in team-building activities over a 100-day period, whereas no intervention was applied to the control group (95 subjects). Pretest was conducted in both groups, and post-test was conducted after the 100-day intervention. The pre-post change in mean communication competence score did not differ between the two groups. However, the mean scores for teamwork skills and team effectiveness differed significantly between the two groups after team-building activity. This study was not a double-blind test, and randomized sampling was not implemented. Caution should thus be used when interpreting the findings. Team-building activities were effective for improving the teamwork skills and team effectiveness among Korean nursing students. It is recommended that team-building activities should be included regularly as an integral educational approach in nursing education. The findings suggest that suggests that team-building for improving communication and teamwork should be designated as one of the required criteria for nursing college programme accreditation in many countries, including Korea. However team-building requires further testing to verify this across cultures. Nurses need to receive formal team-building training for improving communication and teamwork, and formal education should be included in their job training schedule. It is recommended that communication competence and teamwork be used as one of job performance evaluations in their workplace. © 2015

  11. Can You Work with Me? Using a Qualitative Meta Analytic Review to Understand the Effects of Culture on the Formation of Swift Trust within Global Virtual Teams

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-01-01

    individualistic culture , it is ‘Can you work with me?’ and for the collectivistic culture , it is ‘Can we work together’. These evidently have important...comparison of individualistic and collectivistic cultures , Academy of Management Review, 22: 730-757. Kiffin-Petersen, S.A., and Cordery, J.L. (2003...that when a team member is perceived as in-group, the collectivists evaluated him or her more generously as compared to individualists . Moreover

  12. Extra-team connections for knowledge transfer between staff teams

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramanadhan, Shoba; Wiecha, Jean L.; Emmons, Karen M.; Gortmaker, Steven L.; Viswanath, Kasisomayajula

    2009-01-01

    As organizations implement novel health promotion programs across multiple sites, they face great challenges related to knowledge management. Staff social networks may be a useful medium for transferring program-related knowledge in multi-site implementation efforts. To study this potential, we focused on the role of extra-team connections (ties between staff members based in different site teams) as potential channels for knowledge sharing. Data come from a cross-sectional study of afterschool childcare staff implementing a health promotion program at 20 urban sites of the Young Men's Christian Association of Greater Boston. We conducted a sociometric social network analysis and attempted a census of 91 program staff members. We surveyed 80 individuals, and included 73 coordinators and general staff, who lead and support implementation, respectively, in this study. A multiple linear regression model demonstrated a positive relationship between extra-team connections (β = 3.41, P knowledge transfer. We also found that intra-team connections (within-team ties between staff members) were also positively related to skill receipt. Connections between teams appear to support knowledge transfer in this network, but likely require greater active facilitation, perhaps via organizational changes. Further research on extra-team connections and knowledge transfer in low-resource, high turnover environments is needed. PMID:19528313

  13. A New Concept of Working Environment Improvement Within Multicultural Teams

    Science.gov (United States)

    Makraiová, Jana; Cagáňová, Dagmar; Čambál, Miloš

    2012-12-01

    Multicultural team leaders under the conditions of globalisation process must understand that acquiring cultural awareness and diversity management skills is one of the premises for gaining competitive advantage and satisfying the employeeś need for social cohesion. The concept presented in this paper goes beyond standard understanding of what cultural diversity management means, as it is not perceived as a set of activities that a business as a whole should be responsible for, but encourage every leader to take responsibility for its own awareness firstly. After understanding that cross-cultural competence is a lifelong learning process it is possible to start recognising one’s own cultural mindset before attempting to recognise those of people from other cultures. At this point it is a right time to spread the experience amongst other team members or associates.

  14. Technical progress and efficiency changes in football teams participating in the UEFA Champions League

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lucía Isabel García Cebrián

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available This paper commits to calculate and analyze productivy levels and its components for teams that participated in the UEFA Champions League between 2003 and 2012. It will pursue three objectives: 1 evaluate resources usage, 2 analyze the productivity levels of the football teams and the sports results, and 3 see the influence of participation experience in reference to productivity and sports results. Using Malmquist Productivity Index, the results reflect a lack of consistent progression of efficiency, productivity, and technical change. This competition does not reward the efficient usage of resources and there is not a conclusive relationshop between permanence in the competition and productivity.

  15. Shaping the Culture: Organizational Development through Team Building.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yeager, James F.

    This practicum developed and implemented an organization development plan to improve agency and team effectiveness and staff satisfaction at a private agency that provides educational and treatment services to children with emotional, mental, or behavioral disorders. An extensive literature review on organizational development was conducted and…

  16. Telemental Health Training, Team Building, and Workforce Development in Cultural Context: The Hawaii Experience.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alicata, Daniel; Schroepfer, Amanda; Unten, Tim; Agoha, Ruby; Helm, Susana; Fukuda, Michael; Ulrich, Daniel; Michels, Stanton

    2016-04-01

    The goal of the University of Hawaii (UH) child and adolescent psychiatry telemental health (TMH) program is to train child and adolescent psychiatry fellows to provide behavioral health services for the children of Hawaii and the Pacific Islands in the cultural context of their rural communities using interactive videoteleconferencing (IVTC). The training experience balances learning objectives with community service. Learning objectives include: Understanding mental health disparities in rural communities, leveraging community resources in ongoing treatment, providing culturally effective care, and improving health care access and delivery through TMH service research and evaluation. We describe the UH experience. Several UH faculty are experienced with IVTC technology. They are triple-board trained, are recognized for their research in program evaluation and mental health disparities, and are committed to serving Hawaii's rural communities. We demonstrate the role of TMH in linking children and their families living in rural communities with multiple mental health treatment providers. The service-learning curriculum and a unique collaboration with Mayo Clinic provide the opportunity to examine the role of TMH in global service, and training, education, and research. TMH provides direct services to patients and consultation on Hawaii Island and Maui County. The collaboration with the Mayo Clinic brings further consultation in complex diagnostics, pharmacogenomics, and cross-cultural psychiatry. A curriculum provides trainees experience with IVTC with the goal of potential recruitment to underserved rural communities. The TMH program at UH is unique in its team building and workforce development by joining multiple entities through IVTC and translating expertise from the Mayo Clinic to rural communities, and strengthening collaboration with local child and adolescent psychiatrists, and primary care and other mental health providers. The UH psychiatry program is a

  17. Work-Life Balance and Cultural Change: A Narrative of Eligibility

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lester, Jaime

    2013-01-01

    Using Schein's (1992) framework of cultural change, this study examined two institutions of higher education that have achieved or attempted a cultural change to understand if and how to develop a culture of work-life balance for faculty and staff. The results identified a narrative of eligibility that arose from the discourse of faculty…

  18. Communication in virtual teams : ten years of experience in education

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Rutkowski, A.F.; Vogel, D.R.; Genuchten, van M.J.I.M.; Saunders, C.

    2008-01-01

    Engineering teams are often globally distributed and comprise participants from multiple disciplines and cultures who rely on professional communication support. Companies, organizations, and institutions increasingly embrace these virtual teams and use a variety of information and communication

  19. It's Time to Start Changing the Game: A 12-Week Workplace Team Sport Intervention Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brinkley, Andrew; McDermott, Hilary; Grenfell-Essam, Rachel; Munir, Fehmidah

    2017-08-23

    A 12-week multi-team sport programme was provided to employees of a large services organisation and conducted in workplaces. This programme was used to investigate the short-term effect of regular sports team participation on individual employee and organisational health. A large services organisation participated in this study. Two regional worksites of office workers were assigned as the team sport (intervention) (n = 28 participants) or control (n = 20 participants) groups. The team sport sessions were underpinned by psychological behaviour change theory and consisted of weekly 1-h team sport sessions for 12 weeks. Measures of aerobic fitness, physical activity behaviour, group cohesion, interaction and communication, psychological wellbeing, health, anthropometrics and workplace experiences were recorded pre- and post-intervention. Data were analysed using a series of mixed ANOVAs. After 12 weeks significant improvements were observed in VO 2 max (+ 4.5 ± 5.8 ml/min kg, P employees, and promote interpersonal communication between colleagues. Individual health outcomes and social interactions have the capacity to influence the health of the organisation. The extent of which these findings are replicable across a scope of organisations should be examined objectively over the long term.

  20. An effective board from a team perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eythor Ivar Jonsson

    2006-11-01

    Full Text Available This paper looks at boards from a team perspective, where insights from research on teams are used to discuss some classical problems of corporate governance. The Enron-case is used as an underlying theme as it portrays some of the biggest challenges that boards face today. Theories developed within the team literature emphasise that for boards to become more effective they need more time and better access to information as a source of knowledge, more structure and purposeful roles for directors and for the board in general, and they need to become smaller and more focused. In effect, the culture of teams could have avoided some of the blunders of the Enron board.

  1. How Cultural Knowledge Shapes Core Design Thinking

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Clemmensen, Torkil; Ranjan, Apara; Bødker, Mads

    2018-01-01

    The growing trend of co-creation and co-design in cross-cultural design teams presents challenges for the design thinking process. We integrate two frameworks, one on reasoning patterns in design thinking, the other on the dynamic constructivist theory of culture, to propose a situation specific...... framework for the empirical analysis of design thinking in cross-cultural teams. We illustrate the framework with a qualitative analysis of 16 episodes of design related conversations, which are part of a design case study. The results show that cultural knowledge, either as shared by the cross......-cultural team or group specific knowledge of some team members, shape the reasoning patterns in the design thinking process across all the 16 episodes. Most of the design discussions were approached by the designers as problem situations that were formulated in a backward direction, where the value to create...

  2. Implementing a cornerstone of culture change: Consistent staff assignment in VHA community living centers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lemke, Sonne; Brennan, Penny L; SooHoo, Sonya; Schutte, Kathleen K

    2017-08-01

    In 2011, the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) began implementing consistent staff assignment in its nursing homes (called Community Living Centers or CLCs). Consistent assignment, a cornerstone of culture change, minimizes the number of staff who provide a resident's care. The present research assessed the level and stability of consistent assignment in units within VHA CLCs and identified unit characteristics related to implementation of this staff assignment model. Schedulers in 185 of 335 organizational units that make up VHA CLCs completed a Staffing Practices Survey. For the month prior to the survey, 53% of CLC units had full implementation of consistent assignment. Tracked back over time, 37% of CLC units had stable high consistent assignment, 29% had stable low consistent assignment, and 34% were variable. Units with stable high consistent assignment were most likely to use care teams with stable membership and to obtain staff input for care assignments. Schedulers in these units reported more positive experiences with consistent staff assignment and better unit functioning in terms of staff absences, complaints about workload fairness, and resolution of scheduling problems. Units with stable low and variable consistent assignment were similar in most of these respects; however, units with variable consistent assignment made greater use of stable care teams and were less likely to change assignments at a staff member's request. Overall, consistent assignment implementation was not related to unit size, nursing hours per resident day, or specialty focus. Findings can help guide consistent staff assignment implementation in VHA and community nursing homes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  3. An ethnographic study of nursing home culture to define organizational realities of culture change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deutschman, Marian T

    2005-01-01

    The current system of delivery of nursing home care is costly both in dollars and in human terms. Culture change may provide solutions to both issues. Culture change has a different meaning for different organizations depending on where they are in the continuum of change. Detailed observation of staff members "in action" in three long-term care facilities over a period of several months was supplemented by formal and informal interviews of organization members to gain an understanding of the culture of the nursing home organization. Four three-hour observations in each of three facilities, representing privately-held and not-for-profit organizations in urban, suburban, and rural locations yielded insights into the routine, recruitment, training, teamwork, activities, leadership, role-modeling, mentoring, staff and resident satisfaction, weekend staffing and activities, bureaucratic structure, and sharing of best practices. Discussion of each of these issues may provide a starting point for all those facilities that are contemplating significant culture change. If the objective is to have facilities truly embrace a new set of values, then the change begins with the owners and administrators of nursing homes who need to focus on building new relationships with all the stakeholders. In-depth interviews of organization members and six chief executive officers in long-term care in the Western New York area culminated the study with the development of a fifty-question survey for decision makers.

  4. Interprofessional team management in pediatric critical care: some challenges and possible solutions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stocker M

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available Martin Stocker,1 Sina B Pilgrim,2 Margarita Burmester,3 Meredith L Allen,4 Wim H Gijselaers5 1Neonatal and Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, Children's Hospital Lucerne, Lucerne, 2Pediatric Intensive Care, University Children's Hospital Berne, Berne, Switzerland; 3Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, Royal Brompton Hospital, London, UK; 4Department of Pediatrics, The Royal Children's Hospital, Victoria, Australia; 5Educational Research and Development, School of Business and Economics, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands Background: Aiming for and ensuring effective patient safety is a major priority in the management and culture of every health care organization. The pediatric intensive care unit (PICU has become a workplace with a high diversity of multidisciplinary physicians and professionals. Therefore, delivery of high-quality care with optimal patient safety in a PICU is dependent on effective interprofessional team management. Nevertheless, ineffective interprofessional teamwork remains ubiquitous.Methods: We based our review on the framework for interprofessional teamwork recently published in association with the UK Centre for Advancement of Interprofessional Education. Articles were selected to achieve better understanding and to include and translate new ideas and concepts.Findings: The barrier between autonomous nurses and doctors in the PICU within their silos of specialization, the failure of shared mental models, a culture of disrespect, and the lack of empowering parents as team members preclude interprofessional team management and patient safety. A mindset of individual responsibility and accountability embedded in a network of equivalent partners, including the patient and their family members, is required to achieve optimal interprofessional care. Second, working competently as an interprofessional team is a learning process. Working declared as a learning process, psychological safety, and speaking up are pivotal

  5. Tinkering self-efficacy and team interaction on freshman engineering design teams

    Science.gov (United States)

    Richardson, Arlisa Labrie

    This study utilizes Bandura's theory of self-efficacy as a framework to examine the development of tinkering skills white working on a freshman engineering design team. The four sources of self-efficacy were analyzed in the context of tinkering within the design team. The research question, 'Does tinkering self-efficacy change for female students during the Freshman Engineering Design class while working on mixed sex teams?', was addressed using quantitative data collection and field observations. Approximately 41 students enrolled in a freshman engineering design class at a public university in the southwest participated by providing self-reports about their tinkering involvement during each design project. In addition, three mixed-sex student teams were observed while working to complete the course design projects. An observation protocol based on Bandura's sources of self efficacy, was used to document tinkering interactions within the three observed teams. The results revealed that Bandura's sources of self-efficacy influenced tinkering involvement. The self-efficacy source, performance accomplishment measured through prior tinkering experience, was the most influential on tinkering involvement. Unlike Bandura's ranking of influence, verbal persuasion was shown to correlate with more tinkering behaviors than the observation of others. The number of females on a team had no impact on tinkering involvement. Tinkering involvement did not change as students progressed from one project to another. However, the competitive nature of the design project appeared to have a negative impact on tinkering involvement and the division of tasks within the team. In addition, a difference was found in the female students' perception of their tinkering involvement and observation of their tinkering involvement. The findings suggest that effective implementation of teamwork including teamwork preparation, more emphasis on the design process and the elimination of competition

  6. Changing patient safety culture in China: a case study of an experimental Chinese hospital from a comparative perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xu XP

    2018-05-01

    bottom-up” approach to cultural change, to build up a comprehensive and integrated incident management system, and to improve team building and staffing for patient safety. Keywords: patient safety, culture, Chinese hospital

  7. Women who fly: Gender and cultural change in Cuetzalan

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eugenia Rodríguez Blanco

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available This article puts forward a feminist analysis of the dynamics of cultural change in indigenous contexts. We intend to document the processes of cultural change that are concomitant to overcoming exclusion or marginalization of women, and to analyze the factors that cause such transformations. In this study we look for signs that can prove whether these changes are a consequence of a transformation in the gender relations — and an increase in the empowerment of women—or if they are the result of other factors and interests which have the secondary effect of reducing the marginalization of women. The specific case presented here is the participation of women in the "danza de los voladores", a recent phenomenon that suggests a cultural change in relation to gender.

  8. 'What vision?': experiences of Team members in a community service for adults with intellectual disabilities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clare, I C H; Madden, E M; Holland, A J; Farrington, C J T; Whitson, S; Broughton, S; Lillywhite, A; Jones, E; Wade, K A; Redley, M; Wagner, A P

    2017-03-01

    In the UK, the closure of 'long-stay' hospitals was accompanied by the development of community teams (CTs) to support people with intellectual disabilities (IDs) to live in community settings. The self-reported experiences of staff working in such teams have been neglected. Focusing on a single county-wide service, comprising five multi-disciplinary and inter-agency CTs, we measured perceptions among the health care and care management Team members of (1) their personal well-being; (2) the functioning of their team; and (3) the organisation's commitment to quality, and culture. Almost three-quarters of the questionnaires were returned (73/101; 72%). The scores of health care practitioners and care managers were very similar: (1) the MBI scores of more than half the respondents were 'of concern'; (2) similarly, almost four in ten respondents' scores on the Vision scale of the TCI were 'of concern'; (3) the perceived commitment to quality (QIIS-II Part 2) was uncertain; and (4) the organisational culture (QIIS-II, Part 1) was viewed as primarily hierarchical. The perceived absence of a vision for the service, combined with a dominant culture viewed by its members as strongly focussed on bureaucracy and process, potentially compromises the ability of these CTs to respond proactively to the needs of people with IDs. Given the changes in legislation, policy and practice that have taken place since CTs were established, it would be timely to revisit their role and purpose. © 2016 MENCAP and International Association of the Scientific Study of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  9. Establishing the Unitary Classroom: Organizational Change and School Culture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eddy, Elizabeth M.; True, Joan H.

    1980-01-01

    This paper examines the organizational changes introduced in two elementary schools to create unitary (desegregated) classrooms. The different models adopted by the two schools--departmentalization and team teaching--are considered as expressions of their patterns of interaction, behavior, and values. (Part of a theme issue on educational…

  10. Patients-people-place: developing a framework for researching organizational culture during health service redesign and change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gale, Nicola K; Shapiro, Jonathan; McLeod, Hugh S T; Redwood, Sabi; Hewison, Alistair

    2014-08-20

    Organizational culture is considered by policy-makers, clinicians, health service managers and researchers to be a crucial mediator in the success of implementing health service redesign. It is a challenge to find a method to capture cultural issues that is both theoretically robust and meaningful to those working in the organizations concerned. As part of a comparative study of service redesign in three acute hospital organizations in England, UK, a framework for collecting data reflective of culture was developed that was informed by previous work in the field and social and cultural theory. As part of a larger mixed method comparative case study of hospital service redesign, informed by realist evaluation, the authors developed a framework for researching organisational culture during health service redesign and change. This article documents the development of the model, which involved an iterative process of data analysis, critical interdisciplinary discussion in the research team, and feedback from staff in the partner organisations. Data from semi-structured interviews with 77 key informants are used to illustrate the model. In workshops with NHS partners to share and debate the early findings of the study, organizational culture was identified as a key concept to explore because it was perceived to underpin the whole redesign process. The Patients-People-Place framework for studying culture focuses on three thematic areas ('domains') and three levels of culture in which the data could be organised. The framework can be used to help explain the relationship between observable behaviours and cultural artefacts, the values and habits of social actors and the basic assumptions underpinning an organization's culture in each domain. This paper makes a methodological contribution to the study of culture in health care organizations. It offers guidance and a practical approach to investigating the inherently complex phenomenon of culture in hospital organizations

  11. Knowledge Value Creation Characteristics of Virtual Teams: A Case Study in the Construction Sector

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vorakulpipat, Chalee; Rezgui, Yacine

    Any knowledge environment aimed at virtual teams should promote identification, access, capture and retrieval of relevant knowledge anytime / anywhere, while nurturing the social activities that underpin the knowledge sharing and creation process. In fact, socio-cultural issues play a critical role in the successful implementation of Knowledge Management (KM), and constitute a milestone towards value creation. The findings indicate that Knowledge Management Systems (KMS) promote value creation when they embed and nurture the social conditions that bind and bond team members together. Furthermore, technology assets, human networks, social capital, intellectual capital, and change management are identified as essential ingredients that have the potential to ensure effective knowledge value creation.

  12. The impact of team characteristics and context on team communication: An integrative literature review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tiferes, Judith; Bisantz, Ann M

    2018-04-01

    Many studies on teams report measures of team communication; however, these studies vary widely in terms of the team characteristics, situations, and tasks studied making it difficult to understand impacts on team communication more generally. The objective of this review is systematically summarize relationships between measures of team communication and team characteristics and situational contexts. A literature review was conducted searching in four electronic databases (PsycINFO, MEDLINE, Ergonomics Abstracts, and SocINDEX). Additional studies were identified by cross-referencing. Articles included for final review had reported at least one team communication measure associated with some team and/or context dimension. Ninety-nine of 727 articles met the inclusion criteria. Data extracted from articles included characteristics of the studies and teams and the nature of each of the reported team and/or context dimensions-team communication properties relationships. Some dimensions (job role, situational stressors, training strategies, cognitive artifacts, and communication media) were found to be consistently linked to changes in team communication. A synthesized diagram that describes the possible associations between eleven team and context dimensions and nine team communication measures is provided along with research needs. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Culture change, leadership and the grass-roots workforce.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Edwards, Mark; Penlington, Clare; Kalidasan, Varadarajan; Kelly, Tony

    2014-08-01

    The NHS is arguably entering its most challenging era. It is being asked to do more for less and, in parallel, a cultural shift in response to its described weaknesses has been prescribed. The definition of culture, the form this change should take and the mechanism to achieve it are not well understood. The complexity of modern healthcare requires that we evolve our approach to the workforce and enhance our understanding of the styles of leadership that are required in order to bring about this cultural change. Identification of leaders within the workforce and dissemination of a purposeful and strategic quality improvement agenda, in part defined by the general workforce, are important components in establishing the change that the organisation currently requires. We are implementing this approach locally by identifying and developing grassroots networks linked to a portfolio of safety and quality projects. © 2014 Royal College of Physicians.

  14. Multinational teams in European and American companies

    OpenAIRE

    Numic, Aida

    2007-01-01

    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 ...

  15. Belonging to a community-based football team: an ethnographic study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mynard, Lorrae; Howie, Linsey; Collister, Laura

    2009-08-01

    This study considered the benefits derived from participation in a community-based Australian Rules Football league in Melbourne, Australia. The RecLink league deliberately tackles the social and occupational disadvantages associated with mental illness, addictions, unemployment and homelessness. An ethnographic methodology was used to study one team from the RecLink football league throughout an entire season. Fieldnotes were written following participant observation at training, games and events, and five in-depth interviews were conducted and transcribed. A constant comparative approach to data analysis was adopted. Three major themes were identified: a spirit of inclusion, team-building and meaning of team involvement. The first describes how members were accepted, welcomed and given the opportunity for team involvement, with the expectation that they 'had a go', and 'tried their best'. The second illustrates how the team collectively fostered a culture of friendship, cooperation and support. The third examines the significance of being part of the team, incorporating personal contributions and gains, and meanings attributed to team involvement. These findings demonstrated how football can be used as non-clinical, community-based occupational therapy: enabling participation in a personally meaningful and culturally valued occupation. Occupational therapists are challenged to explore further how such community-based sports programs may complement existing clinical and welfare-based approaches to social disadvantage.

  16. ASPECTS OF THE ASSOCIATION OF EFFECTIVE TEAM RELATED VARIABLES IN THE MANAGEMENT OF INTERCULTURAL WORK TEAMS IN MULTINATIONAL COMPANIES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    BIBU Nicolae

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available Various phenomena generated by the new context of globalization have focused our research interest towards studying in what ways management of Intercultural Work teams (IWT could and should contribute to the increase of their performance at work. Despite the recognition of the fact that many MNCs fail in the management of IWTs, there is still a significant knowledge gap about their non-functionalities. Managerial literature „blames” national and organizational culture differences for the failure of this process. This is because each member brings his own style of work, with his own way of ensuring effective cooperation, making difficult to identify a clear recipe of a team organization and management in intercultural context. Teamwork, managing work teams made the subject of numerous researchers from many fields, denoting so difficult exercise in practice. However, we have identified high performance IWTs whose members are from different countries. Therefore, we assume that their management identified and used methods and instruments able to ensuring IWT performance. If we look at international research, intercultural teams management models have a reductionist and not holistic approach, namely stochastic in terms of selection of specific cultural dimensions cultural models specific to the interest of the researcher. In contrast, in Romania, intercultural management and intercultural management teams performance is less studied. The research presented below is set up to be a part of a pilot study, an exploratory research of how intercultural management assigned dimensions are directly related to the concept of EIA performance dimensions assigned. Our assumption for the empirical research is the following: work team performance (effective, efficient, with a high degree of satisfaction of its members is the result of application performance management in the context of a particular style of interaction specific team. Because the dependent

  17. The community health worker cultural mentoring project: preparing professional students for team work with health workers from urban communities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sherwen, Laurie N; Schwolsky-Fitch, Elena; Rodriquez, Romelia; Horta, Greg; Lopez, Ivanna

    2007-01-01

    Community Health Workers or CHWs (also known by a variety of alternative titles) are health workers drawn from communities to provide access to care for members of their communities. CHWs have been documented as effective in delivering a variety of services in a culturally-sensitive manner, and in providing a bridge between health professionals and underserved or minority communities. Yet, CHWs have not been well incorporated into interdisciplinary health care teams. The majority of health professionals are not even aware of the possible role and skills of CHWs. Believing that the best time to educate professionals about this valuable health worker and ensure that CHWs become part of interdisciplinary health care teams is during the student years, the Hunter College Schools of the Health Professions, and the Community Health Worker Network of New York City developed a pilot project, the Community Health Worker Cultural Mentoring Project. Community Health Workers, who were members of the Network, served as "community mentors" for health professions students drawn from the programs of community health education, nursing, and nutrition. CHWs worked with faculty of selected courses in each of the professional programs, and served as panelists in these courses, presenting information about health beliefs and alternative health practices of diverse cultural groups in communities of New York City. Class sessions were first held in the fall of 2004; subsequent sessions were held in following semesters. Approximately 40 students participated in 7 classes, with 6 CHWs serving as mentors - two per class. At the end of the classroom presentations, students wrote reflections relating to their understanding of the CHW role and relevance for their future interdisciplinary practice. The majority of reflections met the goal of increasing professional students' understanding of the CHW role and skills. At this point, quantitative and qualitative data will need to be collected to

  18. An Exploratory Investigation of Locally Constituted Challenges to Communication Management in Multinational Teams

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lauring, Jakob; Jonassson, Charlotte

    2008-01-01

    It has been argued that multinational teams create a number of competitive advantages when used strategically. However, multinational teams are not always successful, and a number of studies indicate that communication between team members may be the main obstacle. The purpose of this article...... is to investigate communication problems in organizations consisting of multinational teams. It is argued that researchers should not only look for differences in national culture when analyzing barriers to the communication flow. Challenges to communication may also develop in the locally constituted...... organizational culture. This is illustrated by an ethnographic field study in a multinational department of a Danish organization....

  19. 'Good culture, bad culture': polygyny, cultural change and structural drivers of HIV in Papua New Guinea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shih, Patti; Worth, Heather; Travaglia, Joanne; Kelly-Hanku, Angela

    2017-09-01

    Culture is often problematised as a key structural driver of HIV transmission in Papua New Guinea. Official HIV programmes, as well as church teachings, tend to focus on customary marital practices of polygyny and bride price payments as 'harmful traditions'. This focus can oversimplify the effects of current and historical nuances of cultural, political and economic change on sexual concurrency and gender inequality. Community-based healthcare workers in Southern Highlands Province explain that customary marital practices are now highly reconfigured from their traditional forms. A recent mining boom has financially advantaged local and travelling men, who are driving an increase of sexual concurrency, transactional sex and inflation of bride price payments. Healthcare workers suggest that the erosion of important social relationships and kinship obligations by the expanding cash economy has caused an intensification of individual male power while enhancing the vulnerability of women. Yet without the means to challenge the effects of uneven economic development, healthcare workers are left to target 'culture' as the central influence on individual behaviours. A commitment to address structural inequality by political leadership and in HIV prevention programmes and a careful contextualisation of cultural change is needed.

  20. Adjusting to Social Change - A Multi-Level Analysis in Three Cultures

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-08-01

    example, coping may be more collective in collectivist , compared to individualist , societies (Chang & Sivam, 2004). Some cultures have a greater sense...AFRL-AFOSR-UK-TR-2013-0041 Adjusting to Social Change - A multi-level Analysis in three cultures Prof Robin Goodwin...COVERED (From – To) 23 May 2012 – 22 May 2013 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Adjusting to Social Change - A multi-level Analysis in three cultures

  1. Team West Virginia/Rome Final Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Korakakis, Dimitris [West Virginia Univ., Morgantown, WV (United States)

    2017-04-10

    Overall, the team, West Virginia University (WVU) and University of Rome Tor Vergata (UTV), has a goal of building an attractive, low-cost, energy-efficient solar-powered home that represents both the West Virginian and Italian cultures.

  2. Change Management for using a Project Website in Design Team Communication

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Otter, den A.F.H.J.; Emitt, S.; Prins, M.

    2005-01-01

    A Project Website (PWS) has been advocated as an important tool for design teams of construction projects, because the tool is supposed to greatly enhance team communication. This, finally, should result in improved team performance in terms of increase of efficiency and effectiveness. PWS vendors

  3. Improving Interdisciplinary Relationships in Primary Care with the Implementation of TeamSTEPPS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nicole Siddons

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available A major challenge in healthcare is lack of interdisciplinary collaboration (O’Daniel & Rosenstein, 2008. The Institute of Medicine report, To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System (1999, shows that errors often occur due to lapses in partnership and communication. This article describes the implementation of TeamSTEPPS, an evidence-based tool for optimizing staff relationships and partnership, in a clinic in which a change in the care model had affected interprofessional collaboration and teamwork, threatening healthcare outcomes and staff engagement. The implementation of TeamSTEPPS, customized using elements of IDEO’s (2015 Human-Centered Design, shifted the culture of the clinic towards partnership, resulting in improved staff perceptions of teamwork and statistically significant improvements in the quality of patient care.

  4. Faith in the 'cultural fix': limits to a planned cultural change program in a rural health service.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mahony, K

    2000-01-01

    This paper, by way of a narrative on the author's participation, explains the limits to a planned cultural change program in a large rural health service. Cultural change was identified by the CEO as crucial to the success of a major restructuring of the service, and the attitudes and beliefs of the 'old guard' were considered to be constraining progress. Advocates of cultural integration contend that shared core values across an organisation can overcome such obstacles. This is a matter of faith. An application of Habermasian theory suggests that organisational leaders are drawing on traditional/religious beliefs and practices to bolster their visions and missions at a time of motivational crisis. Though a need for cultural change in some sectors of the health services is acknowledged, the particular challenges in attempting to manipulate the traditionally embedded culture and sub-cultures of the health services is highlighted. An analysis of some of the ideas and beliefs surrounding authority, deference and discipline is undertaken. It is argued that the ritualistic reinforcement of these beliefs and the reproduction of sub-cultures along material and ideal interests militate against the implementation of objectives delineated by the CEO. While cultural analysis has revealed the irrational face of organisations and can bring to conscious awareness the taken-for-granted beliefs which inform behaviour, the cultural integrationists have a further agenda. They aim to manipulate organisational culture to subtly control employees' beliefs and hence behaviour. Cultural control is a covert form of top down authority that can be just as directive and centralizing as bureaucratic control. The author also maintains that cultural change programs alone cannot fix a problem that arose in the macro-economic sphere: a chronic lack of resources ever since the state responded to the economic crisis by cutting funds to health and welfare services.

  5. Changing culture - the experience of TU Delft Library

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Heijne, M.; Van der Sar, E.

    2004-01-01

    When seeking to introduce change into an organisation, it is usually the organisational structure that is the main focus of attention. A reorganisation, however, does not necessarily resolve underlying cultural problems. It can, in fact, be just these cultural problems that prevent the organisation

  6. National culture and business model change: a framework for successful expansions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dalby, J.; Nielsen, L.S.; Lueg, Rainer

    2014-01-01

    Dalby, J., Nielsen, Lueg, R., L. S., Pedersen, L., Tomoni, A. C. 2014. National culture and business model change: a framework for successful expansions. Journal of Enterprising Culture, 22(4): 379-498.......Dalby, J., Nielsen, Lueg, R., L. S., Pedersen, L., Tomoni, A. C. 2014. National culture and business model change: a framework for successful expansions. Journal of Enterprising Culture, 22(4): 379-498....

  7. The Promise of Virtual Teams: Identifying Key Factors in Effectiveness and Failure

    Science.gov (United States)

    Horwitz, Frank M.; Bravington, Desmond; Silvis, Ulrik

    2006-01-01

    Purpose: The aim of the investigation is to identify enabling and disenabling factors in the development and operation of virtual teams; to evaluate the importance of factors such as team development, cross-cultural variables, leadership, communication and social cohesion as contributors to virtual team effectiveness. Design/methodology/approach:…

  8. Virtual Teams In Malaysia: A Qualitative Investigation In Multimedia Super Corridor Status Companies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Norizah Aripin

    2011-10-01

    Full Text Available The proliferation of various communication technologies such as e-mail, Instant Messaging, video conferencing, audio conferencing and others in organizations today has led to the development of a special group called virtual team. A virtual team is defined as a group of people who interact through interdependent tasks by common purpose and work across space and organizational boundaries with links strengthened by webs of communication technologies. A virtual team works with its members scattered across regions with time and cultural differences. These factors pose a challenge to team members in creating and developing a dynamic and productive team. Thus, the aim of this study is to understand virtual teams and its working environment in MSC status organizations. The study uses qualitative method that is indepth interview with semi-structured and open ended questions. Interviews involving three staffs (project manager, leader and employee from three multinational organizations such as Motorola, software development and hardware design. The interviews were recorded, transcribed and analyzed according to the thematic analysis. Study results show that work in virtual teams involving team members scattered or geographically dispersed team, the use of communication technologies and team relationship. In addition, the study also found that factors team culture, time zone differences and language contribute to virtual team working environment.

  9. Changing Job Satisfaction, Absenteeism, and Healthcare Claims Costs In a Hospital Culture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Newsome, Misty; Pearsall, Cynthia; Ryan, Teresa; Starlin, Pamela

    2014-01-01

    Introduction: Fairfield Medical Center is a 222-bed community hospital located in Lancaster, Ohio. Organizational leadership chose to invest in the Transforming Stress Workshop, a 6-hour workshop with a 2-hour follow-up workshop, in order to improve the well-being of its staff and physicians. Special thought and consideration were given to being able to sustain any benefits and/or improvements long-term. As a result, strategies were developed to integrate the program into our culture. Methods: Four staff members from a variety of disciplines were selected and sent to HeartMath Train-the-Trainer to gain proficiency in HeartMath methodology and tools, expanding their duties to deliver the classes. Biweekly workshops were offered from August 2007 through December 2010, educating a total of 975 employees, or 48% of the staff. Other tactics providing a sustainable program included senior leadership support and championing, management team training, positive employee comments published internally, use of tools in committee and department meetings, incorporation into orientation and on-boarding processes, part of major initiative roll-outs, element in clinical ladder, expansion to include Transforming Team Workshops, sharing of Participant and Organizational Quality Assessment-Revised data, a lead HeartMath instructor who provides consulting to other organizations, provision of classes to local educators, and open workshops for employee family members. Results: Three metrics were selected to measure the success of the program: employee satisfaction, absenteeism rates, and healthcare claims cost. Statistically significant cultural and financial return on investment were demonstrated. Employees who received HeartMath training experienced a 2:1 savings on healthcare claims as compared to employees who had not received training. Employee Opinion Survey results demonstrated that employees who had HeartMath training had higher overall satisfaction scores than those who had not

  10. Public Perception of Climate Change: The Importance of Knowledge and Cultural Worldviews.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shi, Jing; Visschers, Vivianne H M; Siegrist, Michael

    2015-12-01

    The importance of knowledge for lay people's climate change concerns has been questioned in recent years, as it had been suggested that cultural values are stronger predictors of concern about climate change than knowledge. Studies that simultaneously measured knowledge related to climate change and cultural values have, however, been missing. We conducted a mail survey in the German-speaking part of Switzerland (N = 1,065). Results suggested that cultural worldviews and climate-related knowledge were significantly related with people's concern about climate change. Also, cultural worldviews and climate-relevant knowledge appeared important for people's willingness to change behaviors and to accept climate change policies. In addition, different types of knowledge were found to have different impacts on people's concern about climate change, their willingness to change behaviors, and their acceptance of policies about climate change. Specifically, causal knowledge significantly increased concern about climate change and willingness to support climate-friendly policies. We therefore concluded that risk communication should focus on causal knowledge, provided this knowledge does not threaten cultural values. © 2015 Society for Risk Analysis.

  11. Social structure, infectious diseases, disasters, secularism, and cultural change in America.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grossmann, Igor; Varnum, Michael E W

    2015-03-01

    Why do cultures change? The present work examined cultural change in eight cultural-level markers, or correlates, of individualism in the United States, all of which increased over the course of the 20th century: frequency of individualist themes in books, preference for uniqueness in baby naming, frequency of single-child relative to multichild families, frequency of single-generation relative to multigeneration households, percentage of adults and percentage of older adults living alone, small family size, and divorce rates (relative to marriage rates). We tested five key hypotheses regarding cultural change in individualism-collectivism. As predicted by previous theories, changes in socioeconomic structure, pathogen prevalence, and secularism accompanied changes in individualism averaged across all measures. The relationship with changes in individualism was less robust for urbanization. Contrary to previous theories, changes in individualism were positively (as opposed to negatively) related to the frequency of disasters. Time-lagged analyses suggested that only socioeconomic structure had a robust effect on individualism; changes in socioeconomic structure preceded changes in individualism. Implications for anthropology, psychology, and sociology are discussed. © The Author(s) 2015.

  12. Impact of cell culture process changes on endogenous retrovirus expression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brorson, Kurt; De Wit, Christina; Hamilton, Elizabeth; Mustafa, Mehnaz; Swann, Patrick G; Kiss, Robert; Taticek, Ron; Polastri, Gian; Stein, Kathryn E; Xu, Yuan

    2002-11-05

    Cell culture process changes (e.g., changes in scale, medium formulation, operational conditions) and cell line changes are common during the development life cycle of a therapeutic protein. To ensure that the impact of such process changes on product quality and safety is minimal, it is standard practice to compare critical product quality and safety attributes before and after the changes. One potential concern introduced by cell culture process improvements is the possibility of increased endogenous retrovirus expression to a level above the clearance capability of the subsequent purification process. To address this, retrovirus expression was measured in scaled down and full production scaled Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell cultures of four monoclonal antibodies and one recombinant protein before and after process changes. Two highly sensitive, quantitative (Q)-PCR-based assays were used to measure endogenous retroviruses. It is shown that cell culture process changes that primarily alter media components, nutrient feed volume, seed density, cell bank source (i.e., master cell bank vs. working cell bank), and vial size, or culture scale, singly or in combination, do not impact the rate of retrovirus expression to an extent greater than the variability of the Q-PCR assays (0.2-0.5 log(10)). Cell culture changes that significantly alter the metabolic state of the cells and/or rates of protein expression (e.g., pH and temperature shifts, NaButyrate addition) measurably impact the rate of retrovirus synthesis (up to 2 log(10)). The greatest degree of variation in endogenous retrovirus expression was observed between individual cell lines (up to 3 log(10)). These data support the practice of measuring endogenous retrovirus output for each new cell line introduced into manufacturing or after process changes that significantly increase product-specific productivity or alter the metabolic state, but suggest that reassessment of retrovirus expression after other

  13. The impact of individual expectations and expectation conflicts on virtual teams

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bosch-Sijtsema, Petra

    Virtual teams are characterized by geographical dispersion, organizational, and cultural heterogeneity, and their members have little history and lateral and weak relationships. Literature denotes the importance of expectations in virtual settings, but individual expectations of virtual team members

  14. Adaptive heterogeneous multi-robot teams

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Parker, L.E.

    1998-11-01

    This research addresses the problem of achieving fault tolerant cooperation within small- to medium-sized teams of heterogeneous mobile robots. The author describes a novel behavior-based, fully distributed architecture, called ALLIANCE, that utilizes adaptive action selection to achieve fault tolerant cooperative control in robot missions involving loosely coupled, largely independent tasks. The robots in this architecture possess a variety of high-level functions that they can perform during a mission, and must at all times select an appropriate action based on the requirements of the mission, the activities of other robots, the current environmental conditions, and their own internal states. Since such cooperative teams often work in dynamic and unpredictable environments, the software architecture allows the team members to respond robustly and reliably to unexpected environmental changes and modifications in the robot team that may occur due to mechanical failure, the learning of new skills, or the addition or removal of robots from the team by human intervention. After presenting ALLIANCE, the author describes in detail the experimental results of an implementation of this architecture on a team of physical mobile robots performing a cooperative box pushing demonstration. These experiments illustrate the ability of ALLIANCE to achieve adaptive, fault-tolerant cooperative control amidst dynamic changes in the capabilities of the robot team.

  15. Why do Cultures Change? The Challenges of Globalization

    OpenAIRE

    Suberchicot, Alain

    2009-01-01

    This essay explores cultural change in the context of the economic globalization currently underway. It aims at analysing the role that theoretical inventiveness and ethical value play in fashioning broader cultural representation and responsibility, and shall explore issues of cultural disunity and conflict, while assessing the influence that leading intellectuals may have in promoting a finer perception of value worldwide. The role of higher education as an asset in the defence of democracy...

  16. Evaluation of aviation-based safety team training in a hospital in The Netherlands.

    Science.gov (United States)

    De Korne, Dirk F; Van Wijngaarden, Jeroen D H; Van Dyck, Cathy; Hiddema, U Francis; Klazinga, Niek S

    2014-01-01

    The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the implementation of a broad-scale team resource management (TRM) program on safety culture in a Dutch eye hospital, detailing the program's content and procedures. Aviation-based TRM training is recognized as a useful approach to increase patient safety, but little is known about how it affects safety culture. Pre- and post-assessments of the hospitals' safety culture was based on interviews with ophthalmologists, anesthesiologists, residents, nurses, and support staff. Interim observations were made at training sessions and in daily hospital practice. The program consisted of safety audits of processes and (team) activities, interactive classroom training sessions by aviation experts, a flight simulator session, and video recording of team activities with subsequent feedback. Medical professionals considered aviation experts inspiring role models and respected their non-hierarchical external perspective and focus on medical-technical issues. The post-assessment showed that ophthalmologists and other hospital staff had become increasingly aware of safety issues. The multidisciplinary approach promoted social (team) orientation that replaced the former functionally-oriented culture. The number of reported near-incidents greatly increased; the number of wrong-side surgeries stabilized to a minimum after an initial substantial reduction. The study was observational and the hospital's variety of efforts to improve safety culture prevented us from establishing a causal relation between improvement and any one specific intervention. Aviation-based TRM training can be a useful to stimulate safety culture in hospitals. Safety and quality improvements are not single treatment interventions but complex socio-technical interventions. A multidisciplinary system approach and focus on "team" instead of "profession" seems both necessary and difficult in hospital care.

  17. The importance of trust in virtual team knowledge mediation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Petersen, Nils Braad

    2012-01-01

    For transnational companies, virtual project teams are a means of overcoming temporal, geographical and organizational boundaries between team members. However, because the level of knowledge communication has been shown to be influenced by trust (e.g. Staples & Webster 2008; Quigley, Tesluk, Locke......, and will examine how the corporate context, consisting of embedded cultures, corporate structures and orgamizational communities of practice (CoP) support relationships, identity, trust and knowledge communication. According to the literature review on virtual teams conducted by Martins, Gilson & Maynard (2004...

  18. Conducting multinational, cross-cultural research in the functional gastrointestinal disorders: issues and recommendations. A Rome Foundation working team report.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sperber, A D; Gwee, K A; Hungin, A P; Corazziari, E; Fukudo, S; Gerson, C; Ghoshal, U C; Kang, J-Y; Levy, R L; Schmulson, M; Dumitrascu, D; Gerson, M-J; Chen, M; Myung, S-J; Quigley, E M M; Whorwell, P J; Zarzar, K; Whitehead, W E

    2014-11-01

    Cross-cultural, multinational research can advance the field of functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs). Cross-cultural comparative research can make a significant contribution in areas such as epidemiology, genetics, psychosocial modulators, symptom reporting and interpretation, extra-intestinal co-morbidity, diagnosis and treatment, determinants of disease severity, health care utilisation, and health-related quality of life, all issues that can be affected by geographical region, culture, ethnicity and race. To identify methodological challenges for cross-cultural, multinational research, and suggest possible solutions. This report, which summarises the full report of a working team established by the Rome Foundation that is available on the Internet, reflects an effort by an international committee of FGID clinicians and researchers. It is based on comprehensive literature reviews and expert opinion. Cross-cultural, multinational research is important and feasible, but has barriers to successful implementation. This report contains recommendations for future research relating to study design, subject recruitment, availability of appropriate study instruments, translation and validation of study instruments, documenting confounders, statistical analyses and reporting of results. Advances in study design and methodology, as well as cross-cultural research competence, have not matched technological advancements. The development of multinational research networks and cross-cultural research collaboration is still in its early stages. This report is intended to be aspirational rather than prescriptive, so we present recommendations, not guidelines. We aim to raise awareness of these issues and to pose higher standards, but not to discourage investigators from doing what is feasible in any particular setting. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  19. Rapid response teams: qualitative analysis of their effectiveness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leach, Linda Searle; Mayo, Ann M

    2013-05-01

    Multidisciplinary rapid response teams focus on patients' emergent needs and manage critical situations to prevent avoidable deaths. Although research has focused primarily on outcomes, studies of the actual team effectiveness within the teams from multiple perspectives have been limited. To describe effectiveness of rapid response teams in a large teaching hospital in California that had been using such teams for 5 years. The grounded-theory method was used to discover if substantive theory might emerge from interview and/or observational data. Purposeful sampling was used to conduct in-person semistructured interviews with 17 key informants. Convenience sampling was used for the 9 observed events that involved a rapid response team. Analysis involved use of a concept or indicator model to generate empirical results from the data. Data were coded, compared, and contrasted, and, when appropriate, relationships between concepts were formed. Results Dimensions of effective team performance included the concepts of organizational culture, team structure, expertise, communication, and teamwork. Professionals involved reported that rapid response teams functioned well in managing patients at risk or in crisis; however, unique challenges were identified. Teams were loosely coupled because of the inconsistency of team members from day to day. Team members had little opportunity to develop relationships or team skills. The need for team training may be greater than that among teams that work together regularly under less time pressure to perform. Communication between team members and managing a crisis were critical aspects of an effective response team.

  20. Study on team evaluation. Team process model for team evaluation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sasou Kunihide; Ebisu, Mitsuhiro; Hirose, Ayako

    2004-01-01

    Several studies have been done to evaluate or improve team performance in nuclear and aviation industries. Crew resource management is the typical example. In addition, team evaluation recently gathers interests in other teams of lawyers, medical staff, accountants, psychiatrics, executive, etc. However, the most evaluation methods focus on the results of team behavior that can be observed through training or actual business situations. What is expected team is not only resolving problems but also training younger members being destined to lead the next generation. Therefore, the authors set the final goal of this study establishing a series of methods to evaluate and improve teams inclusively such as decision making, motivation, staffing, etc. As the first step, this study develops team process model describing viewpoints for the evaluation. The team process is defined as some kinds of power that activate or inactivate competency of individuals that is the components of team's competency. To find the team process, the authors discussed the merits of team behavior with the experienced training instructors and shift supervisors of nuclear/thermal power plants. The discussion finds four team merits and many components to realize those team merits. Classifying those components into eight groups of team processes such as 'Orientation', 'Decision Making', 'Power and Responsibility', 'Workload Management', 'Professional Trust', 'Motivation', 'Training' and 'staffing', the authors propose Team Process Model with two to four sub processes in each team process. In the future, the authors will develop methods to evaluate some of the team processes for nuclear/thermal power plant operation teams. (author)

  1. Are real teams healthy teams?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Buljac, M.; van Woerkom, M.; van Wijngaarden, P.

    2013-01-01

    This study examines the impact of real-team--as opposed to a team in name only--characteristics (i.e., team boundaries, stability of membership, and task interdependence) on team processes (i.e., team learning and emotional support) and team effectiveness in the long-term care sector. We employed a

  2. Team Learning in Teacher Teams: Team Entitativity as a Bridge between Teams-in-Theory and Teams-in-Practice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vangrieken, Katrien; Dochy, Filip; Raes, Elisabeth

    2016-01-01

    This study aimed to investigate team learning in the context of teacher teams in higher vocational education. As teacher teams often do not meet all criteria included in theoretical team definitions, the construct "team entitativity" was introduced. Defined as the degree to which a group of individuals possesses the quality of being a…

  3. Making a World of Difference: Collaboration. Excellence for Intercultural Teams

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schneider, Luise; Romberg, Claudia

    2011-01-01

    Cultural awareness training that emphasizes communication delivers only a partial solution to the challenges that intercultural work teams face. Improving collaboration requires a strong foundation of performance management before a work team can determine how they will cooperate to perform to excellence. Against the backdrop of the authors'…

  4. Cross-Level Effects Between Neurophysiology and Communication During Team Training.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gorman, Jamie C; Martin, Melanie J; Dunbar, Terri A; Stevens, Ronald H; Galloway, Trysha L; Amazeen, Polemnia G; Likens, Aaron D

    2016-02-01

    We investigated cross-level effects, which are concurrent changes across neural and cognitive-behavioral levels of analysis as teams interact, between neurophysiology and team communication variables under variations in team training. When people work together as a team, they develop neural, cognitive, and behavioral patterns that they would not develop individually. It is currently unknown whether these patterns are associated with each other in the form of cross-level effects. Team-level neurophysiology and latent semantic analysis communication data were collected from submarine teams in a training simulation. We analyzed whether (a) both neural and communication variables change together in response to changes in training segments (briefing, scenario, or debriefing), (b) neural and communication variables mutually discriminate teams of different experience levels, and (c) peak cross-correlations between neural and communication variables identify how the levels are linked. Changes in training segment led to changes in both neural and communication variables, neural and communication variables mutually discriminated between teams of different experience levels, and peak cross-correlations indicated that changes in communication precede changes in neural patterns in more experienced teams. Cross-level effects suggest that teamwork is not reducible to a fundamental level of analysis and that training effects are spread out across neural and cognitive-behavioral levels of analysis. Cross-level effects are important to consider for theories of team performance and practical aspects of team training. Cross-level effects suggest that measurements could be taken at one level (e.g., neural) to assess team experience (or skill) on another level (e.g., cognitive-behavioral). © 2015, Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.

  5. Changing Patterns of Cultural Imperialism in a Developing Country.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Everitt, John

    Using Belize, Central America, as an example, this paper illustrates some of the changing patterns of cultural imperialism that can presently be viewed in the emerging nations of the world. Cultural imperialism is defined as the process whereby the culture of a weaker nation is dominated by that of a stronger nation. In September 1981, Belize,…

  6. Organizational Culture as a Factor Leaning Knowledge Management

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Waldemar Walczak

    2009-07-01

    Full Text Available The article discusses subject of the organizational culture and understanding the strong role it plays in organizations from the point of view in regard to the human capital management. Basically, culture is comprised of the assumptions, values, norms and tangible signs (artifacts of organization members and their behaviors. It encourages employees to identify their goals with company goals, promotes knowledge sharing lead to increased competencies and teams effectiveness. The most significant thesis of the article says that organizational culture plays an important role in the process of knowledge management. Main conceptions of corporate culture as understanding, meaning, the most important aspects indicated changes which should be stimulated by transformation of organizational culture and ways of shaping, were shown.

  7. Team Leader Structuring for Team Effectiveness and Team Learning in Command-and-Control Teams.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van der Haar, Selma; Koeslag-Kreunen, Mieke; Euwe, Eline; Segers, Mien

    2017-04-01

    Due to their crucial and highly consequential task, it is of utmost importance to understand the levers leading to effectiveness of multidisciplinary emergency management command-and-control (EMCC) teams. We argue that the formal EMCC team leader needs to initiate structure in the team meetings to support organizing the work as well as facilitate team learning, especially the team learning process of constructive conflict. In a sample of 17 EMCC teams performing a realistic EMCC exercise, including one or two team meetings (28 in sum), we coded the team leader's verbal structuring behaviors (1,704 events), rated constructive conflict by external experts, and rated team effectiveness by field experts. Results show that leaders of effective teams use structuring behaviors more often (except asking procedural questions) but decreasingly over time. They support constructive conflict by clarifying and by making summaries that conclude in a command or decision in a decreasing frequency over time.

  8. Team Leader Structuring for Team Effectiveness and Team Learning in Command-and-Control Teams

    Science.gov (United States)

    van der Haar, Selma; Koeslag-Kreunen, Mieke; Euwe, Eline; Segers, Mien

    2017-01-01

    Due to their crucial and highly consequential task, it is of utmost importance to understand the levers leading to effectiveness of multidisciplinary emergency management command-and-control (EMCC) teams. We argue that the formal EMCC team leader needs to initiate structure in the team meetings to support organizing the work as well as facilitate team learning, especially the team learning process of constructive conflict. In a sample of 17 EMCC teams performing a realistic EMCC exercise, including one or two team meetings (28 in sum), we coded the team leader’s verbal structuring behaviors (1,704 events), rated constructive conflict by external experts, and rated team effectiveness by field experts. Results show that leaders of effective teams use structuring behaviors more often (except asking procedural questions) but decreasingly over time. They support constructive conflict by clarifying and by making summaries that conclude in a command or decision in a decreasing frequency over time. PMID:28490856

  9. Mid-term evaluation of the Climate Change Action Fund: Technology Early Action Measures (TEAM) block

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2001-11-01

    To assist Canada in meeting its commitments under the Kyoto Protocol for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, the Government of Canada established the Climate Change Action Fund (CCAF) in 1998. Under the CCAF umbrella, the Technology Early Action Measures (TEAM) Block was initially allocated 60 million dollars over a three-year period for the provision of cost-shared support to speed up the development and deployment of cost-effective near market-ready greenhouse gases emission reducing technologies. The main avenues adopted by TEAM in its mandate were: supporting technology development and deployment, overcoming obstacles to technology development and deployment, and piloting technology transfer to developing countries and countries in transition. A mid-term evaluation of its performance to date was conducted. It proved to be too early for an adequate assessment of the extent to which the projects sponsored by TEAM demonstrated technical success in reducing greenhouse gases emissions, considering the time-consuming tasks required for the development and negotiation of technology projects. Most projects to date have not moved beyond the early stages benchmark. It was determined that the expected outcomes will be achieved. The innovative approach selected by TEAM, building on existing programs, appeared to be very effective. Findings and recommendations were discussed in this report

  10. Factors Influencing Team Behaviors in Surgery: A Qualitative Study to Inform Teamwork Interventions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aveling, Emma-Louise; Stone, Juliana; Sundt, Thoralf; Wright, Cameron; Gino, Francesca; Singer, Sara

    2018-02-07

    Surgical excellence demands teamwork. Poor team behaviors negatively affect team performance and are associated with adverse events and worse outcomes. Interventions to improve surgical teamwork focusing on frontline team members' nontechnical skills have proliferated but shown mixed results. Literature on teamwork in organizations suggests that team behaviors are also contingent on psycho-social, cultural and organizational factors. This study examines factors influencing surgical team behaviors in order to inform more contextually sensitive and effective approaches to optimizing surgical teamwork. Qualitative study of cardiac surgical teams in a large US teaching hospital included 34 semi-structured interviews. Thematic network analysis was used to examine perceptions of ideal teamwork and factors influencing team behaviors in the OR. Perceptions of ideal teamwork were largely shared, but team members held discrepant views of which team and leadership behaviors enhanced or undermined teamwork. Other factors impacting team behaviors related to: local organizational culture, including management of staff behavior; variable case demands and team members' technical competence; fitness of organizational structures and processes to support teamwork. These factors affected perceptions of what constituted optimal interpersonal and team behaviors in the OR. Team behaviors are contextually contingent and organizationally determined, and beliefs about optimal behaviors are not necessarily shared. Interventions to optimize surgical teamwork requires establishing consensus regarding best practice, ability to adapt as circumstances require, and organizational commitment to addressing contextual factors that impact teams. Copyright © 2018 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  11. A non-equilibrium neutral model for analysing cultural change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kandler, Anne; Shennan, Stephen

    2013-08-07

    Neutral evolution is a frequently used model to analyse changes in frequencies of cultural variants over time. Variants are chosen to be copied according to their relative frequency and new variants are introduced by a process of random mutation. Here we present a non-equilibrium neutral model which accounts for temporally varying population sizes and mutation rates and makes it possible to analyse the cultural system under consideration at any point in time. This framework gives an indication whether observed changes in the frequency distributions of a set of cultural variants between two time points are consistent with the random copying hypothesis. We find that the likelihood of the existence of the observed assemblage at the end of the considered time period (expressed by the probability of the observed number of cultural variants present in the population during the whole period under neutral evolution) is a powerful indicator of departures from neutrality. Further, we study the effects of frequency-dependent selection on the evolutionary trajectories and present a case study of change in the decoration of pottery in early Neolithic Central Europe. Based on the framework developed we show that neutral evolution is not an adequate description of the observed changes in frequency. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. When study participants are vulnerable: getting and keeping the right team.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hill, Nikki L; Mogle, Jacqueline; Wion, Rachel; Kolanowski, Ann M; Fick, Donna; Behrens, Liza; Muhall, Paula; McDowell, Jane

    2017-09-19

    Research assistants (RAs) are critical members of all research teams. When a study involves vulnerable populations, it is particularly important to have the right team members. To describe the motivations, personal characteristics and team characteristics that promoted the job satisfaction of RAs who worked on two multi-year, randomised clinical trials involving older adults with dementia. A survey was conducted with 41 community members who worked as RAs for up to five years. Measures included demographics, work engagement, personality and characteristics of effective teams, as well as open-ended questions about respondents' experiences of the study. Quantitative analyses and coding of open-ended responses were used to summarise results. Almost all the RAs surveyed joined the team because of previous experiences of interacting with cognitively impaired older people. The RA respondents scored higher in 'dedication to work', 'extraversion', 'agreeableness' and 'conscientiousness' than average. An important aspect of their job satisfaction was team culture, including positive interpersonal interaction and the development of supportive team relationships. A positive work culture provides RAs with an opportunity to work with a study population that they are personally driven to help, and promotes motivation and satisfaction in team members. Results from this study can guide the recruitment, screening and retention of team members for studies that include vulnerable populations. ©2012 RCN Publishing Company Ltd. All rights reserved. Not to be copied, transmitted or recorded in any way, in whole or part, without prior permission of the publishers.

  13. Cultural Synergy and Organizational Change

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Strøbæk, Pernille Solveig; Vogt, Joachim

    2013-01-01

    This paper explores informal codes and rhythms of social behavior at work and their relation to organizational change and wellbeing. After a merger within a public service organization we organized 8 focus groups of 2-3 clerical or academic employees within a head office and a division office (N...... = 21). Word counts of ‘I’ and ‘we’ revealed that people sharing pre-merger organizational background (homogeneous groups) used ‘we’ more often than heterogeneous groups. Head office employees were concerned with workload and social code, whereas division office employees mainly discussed meetings......, commitment, and office space. Organizational background rather than office cultures guided these differences. We found that in a merged organization cultural synergies are possible to create if practical and social values for employees are offered. Thus, interesting new ways to transform problems...

  14. Context matters: the experience of 14 research teams in systematically reporting contextual factors important for practice change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tomoaia-Cotisel, Andrada; Scammon, Debra L; Waitzman, Norman J; Cronholm, Peter F; Halladay, Jacqueline R; Driscoll, David L; Solberg, Leif I; Hsu, Clarissa; Tai-Seale, Ming; Hiratsuka, Vanessa; Shih, Sarah C; Fetters, Michael D; Wise, Christopher G; Alexander, Jeffrey A; Hauser, Diane; McMullen, Carmit K; Scholle, Sarah Hudson; Tirodkar, Manasi A; Schmidt, Laura; Donahue, Katrina E; Parchman, Michael L; Stange, Kurt C

    2013-01-01

    We aimed to advance the internal and external validity of research by sharing our empirical experience and recommendations for systematically reporting contextual factors. Fourteen teams conducting research on primary care practice transformation retrospectively considered contextual factors important to interpreting their findings (internal validity) and transporting or reinventing their findings in other settings/situations (external validity). Each team provided a table or list of important contextual factors and interpretive text included as appendices to the articles in this supplement. Team members identified the most important contextual factors for their studies. We grouped the findings thematically and developed recommendations for reporting context. The most important contextual factors sorted into 5 domains: (1) the practice setting, (2) the larger organization, (3) the external environment, (4) implementation pathway, and (5) the motivation for implementation. To understand context, investigators recommend (1) engaging diverse perspectives and data sources, (2) considering multiple levels, (3) evaluating history and evolution over time, (4) looking at formal and informal systems and culture, and (5) assessing the (often nonlinear) interactions between contextual factors and both the process and outcome of studies. We include a template with tabular and interpretive elements to help study teams engage research participants in reporting relevant context. These findings demonstrate the feasibility and potential utility of identifying and reporting contextual factors. Involving diverse stakeholders in assessing context at multiple stages of the research process, examining their association with outcomes, and consistently reporting critical contextual factors are important challenges for a field interested in improving the internal and external validity and impact of health care research.

  15. What makes maternity teams effective and safe? Lessons from a series of research on teamwork, leadership and team training.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Siassakos, Dimitrios; Fox, Robert; Bristowe, Katherine; Angouri, Jo; Hambly, Helen; Robson, Lauren; Draycott, Timothy J

    2013-11-01

    We describe lessons for safety from a synthesis of seven studies of teamwork, leadership and team training across a healthcare region. Two studies identified successes and challenges in a unit with embedded team training: a staff survey demonstrated a positive culture but a perceived need for greater senior presence; training improved actual emergency care, but wide variation in team performance remained. Analysis of multicenter simulation records showed that variation in patient safety and team efficiency correlated with their teamwork but not individual knowledge, skills or attitudes. Safe teams tended to declare the emergency earlier, hand over in a more structured way, and use closed-loop communication. Focused and directed communication was also associated with better patient-actor perception of care. Focus groups corroborated these findings, proposed that the capability and experience of the leader is more important than seniority, and identified teamwork and leadership issues that require further research. © 2013 Nordic Federation of Societies of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

  16. Teaching Culturally Diverse Students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Correa, Vivian; Tulbert, Beth

    1991-01-01

    Characteristics of culturally diverse students are discussed in terms of language, culture, and socioeconomic factors. Meeting the educational needs of culturally diverse students can involve interactive teaming of professionals; parent involvement; and providing appropriate services, assessment, curriculum, and instruction. (JDD)

  17. Rapid improvement teams.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alemi, F; Moore, S; Headrick, L; Neuhauser, D; Hekelman, F; Kizys, N

    1998-03-01

    Suggestions, most of which are supported by empirical studies, are provided on how total quality management (TQM) teams can be used to bring about faster organizationwide improvements. Ideas are offered on how to identify the right problem, have rapid meetings, plan rapidly, collect data rapidly, and make rapid whole-system changes. Suggestions for identifying the right problem include (1) postpone benchmarking when problems are obvious, (2) define the problem in terms of customer experience so as not to blame employees nor embed a solution in the problem statement, (3) communicate with the rest of the organization from the start, (4) state the problem from different perspectives, and (5) break large problems into smaller units. Suggestions for having rapid meetings include (1) choose a nonparticipating facilitator to expedite meetings, (2) meet with each team member before the team meeting, (3) postpone evaluation of ideas, and (4) rethink conclusions of a meeting before acting on them. Suggestions for rapid planning include reducing time spent on flowcharting by focusing on the future, not the present. Suggestions for rapid data collection include (1) sample patients for surveys, (2) rely on numerical estimates by process owners, and (3) plan for rapid data collection. Suggestions for rapid organizationwide implementation include (1) change membership on cross-functional teams, (2) get outside perspectives, (3) use unfolding storyboards, and (4) go beyond self-interest to motivate lasting change in the organization. Additional empirical investigations of time saved as a consequence of the strategies provided are needed. If organizations solve their problems rapidly, fewer unresolved problems may remain.

  18. Untangling Spaghetti: How Innovation Changed at Oticon (B)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Stranne, Søren; Maier, Anja; Strebel, Paul

    The management team introduced a “cultural revolution” to support the new innovation process, followed by an innovation workflow involving project portfolio planning and road mapping, as well as involvement of marketing and production. Learning objectives: Managing change in the approach to innov...... to support change (application of the Galbraith Star Model)....

  19. Comparison of Two Team Learning and Team Entrepreneurship Models at a Finnish University of Applied Sciences. Setting the Scene for Future Development

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pasi Juvonen

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available This team learning and team entre-preneurship model of education has been deployed at the Bachelor’s level in the degree programmes of IT and Business Administration (BA. In BA studies the students who take part in team learning have specialized in marketing since 2009 at the Saimaa University of Applied Sciences (SUAS. The model called ICT entrepreneurship study path (ICT-ESP has been developed for IT education. The ICT-ESP has been built on the theory of experien-tal learning and theories of knowledge creation and knowledge management. The students study and complete their degree as team entrepreneurs. The model has been further developed in the Business Administration Degree Programme with students who specialize in marketing. The Degree Programme in IT at the Bachelor’s level was terminated in 2011 by Finnish Min-istry of Education and Culture. Cur-rently, there are severe discussions on bringing it back – not as an IT but as an ICT Degree Programme. This article makes a cross-section of what has already been explored with the team learning and team entrepreneurship model and what the next steps will be. It makes a comparison of two originally sep-arately developed models and dis-cusses their best practices. The arti-cle also argues whether the upcom-ing ICT education should be orga-nized in a conventional way – as curriculum of courses, or as expan-sion of the current team learning and team entrepreneurship model. The data consists of field notes, meeting memos, and dozens of un-official discussions with colleagues and company representatives. Liter-ature studies made during the ongo-ing research, development, and in-novation (RDI projects offered an extra view of how the business con-text is changing and what should be done to make benefit out of the change. The results suggest that the up-coming ICT Degree Programme at SUAS should be integrated into the existing deployment of team learning and team entrepreneurship learning

  20. Pioneering the Transdisciplinary Team Science Approach: Lessons Learned from National Cancer Institute Grantees.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vogel, Amanda L; Stipelman, Brooke A; Hall, Kara L; Nebeling, Linda; Stokols, Daniel; Spruijt-Metz, Donna

    2014-01-01

    The National Cancer Institute has been a leader in supporting transdisciplinary (TD) team science. From 2005-2010, the NCI supported Transdisciplinary Research on Energetic and Cancer I (TREC I), a center initiative fostering the TD integration of social, behavioral, and biological sciences to examine the relationships among obesity, nutrition, physical activity and cancer. In the final year of TREC I, we conducted qualitative in-depth-interviews with 31 participating investigators and trainees to learn more about their experiences with TD team science, including challenges, facilitating factors, strategies for success, and impacts. Five main challenges emerged: (1) limited published guidance for how to engage in TD team science, when TREC I was implemented; (2) conceptual and scientific challenges inherent to efforts to achieve TD integration; (3) discipline-based differences in values, terminology, methods, and work styles; (4) project management challenges involved in TD team science; and (5) traditional incentive and reward systems that do not recognize or reward TD team science. Four main facilitating factors and strategies for success emerged: (1) beneficial attitudes and beliefs about TD research and team science; (2) effective team processes; (3) brokering and bridge-building activities by individuals holding particular roles in a research center; and (4) funding initiative characteristics that support TD team science. Broad impacts of participating in TD team science in the context of TREC I included: (1) new positive attitudes about TD research and team science; (2) new boundary-crossing collaborations; (3) scientific advances related to research approaches, findings, and dissemination; (4) institutional culture change and resource creation in support of TD team science; and (5) career advancement. Funding agencies, academic institutions, and scholarly journals can help to foster TD team science through funding opportunities, institutional policies on

  1. Cultural responses to climate change during the late Holocene.

    Science.gov (United States)

    deMenocal, P B

    2001-04-27

    Modern complex societies exhibit marked resilience to interannual-to- decadal droughts, but cultural responses to multidecadal-to-multicentury droughts can only be addressed by integrating detailed archaeological and paleoclimatic records. Four case studies drawn from New and Old World civilizations document societal responses to prolonged drought, including population dislocations, urban abandonment, and state collapse. Further study of past cultural adaptations to persistent climate change may provide valuable perspective on possible responses of modern societies to future climate change.

  2. Task-Team-Process: The Development of Shared Representations in a Engineeing Design Team

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Badke-Schaub, Petra; Lauche, Kristina; Neumann, Andre

    2009-01-01

    In this article, an analysis of the development of team mental models in two engineering meetings is described. The authors present a two-stage model of the development of sharedness in teams, which formed the basis for a communication analysis of both meetings. The transcripts of the meetings were...... categorised referring to underlying cognitive acts and design strategies. The results are largely consistent with the assumptions of the model indicating a lack of sharedness. This was confirmed by changes of frequencies linked to task-, team-, and processrelated cognitive acts within and between the two...

  3. Tiger team assessment of the Argonne Illinois site

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1990-01-01

    This report documents the results of the Department of Energy's (DOE) Tiger Team Assessment of the Argonne Illinois Site (AIS) (including the DOE Chicago Operations Office, DOE Argonne Area Office, Argonne National Laboratory-East, and New Brunswick Laboratory) and Site A and Plot M, Argonne, Illinois, conducted from September 17 through October 19, 1990. The Tiger Team Assessment was conducted by a team comprised of professionals from DOE, contractors, consultants. The purpose of the assessment was to provide the Secretary of Energy with the status of Environment, Safety, and Health (ES ampersand H) Programs at AIS. Argonne National Laboratory-East (ANL-E) is the principal tenant at AIS. ANL-E is a multiprogram laboratory operated by the University of Chicago for DOE. The mission of ANL-E is to perform basic and applied research that supports the development of energy-related technologies. There are a significant number of ES ampersand H findings and concerns identified in the report that require prompt management attention. A significant change in culture is required before ANL-E can attain consistent and verifiable compliance with statutes, regulations and DOE Orders. ES ampersand H activities are informal, fragmented, and inconsistently implemented. Communication is seriously lacking, both vertically and horizontally. Management expectations are not known or commondated adequately, support is not consistent, and oversight is not effective

  4. Tiger team assessment of the Argonne Illinois site

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1990-10-19

    This report documents the results of the Department of Energy's (DOE) Tiger Team Assessment of the Argonne Illinois Site (AIS) (including the DOE Chicago Operations Office, DOE Argonne Area Office, Argonne National Laboratory-East, and New Brunswick Laboratory) and Site A and Plot M, Argonne, Illinois, conducted from September 17 through October 19, 1990. The Tiger Team Assessment was conducted by a team comprised of professionals from DOE, contractors, consultants. The purpose of the assessment was to provide the Secretary of Energy with the status of Environment, Safety, and Health (ES H) Programs at AIS. Argonne National Laboratory-East (ANL-E) is the principal tenant at AIS. ANL-E is a multiprogram laboratory operated by the University of Chicago for DOE. The mission of ANL-E is to perform basic and applied research that supports the development of energy-related technologies. There are a significant number of ES H findings and concerns identified in the report that require prompt management attention. A significant change in culture is required before ANL-E can attain consistent and verifiable compliance with statutes, regulations and DOE Orders. ES H activities are informal, fragmented, and inconsistently implemented. Communication is seriously lacking, both vertically and horizontally. Management expectations are not known or commondated adequately, support is not consistent, and oversight is not effective.

  5. How do primary health care teams learn to integrate intimate partner violence (IPV) management? A realist evaluation protocol.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goicolea, Isabel; Vives-Cases, Carmen; San Sebastian, Miguel; Marchal, Bruno; Kegels, Guy; Hurtig, Anna-Karin

    2013-03-23

    Despite the existence of ample literature dealing, on the one hand, with the integration of innovations within health systems and team learning, and, on the other hand, with different aspects of the detection and management of intimate partner violence (IPV) within healthcare facilities, research that explores how health innovations that go beyond biomedical issues-such as IPV management-get integrated into health systems, and that focuses on healthcare teams' learning processes is, to the best of our knowledge, very scarce if not absent. This realist evaluation protocol aims to ascertain: why, how, and under what circumstances primary healthcare teams engage (if at all) in a learning process to integrate IPV management in their practices; and why, how, and under what circumstances team learning processes lead to the development of organizational culture and values regarding IPV management, and the delivery of IPV management services. This study will be conducted in Spain using a multiple-case study design. Data will be collected from selected cases (primary healthcare teams) through different methods: individual and group interviews, routinely collected statistical data, documentary review, and observation. Cases will be purposively selected in order to enable testing the initial middle-range theory (MRT). After in-depth exploration of a limited number of cases, additional cases will be chosen for their ability to contribute to refining the emerging MRT to explain how primary healthcare learn to integrate intimate partner violence management. Evaluations of health sector responses to IPV are scarce, and even fewer focus on why, how, and when the healthcare services integrate IPV management. There is a consensus that healthcare professionals and healthcare teams play a key role in this integration, and that training is important in order to realize changes. However, little is known about team learning of IPV management, both in terms of how to trigger such learning

  6. Simulation as a Tool to Facilitate Practice Changes in Teams Taking Care of Patients Under Investigation for Ebola Virus Disease in Spain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rojo, Elena; Oruña, Clara; Sierra, Dolores; García, Gema; Del Moral, Ignacio; Maestre, Jose M

    2016-04-01

    We analyzed the impact of simulation-based training on clinical practice and work processes on teams caring for patients with possible Ebola virus disease (EVD) in Cantabria, Spain. The Government of Spain set up a special committee for the management of EVD, and the Spanish Ministry of Health and foreign health services created an action protocol. Each region is responsible for selecting a reference hospital and an in-house care team to care for patients under investigation. Laboratory-confirmed cases of EVD have to be transferred to the Carlos III Health Institute in Madrid. Predeployment training and follow-up support are required to help personnel work safely and effectively. Simulation-based scenarios were designed to give staff the opportunity to practice before encountering a real-life situation. Lessons learned by each team during debriefings were listed, and a survey administered 3 months later assessed the implementation of practice and system changes. Implemented changes were related to clinical practice (eg, teamwork principles application), protocol implementation (eg, addition of new processes and rewriting of confusing parts), and system and workflow (eg, change of shift schedule and rearrangement of room equipment). Simulation can be used to detect needed changes in protocol or guidelines or can be adapted to meet the needs of a specific team.

  7. Folk beliefs of cultural changes in China

    OpenAIRE

    Xu, Yi; Hamamura, Takeshi

    2014-01-01

    For the last several decades, Chinese society has experienced transformative changes. How are these changes understood among Chinese people? To examine this question, Part 1 in this research solicited folk beliefs of cultural change from a group of Chinese participants in an open-ended format, and the generated folk beliefs were rated by another group of participants in Part 2 to gage each belief's level of agreement. Part 3 plotted the folk beliefs retained in Part 2 using the Google Ngram V...

  8. The changing psychology of culture from 1800 through 2000.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Greenfield, Patricia M

    2013-09-01

    The Google Books Ngram Viewer allows researchers to quantify culture across centuries by searching millions of books. This tool was used to test theory-based predictions about implications of an urbanizing population for the psychology of culture. Adaptation to rural environments prioritizes social obligation and duty, giving to other people, social belonging, religion in everyday life, authority relations, and physical activity. Adaptation to urban environments requires more individualistic and materialistic values; such adaptation prioritizes choice, personal possessions, and child-centered socialization in order to foster the development of psychological mindedness and the unique self. The Google Ngram Viewer generated relative frequencies of words indexing these values from the years 1800 to 2000 in American English books. As urban populations increased and rural populations declined, word frequencies moved in the predicted directions. Books published in the United Kingdom replicated this pattern. The analysis established long-term relationships between ecological change and cultural change, as predicted by the theory of social change and human development (Greenfield, 2009).

  9. The safety culture change process performed in Polish research reactor MARIA

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Golab, Andrzej

    2002-01-01

    The Safety Culture Change Process Performed in research reactor MARIA is described in this paper. The essential issues fulfilled in realization of the Safety Culture Enhancement Programme are related to the attitude and behaviour of top management, co-operating groups, operational personnel, relations between the operating organization and the supervising and advising organizations. Realization of this programme is based on changing the employees understanding of safety, changing their attitudes and behaviours by means of adequate training, requalification process and performing the broad self-assessment programme. Also a high level Quality Assurance Programme helps in development of the Safety Culture. (author)

  10. Cross-Cultural Conflicts within Sports Teams

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stura, Claudia; Johnston, Linda M.

    2018-01-01

    Since sports are increasingly used a way to bring formerly conflicting parties together post-conflict, more work needs to be done to ensure that sports are actually conducted in a way that promotes peace rather than exacerbates the conflict. Since many sports-for-peace programs cross cultural boundaries, this exploratory study was conducted to…

  11. The impact of organisational change and fiscal restraint on organisational culture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dark, Frances; Whiteford, Harvey; Ashkanasy, Neal M; Harvey, Carol; Harris, Meredith; Crompton, David; Newman, Ellie

    2017-01-01

    Strategies to implement evidence-based practice have highlighted the bidirectional relationship of organisational change on organisational culture. The present study examined changes in perceptions of organisational culture in two community mental health services implementing cognitive therapies into routine psychosis care over 3 years. During the time of the study there were a number of shared planned and unplanned changes that the mental health services had to accommodate. One service, Metro South, had the additional challenge of embarking on a major organisational restructure. A survey of organisational culture was administered to clinical staff of each service at yearly intervals over the 3 years. At baseline assessment there was no significant difference between the two services in organisational culture. At the midpoint assessment, which was conducted at the time the Metro South restructure was operationalized, there were less positive ratings of organisational culture recorded in Metro South compared to the other service. Organisational culture returned to near-baseline levels at endpoint assessment. These findings are consistent with the literature that organisational culture is relatively robust and resilient. It is also consistent with the literature that, at any one time, a service or organisation may have a finite capacity to absorb change. Consequently this limitation needs to be taken into account in the timing and planning of major service reform where possible. The results also extend the literature, insofar as external factors with a high impact on the operation of an organisation may impact upon organisational culture albeit temporarily.

  12. Latent Culture as a Force for Change and the Change Process in Operation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Banfield, Beryle

    The purpose of this study was to apply a theory of latent culture to describe the role of middle class black parents and students in effecting change in an elite educational organization and to use Schein's conceptual model of the Kurk Lewin paradigm of the change process (Unfreezing--Changing--Refreezing) to analyze this process over a three year…

  13. Competence-Based Teacher Education: A Change from "Didaktik" to Curriculum Culture?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pantic, Natasa; Wubbels, Theo

    2012-01-01

    This paper explores the substance of competence-driven changes in teacher education curricula by testing the possibility of using a framework distinguishing between the German pedagogical culture of "Didaktik" and the Anglo-Saxon Curriculum culture to describe the substance of these changes. Data about the perceptions of…

  14. Organizational transformation: a model for joint optimization of culture change and evidence-based design.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hamilton, D Kirk; Orr, Robin Diane; Raboin, W Ellen

    2008-01-01

    Healthcare organizations face continuous and accelerating external change and thus must be prepared to manage their own change initiatives proactively. Given that many believe that the U.S. healthcare system is broken and most healthcare organizations are dealing with pervasive problems, some organizations may choose to seek transformational change to achieve the six aims identified by the Institute of Medicine: healthcare that is safe, effective, patient-centered, timely, efficient, and equitable. Transformational change will almost certainly involve organizational culture. Culture change may be most effective when linked to other organizational change initiatives such as organizational strategy, structure, policies, procedures, and recruiting. Significant organizational change often requires accompanying facility change. There is an interdependent relationship between facility design and organizational culture. They affect each other and both impact organizational performance. Sociotechnical theory promotes joint optimization of the social (culture) and technical (facilities) aspects of an organization to achieve sustained positive change. To achieve organizational transformation and to sustain positive change, organizations must be prepared to adopt collaborative efforts in culture change and facility design. The authors propose a model for accomplishing joint optimization of culture change and evidence-based facility design.

  15. European Master-Doctorate Course on "Vulnerability of Cultural Heritage to Climate Change"

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lefèvre, R.-A.

    2009-04-01

    « Vulnerability of Cultural Heritage to Climate Change », European Master-Doctorate Course, Council of Europe, Strasbourg 7-11 September 2009 The character of Cultural Heritage is closely related to the climate, and the urban landscape and the built heritage have been designed with the local climate in mind. The stability of Cultural Heritage is, therefore, closely tied to its interactions with the ground and the atmosphere. Climate Change is thus expected to have either catastrophic or subtle effects on Cultural Heritage materials and Cultural Landscapes. The major aim of the 2009 Strasbourg Course is to ensure that young European students are informed on these important problems and will be able in the future to undertake rigorous ongoing scientific monitoring of changes in conditions of Cultural Heritage. The Programme of the Course will cover the following topics: • Heritage Climatology • Principles of Mitigation and Adaptation of Cultural Heritage to Climate Change • Impact of Climate Change on building structures • Dose-Response and Damage Functions for materials in a Changing Climate • Modelling sea salts transport and deposition • Modelling wetting and drying of historic buildings • Impact of Climate Change on building materials: stone, mortar, modern glass, stained glass windows • Impact of Climate Change on organic materials • Biological impact of Climate Change on Cultural Heritage • Sea level rise models and possible application to Cultural Heritage • Past, present and future for Venice • The policies and action plans of International Organisations (Council of Europe, UNESCO, ICCROM) The Course is addressed to young people with scientific background: physicists, chemists, geologists, biologists, engineers, because of the high scientific level of the background required to follow the lectures. Teaching will be delivered in English without any simultaneous translation. The teachers belong to European Universities, National

  16. Decision making in a multidisciplinary cancer team: does team discussion result in better quality decisions?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kee, Frank; Owen, Tracy; Leathem, Ruth

    2004-01-01

    To establish whether treatment recommendations made by clinicians concur with the best outcomes predicted from their prognostic estimates and whether team discussion improves the quality or outcome of their decision making, the authors studied real-time decision making by a lung cancer team. Clinicians completed pre- and postdiscussion questionnaires for 50 newly diagnosed patients. For each patient/doctor pairing, a decision model determined the expected patient outcomes from the clinician's prognostic estimates. The difference between the expected utility of the recommended treatment and the maximum utility derived from the clinician's predictions of the outcomes (the net utility loss) following all potential treatment modalities was calculated as an indicator of quality of the decision. The proportion of treatment decisions changed by the multidisciplinary team discussion was also calculated. Insofar as the change in net utility loss brought about by multidisciplinary team discussion was not significantly different from zero, team discussion did not improve the quality of decision making overall. However, given the modest power of the study, these findings must be interpreted with caution. In only 23 of 87 instances (26%) in which an individual specialist's initial treatment preference differed from the final group judgment did the specialist finally concur with the group treatment choice after discussion. This study does not support the theory that team discussion improves decision making by closing a knowledge gap.

  17. Preparing culture change agents for academic medicine in a multi-institutional consortium: the C - change learning action network.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pololi, Linda H; Krupat, Edward; Schnell, Eugene R; Kern, David E

    2013-01-01

    Research suggests an ongoing need for change in the culture of academic medicine. This article describes the structure, activities and evaluation of a culture change project: the C - Change Learning Action Network (LAN) and its impact on participants. The LAN was developed to create the experience of a culture that would prepare participants to facilitate a culture in academic medicine that would be more collaborative, inclusive, relational, and that supports the humanity and vitality of faculty. Purposefully diverse faculty, leaders, and deans from 5 US medical schools convened in 2 1/2-day meetings biannually over 4 years. LAN meetings employed experiential, cognitive, and affective learning modes; innovative dialogue strategies; and reflective practice aimed at facilitating deep dialogue, relationship formation, collaboration, authenticity, and transformative learning to help members experience the desired culture. Robust aggregated qualitative and quantitative data collected from the 5 schools were used to inform and stimulate culture-change plans. Quantitative and qualitative evaluation methods were used. Participants indicated that a safe, supportive, inclusive, collaborative culture was established in LAN and highly valued. LAN members reported a deepened understanding of organizational change, new and valued interpersonal connections, increased motivation and resilience, new skills and approaches, increased self-awareness and personal growth, emotional connection to the issues of diversity and inclusion, and application of new learnings in their work. A carefully designed multi-institutional learning community can transform the way participants experience and view institutional culture. It can motivate and prepare them to be change agents in their own institutions. Copyright © 2013 The Alliance for Continuing Education in the Health Professions, the Society for Academic Continuing Medical Education, and the Council on CME, Association for Hospital Medical

  18. Cultural or Ecological Sustainability? The Effect of Cultural Change on Sabal Palm Management Among the Lowland Maya of Mexico

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrea Martínez-Ballesté

    2006-12-01

    Full Text Available Sabal palm has been used for thatching the traditional Maya house for over 3000 yr. The great importance of this resource has promoted its management within home gardens. Although traditionally managed populations in home gardens are capable of ecological long-term persistence, the impact of cultural change on sustainable resource management is poorly understood. By means of interviews in 108 households, we obtained information about Sabal management practices, leaf demand, and sociocultural data. Density and size structure of the palm populations in the respective home gardens were also measured. By means of principal components analysis, the sociocultural data were summarized into a cultural change index, which was then statistically related to palm density, size structure, leaf demand, and management practices. Leaf demand along the cultural change gradient was estimated. Sabal populations were affected by the cultural change index. Palm density and the proportion of harvestable individuals were higher in the more traditional households. The number of management practices decreased, and the probability of felling adult palms increased with cultural change. As a result, the percentage of the total leaf demand satisfied by home garden production diminished from 118.2-69.4% as cultural change increased. Traditional practices seem oriented to increasing the palm availability. Seed sowing and the protection of seedlings and adults affect the life stages with the largest impact on the population growth rate, as measured through sensitivity analysis. This means that abandoning traditional practices and felling adults more frequently should reduce rapidly, which is consistent with the low palm density observed in less traditional households. The application of demographic models to Sabal tells us that traditional management warrants the persistence of the resource as long as the current conditions remain unchanged. In contrast, our data show that

  19. Moving to understanding and change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Washington, Deborah

    2010-05-01

    Creating an environment of inclusion for a culturally diverse nursing workforce is complex. The demographic shift in the country forecasted for over a decade has arrived. Today programs set up to recruit and retain multicultural and multilingual nursing staff are important organizational priorities. Employers want to build responsive and welcoming workplaces in which all feel engaged. This requires several things. Leaders must oversee system changes stimulated by a workforce similar to newly emerging cultural groups in their areas of service. The need exists for managers to possess non-ethnocentric management skills and are competent to take charge of teams motivated by a broad range of culture based values and beliefs. Diversity training, mentoring of staff and leadership development are benchmarks of an organization at the "tipping point" of change related to employing a diverse workforce.

  20. Culture Matters in Successful Curriculum Change: An International Study of the Influence of National and Organizational Culture Tested With Multilevel Structural Equation Modeling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jippes, Mariëlle; Driessen, Erik W; Broers, Nick J; Majoor, Gerard D; Gijselaers, Wim H; van der Vleuten, Cees P M

    2015-07-01

    National culture has been shown to play a role in curriculum change in medical schools, and business literature has described a similar influence of organizational culture on change processes in organizations. This study investigated the impact of both national and organizational culture on successful curriculum change in medical schools internationally. The authors tested a literature-based conceptual model using multilevel structural equation modeling. For the operationalization of national and organizational culture, the authors used Hofstede's dimensions of culture and Quinn and Spreitzer's competing values framework, respectively. To operationalize successful curriculum change, the authors used two derivates: medical schools' organizational readiness for curriculum change developed by Jippes and colleagues, and change-related behavior developed by Herscovitch and Meyer. The authors administered a questionnaire in 2012 measuring the described operationalizations to medical schools in the process of changing their curriculum. Nine hundred ninety-one of 1,073 invited staff members from 131 of 345 medical schools in 56 of 80 countries completed the questionnaire. An initial poor fit of the model improved to a reasonable fit by two suggested modifications which seemed theoretically plausible. In sum, characteristics of national culture and organizational culture, such as a certain level of risk taking, flexible policies and procedures, and strong leadership, affected successful curriculum change. National and organizational culture influence readiness for change in medical schools. Therefore, medical schools considering curriculum reform should anticipate the potential impact of national and organizational culture.

  1. Pay Dispersion and Performance in Teams

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bucciol, Alessandro; Foss, Nicolai J.; Piovesan, Marco

    2014-01-01

    Extant research offers conflicting predictions about the effect of pay dispersion on team performance. We collected a unique dataset from the Italian soccer league to study the effect of intra-firm pay dispersion on team performance, under different definitions of what constitutes a “team”. This peculiarity of our dataset can explain the conflicting evidence. Indeed, we also find positive, null, and negative effects of pay dispersion on team performance, using the same data but different definitions of team. Our results show that when the team is considered to consist of only the members who directly contribute to the outcome, high pay dispersion has a detrimental impact on team performance. Enlarging the definition of the team causes this effect to disappear or even change direction. Finally, we find that the detrimental effect of pay dispersion is due to worse individual performance, rather than a reduction of team cooperation. PMID:25397615

  2. COMMUNICATING SUCCESSFULLY WHEN MANAGING MULTICULTURAL TEAMS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexandra IOANID

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available Day by day globalization covers new areas of life and calls for continuous learning and adjusting to new cultural dimensions. Managers are expected to display adaptation to new ways of working, cultural sensitivity, cultural intelligence and to posses multicultural competencies communication skills. Understanding the impact of cultural diversity on the communication within the organization is essential for the success of a company. Especially in multinational companies, when departments working on the same projects are located in different countries, the managers rely more and more on cultural- specific country characteristics in order to chose the best negotiation and communication techniques. The aim of this paper is to show how the country specific cultural characteristics impact on the success or failure of a business and the organizations’ challenge with preparing managers for success in international business environment. The paper is based on literature review and on authors’ experience in managing multicultural project teams, in international environment.

  3. Theoretical foundations guiding culture change: The work of the Partnerships in Dementia Care Alliance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dupuis, Sherry; McAiney, Carrie A; Fortune, Darla; Ploeg, Jenny; Witt, Lorna de

    2016-01-01

    Longstanding concerns about quality care provision, specifically in the area of long-term care, have prompted calls for changing the culture of care to reflect more client-driven and relationship-centred models. Despite an increase in culture change initiatives in both Canada and the United States, there is insufficient information about the theories and approaches that guide culture change. The purpose of this paper is to describe a culture change initiative currently underway in Canada, the Partnerships in Dementia Care Alliance, and the theoretical foundations informing our work. More specifically, we describe how the theoretical and philosophical underpinnings of the Alzheimer Disease and Related Dementias framework, the authentic partnership approach, participatory action research and Appreciative Inquiry have been integrated to guide a culture change process that encourages working collaboratively, thinking and doing differently and re-imagining new possibilities for changing the culture of dementia care. © The Author(s) 2014.

  4. Building a collaborative culture in cardiothoracic operating rooms: pre and postintervention study protocol for evaluation of the implementation of teamSTEPPS training and the impact on perceived psychological safety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dahl, Aaron Benjamin; Ben Abdallah, Arbi; Maniar, Hersh; Avidan, Michael Simon; Bollini, Mara L; Patterson, George Alexander; Steinberg, Aaron; Scaggs, Katie; Dribin, Brenda V; Ridley, Clare H

    2017-09-27

    The importance of effective communication, a key component of teamwork, is well recognised in the healthcare setting. Establishing a culture that encourages and empowers team members to speak openly in the cardiothoracic (CT) operating room (OR) is necessary to improve patient safety in this high-risk environment. This study will take place at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, an academic hospital in affiliation with Washington University School of Medicine located in the USA. All team members participating in cardiac and thoracic OR cases during this 17-month study period will be identified by the primary surgical staff attending on the OR schedule.TeamSTEPPS (Team Strategies and Tools to Enhance Performance and Patient Safety) training course will be taught to all CT OR staff. Before TeamSTEPPS training, staff will respond to a 39-item questionnaire that includes constructs from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture, Edmondson's 'Measure of psychological safety' questionnaire, and questionnaires on turnover intentions, job satisfaction and 'burnout'. The questionnaires will be readministered at 6 and 12 months.The primary outcomes to be assessed include the perceived psychological safety of CT OR team members, the overall effect of TeamSTEPPS on burnout and job satisfaction, and observed turnover rate among the OR nurses. As secondary outcomes, we will be assessing self-reported rates of medical error and near misses in the ORs with a questionnaire at the end of each case. Ethics approval is not indicated as this project does not meet the federal definitions of research requiring the oversight of the Institutional Review Board (IRB). Patient health information (PHI) will not be generated during the implementation of this project. Results of the trial will be made accessible to the public when published in a peer-reviewed journal following the completion of the study. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless

  5. Exploring the links Between interdependence, team learning and a shared understanding among team members: The case of teachers facing an educational innovation.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Runhaar, P.R.; Brinke, D.; Kuijpers, M.; Wesselink, R.; Mulder, M.

    2014-01-01

    Teams are increasingly regarded as the building blocks of organizations, for teams of employees are better able to deal with complex problems and ever-changing demands than individual employees. The effectiveness of teams depends, to a large extent, on team members learning together and developing a

  6. Exploring the links between interdependence, team learning and a shared understanding among team members: the case of teachers facing an educational innovation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Runhaar, Piety; Ten Brinke, Diana; Kuijpers, Marinka; Wesselink, Renate; Mulder, Martin

    2018-01-01

    Teams are increasingly regarded as the building blocks of organizations, for teams of employees are better able to deal with complex problems and ever-changing demands than individual employees. The effectiveness of teams depends, to a large extent, on team members learning together and developing a

  7. Head and neck multidisciplinary team meetings: Effect on patient management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brunner, Markus; Gore, Sinclair M; Read, Rebecca L; Alexander, Ashlin; Mehta, Ankur; Elliot, Michael; Milross, Chris; Boyer, Michael; Clark, Jonathan R

    2015-07-01

    The purpose of this study was for us to present our findings on the prospectively audited impact of head and neck multidisciplinary team meetings on patient management. We collected clinical data, the pre-multidisciplinary team meeting treatment plan, the post-multidisciplinary team meeting treatment plans, and follow-up data from all patients discussed at a weekly multidisciplinary team meeting and we recorded the changes in management. One hundred seventy-two patients were discussed in 39 meetings. In 52 patients (30%), changes in management were documented of which 20 (67%) were major. Changes were statistically more likely when the referring physician was a medical or radiation oncologist, when the initial treatment plan did not include surgery, and when the histology was neither mucosal squamous cell cancer nor a skin malignancy. Compliance to the multidisciplinary team meeting treatment recommendation was 84% for all patients and 70% for patients with changes in their treatment recommendation. Head and neck multidisciplinary team meetings changed management in almost a third of the cases. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  8. Determinants of team-sport performance: implications for altitude training by team-sport athletes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bishop, David J; Girard, Olivier

    2013-01-01

    Team sports are increasingly popular, with millions of participants worldwide. Athletes engaged in these sports are required to repeatedly produce skilful actions and maximal or near-maximal efforts (eg, accelerations, changes in pace and direction, sprints, jumps and kicks), interspersed with brief recovery intervals (consisting of rest or low-intensity to moderate-intensity activity), over an extended period of time (1–2 h). While performance in most team sports is dominated by technical and tactical proficiencies, successful team-sport athletes must also have highly-developed, specific, physical capacities. Much effort goes into designing training programmes to improve these physical capacities, with expected benefits for team-sport performance. Recently, some team sports have introduced altitude training in the belief that it can further enhance team-sport physical performance. Until now, however, there is little published evidence showing improved team-sport performance following altitude training, despite the often considerable expense involved. In the absence of such studies, this review will identify important determinants of team-sport physical performance that may be improved by altitude training, with potential benefits for team-sport performance. These determinants can be broadly described as factors that enhance either sprint performance or the ability to recover from maximal or near-maximal efforts. There is some evidence that some of these physical capacities may be enhanced by altitude training, but further research is required to verify that these adaptations occur, that they are greater than what could be achieved by appropriate sea-level training and that they translate to improved team-sport performance. PMID:24282200

  9. Determinants of team-sport performance: implications for altitude training by team-sport athletes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bishop, David J; Girard, Olivier

    2013-12-01

    Team sports are increasingly popular, with millions of participants worldwide. Athletes engaged in these sports are required to repeatedly produce skilful actions and maximal or near-maximal efforts (eg, accelerations, changes in pace and direction, sprints, jumps and kicks), interspersed with brief recovery intervals (consisting of rest or low-intensity to moderate-intensity activity), over an extended period of time (1-2 h). While performance in most team sports is dominated by technical and tactical proficiencies, successful team-sport athletes must also have highly-developed, specific, physical capacities. Much effort goes into designing training programmes to improve these physical capacities, with expected benefits for team-sport performance. Recently, some team sports have introduced altitude training in the belief that it can further enhance team-sport physical performance. Until now, however, there is little published evidence showing improved team-sport performance following altitude training, despite the often considerable expense involved. In the absence of such studies, this review will identify important determinants of team-sport physical performance that may be improved by altitude training, with potential benefits for team-sport performance. These determinants can be broadly described as factors that enhance either sprint performance or the ability to recover from maximal or near-maximal efforts. There is some evidence that some of these physical capacities may be enhanced by altitude training, but further research is required to verify that these adaptations occur, that they are greater than what could be achieved by appropriate sea-level training and that they translate to improved team-sport performance.

  10. Planning successful change incorporating processes and people.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hewitt-Taylor, Jaqui

    Implementing change is a core element of developing healthcare practice. While planning the practical aspects of change is vital, so too is considering how people will perceive and be affected by an innovation, including what individuals and teams will gain or lose, who the opinion leaders will be and the influence of workplace culture. The aim of this article is to highlight some of the considerations that may be useful in planning successful change.

  11. Mergers and acquisitions: some implications of cultural change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cavanaugh, S J

    1996-01-01

    A result of recent National Health Service reforms is the need to investigate, and possibly change, the culture of the professional working relationship between members of staff and their employer. This is particularly the case in situations of mergers and acquisitions where staff working from different cultural environments must work together. Mergers are becoming a feature of health service provision, perhaps this becomes most obvious with the recent moves by colleges of nursing and midwifery into the higher education sector and amalgamations of some purchasing authorities. Mergers highlight the practical issues of bringing together different organizational and work cultures to deliver a high quality service. This article discusses some aspects of the nature of organizational culture, the human impact of mergers and acquisitions and offers strategies for managing these events.

  12. Cultural change in telecommunications companies: a case study

    OpenAIRE

    Anacleto, Cristiane Alves; Irion, Crishna; Paladini, Edson Pacheco

    2014-01-01

    This work aims to propose a model for the conduct of cultural change in the IT department of a company in the telecommunications industry. To achieve the goal proposed exploratory, technical procedures used were the case study and literature review. The techniques of data collection in the case study were: participant observation, unstructured interview and document analysis. The proposed model consists of five steps: analysis of the company's strategic planning, cultural diagnosis of the IT ...

  13. A Measure of Toxicity: The Challenge of Employee Fit in Organizational Change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mize, Nicolas G.

    2016-01-01

    Principal Vanessa Sanchez assumed leadership of a high-need, high-poverty urban school with a mandate from the district superintendent to change the school culture and to build an instructional team aligned to the principal's theory of change. The central dilemma of the case is how to lead organizational change while managing interpersonal…

  14. Openness to language and value diversity fosters multicultural team creativity and performance

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lauring, Jakob; Paunova, Minna; Butler, Christina

    2015-01-01

    Multicultural teams are increasingly employed by organizations as a way to achieve international coordination, particularly when creativity and innovation are desired. Unfortunately, studies often fail to demonstrate the purported benefits associated with these teams, reporting difficulties with ...... open to value diversity. We conclude that multicultural teams are in want of a climate that is welcoming to both linguistic and cultural differences and suggest implications for theory and practice....... with communication and social integration, inhibiting creativity and performance. A survey-based study of multicultural academic teams (n = 1085) demonstrates that teams that are open to language diversity are more creative and perform better. We observe that performance is enhanced even further when teams are also...

  15. Cross-Cultural Management Learning through Innovative Pedagogy: An Exploratory Study of Globally Distributed Student Teams

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bartel-Radic, Anne; Moos, J. Chris; Long, Suzanna K.

    2015-01-01

    This article presents an innovative pedagogy based on student participation in globally distributed project teams. The study questions the link between student learning of intercultural competence and the global teaming experience. Data was collected from 115 students participating in 22 virtual intercultural teams. Results revealed that students…

  16. Cross-cultural adjustment to the United States: The role of contextualized extraversion change

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mengqiao eLiu

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Personality traits can predict how well sojourners and expatriates adjust to new cultures, but the adjustment process remains largely unexamined. Based on recent findings that reveal personality traits predict as well as respond to life events and experiences, this research focuses on within-person change in contextualized extraversion and its predictive validity for cross-cultural adjustment in international students who newly arrived in U.S. colleges. We proposed that the initial level as well as the rate of change in school extraversion (i.e., contextualized extraversion that reflects behavioral tendency in school settings will predict cross-cultural adjustment, withdrawal cognitions, and school satisfaction. Latent growth modeling of three-wave longitudinal surveys of 215 new international students (54% female, Mage = 24 years revealed that the initial level of school extraversion significantly predicted cross-cultural adjustment, (lower withdrawal cognitions, and satisfaction, while the rate of change (increase in school extraversion predicted cross-cultural adjustment and (lower withdrawal cognitions. We further modeled global extraversion and cross-cultural motivation as antecedents and explored within-person change in school extraversion as a proximal factor that affects adjustment outcomes. The findings highlight the malleability of contextualized personality, and more importantly, the importance of understanding within-person change in contextualized personality in a cross-cultural adjustment context. The study points to more research that explicate the process of personality change in other contexts.

  17. Cross-cultural adjustment to the United States: the role of contextualized extraversion change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Mengqiao; Huang, Jason L

    2015-01-01

    Personality traits can predict how well-sojourners and expatriates adjust to new cultures, but the adjustment process remains largely unexamined. Based on recent findings that reveal personality traits predict as well as respond to life events and experiences, this research focuses on within-person change in contextualized extraversion and its predictive validity for cross-cultural adjustment in international students who newly arrived in US colleges. We proposed that the initial level as well as the rate of change in school extraversion (i.e., contextualized extraversion that reflects behavioral tendency in school settings) will predict cross-cultural adjustment, withdrawal cognitions, and school satisfaction. Latent growth modeling of three-wave longitudinal surveys of 215 new international students (54% female, M age = 24 years) revealed that the initial level of school extraversion significantly predicted cross-cultural adjustment, (lower) withdrawal cognitions, and satisfaction, while the rate of change (increase) in school extraversion predicted cross-cultural adjustment and (lower) withdrawal cognitions. We further modeled global extraversion and cross-cultural motivation as antecedents and explored within-person change in school extraversion as a proximal factor that affects adjustment outcomes. The findings highlight the malleability of contextualized personality, and more importantly, the importance of understanding within-person change in contextualized personality in a cross-cultural adjustment context. The study points to more research that explicate the process of personality change in other contexts.

  18. Cross-cultural adjustment to the United States: the role of contextualized extraversion change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Mengqiao; Huang, Jason L.

    2015-01-01

    Personality traits can predict how well-sojourners and expatriates adjust to new cultures, but the adjustment process remains largely unexamined. Based on recent findings that reveal personality traits predict as well as respond to life events and experiences, this research focuses on within-person change in contextualized extraversion and its predictive validity for cross-cultural adjustment in international students who newly arrived in US colleges. We proposed that the initial level as well as the rate of change in school extraversion (i.e., contextualized extraversion that reflects behavioral tendency in school settings) will predict cross-cultural adjustment, withdrawal cognitions, and school satisfaction. Latent growth modeling of three-wave longitudinal surveys of 215 new international students (54% female, Mage = 24 years) revealed that the initial level of school extraversion significantly predicted cross-cultural adjustment, (lower) withdrawal cognitions, and satisfaction, while the rate of change (increase) in school extraversion predicted cross-cultural adjustment and (lower) withdrawal cognitions. We further modeled global extraversion and cross-cultural motivation as antecedents and explored within-person change in school extraversion as a proximal factor that affects adjustment outcomes. The findings highlight the malleability of contextualized personality, and more importantly, the importance of understanding within-person change in contextualized personality in a cross-cultural adjustment context. The study points to more research that explicate the process of personality change in other contexts. PMID:26579033

  19. When Teams Fail to Self-Regulate: Predictors and Outcomes of Team Procrastination Among Debating Teams.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van Hooft, Edwin A J; Van Mierlo, Heleen

    2018-01-01

    Models of team development have indicated that teams typically engage in task delay during the first stages of the team's life cycle. An important question is to what extent this equally applies to all teams, or whether there is variation across teams in the amount of task delay. The present study introduces the concept of team procrastination as a lens through which we can examine whether teams collectively engage in unplanned, voluntary, and irrational delay of team tasks. Based on theory and research on self-regulation, team processes, and team motivation we developed a conceptual multilevel model of predictors and outcomes of team procrastination. In a sample of 209 student debating teams, we investigated whether and why teams engage in collective procrastination as a team, and what consequences team procrastination has in terms of team member well-being and team performance. The results supported the existence of team procrastination as a team-level construct that has some stability over time. The teams' composition in terms of individual-level trait procrastination, as well as the teams' motivational states (i.e., team learning goal orientation, team performance-approach goal orientation in interaction with team efficacy) predicted team procrastination. Team procrastination related positively to team members' stress levels, especially for those low on trait procrastination. Furthermore, team procrastination had an indirect negative relationship with team performance, through teams' collective stress levels. These findings add to the theoretical understanding of self-regulatory processes of teams, and highlight the practical importance of paying attention to team-level states and processes such as team goal orientation and team procrastination.

  20. Development and validation of an instrument for measuring the quality of teamwork in teaching teams in postgraduate medical training (TeamQ).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Slootweg, Irene A; Lombarts, Kiki M J M H; Boerebach, Benjamin C M; Heineman, Maas Jan; Scherpbier, Albert J J A; van der Vleuten, Cees P M

    2014-01-01

    Teamwork between clinical teachers is a challenge in postgraduate medical training. Although there are several instruments available for measuring teamwork in health care, none of them are appropriate for teaching teams. The aim of this study is to develop an instrument (TeamQ) for measuring teamwork, to investigate its psychometric properties and to explore how clinical teachers assess their teamwork. To select the items to be included in the TeamQ questionnaire, we conducted a content validation in 2011, using a Delphi procedure in which 40 experts were invited. Next, for pilot testing the preliminary tool, 1446 clinical teachers from 116 teaching teams were requested to complete the TeamQ questionnaire. For data analyses we used statistical strategies: principal component analysis, internal consistency reliability coefficient, and the number of evaluations needed to obtain reliable estimates. Lastly, the median TeamQ scores were calculated for teams to explore the levels of teamwork. In total, 31 experts participated in the Delphi study. In total, 114 teams participated in the TeamQ pilot. The median team response was 7 evaluations per team. The principal component analysis revealed 11 factors; 8 were included. The reliability coefficients of the TeamQ scales ranged from 0.75 to 0.93. The generalizability analysis revealed that 5 to 7 evaluations were needed to obtain internal reliability coefficients of 0.70. In terms of teamwork, the clinical teachers scored residents' empowerment as the highest TeamQ scale and feedback culture as the area that would most benefit from improvement. This study provides initial evidence of the validity of an instrument for measuring teamwork in teaching teams. The high response rates and the low number of evaluations needed for reliably measuring teamwork indicate that TeamQ is feasible for use by teaching teams. Future research could explore the effectiveness of feedback on teamwork in follow up measurements.

  1. Exploring the importance of team psychological safety in the development of two interprofessional teams.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Leary, Denise Fiona

    2016-01-01

    It has been previously demonstrated that interactions within interprofessional teams are characterised by effective communication, shared decision-making, and knowledge sharing. This article outlines aspects of an action research study examining the emergence of these characteristics within change management teams made up of nurses, general practitioners, physiotherapists, care assistants, a health and safety officer, and a client at two residential care facilities for older people in Ireland. The theoretical concept of team psychological safety (TPS) is utilised in presenting these characteristics. TPS has been defined as an atmosphere within a team where individuals feel comfortable engaging in discussion and reflection without fear of censure. Study results suggest that TPS was an important catalyst in enhancing understanding and power sharing across professional boundaries and thus in the development of interprofessional teamwork. There were differences between the teams. In one facility, the team developed many characteristics of interprofessional teamwork while at the other there was only a limited shift. Stability in team membership and organisational norms relating to shared decision-making emerged as particularly important in accounting for differences in the development of TPS and interprofessional teamwork.

  2. Intercultural Competence – Key Competence of Multicultural Teams

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Diana Bebenova - Nikolova

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available The article deals with intercultural competence of multicultural teams elaborating European projects. Firstly, it discusses basic theoretical aspects of the related concepts: culture and intercultural competence, then presents its impact on multicultural team effectiveness and models for improving it. The article finds ground on studies of intercultural competence as a set of strategic, personal, social and professional competences. The paper uses the project cycle management theory and proves that in multi-ethnic surroundings, the project membersř communication skills might not be sufficient to generate mutual understanding. Provisionally, the study performed a standardized Internet survey on self-assessment of intercultural competence among 50 experts on European projects. Another applied approach is field observation (attendance and note-taking of the 5- day training "To become diplomats between cultures", based on Bennettřs theoretical model for "Development of Intercultural Sensitivity". A training model for improving intercultural competence of multicultural team members. Possible approach for improvement of project management of crossborder or trans-border funding programs. Building intercultural competence in European project management is important, timely and necessity-driven, especially under the framework of the Danube Region Strategy.

  3. First grade teachers' team work skills and attitudes regarding the team work

    OpenAIRE

    Rožič, Melita

    2016-01-01

    The main topic of the diploma thesis is teamwork of the professional workers teaching in the first grade of primary school. The important part of the teamwork is that one feels committed and equal member of the team. Each member must develop a collaborative culture and good interpersonal relations, ability to adapt and communicate successfully. For effective and efficient teamwork it is important to know the basic dimensions of teamwork i.e. skills in the field of communication and conflict r...

  4. Culture Negative Infective Endocarditits: a Changing Paradigm

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Daly, A

    2016-05-01

    Traditionally, the modified Duke\\'s criteria, based primarily on positive blood cultures, is used to diagnose Infective Endocarditis (IE). However, reports demonstrate that 31% of cases are diagnosed as Culture Negative Infective Endocarditis (CNIE)1. Consequently, empiric broad-spectrum antibiotics are prescribed to cover unidentified organisms and, as a result, antibiotic therapy may be compromised. Molecular diagnostic techniques aid with identifying causative organisms in cases of CNIE and we question if the increasing use of such technologies will change the local epidemiology of CNIE. We present the first case of Tropheryma whipplei Infective Endocarditis (TWIE) reported in Ireland.

  5. 120 Years of Changing Images of Danish Cultural Journalism

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kristensen, Nete Nørgaard

    of visual and graphic elements in relation to cultural news items. By the end of the 20th century, the visual dimension of cultural journalism in some cases tended to overpower the written word and blur the boundaries not only between individual stories. More importantly, the visual stories themselves...... became cultural products for consumers, which could out-compete the cultural experiences (e.g., visits to an art exhibit) that the stories describe. A content analysis of two national morning papers, a tabloid newspaper, and a free-of-charge newspaper points to ever greater distinction among...... and differentiation between image strategies and mappings of content by the types of newspapers. In an ever increasing competitive media market, the cultural content and its visual dimension came to dominate the profile of the newspapers. Discussions of the changing image of news is highly relevant to cultural...

  6. Neoliberal Moral Economy: Capitalism, Socio-cultural Change and Fraud in Uganda

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ponte, Stefano

    2017-01-01

    Book review of: Neoliberal Moral Economy: Capitalism, Socio-Cultural Change & Fraud in Uganda by Jörg Wiegratz. London and New York, Rowman & Littlefield, 2016, 375 pp. ISBN 9781783488537.......Book review of: Neoliberal Moral Economy: Capitalism, Socio-Cultural Change & Fraud in Uganda by Jörg Wiegratz. London and New York, Rowman & Littlefield, 2016, 375 pp. ISBN 9781783488537....

  7. An evolutionary framework for cultural change: Selectionism versus communal exchange

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gabora, Liane

    2013-06-01

    Dawkins' replicator-based conception of evolution has led to widespread mis-application of selectionism across the social sciences because it does not address the paradox that necessitated the theory of natural selection in the first place: how do organisms accumulate change when traits acquired over their lifetime are obliterated? This is addressed by von Neumann's concept of a self-replicating automaton (SRA). A SRA consists of a self-assembly code that is used in two distinct ways: (1) actively deciphered during development to construct a self-similar replicant, and (2) passively copied to the replicant to ensure that it can reproduce. Information that is acquired over a lifetime is not transmitted to offspring, whereas information that is inherited during copying is transmitted. In cultural evolution there is no mechanism for discarding acquired change. Acquired change can accumulate orders of magnitude faster than, and quickly overwhelm, inherited change due to differential replication of variants in response to selection. This prohibits a selectionist but not an evolutionary framework for culture and the creative processes that fuel it. The importance non-Darwinian processes in biological evolution is increasingly recognized. Recent work on the origin of life suggests that early life evolved through a non-Darwinian process referred to as communal exchange that does not involve a self-assembly code, and that natural selection emerged from this more haphazard, ancestral evolutionary process. It is proposed that communal exchange provides an evolutionary framework for culture that enables specification of cognitive features necessary for a (real or artificial) societies to evolve culture. This is supported by a computational model of cultural evolution and a conceptual network based program for documenting material cultural history, and it is consistent with high levels of human cooperation.

  8. Changes In Growth Culture FDA Activity Under Changing Growth Conditions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jørgensen, Per Elberg; Eriksen, Thomas Juul; Jensen, Bjørn K.

    1992-01-01

    The FDA hydrolysis capacities and bacterial biomass concentrations (estimated by determination of ATP content) of growth cultures prepared from activated sludge and wastewater, were measured to find out whether the FDA activity would reflect bacterial biomass under different physiological states...... of the bacteria. The FDA activity/ATP ratio was calculated for different concentrations of autoclaved sludge. A faster decay rate of ATP relative to FDA hydrolysis activity was observed, thus causing changes in the ratio. Furthermore, comparison between values obtained from pure cultures and different soils...... revealed differences up to two orders of magnitude of the ratio. Based on these results it was concluded that the FDA activity should not be applied for measurements of viable biomass in environments in which different physiological conditions occur....

  9. The Assistant Manager - a Key Factor of the Managerial Team

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lecturer Ph. D. Niculina Vargolici

    2009-05-01

    Full Text Available The new economic context, marked by the crisis and by radical transformations of the labor market, generates the need for more and more sophisticated skills for the assistant manager. That is because the efficiency of the secretarial activity implies both strategic skills and complex abilities, starting from knowledge about the specific activity of the company/institution where the person works as assistant manager, to connected areas such as: management, marketing, human resources, brand communication, company’s culture etc. Whether the manager changes his job together with the “boss”, or the boss is changed and he is bond to adapt to new conditions, a strong team spirit between the manager and his assistant is one of the most important elements that contribute to the productivity and efficiency of the both. The loyalty to the boss and to the company where he works, his adaptation capacity, his competence and his professionalism make the today’s assistant manager a key factor of the managerial team. The essence of the assistant manager job consists in making more efficient the managerial activities, namely, to make it respond to the expectations expressed or not of the manager, or even to anticipate them.

  10. From Cultural Knowledge to Intercultural Communicative Competence: Changing Perspectives on the Role of Culture in Foreign Language Teaching

    Science.gov (United States)

    Piatkowska, Katarzyna

    2015-01-01

    Approaches to the concept of culture and teaching cultural competence in a foreign language classroom have been changing over the last decades. The paper summarises, compares, contrasts and evaluates four major approaches to teaching cultural competence in foreign language teaching, that is, knowledge-based approach, contrastive approach,…

  11. Managing strategic change--strategy, culture and action.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, G

    1992-02-01

    One of the major problems facing senior executives is that of effecting significant strategic change in their organizations. This paper develops a number of explanatory frameworks which address the links between the development of strategy in organizations, dimensions of corporate culture and managerial action. In considering such linkages, and by illustrating them with examples from work undertaken in companies, the paper also seeks to advance our understanding of the problems and means of managing strategic change.

  12. Team learning : New insights through a temporal lens

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lehmann-Willenbrock, N.

    2017-01-01

    Team learning is a complex social phenomenon that develops and changes over time. Hence, to promote understanding of the fine-grained dynamics of team learning, research should account for the temporal patterns of team learning behavior. Taking important steps in this direction, this special issue

  13. Cultural Change, Human Activity, and Cognitive Development

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gauvain, Mary; Munroe, Robert L.

    2012-01-01

    Differential cognitive performance across cultural contexts has been a standard result in comparative research. Here we discuss how societal changes occurring when a small-scale traditional community incorporates elements from industrialized society may contribute to cognitive development, and we illustrate this with an analysis of the cognitive…

  14. When Teams Fail to Self-Regulate: Predictors and Outcomes of Team Procrastination Among Debating Teams

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van Hooft, Edwin A. J.; Van Mierlo, Heleen

    2018-01-01

    Models of team development have indicated that teams typically engage in task delay during the first stages of the team’s life cycle. An important question is to what extent this equally applies to all teams, or whether there is variation across teams in the amount of task delay. The present study introduces the concept of team procrastination as a lens through which we can examine whether teams collectively engage in unplanned, voluntary, and irrational delay of team tasks. Based on theory and research on self-regulation, team processes, and team motivation we developed a conceptual multilevel model of predictors and outcomes of team procrastination. In a sample of 209 student debating teams, we investigated whether and why teams engage in collective procrastination as a team, and what consequences team procrastination has in terms of team member well-being and team performance. The results supported the existence of team procrastination as a team-level construct that has some stability over time. The teams’ composition in terms of individual-level trait procrastination, as well as the teams’ motivational states (i.e., team learning goal orientation, team performance-approach goal orientation in interaction with team efficacy) predicted team procrastination. Team procrastination related positively to team members’ stress levels, especially for those low on trait procrastination. Furthermore, team procrastination had an indirect negative relationship with team performance, through teams’ collective stress levels. These findings add to the theoretical understanding of self-regulatory processes of teams, and highlight the practical importance of paying attention to team-level states and processes such as team goal orientation and team procrastination. PMID:29674991

  15. When Teams Fail to Self-Regulate: Predictors and Outcomes of Team Procrastination Among Debating Teams

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Edwin A. J. Van Hooft

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Models of team development have indicated that teams typically engage in task delay during the first stages of the team’s life cycle. An important question is to what extent this equally applies to all teams, or whether there is variation across teams in the amount of task delay. The present study introduces the concept of team procrastination as a lens through which we can examine whether teams collectively engage in unplanned, voluntary, and irrational delay of team tasks. Based on theory and research on self-regulation, team processes, and team motivation we developed a conceptual multilevel model of predictors and outcomes of team procrastination. In a sample of 209 student debating teams, we investigated whether and why teams engage in collective procrastination as a team, and what consequences team procrastination has in terms of team member well-being and team performance. The results supported the existence of team procrastination as a team-level construct that has some stability over time. The teams’ composition in terms of individual-level trait procrastination, as well as the teams’ motivational states (i.e., team learning goal orientation, team performance-approach goal orientation in interaction with team efficacy predicted team procrastination. Team procrastination related positively to team members’ stress levels, especially for those low on trait procrastination. Furthermore, team procrastination had an indirect negative relationship with team performance, through teams’ collective stress levels. These findings add to the theoretical understanding of self-regulatory processes of teams, and highlight the practical importance of paying attention to team-level states and processes such as team goal orientation and team procrastination.

  16. Team Learning and Team Composition in Nursing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Timmermans, Olaf; Van Linge, Roland; Van Petegem, Peter; Elseviers, Monique; Denekens, Joke

    2011-01-01

    Purpose: This study aims to explore team learning activities in nursing teams and to test the effect of team composition on team learning to extend conceptually an initial model of team learning and to examine empirically a new model of ambidextrous team learning in nursing. Design/methodology/approach: Quantitative research utilising exploratory…

  17. The Research of Self-Management Team and Superior-Direction Team in Team Learning Influential Factors

    OpenAIRE

    Zhang Wei

    2013-01-01

    Team learning is a cure for bureaucracy; it facilitates team innovation and team performance. But team learning occurs only when necessary conditions were met. This research focused on differences of team learning influential factors between self-management team and superior-direction team. Four variables were chosen as predictors of team learning though literature review and pilot interview. The 4 variables are team motivation, team trust, team conflict and team leadership. Selected 54 self ...

  18. Cultural Diversity in Military Teams: Which Factors Influence Effectiveness?

    Science.gov (United States)

    2008-12-01

    TNO-DV2008A513 Opdrachtnummer Datum december 2008 Auteur (s) dr. I.M. Wetzer dr. D.A. van Hemert Rubricering rapport Ongerubriceerd TM0...been reported. Based on Allport’s (1954) intergroup contact theory , positive effects of intercultural contact may occur under certain conditions...diversity on perceived team effectiveness, but only at the 11-30% level. In contrast, social identity theory would lead one to expect negative effects of

  19. The impact of team familiarity and team leader experience on team coordination errors: A panel analysis of professional basketball teams

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Sieweke, Jost; Zhao, B.

    2015-01-01

    To explore the dynamics involved in team coordination, we examine the impact of team familiarity and team leader experience on team coordination errors (TCEs). We argue that team familiarity has a U-shaped effect on TCEs. We study the moderating effects of team leader prior experience and team

  20. Team Teaching: Are Two Better than One?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bettencourt, M. L.; Weldon, A. A.

    2011-01-01

    The authors explored two assumptions about college teaching and learning: first, that faculty teach in isolation, as institutional culture values and rewards autonomy over collaboration; and second, that faculty collaboration improves instruction. They present findings from an experiment in team teaching in a university beginning Spanish course in…

  1. Organizational models as configurations of structure, culture, leadership, control, and change strategy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Janićijević Nebojša

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Starting from the axioms of consistency, stability, contingency, and configuration, research on organizational structure, culture, control, leadership, and change management strategy has shown that their typical configurations, or models, can be differentiated according to the same two criteria: distribution of power and dominant organizational dimension. On the one hand there are models of structure, culture, control, leadership, and change management strategy that are based on an unequal, or authoritarian, distribution of power within organizations, while on the other hand there are models that are based on democratic, or equal, distribution of power. Also, on the one hand there are models of structure, culture, control, leadership, and change strategy that are based on work structure and tasks, while on the other hand there are models of these organizational components that are based on social structure, people, and their relationships. Harmonization of typical configurations of organizational structure, culture, control, leadership, and change strategy occurs due to the harmonization of the differentiation criteria. Based on this harmonization, four organizational models have been identified as typical configurations of structure, culture, control, leadership, and change strategy: the autocratic, bureaucratic, innovative, and task models. Each of these models is effective in a different environmental contingency.

  2. What Does Change with Nutrition Team in Intensive Care Unit?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ahmet Fatih Yılmaz

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available Intrroduction: Clinical nutrition is the nutrition support therapy provided to patients under medical supervision at the hospital or home setting. It is a multidisciplinary task performed under the control of the physician, dietician, pharmacist and nurse. In this study, the changes in the patient admission statistics to the general intensive care unit (GICU, the exitus ratios, decubitus ulcer formation rates, albumin use rates, duration of the hospital stay, Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE II scores, rate of usege of parenteral and enteral products, and the change in expenses per patient within the first year of activity of the nutrition team in comparison to the previous year was presented. Material and Method: In this study a 6-bed GICU was used. The patients who was admitted through retrospective file scanning between 1 January 2012 and 31 December 2012 and between 1 January 2013 and 31 December 2013 were compared. Results: The number of the patients admitted to the GICU was 341 in 2012 and 369 in 2013. The number of the patients who died in 2012 was 86 (25.2%, while it was 106 in 2013 (28.7%. In 2012, 122 patients (35.7% had decubitus ulcers, while this number was 92 (24.7% in 2013. Human albumin usage was reduced by 23% for the 100 mL (225 in 2012, 175 in 2013 and by 33% for the 50 mL doses (122 in 2012, 82 in 2013. Duration of stay in the hospital was 6.3±0.9 vs. 5.8±0.9 (days (p=0.06. The mean APACHE II scores were observed to be 24.7±6.9 vs. 30.5±11.4 (p=0.03. When the distribution of product types were analyzed, it was observed that the ratio of parenteral products: enteral products was 2:1 in 2012, however the ratio of enteral products to parenteral products was 2:1 in 2013. The daily expense of a patient decreased from 100 TL to 55 TL. Conclusion: The nutrition team directly influences the clinical process outcomes of patients under treatment in the ICU. It was thought that using appropriate nutritional

  3. [Certification, on-the-ground experience of a manager and his team].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thibault, Catherine; Guillouët, Sonia; Havin, Marie-Pierre

    2018-03-01

    The certification assessment is an important stage in the life of a healthcare facility. However, instilling a quality culture within a team to lead it towards performance is a long-term endeavour. This cannot work without the existence of a partnership between the paramedical and medical teams, nor without the support of the hospital led by senior quality managers. The challenge is to not limit the quality culture to the certification assessment, which aims to highlight the areas in which the institution conforms and those in which it is failing, but rather to adopt a continuous improvement approach. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  4. Culture, climate change and farm-level groundwater management: An Australian case study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sanderson, Matthew R.; Curtis, Allen L.

    2016-05-01

    Cultural factors - values, beliefs, and norms - provide important insights into the environmental attitudes, risk perceptions, and behaviors of the general population. Little is known, however, about the ostensibly complex relationships linking those elements of culture to climate change risk perceptions, especially in the context of farm level decision in the ground water context. This paper addresses that gap through an analysis of survey data provided by irrigators in the Namoi catchment of Australia's Murray-Darling Basin. We use Values-Beliefs-Norms theory to construct multivariate models of the relationship between ground water irrigators' interpretations of climate change risks and their implementation of adaptive water conservation practices. Results indicate that these cultural factors are important explanations of irrigators' climate change risk perceptions, and these risk perceptions are related to adaptive ground water management strategies at the farm level. The implications of the findings are discussed for research on the culture-environment nexus and for outreach designed to encourage agricultural adaptations to climate change.

  5. Ties That Bind International Research Teams: A Network Multilevel Model of Interdisciplinary Collaboration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kollasch, Aurelia Wiktoria

    2012-01-01

    Today large research projects require substantial involvement of researchers from different organizations, disciplines, or cultures working in groups or teams to accomplish a common goal of producing, sharing, and disseminating scientific knowledge. This study focuses on the international research team that was launched in response to pressing…

  6. A quantitative perspective on ethics in large team science.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petersen, Alexander M; Pavlidis, Ioannis; Semendeferi, Ioanna

    2014-12-01

    The gradual crowding out of singleton and small team science by large team endeavors is challenging key features of research culture. It is therefore important for the future of scientific practice to reflect upon the individual scientist's ethical responsibilities within teams. To facilitate this reflection we show labor force trends in the US revealing a skewed growth in academic ranks and increased levels of competition for promotion within the system; we analyze teaming trends across disciplines and national borders demonstrating why it is becoming difficult to distribute credit and to avoid conflicts of interest; and we use more than a century of Nobel prize data to show how science is outgrowing its old institutions of singleton awards. Of particular concern within the large team environment is the weakening of the mentor-mentee relation, which undermines the cultivation of virtue ethics across scientific generations. These trends and emerging organizational complexities call for a universal set of behavioral norms that transcend team heterogeneity and hierarchy. To this end, our expository analysis provides a survey of ethical issues in team settings to inform science ethics education and science policy.

  7. Using transformational change to improve organizational culture and climate in a school of nursing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Springer, Pamela J; Clark, Cynthia M; Strohfus, Pamela; Belcheir, Marcia

    2012-02-01

    A positive organizational culture and climate is closely associated with an affirming workplace and job satisfaction. Especially during a time of faculty shortages, academic leaders need to be cognizant of the culture and climate in schools of nursing. The culture of an organization affects employees, systems, and processes, and if the culture becomes problematic, transformational leadership is essential to create change. The purpose of this article is to describe an 8-year journey to change the culture and climate of a school of nursing from one of dissatisfaction and distrust to one of high employee satisfaction and trust. Kotter's model for transformational change was used to frame a longitudinal study using the Cultural and Climate Assessment Scale to transform the organizational culture and climate of a school of nursing. Copyright 2012, SLACK Incorporated.

  8. Cross-Cultural Leader Development in a University Club: An Autoethnography

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jason Edward Lewis

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available There is a growing body of research on the organization, effectiveness, and strategies of leadership teams. Less research exists on such aspects in cross-cultural teams. Little is known about how team leadership can be used in cross-cultural university clubs and how such settings foster leader development. Within the framework of existing literature, this analytic autoethnography examines how I develop leadership skills in university students cross-culturally through a student choir club by utilizing a team leadership model. This study provides an understanding of how leader development can occur in university clubs in cross-cultural settings through employing a team leadership model. Student club advisors may benefit from knowing the benefits of consciously developing leadership skills with club members and some strategies of how to develop such skills. Students might recognize the advantages of clubs that can help them become better leaders. Current club leaders can see that leadership skills can be developed in all types of clubs, especially within a choir. University administrators can see the practical value of extra-curricular student clubs in developing leaders.

  9. Leadership of Cultural Diversity : The impact of leadership

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    K.K. Raithel (Katja)

    2016-01-01

    markdownabstractThe aim of this dissertation is to understand how to manage cultural diverse teams in the best way and increase team performance in multinational organizations. Therefore, defining what kind of leader characteristics drives team performance and what leadership characteristics foster

  10. Team responsibility structure and team performance

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Doorewaard, J.A.C.M.; Hootegem, G. van; Huys, R.

    2002-01-01

    The purpose is to analyse the impact of team responsibility (the division of job regulation tasks between team leader and team members) on team performance. It bases an analysis on 36 case studies in The Netherlands which are known to have implemented team‐based work. The case studies were executed

  11. A meta-ethnography of organisational culture in primary care medical practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grant, Suzanne; Guthrie, Bruce; Entwistle, Vikki; Williams, Brian

    2014-01-01

    Over the past decade, there has been growing international interest in shaping local organisational cultures in primary healthcare. However, the contextual relevance of extant culture assessment instruments to the primary care context has been questioned. The aim of this paper is to derive a new contextually appropriate understanding of the key dimensions of primary care medical practice organisational culture and their inter-relationship through a synthesis of published qualitative research. A systematic search of six electronic databases followed by a synthesis using techniques of meta-ethnography involving translation and re-interpretation. A total of 16 papers were included in the meta-ethnography from the UK, the USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand that fell into two related groups: those focused on practice organisational characteristics and narratives of practice individuality; and those focused on sub-practice variation across professional, managerial and administrative lines. It was found that primary care organisational culture was characterised by four key dimensions, i.e. responsiveness, team hierarchy, care philosophy and communication. These dimensions are multi-level and inter-professional in nature, spanning both practice and sub-practice levels. The research contributes to organisational culture theory development. The four new cultural dimensions provide a synthesized conceptual framework for researchers to evaluate and understand primary care cultural and sub-cultural levels. The synthesised cultural dimensions present a framework for practitioners to understand and change organisational culture in primary care teams. The research uses an innovative research methodology to synthesise the existing qualitative research and is one of the first to develop systematically a qualitative conceptual framing of primary care organisational culture.

  12. Cultural change and loss of ethnoecological knowledge among the Isthmus Zapotecs of Mexico.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saynes-Vásquez, Alfredo; Caballero, Javier; Meave, Jorge A; Chiang, Fernando

    2013-06-11

    Global changes that affect local societies may cause the loss of ecological knowledge. The process of cultural change in Zapotec communities of the Oaxacan Isthmus intensified during the first years of the 20th century due to industrial and agro-industrial modernization projects and an increase in the level of formal schooling. Based on the case of the Oaxacan Isthmus, this study assesses the relationship between cultural change and the loss of traditional ecological knowledge (TEK). Three hundred male heads of family were interviewed from three municipalities in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Oaxaca, Mexico selected to span a wide range of cultural change. Each participant was shown herbarium specimens and photographs of a sample of 30 species drawn from a pool of 94 representing local plant diversity. Visual recognition of each species, knowledge of plant form, generic name, specific name, and local uses were scored. The sum of the five scores provided an index of global knowledge which we used as a proxy for TEK. Analysis of variance revealed differences between groups of economic activities. We collected socio-demographic data from the interviewees such as age, level of schooling, and competency in the local language. With these data we ran a principal component analysis and took the first axis as an index of cultural change, and correlated it with the scores obtained each respondent. We found statistically significant differences between groups of people with different economic activities, as well as a highly significant negative relationship between the Index of cultural change and ecological knowledge at all levels, with regression coefficients between 81.2% and 88.3%, indicating that cultural change is affecting traditional botanical knowledge. Our results shown that cultural change, as indicated by occupational activity, level of formal schooling, and competence in the indigenous language, is negatively associated with the loss of Zapotec ethnobotanical

  13. Team cohesion and team success in sport.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carron, Albert V; Bray, Steven R; Eys, Mark A

    2002-02-01

    The main aim of this study was to examine the relationship between task cohesiveness and team success in elite teams using composite team estimates of cohesion. A secondary aim was to determine statistically the consistency (i.e. 'groupness') present in team members' perceptions of cohesion. Elite university basketball teams (n = 18) and club soccer teams (n = 9) were assessed for cohesiveness and winning percentages. Measures were recorded towards the end of each team's competitive season. Our results indicate that cohesiveness is a shared perception, thereby providing statistical support for the use of composite team scores. Further analyses indicated a strong relationship between cohesion and success (r = 0.55-0.67). Further research using multi-level statistical techniques is recommended.

  14. "It was like reading a detective novel": Using PAR to work together for culture change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fortune, Darla; McKeown, Janet; Dupuis, Sherry; de Witt, Lorna

    2015-08-01

    Participatory action research (PAR), with its focus on engagement and collaboration, is uniquely suited to enhancing culture change initiatives in dementia care. Yet, there is limited literature of its application to culture change approaches in care settings, and even less in dementia specific care contexts. To address these gaps in the literature, the purpose of this paper is to examine the complexities of a PAR project aimed at changing the culture of dementia care in two diverse dementia care settings, including a long term care (LTC) and community care setting. Drawing from data gathered throughout the PAR process, we unpack the challenges experienced by participants working together to guide culture change within their respective care settings. These challenges include: overextending selves through culture change participation; fluctuating group membership; feeling uncertainty, confusion and apprehension about the process; frustratingly slow process; and seeking diverse group representation in decision making. We also highlight the potential for appreciative inquiry (AI) to be integrated with PAR to guide a process whereby participants involved in culture change initiatives can develop strategies to mitigate challenges they experience. We view the challenges and strategies shared here as being constructive to would-be culture change agents and hope this paper will move others to consider the use of PAR when engaging in culture change initiatives. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. Big Hitters: Important Factors Characterizing Team Effectiveness in Professional Cricket

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Leonie V. Webster

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available While organizational psychology attests to the multidimensional nature of team effectiveness, insight regarding the most important factors contributing to the effectiveness of sports teams, especially elite teams, is lacking. An abductive method of qualitative enquiry was adopted to capture participants' construal of team effectiveness, drawing on the extant literature in both sport and organizational psychology. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 21 players, coaches, and psychologists involved in elite cricket, with resultant data analyzed inductively initially, before being reanalyzed deductively. Although, the narratives endorsed the value of many of the deductively derived factors, other constructs more prominent in organizational psychology (e.g., trust and intra-group conflict appeared to be more important than traditional sport psychology group factors. The results revealed six broad themes; culture and environment, values, communication, understanding, leadership, and unique individuals, with some gender differences apparent throughout. Based on our elite sample's construal of team effectiveness, we propose a new model representing a practical, parsimonious, and novel conceptualization of the most important attributes of team effectiveness in cricket, with conceivable transferability to other team sports.

  16. Psychometric test of the Team Climate Inventory-short version investigated in Dutch quality improvement teams

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nieboer Anna P

    2009-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Although some studies have used the Team Climate Inventory within teams working in health care settings, none of these included quality improvement teams. The aim of our study is to investigate the psychometric properties of the 14-item version of the Team Climate Inventory in healthcare quality improvement teams participating in a Dutch quality collaborative. Methods This study included quality improvement teams participating in the Care for Better improvement program for home care, care for the handicapped and the elderly in the Netherlands between 2006 and 2008. As part of a larger evaluation study 270 written questionnaires from team members were collected at baseline and 139 questionnaires at end measurement. Confirmatory factor analyses, reliability, Pearson correlations and paired samples t-tests were conducted to investigate construct validity, reliability, predictive validity and temporal stability. Results Confirmatory factor analyses revealed the expected four-factor structure and good fit indices. For the four subscales – vision, participative safety, task orientation and support for innovation – acceptable Cronbach's alpha coefficients and high inter-item correlations were found. The four subscales all proved significant predictors of perceived team effectiveness, with participatory safety being the best predictor. As expected the four subscales were found to be stable over time; i.e. without significant changes between baseline and end measurement. Conclusion The psychometric properties of the Dutch version of the TCI-14 are satisfactory. Together these results show that the TCI-14 is a useful instrument to assess to what extent aspects of team climate influence perceived team effectiveness of quality improvement teams.

  17. Psychometric test of the Team Climate Inventory-short version investigated in Dutch quality improvement teams.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Strating, Mathilde M H; Nieboer, Anna P

    2009-07-24

    Although some studies have used the Team Climate Inventory within teams working in health care settings, none of these included quality improvement teams. The aim of our study is to investigate the psychometric properties of the 14-item version of the Team Climate Inventory in healthcare quality improvement teams participating in a Dutch quality collaborative. This study included quality improvement teams participating in the Care for Better improvement program for home care, care for the handicapped and the elderly in the Netherlands between 2006 and 2008. As part of a larger evaluation study 270 written questionnaires from team members were collected at baseline and 139 questionnaires at end measurement. Confirmatory factor analyses, reliability, Pearson correlations and paired samples t-tests were conducted to investigate construct validity, reliability, predictive validity and temporal stability. Confirmatory factor analyses revealed the expected four-factor structure and good fit indices. For the four subscales--vision, participative safety, task orientation and support for innovation--acceptable Cronbach's alpha coefficients and high inter-item correlations were found. The four subscales all proved significant predictors of perceived team effectiveness, with participatory safety being the best predictor. As expected the four subscales were found to be stable over time; i.e. without significant changes between baseline and end measurement. The psychometric properties of the Dutch version of the TCI-14 are satisfactory. Together these results show that the TCI-14 is a useful instrument to assess to what extent aspects of team climate influence perceived team effectiveness of quality improvement teams.

  18. Guiding Principles for Team-Based Pediatric Care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Katkin, Julie P; Kressly, Susan J; Edwards, Anne R; Perrin, James M; Kraft, Colleen A; Richerson, Julia E; Tieder, Joel S; Wall, Liz

    2017-07-24

    The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recognizes that children's unique and ever-changing needs depend on a variety of support systems. Key components of effective support systems address the needs of the child and family in the context of their home and community and are dynamic so that they reflect, monitor, and respond to changes as the needs of the child and family change. The AAP believes that team-based care involving medical providers and community partners (eg, teachers and state agencies) is a crucial and necessary component of providing high-quality care to children and their families. Team-based care builds on the foundation of the medical home by reaching out to a potentially broad array of participants in the life of a child and incorporating them into the care provided. Importantly, the AAP believes that a high-functioning team includes children and their families as essential partners. The overall goal of team-based care is to enhance communication and cooperation among the varied medical, social, and educational partners in a child's life to better meet the global needs of children and their families, helping them to achieve their best potential. In support of the team-based approach, the AAP urges stakeholders to invest in infrastructure, education, and privacy-secured technology to meet the needs of children. This statement includes limited specific examples of potential team members, including health care providers and community partners, that are meant to be illustrative and in no way represent a complete or comprehensive listing of all team members who may be of importance for a specific child and family. Copyright © 2017 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

  19. Intervention in Multi-cultural Organizations -Prevention of Accidents as political change processes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dyhrberg, Mette Bang; Kamp, Annette; Koch, Christian

    1999-01-01

    mainstream safety culture approaches is over rationalististic compared with day to day life of organisations. A simplistic model of mans behaviour, and too abbreviated understanding of the total set of goals and means in action in organisation and rather simple change management models flaws the safety...... of an organisation as a Multi-cultural Organisation. Second on change processes as political processes where the needed change have to be negotiated and reshaped....

  20. Implementing Culture Change in Nursing Homes: An Adaptive Leadership Framework.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Corazzini, Kirsten; Twersky, Jack; White, Heidi K; Buhr, Gwendolen T; McConnell, Eleanor S; Weiner, Madeline; Colón-Emeric, Cathleen S

    2015-08-01

    To describe key adaptive challenges and leadership behaviors to implement culture change for person-directed care. The study design was a qualitative, observational study of nursing home staff perceptions of the implementation of culture change in each of 3 nursing homes. We conducted 7 focus groups of licensed and unlicensed nursing staff, medical care providers, and administrators. Questions explored perceptions of facilitators and barriers to culture change. Using a template organizing style of analysis with immersion/crystallization, themes of barriers and facilitators were coded for adaptive challenges and leadership. Six key themes emerged, including relationships, standards and expectations, motivation and vision, workload, respect of personhood, and physical environment. Within each theme, participants identified barriers that were adaptive challenges and facilitators that were examples of adaptive leadership. Commonly identified challenges were how to provide person-directed care in the context of extant rules or policies or how to develop staff motivated to provide person-directed care. Implementing culture change requires the recognition of adaptive challenges for which there are no technical solutions, but which require reframing of norms and expectations, and the development of novel and flexible solutions. Managers and administrators seeking to implement person-directed care will need to consider the role of adaptive leadership to address these adaptive challenges. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  1. Organizational culture in Qazvin hospitals (2013

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    AM. Mosadeghrad

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Background: Organizational culture influences employees’ job satisfaction, commitment and performance. A strong corporate culture enhances organizational performance. Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the type of organizational culture in Qazvin hospitals. Methods: A descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted by a survey questionnaire in Qazvin (2013 that was distributed among 800 hospital employees and managers based on stratified random sampling. Findings: The mean of hospitals’ organizational culture was 2.95 out of 5 score. Hospitals' organizational cultures were evaluated as strong in attention to details and stability dimensions and moderate in creativity, risk taking, team working and power distance dimensions. Attention to details in public hospitals was higher than private and social security hospitals. Conclusion: Organizational culture of Qazvin hospitals was evaluated as moderate. Managers for improving hospitals' performance and enhancing employees' and patients' satisfaction should create a culture of higher creativity, innovation, team working and risk taking and lower power distance.

  2. Talent development in adolescent team sports: a review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burgess, Darren J; Naughton, Geraldine A

    2010-03-01

    Traditional talent development pathways for adolescents in team sports follow talent identification procedures based on subjective games ratings and isolated athletic assessment. Most talent development models are exclusive rather than inclusive in nature. Subsequently, talent identification may result in discontentment, premature stratification, or dropout from team sports. Understanding the multidimensional differences among the requirements of adolescent and elite adult athletes could provide more realistic goals for potential talented players. Coach education should include adolescent development, and rewards for team success at the adolescent level should reflect the needs of long-term player development. Effective talent development needs to incorporate physical and psychological maturity, the relative age effect, objective measures of game sense, and athletic prowess. The influences of media and culture on the individual, and the competing time demands between various competitions for player training time should be monitored and mediated where appropriate. Despite the complexity, talent development is a worthy investment in professional team sport.

  3. Development and Validation of an Instrument for Measuring the Quality of Teamwork in Teaching Teams in Postgraduate Medical Training (TeamQ)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Slootweg, Irene A.; Lombarts, Kiki M. J. M. H.; Boerebach, Benjamin C. M.; Heineman, Maas Jan; Scherpbier, Albert J. J. A.; van der Vleuten, Cees P. M.

    2014-01-01

    Background Teamwork between clinical teachers is a challenge in postgraduate medical training. Although there are several instruments available for measuring teamwork in health care, none of them are appropriate for teaching teams. The aim of this study is to develop an instrument (TeamQ) for measuring teamwork, to investigate its psychometric properties and to explore how clinical teachers assess their teamwork. Method To select the items to be included in the TeamQ questionnaire, we conducted a content validation in 2011, using a Delphi procedure in which 40 experts were invited. Next, for pilot testing the preliminary tool, 1446 clinical teachers from 116 teaching teams were requested to complete the TeamQ questionnaire. For data analyses we used statistical strategies: principal component analysis, internal consistency reliability coefficient, and the number of evaluations needed to obtain reliable estimates. Lastly, the median TeamQ scores were calculated for teams to explore the levels of teamwork. Results In total, 31 experts participated in the Delphi study. In total, 114 teams participated in the TeamQ pilot. The median team response was 7 evaluations per team. The principal component analysis revealed 11 factors; 8 were included. The reliability coefficients of the TeamQ scales ranged from 0.75 to 0.93. The generalizability analysis revealed that 5 to 7 evaluations were needed to obtain internal reliability coefficients of 0.70. In terms of teamwork, the clinical teachers scored residents' empowerment as the highest TeamQ scale and feedback culture as the area that would most benefit from improvement. Conclusions This study provides initial evidence of the validity of an instrument for measuring teamwork in teaching teams. The high response rates and the low number of evaluations needed for reliably measuring teamwork indicate that TeamQ is feasible for use by teaching teams. Future research could explore the effectiveness of feedback on teamwork in

  4. What Does the Employee Diversity Team Have in Store for Fall? | Poster

    Science.gov (United States)

    By Andrea Frydl, Contributing Writer Fall Activities The Employee Diversity Team (EDT) is out and about this fall, making the NCI at Frederick community aware of various cultural traditions and events around Frederick County that employees can participate in. The team is working with staff members of Native American descent to feature a display case and movie selection

  5. Improving Care Teams' Functioning: Recommendations from Team Science.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fiscella, Kevin; Mauksch, Larry; Bodenheimer, Thomas; Salas, Eduardo

    2017-07-01

    Team science has been applied to many sectors including health care. Yet there has been relatively little attention paid to the application of team science to developing and sustaining primary care teams. Application of team science to primary care requires adaptation of core team elements to different types of primary care teams. Six elements of teams are particularly relevant to primary care: practice conditions that support or hinder effective teamwork; team cognition, including shared understanding of team goals, roles, and how members will work together as a team; leadership and coaching, including mutual feedback among members that promotes teamwork and moves the team closer to achieving its goals; cooperation supported by an emotionally safe climate that supports expression and resolution of conflict and builds team trust and cohesion; coordination, including adoption of processes that optimize efficient performance of interdependent activities among team members; and communication, particularly regular, recursive team cycles involving planning, action, and debriefing. These six core elements are adapted to three prototypical primary care teams: teamlets, health coaching, and complex care coordination. Implementation of effective team-based models in primary care requires adaptation of core team science elements coupled with relevant, practical training and organizational support, including adequate time to train, plan, and debrief. Training should be based on assessment of needs and tasks and the use of simulations and feedback, and it should extend to live action. Teamlets represent a potential launch point for team development and diffusion of teamwork principles within primary care practices. Copyright © 2017 The Joint Commission. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. Changing the culture of assessment: the dominance of the summative assessment paradigm.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harrison, Christopher J; Könings, Karen D; Schuwirth, Lambert W T; Wass, Valerie; van der Vleuten, Cees P M

    2017-04-28

    Despite growing evidence of the benefits of including assessment for learning strategies within programmes of assessment, practical implementation of these approaches is often problematical. Organisational culture change is often hindered by personal and collective beliefs which encourage adherence to the existing organisational paradigm. We aimed to explore how these beliefs influenced proposals to redesign a summative assessment culture in order to improve students' use of assessment-related feedback. Using the principles of participatory design, a mixed group comprising medical students, clinical teachers and senior faculty members was challenged to develop radical solutions to improve the use of post-assessment feedback. Follow-up interviews were conducted with individual members of the group to explore their personal beliefs about the proposed redesign. Data were analysed using a socio-cultural lens. Proposed changes were dominated by a shared belief in the primacy of the summative assessment paradigm, which prevented radical redesign solutions from being accepted by group members. Participants' prior assessment experiences strongly influenced proposals for change. As participants had largely only experienced a summative assessment culture, they found it difficult to conceptualise radical change in the assessment culture. Although all group members participated, students were less successful at persuading the group to adopt their ideas. Faculty members and clinical teachers often used indirect techniques to close down discussions. The strength of individual beliefs became more apparent in the follow-up interviews. Naïve epistemologies and prior personal experiences were influential in the assessment redesign but were usually not expressed explicitly in a group setting, perhaps because of cultural conventions of politeness. In order to successfully implement a change in assessment culture, firmly-held intuitive beliefs about summative assessment will need to

  7. Relationships among Team Trust, Team Cohesion, Team Satisfaction and Project Team Effectiveness as Perceived by Project Managers in Malaysia

    OpenAIRE

    Han-Ping Fung

    2014-01-01

    Today, more and more project teams are formed to achieve organizational objectives as organizations generally recognized the importance and benefits of project teams. There is a compelling reason to study what are the team outcome factors that can predict project team effectiveness as it is unclear whether these team outcome factors can yield the same result in project setting whereby there is resource and time constraint compare to normal work teams which are ongoing and operational in natur...

  8. When global virtual teams share knowledge

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Klitmøller, Anders; Lauring, Jakob

    2013-01-01

    Technological developments and internationalization have made virtual communication a central part of everyday life in many larger organizations. In recent years this trend has been intensified by travel-budget cuts imposed by the global financial crisis. Accordingly, the use of virtual media...... for internal knowledge sharing is now more important than ever before. Extant studies have provided useful theories and empirical documentation on how to manage global virtual teams. However, no prior research has examined the interaction of media type with the relation between culture/language and canonical....../equivocal knowledge sharing. This is an important omission because cultural and linguistic variations are known to have a great effect on knowledge sharing. We use ethnographic field-study methodology for an exploratory examination of the effects of culture, shared language commonality and media choice on knowledge...

  9. Culture Matters in Successful Curriculum Change: An International Study of the Influence of National and Organizational Culture Tested With Multilevel Structural Equation Modeling

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jippes, M.; Driessen, E.W.; Broers, N.J.; Majoor, G.D.; Gijselaers, W.H.; Vleuten, C.P.M. van der

    2015-01-01

    PURPOSE: National culture has been shown to play a role in curriculum change in medical schools, and business literature has described a similar influence of organizational culture on change processes in organizations. This study investigated the impact of both national and organizational culture on

  10. Strong leadership and teamwork drive culture and performance change: Ohio State University Medical Center 2000-2006.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sanfilippo, Fred; Bendapudi, Neeli; Rucci, Anthony; Schlesinger, Leonard

    2008-09-01

    Several characteristics of academic health centers have the potential to create high levels of internal conflict and misalignment that can pose significant leadership challenges. In September 2000, the positions of Ohio State University (OSU) senior vice president for health sciences, dean of the medical school, and the newly created position of chief executive officer of the OSU Medical Center (OSUMC) were combined under a single leader to oversee the OSUMC. This mandate from the president and trustees was modeled after top institutions with similar structures. The leader who assumed the role was tasked with improving OSUMC's academic, clinical, and financial performance. To achieve this goal, the senior vice president and his team employed the service value chain model of improving performance, based on the premise that leadership behavior/culture drives employee engagement/satisfaction, leading to customer satisfaction and improved organizational performance. Implementing this approach was a seven-step process: (1) selecting the right leadership team, (2) assessing the challenges and opportunities, (3) setting expectations for performance and leadership behavior, (4) aligning structures and functions, (5) engaging constituents, (6) developing leadership skills, and (7) defining strategies and tracking goals. The OSUMC setting during this period provides an observational case study to examine how these stepwise changes, instituted by strong leadership and teamwork, were able to make and implement sound decisions that drove substantial and measurable improvements in the engagement and satisfaction of faculty and staff; the satisfaction of students and patients; and academic, clinical, and financial performance.

  11. Italian Family Business Cultures Involved in the Generational Change

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ruggero Ruggieri

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available In family firms, the business and the family are two arenas in which processes significantly overlap and influence management. The present paper investigates the overlap of the family system and the business through the use of culture. Adopting an idiographic approach and recognising the unique psychodynamic process of family business (FB, this study aims to identify the cultural patterns within the FB, starting from what families define as a family, b business and, c the generational change. Twenty-five family firms were considered during the generational change. The results show how and when this overlap takes shape pointing out how the role of family tradition can became a critical or success factor for the business.

  12. Team Work in International Programs: Why is it so difficult?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lauridsen, Karen M.; Madsen, Henning

    intercultural collaboration. The issues that arise seem to be grounded in linguistic, cultural and educational factors. This paper reports on and discusses a study of student responses to intercultural collaboration (in English) in two programmes at Aarhus University, Denmark. One conclusion...... is that the international students are more prepared to work in multicultural teams than their Danish peers. Another one tells us that once students have experience with the diversity of these teams, at least some of them become more open towards working in such teams in the future. It is interesting to discuss......Team Work in International Programs: Why is it so difficult? And what can we do about it? It is common knowledge that students often find it difficult to collaborate on assignments, projects, etc., but we require that they do so for a number of reasons, e.g. to learn how to work in teams or take...

  13. Changing the Project Execution Culture at NASA Dryden

    Science.gov (United States)

    Horn, Thomas J.

    2012-01-01

    Dryden has embarked on implementing Critical Chain Project Management (CCPM) philosophies and tools to reduce workforce stress and increase the centers work throughput. This effort has been under way for over one year and represents a fundamental state change in how various projects are planned and executed at the center. The implementation of CCPM philosophies and the required cultural changes represent the most difficult aspects of the implementation.

  14. Computer-mediated interdisciplinary teams: theory and reality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vroman, Kerryellen; Kovacich, Joann

    2002-05-01

    The benefit of experience, tempered with the wisdom of hindsight and 5 years of text-based, asynchronous, computer-mediated, interdisciplinary team communications, provides the energy, insights and data shared in this article. Through the theoretical lens of group dynamics and the epistemology of interdisciplinary teaming, we analyze the interactions of a virtual interdisciplinary team to provide an understanding and appreciation of collaborative interdisciplinary communication in the context of interactive technologies. Whilst interactive technologies may require new patterns of language similar to that of learning a foreign language, what is communicated in the interdisciplinary team process does not change. Most important is the recognition that virtual teams, similar to their face-to-face counterparts, undergo the same challenges of interdisciplinary teaming and group developmental processes of formation: forming, storming, norming, performing, and transforming. After examining these dynamics of communication and collaboration in the context of the virtual team, the article concludes with guidelines facilitating interdisciplinary team computer-mediated communication.

  15. An Investigation of Organizational Culture Changes and Effectiveness at Jefferson College: 1963-Present

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCaffrey, Dena M.

    2012-01-01

    A fundamental factor in the internal dynamics of a college is its culture. Central to understanding organizational culture is to minimize the occurrence and consequences of cultural conflict and help foster the development of shared goals. Modifying organizational culture is important. Without culture change, there is little hope of enduring…

  16. Making Teamwork Work: Team Knowledge for Team Effectiveness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guchait, Priyanko; Lei, Puiwa; Tews, Michael J

    2016-01-01

    This study examined the impact of two types of team knowledge on team effectiveness. The study assessed the impact of taskwork knowledge and teamwork knowledge on team satisfaction and performance. A longitudinal study was conducted with 27 service-management teams involving 178 students in a real-life restaurant setting. Teamwork knowledge was found to impact both team outcomes. Furthermore, team learning behavior was found to mediate the relationships between teamwork knowledge and team outcomes. Educators and managers should therefore ensure these types of knowledge are developed in teams along with learning behavior for maximum effectiveness.

  17. Understanding the Effects of Team Cognition Associated with Complex Engineering Tasks: Dynamics of Shared Mental Models, Task-SMM, and Team-SMM

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Miyoung; Johnson, Tristan E.

    2008-01-01

    This study investigates how shared mental models (SMMs) change over time in teams of students in a manufacturing engineering course. A complex ill-structured project was given to each team. The objective of the team project was to analyze, test, and propose ways to improve their given manufactured product. Shared mental models were measured in…

  18. Impacts of dairy diagnostic teams on herd performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weinand, D; Conlin, B J

    2003-05-01

    This study evaluated impacts of educational diagnostic teams of consultants used to transfer technology to dairy farms. Herd management performance changes were measured by comparing Dairy Herd Improvement data from 38 project farms to data from herds that were geographical contemporaries. The value of focused goals for effecting change was also assessed. Interviews provided producers' perception of project outcomes and insight on organization and conduct of dairy diagnostic teams. Changes observed in project herds were small compared with controls with tendencies for increased herd size and improved milk production per cow. Focused goals had greater impacts on increasing herd size, milk per cow, first lactation peak milk, reducing age at first calving, and percentages of cows with subclinical mastitis. Time, money, facility limitations, labor, and alternative priorities were the most cited constraints to implementing changes. Satisfaction scores of producers were significantly related to the degree that team recommendations were followed. Improved attitudes, quality of life, and financial well-being were benefits listed by a majority of producers from participation in the project. If similar projects were to be offered, 83% said they would participate again, and 69% indicated they would pay at least some of the costs. Project farms served as demonstration farms for 1930 other producers in their respective locales, resulting in a multiplier effect of original advice given by consultant teams. Suggestions by farmer participants for improvements in dairy diagnostic teams included needs for at least some unbiased team members, more frequent meetings, more follow-up on recommendations, and consistency of recommendations with family goals.

  19. The effectiveness of strategies to change organisational culture to improve healthcare performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parmelli, Elena; Flodgren, Gerd; Schaafsma, Mary Ellen; Baillie, Nick; Beyer, Fiona R; Eccles, Martin P

    2011-01-19

    Organisational culture is an anthropological metaphor used to inform research and consultancy and to explain organisational environments. Great emphasis has been placed during the last years on the need to change organisational culture in order to pursue effective improvement of healthcare performance. However, the precise nature of organisational culture in healthcare policy often remains underspecified and the desirability and feasibility of strategies to be adopted has been called into question. To determine the effectiveness of strategies to change organisational culture in order to improve healthcare performance.To examine the effectiveness of these strategies according to different patterns of organisational culture. We searched the following electronic databases for primary studies: The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, Sociological Abstracts, Web of Knowledge, PsycINFO, Business and Management, EThOS, Index to Theses, Intute, HMIC, SIGLE, and Scopus until October 2009. The Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effectiveness (DARE) was searched for related reviews. We also searched the reference lists of all papers and relevant reviews identified, and we contacted experts in the field for advice on further potential studies. We considered randomised controlled trials (RCTs) or well designed quasi-experimental studies, controlled clinical trials (CCTs), controlled before and after studies (CBAs) and interrupted time series analyses (ITS) meeting the quality criteria used by the Cochrane Effective Practice and Organisation of Care Group (EPOC). Studies should be set in any type of healthcare organisation in which strategies to change organisational culture in order to improve healthcare performance were applied. Our main outcomes were objective measures of professional performance and patient outcome. At least two review authors independently applied the criteria for inclusion and exclusion criteria to scan titles and

  20. Use of a Surgical Safety Checklist to Improve Team Communication.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cabral, Richard A; Eggenberger, Terry; Keller, Kathryn; Gallison, Barry S; Newman, David

    2016-09-01

    To improve surgical team communication, a team at Broward Health Imperial Point Hospital, Ft Lauderdale, Florida, implemented a program for process improvement using a locally adapted World Health Organization Surgical Safety Checklist. This program included a standardized, comprehensive time out and a briefing/debriefing process. Postimplementation responses to the Safety Attitudes Questionnaire revealed a significant increase in the surgical team's perception of communication compared with that reported on the pretest (6% improvement resulting in t79 = -1.72, P improved surgical teamwork behaviors and an enhanced culture of safety in the OR. Copyright © 2016 AORN, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Peer mentored teams to support undergraduate group work in higher education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cinderey, Lynn Elizabeth

    This research starts with a set of practical research questions to investigate a problem which occurs in some computing undergraduate modules that use group work as part of the learning and assessment strategy. In this study final year students with experience in information systems project work and trained in team processes met with small groups of first year computing students with the aim of turning the first year project group into a team. This study seeks to explore the experience of the final year students as they take on the role of peer tutor looking at the problems they perceive within the first year teams and the skills and knowledge they use to help them. The study includes the recruitment and training of final year students (n=9) and allocation to first year teams. The final year students acted as co-researchers and team leaders in L4 Information Systems project work and recorded their thoughts and observations in a diary during the first semester of 2008/9 academic year. Diary data was supplemented by interview data from a sample of final year students (n=4). The sample was selected based on the richness of the data provided in the diaries and the number of meetings held with their teams. Rich data and thick descriptions were essential for a phenomenological examination of the experience of the final year students. A number of findings emerged. A critical approach to analysis revealed ongoing conflicts occurred across cultural divides within the first year teams that final year leaders did not articulate or appear fully aware of. This had important implications for individual team members. Other findings which relate to issues of changing levels of motivation in the teams over the ten weeks, roles adopted by the leaders, ability to systematize the project or team processes and the ability to reflect on unsuccessful strategies also had implications for peer mentoring training and support. The picture that emerged from the data suggested that lack of

  2. Team-Based Interprofessional Competency Training for Dementia Screening and Management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tan, Zaldy S; Damron-Rodriguez, JoAnn; Cadogan, Mary; Gans, Daphna; Price, Rachel M; Merkin, Sharon S; Jennings, Lee; Schickedanz, Heather; Shimomura, Sam; Osterweil, Dan; Chodosh, Joshua

    2017-01-01

    As many as 50% of people satisfying diagnostic criteria for dementia are undiagnosed. A team-based training program for dementia screening and management was developed targeting four professions (medicine, nursing, pharmacy, social work) whose scope of practice involves dementia care. An interprofessional group of 10 faculty members was trained to facilitate four interactive competency stations on dementia screening, differential diagnoses, dementia management and team care planning, and screening for and managing caregiver stress. Registrants were organized into teams of five members, with at least one member of each profession per team. The teams rotated through all stations, completing assigned tasks through interprofessional collaboration. A total of 117 professionals (51 physicians, 11 nurses, 20 pharmacists, 24 social workers, 11 others) successfully completed the program. Change scores showed significant improvements in overall competence in dementia assessment and intervention (very low = 1; very high = 5; average change 1.12, P managing medication (average change 0.86, P team-based interprofessional competency training is a team teaching model that can be used to enhance competency in dementia screening and management in medical, nursing, pharmacy, and social work practitioners. © 2016, Copyright the Authors Journal compilation © 2016, The American Geriatrics Society.

  3. Trauma team leaders' non-verbal communication: video registration during trauma team training.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Härgestam, Maria; Hultin, Magnus; Brulin, Christine; Jacobsson, Maritha

    2016-03-25

    There is widespread consensus on the importance of safe and secure communication in healthcare, especially in trauma care where time is a limiting factor. Although non-verbal communication has an impact on communication between individuals, there is only limited knowledge of how trauma team leaders communicate. The purpose of this study was to investigate how trauma team members are positioned in the emergency room, and how leaders communicate in terms of gaze direction, vocal nuances, and gestures during trauma team training. Eighteen trauma teams were audio and video recorded during trauma team training in the emergency department of a hospital in northern Sweden. Quantitative content analysis was used to categorize the team members' positions and the leaders' non-verbal communication: gaze direction, vocal nuances, and gestures. The quantitative data were interpreted in relation to the specific context. Time sequences of the leaders' gaze direction, speech time, and gestures were identified separately and registered as time (seconds) and proportions (%) of the total training time. The team leaders who gained control over the most important area in the emergency room, the "inner circle", positioned themselves as heads over the team, using gaze direction, gestures, vocal nuances, and verbal commands that solidified their verbal message. Changes in position required both attention and collaboration. Leaders who spoke in a hesitant voice, or were silent, expressed ambiguity in their non-verbal communication: and other team members took over the leader's tasks. In teams where the leader had control over the inner circle, the members seemed to have an awareness of each other's roles and tasks, knowing when in time and where in space these tasks needed to be executed. Deviations in the leaders' communication increased the ambiguity in the communication, which had consequences for the teamwork. Communication cannot be taken for granted; it needs to be practiced

  4. Safeguarding Cultural Heritage against Climate Change and Natural Hazards through Stakeholder Involvement

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Wit, Rosmarie; Zuvela-Aloise, Maja; Hollosi, Brigitta; Anders, Ivonne; Höfler, Angelika; Boi, Silvia; Resta, Vanni; Patrikakis, Charalampos

    2017-04-01

    Europe's cultural heritage is among the richest in the world, and draws millions of visitors to archeological sites, museums, monuments, castles, and other sites each year. The protection and conservation of European heritage is of utmost importance for our society, not only in order to preserve the European cultural identity, but also because cultural heritage is a wealth creator bringing tourism-related business opportunities on which many communities depend. However, Europe's heritage assets are extremely exposed to climate change and natural hazards, which threatens their integrity and may compromise their value. The goal of the STORM (Safeguarding Cultural Heritage through Technical and Organisational Management) project is to provide critical decision-making tools to European cultural heritage stakeholders affected by climate change and natural hazards. Here, the STORM project will be presented with a focus on climate change and natural hazard risk communication to the involved stakeholders. However, climate change communication is not a one-way process, and discussions with stakeholders are necessary to identify their specific needs. Hence, the STORM concept is tested through pilot site studies in five different countries: the Diocletian Baths in Rome, Italy; the Mellor Heritage site, Manchester, UK; the Roman Ruins of Tróia, Portugal; the Historical Centre of Rethymno on Crete, Greece and Ephesus, Izmir, Turkey. Furthermore, the past and future climatic conditions at the project's pilot sites are analysed in terms of mean state and extreme events (for example temperature and precipitation changes evident from observations and climate scenarios), which will be discussed with regard to their relevance for the local cultural heritage protection based on discussions with the stakeholders.

  5. TEAM ATTITUDE EVALUATION: AN EVALUATION IN HOSPITAL COMMITTEES.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hekmat, Somayeh Noori; Dehnavieh, Reza; Rahimisadegh, Rohaneh; Kohpeima, Vahid; Jahromi, Jahromi Kohpeima

    2015-12-01

    Patients' health and safety is not only a function of complex treatments and advanced therapeutic technologies but also a function of a degree based on which health care professionals fulfill their duties effectively as a team. The aim of this study was to determine the attitude of hospital committee members about teamwork in Kerman hospitals. This study was conducted in 2014 on 171 members of clinical teams and committees of four educational hospitals in Kerman University of Medical Sciences. To collect data, the standard "team attitude evaluation" questionnaire was used. This questionnaire consisted of five domains which evaluated the team attitude in areas related to the team structure, leadership, situation monitoring, mutual support, and communication in the form of a 5-point Likert type scale. To analyze data, descriptive statistical tests, T-test, ANOVA, and linear regression were used. The average score of team attitude for hospital committee members was 3.9 out of 5. The findings showed that leadership had the highest score among the subscales of team work attitude, while mutual support had the lowest score. We could also observe that responsibility was an important factor in participants' team work attitude (β = -0.184, p = 0.024). Comparing data in different subgroups revealed that employment, marital status, and responsibility were the variables affecting the participants' attitudes in the team structure domain. Marital status played a role in leadership; responsibility had a role in situation monitoring; and work experience played a role in domains of communication and mutual support. Hospital committee members had a positive attitude towards teamwork. Training hospital staff and paying particular attention to key elements of effectiveness in a health care team can have a pivotal role in promoting the team culture.

  6. Creating Innovative Frameworks to Spur Cultural Change at NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center

    Science.gov (United States)

    Samuel, Aamod; Lozano, Joel; Carte, Olivia; Robillos, Troy

    2018-01-01

    Changing the culture of an organization is a monumental task that often takes years and has no set formula. Steps can be taken, however, to spur cultural change by creating spaces and infrastructure to serve as the initial driving force. An innovation space and a bicycle sharing (bike share) program were implemented at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Armstrong Flight Research Center (AFRC) (Edwards, California) with a vision toward connecting Center personnel, fostering collaboration and innovation, retaining newer employees, promoting flexibility, and improving the culture and workplace atmosphere. This paper discusses the steps taken, challenges faced, novel culture-change-focused design elements, lessons learned, acquired metrics, and how these initiated cultural change at AFRC. For both the innovation space and the bike share program, funding was negotiated and provided through the NASA Convergent Aeronautics Solutions (CAS) project, which was seeking to improve the innovation and collaboration capabilities at each of the four NASA aeronautics Centers. Key stakeholders across AFRC from upper management, facilities, safety, engineering, and procurement were identified early in the process and were consulted and included throughout execution to ensure that any encountered roadblocks could be easily navigated. Research was then conducted by attending conferences and visiting culture-changing organizations both inside and outside United States Government agencies. Distilling the research, identifying available space, and deciding on specific design elements for the space was conducted by a subset of individuals of diverse backgrounds to enable quick, effective decision-making. Decisions were made with the intent to increase usage and diversity of users of the space; care was taken to ensure a well-crafted atmosphere that would foster the desired culture change. The allocated physical space required major structural modifications, new

  7. Changing the culture of academic medicine: the C-Change learning action network and its impact at participating medical schools.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krupat, Edward; Pololi, Linda; Schnell, Eugene R; Kern, David E

    2013-09-01

    The culture of academic medicine has been described as hierarchical, competitive, and not highly supportive of female or minority faculty. In response to this, the authors designed the Learning Action Network (LAN), which was part of the National Initiative on Gender, Culture and Leadership in Medicine (C-Change). The LAN is a five-school consortium aimed at changing the organizational culture of its constituent institutions. The authors selected LAN schools to be geographically diverse and representative of U.S. medical schools. Institutional leaders and faculty representatives from constituent schools met twice yearly for four years (2006-2010), forming a cross-institutional learning community. Through their quarterly listing of institutional activities, schools reported a wide array of actions. Most common were increased faculty development and/or mentoring, new approaches to communication, and adoption of new policies and procedures. Other categories included data collection/management, engagement of key stakeholders, education regarding gender/diversity, and new/expanded leadership positions. Through exit interviews, most participants reported feeling optimistic about maintaining the momentum of change. However, some, especially in schools with leadership changes, expressed uncertainty. Participants reported that they felt that the LAN enabled, empowered, facilitated, and/or caused the reported actions.For others who might want to work toward changing the culture of academic medicine, the authors offer several lessons learned from their experiences with C-Change. Most notably, people, structures, policies, and reward systems must be put into place to support cultural values, and broad-based support should be created in order for changes to persist when inevitable transitions in leadership occur.

  8. Conceptual apparatus of synergetics and study of cultural changes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    K. A. Ivanova

    2015-04-01

    The second kind of cultural consciousness of researchers of cosmos and nature is analyzed in the article. This group has such features as involvement into revolution ideology and loyalty to the ideals of Enlightenment, faith in the future, confidence in science and its unlimited possibilities to change human nature. Carriers of second kind of cultural consciousness have negative attitude to any attempts of humanitarians to establish prohibition of intervention to human nature.

  9. Climate change, values, and the cultural cognition thesis

    OpenAIRE

    Persson, Johannes; Sahlin, Nils-Eric; Wallin, Annika

    2015-01-01

    Recently the importance of addressing values in discussions of risk perception and adaptation to climate change has become manifest. Values-based approaches to climate change adaptation and the cultural cognition thesis both illustrate this trend. We argue that in the wake of this development it is necessary to take the dynamic relationship between values and beliefs seriously, to acknowledge the possibility of bi-directional relationships between values and beliefs, and to address the variet...

  10. Teacher Teams, Teamwork, and Empowerment: Exploring Associations and the Nexus to Change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Henkin, Alan B.; Park, Sungmin; Singleton, Carole A.

    2007-01-01

    Research on team-based schools suggests the importance of teacher empowerment as a factor in the school revitalization and reform equation and as a critical element in redefining schools as collaborative workplaces. In this study, the authors inquire into potential associations between teamwork skills and teacher team empowerment. Research…

  11. Should they stay or should they go now? Exploring the impact of team familiarity on interprofessional team training outcomes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Joshi, Kavita; Hernandez, Jessica; Martinez, Joseph; AbdelFattah, Kareem; Gardner, Aimee K

    2018-02-01

    Although simulation is an effective method for enhancing team competencies, it is unclear how team familiarity impacts this process. We examined how team familiarity impacted team competencies. Trainees were assigned to stable or dynamic teams to participate in three simulated cases. Situation awareness (SA) data was collected through in-scenario freezes. The recorded performances were assessed for clinical effectiveness (ClinEff) and teamwork. All data are reported on a 1-100% (100% = perfect performance) scale. Forty-six trainees (23 General Surgery; 23 Emergency Medicine) were randomized by specialty into stable (N = 8) or dynamic (N = 7) groups. Overall changes from Sim 1 to Sim3 were 12.2% (p teams reflecting improvements in ClinEff (15.2%; p team ClinEff improvement (8.7%) was not significant. Both groups demonstrated improvements in teamwork (stable = 9%, p Teams who continued to work together demonstrated increased improvements in clinical effectiveness and teamwork, while dynamic teams only demonstrated improvements in teamwork. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Fabrication of hydrogels with elasticity changed by alkaline phosphatase for stem cell culture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Toda, Hiroyuki; Yamamoto, Masaya; Uyama, Hiroshi; Tabata, Yasuhiko

    2016-01-01

    The objective of this study is to design hydrogels whose elasticity can be changed by alkaline phosphatase (ALP) in cell culture and evaluate the effect of hydrogel elasticity on an osteogenic gene expression of cells. Hydrogels were prepared by the radical polymerization of acrylamide (AAm), N,N'-methylenebisacrylamide (BIS), and Phosmer™M containing phosphate groups (PE-PAAm hydrogels). The storage modulus of PE-PAAm hydrogels prepared was changed by the preparation conditions. When human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSC) were cultured on the ALP-responsive PE-PAAm hydrogels in the presence or absence of ALP, the morphology of hMSC was observed and one of the osteogenic differentiation markers, Runx2, was evaluated. By ALP addition into the culture medium, the morphology of hMSC was changed into an elongated shape without cell damage. ALP addition modified the level of Runx2 gene expression, which was influenced by the modulus of PE-PAAm hydrogels. It is concluded that the elasticity change of hydrogel substrates in cell culture had an influence on the Runx2 gene expression of hMSC. Stem cells sense the surface elasticity of culture substrates, and their differentiation fate is biologically modified by substrate properties. Most of experiments have been performed in static conditions during cell culture, while the in vivo microenvironment is dynamically changed. In this study, we established to design an enzyme-responsive hydrogel whose elasticity can be changed by alkaline phosphatase (ALP) in cell culture to mimic in vivo conditions. As a result, the cells were deformed and the gene expression level of an osteogenic maker, Runx2, was modified by ALP treatment. This is the novel report describing to demonstrate that the dynamic alteration of hydrogel substrate elasticity could modulate the osteoblastic gene expression of human MSC in vitro. Copyright © 2015 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Network measures for characterising team adaptation processes

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Barth, S.K.; Schraagen, J.M.C.; Schmettow, M.

    2015-01-01

    The aim of this study was to advance the conceptualisation of team adaptation by applying social network analysis (SNA) measures in a field study of a paediatric cardiac surgical team adapting to changes in task complexity and ongoing dynamic complexity. Forty surgical procedures were observed by

  14. Assessing Performance and Learning in Interprofessional Health Care Teams.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ekmekci, Ozgur; Sheingold, Brenda; Plack, Margaret; LeLacheur, Susan; Halvaksz, Jennifer; Lewis, Karen; Schlumpf, Karen; Greenberg, Larrie

    2015-01-01

    Teamwork has become an integral part of health care delivery. Such emphasis on teamwork has generated the need to systematically measure and improve the learning and performance of health care teams. The purpose of this study was to develop a comprehensive assessment instrument, the Interprofessional Education and Practice Inventory (IPEPI), to evaluate learning and performance in interprofessional health care teams. The 12-month study commenced in three 4-month phases: (1) a panel of 25 national and international experts participated in the Delphi process to identify factors influencing team learning and team performance; (2) the research team analyzed the findings from the two Delphi rounds to develop the IPEPI; and (3) a cohort of 27 students at the university engaged in clinical simulations to test and refine the IPEPI. Findings suggest key factors that significantly influence team learning and performance include whether the group is able to foster a climate of mutual respect, adopt effective communication strategies, develop a sense of trust, and invite contributions from others. Additionally, in assessing organizational factors, participants indicated those factors that significantly influence team learning and performance include whether the organization is patient-centered, creates a culture of safety (not blame), and supports individual and team learning. These findings highlight the critical role assessment plays in enhancing not just interprofessional education or interprofessional practice, but in essence advancing interprofessional education and practice--which requires an integrated examination of how health care professionals learn and perform in teams.

  15. A cultural trauma: Outcomes of the system change in post-socialist Poland

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kabzinska Iwona

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper discusses the outcomes of the system change in post-socialist Poland. The author discusses various important and inter-related issues in the Polish societal sphere: shock therapy accompanied by the changes since the 1990's, unemployment, uncontrolled privatization, cultural trauma and cultural plaint. Theoretically, the paper belongs to anthropology of transformation, and it is based on sociological literature for the most part. The paper also discusses 'societal diagnosis', its creators, crisis in confidence as a consequence of social and cultural traumas, the weakness of political elite and criteria used to measure poverty levels. Lately, there has been a change in mythical representation about easy life in Poland related to the state' affiliation with EU. The change includes a lack of global crisis influence, resistance of the Polish society toward media influence, a rise in optimism and decrease of cultural plaint. Is this change in attitude due to cyclical alteration between phases of depression and euphoria? What will happen if depression returns? Did the Polish handle the trauma of transformation exceptionally well? Possible answers to these and other relevant questions are sought by the author in this paper, who uses, as additional sources for research, a world of local communities and individual accounts.

  16. Simulating the Effects of Cross-Generational Cultural Transmission on Language Change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gong, Tao; Shuai, Lan

    Language evolves in a socio-cultural environment. Apart from biological evolution and individual learning, cultural transmission also casts important influence on many aspects of language evolution. In this paper, based on the lexicon-syntax coevolution model, we extend the acquisition framework in our previous work to examine the roles of three forms of cultural transmission spanning the offspring, parent, and grandparent generations in language change. These transmissions are: those between the parent and offspring generations (PO), those within the offspring generation (OO), and those between the grandparent and offspring generations (GO). The simulation results of the considered model and relevant analyses illustrate not only the necessity of PO and OO transmissions for language change, thus echoing our previous findings, but also the importance of GO transmission, a form of cross-generational cultural transmission, on preserving the mutual understandability of the communal language across generations of individuals.

  17. Team Ward Rounds for Quality Improvement in Patient-Centred ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    In this paper we describe a clinical practice change for evaluation and continuous quality improvement of in-patient services in our ACE unit, such as daily geriatrics (multi disciplinary) team ward rounds preceding traditional ward rounds by other managing teams. The geriatrics team rounds enabled the identification of ...

  18. Do learning collaboratives strengthen communication? A comparison of organizational team communication networks over time.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bunger, Alicia C; Lengnick-Hall, Rebecca

    Collaborative learning models were designed to support quality improvements, such as innovation implementation by promoting communication within organizational teams. Yet the effect of collaborative learning approaches on organizational team communication during implementation is untested. The aim of this study was to explore change in communication patterns within teams from children's mental health organizations during a year-long learning collaborative focused on implementing a new treatment. We adopt a social network perspective to examine intraorganizational communication within each team and assess change in (a) the frequency of communication among team members, (b) communication across organizational hierarchies, and (c) the overall structure of team communication networks. A pretest-posttest design compared communication among 135 participants from 21 organizational teams at the start and end of a learning collaborative. At both time points, participants were asked to list the members of their team and rate the frequency of communication with each along a 7-point Likert scale. Several individual, pair-wise, and team level communication network metrics were calculated and compared over time. At the individual level, participants reported communicating with more team members by the end of the learning collaborative. Cross-hierarchical communication did not change. At the team level, these changes manifested differently depending on team size. In large teams, communication frequency increased, and networks grew denser and slightly less centralized. In small teams, communication frequency declined, growing more sparse and centralized. Results suggest that team communication patterns change minimally but evolve differently depending on size. Learning collaboratives may be more helpful for enhancing communication among larger teams; thus, managers might consider selecting and sending larger staff teams to learning collaboratives. This study highlights key future

  19. Shared Cultural History as a Predictor of Political and Economic Changes among Nation States.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matthews, Luke J; Passmore, Sam; Richard, Paul M; Gray, Russell D; Atkinson, Quentin D

    2016-01-01

    Political and economic risks arise from social phenomena that spread within and across countries. Regime changes, protest movements, and stock market and default shocks can have ramifications across the globe. Quantitative models have made great strides at predicting these events in recent decades but incorporate few explicitly measured cultural variables. However, in recent years cultural evolutionary theory has emerged as a major paradigm to understand the inheritance and diffusion of human cultural variation. Here, we combine these two strands of research by proposing that measures of socio-linguistic affiliation derived from language phylogenies track variation in cultural norms that influence how political and economic changes diffuse across the globe. First, we show that changes over time in a country's democratic or autocratic character correlate with simultaneous changes among their socio-linguistic affiliations more than with changes of spatially proximate countries. Second, we find that models of changes in sovereign default status favor including socio-linguistic affiliations in addition to spatial data. These findings suggest that better measurement of cultural networks could be profoundly useful to policy makers who wish to diversify commercial, social, and other forms of investment across political and economic risks on an international scale.

  20. Synchronous environmental and cultural change in the prehistory of the northeastern United States.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Munoz, Samuel E; Gajewski, Konrad; Peros, Matthew C

    2010-12-21

    Climatic changes during the late Quaternary have resulted in substantial, often abrupt, rearrangements of terrestrial ecosystems, but the relationship between these environmental changes and prehistoric human culture and population size remains unclear. Using a database of archaeological radiocarbon dates alongside a network of paleoecological records (sedimentary pollen and charcoal) and paleoclimatic reconstructions, we show that periods of cultural and demographic change in the northeastern United States occurred at the same times as the major environmental-climatic transitions of that region. At 11.6, 8.2, 5.4, and 3.0 kyr BP (10(3) calendar years before present), changes in forest composition altered the distribution, availability, and predictability of food resources which triggered technological adjustments manifested in the archaeological record. Human population level has varied in response to these external changes in ecosystems, but the adoption of maize agriculture during the late Holocene also resulted in a substantial population increase. This study demonstrates the long-term interconnectedness of prehistoric human cultures and the ecosystems they inhabited, and provides a consolidated environmental-cultural framework from which more interdisciplinary research and discussion can develop. Moreover, it emphasizes the complex nature of human responses to environmental change in a temperate region.

  1. Team behaviors in emergency care: a qualitative study using behavior analysis of what makes team work.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mazzocato, Pamela; Forsberg, Helena Hvitfeldt; Schwarz, Ulrica von Thiele

    2011-11-15

    Teamwork has been suggested as a promising approach to improving care processes in emergency departments (ED). However, for teamwork to yield expected results, implementation must involve behavior changes. The aim of this study is to use behavior analysis to qualitatively examine how teamwork plays out in practice and to understand eventual discrepancies between planned and actual behaviors. The study was set in a Swedish university hospital ED during the initial phase of implementation of teamwork. The intervention focused on changing the environment and redesigning the work process to enable teamwork. Each team was responsible for entire care episodes, i.e. from patient arrival to discharge from the ED. Data was collected through 3 days of observations structured around an observation scheme. Behavior analysis was used to pinpoint key teamwork behaviors for consistent implementation of teamwork and to analyze the contingencies that decreased or increased the likelihood of these behaviors. We found a great discrepancy between the planned and the observed teamwork processes. 60% of the 44 team patients observed were handled solely by the appointed team members. Only 36% of the observed patient care processes started according to the description in the planned teamwork process, that is, with taking patient history together. Beside this behavior, meeting in a defined team room and communicating with team members were shown to be essential for the consistent implementation of teamwork. Factors that decreased the likelihood of these key behaviors included waiting for other team members or having trouble locating each other. Getting work done without delay and having an overview of the patient care process increased team behaviors. Moreover, explicit instructions on when team members should interact and communicate increased adherence to the planned process. This study illustrates how behavior analysis can be used to understand discrepancies between planned and observed

  2. The Mental Health Team: Evaluation From a Professional Viewpoint. A Qualitative Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pileño, María Elena; Morillo, Javier; Morillo, Andrea; Losa-Iglesias, Marta

    2018-04-01

    Health care institutions include workers who must operate in accordance with the requirements of the position, even though there are psychosocial influences that can affect the stability of the worker. To analyze the organizational culture of the team of professionals who work in the mental health network. A qualitative methodology was used to assess a sample of 55 mental health professionals who have been practicing for at least 5years. "Team" was the overall topic. The subtopics within "Team" were: getting along in the unit, getting along with the patient, personal resources for dealing with patients, adaptive resources of team members and, resources that the team uses in their group activities. It was observed that the team does not work with a common objective and needs an accepted leader to manage the group. The definition and acceptance of roles can result in conflict. By increasing the skill level of each worker, the multidisciplinary team would be more collaborative. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. Developments in safety and operations culture in BNFL's thorp reprocessing plant, Sellafield, Cumbria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kett, P.J.

    2000-01-01

    One of the best descriptions of Culture is 'how we do things around here'. In a stable organisation it is extremely difficult to change any type of culture, whether it is an operations, customer service or safety culture. To change culture one of two elements are essential. There must be either a significant external pressure felt by all in the organisation or a change in senior management, with authority to set a new direction for the organisation. BNFL had a unique opportunity through the commissioning and operation of the Thorp Reprocessing Plant at Sellafield to shape a new Safety and Operations Culture. Both the key elements for change were present. Thorp was a high profile flagship plant that had attracted multinational investment. It incorporated new technology. The workforce had volunteered to operate the plant. A strong senior management team was specially selected. The plant was being commissioned in an environment where there was significant opposition by 'anti nuclear' groups. It was essential to both BNFL and the wider international nuclear community that Thorp was commissioned and operated safely. A strong operating culture was developed with safety as the corner stone. The culture comprises three key components. Rigorous plant safety case and risk assessments before work commences and modifications to the plant occur; A high level of involvement by all levels of the workforce in both operations and safety matters; Strong supportive leadership which does not allow safety standards to be compromised and encourages open debate on how to improve. During commissioning and early operation of Thorp the robustness of the Safety and Operations Culture was demonstrated. On several occasions, despite intense commercial pressure, operations were halted until the situation was resolved both technically and procedurally. This paper describes how the Safety and Operations Culture was developed. The key factors for success include recruitment, team selection

  4. Ethanol induces MAP2 changes in organotypic hippocampal slice cultures

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Noraberg, J; Zimmer, J

    1998-01-01

    loss of CA3 pyramidal cells and moderate loss of dentate granule cells, as seen in vivo. The results indicate that brain slice cultures combined with immunostaining for cytoskeleton and neuronal markers can be used for studies of ethanol and organic solvent neurotoxicity.......Microtubule-associated protein 2 (MAP2) and neuron-specific protein (NeuN) immunostains were used to demonstrate neurotoxic effects in mature hippocampal slice cultures exposed to ethanol (50, 100, 200 mM) for 4 weeks. At the low dose the density of MAP2 immunostaining in the dentate molecular...... layer was 118% of the control cultures, with no detectable changes in CA1 and CA3. At 100 mM no changes were detected, while 200 mM ethanol significantly reduced the MAP2 density in both dentate (19%) and hippocampal dendritic fields (CA3, 52%; CA1, 55%). At this dose NeuN staining showed considerable...

  5. Groups Meet . . . Teams Improve: Building Teams That Learn

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hillier, Janet; Dunn-Jensen, Linda M.

    2013-01-01

    Although most business students participate in team-based projects during undergraduate or graduate course work, the team experience does not always teach team skills or capture the team members' potential: Students complete the task at hand but the explicit process of becoming a team is often not learned. Drawing from organizational learning…

  6. Occupational therapists in the interdisciplinary team setting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reed, S M

    1984-01-01

    The interdisciplinary team approach to patient care provides an answer to the fragmentation and confusion patients feel when dealing with our complex healthcare system. Even though the team approach has been in use for the past two decades, implementation of a successful team is very difficult and rarely sustained over a significant period of time. This is especially true in general hospitals and in physical rehabilitation programs that spring from general hospitals where the physician and the nurse are the traditional care group. Occupational therapists, as they establish roles on interdisciplinary teams as staff members and team leaders, will require a knowledge of what makes a team function effectively. They can use this knowledge to evaluate the status of their own team and contribute to changes that will insure its long-term success. Six key issues should be addressed during the planning stage of any new healthcare team to insure its continued viability. These issues are: program philosophy, client focus, role clarification, collaboration and information sharing, policies and procedures, and staff supportiveness.

  7. Teams make it work: how team work engagement mediates between social resources and performance in teams.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Torrente, Pedro; Salanova, Marisa; Llorens, Susana; Schaufeli, Wilmar B

    2012-02-01

    In this study we analyze the mediating role of team work engagement between team social resources (i.e., supportive team climate, coordination, teamwork), and team performance (i.e., in-role and extra-role performance) as predicted by the Job Demands-Resources Model. Aggregated data of 533 employees nested within 62 teams and 13 organizations were used, whereas team performance was assessed by supervisor ratings. Structural equation modeling revealed that, as expected, team work engagement plays a mediating role between social resources perceived at the team level and team performance as assessed by the supervisor.

  8. Overcoming resistance to culture change: nursing home administrators' use of education, training, and communication.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tyler, Denise A; Lepore, Michael; Shield, Renee R; Looze, Jessica; Miller, Susan C

    2014-01-01

    Nursing home culture change is becoming more prevalent, and research has demonstrated its benefits for nursing home residents and staff-but little is known about the role of nursing home administrators in culture change implementation. The purpose of this study was to determine what barriers nursing home administrators face in implementing culture change practices, and to identify the strategies used to overcome them. The authors conducted in-depth individual interviews with 64 administrators identified through a nationally representative survey. Results showed that a key barrier to culture change implementation reported by administrators was staff, resident, and family member resistance to change. Most nursing home administrators stressed the importance of using communication, education and training to overcome this resistance. Themes emerging around the concepts of communication and education indicate that these efforts should be ongoing, communication should be reciprocal, and that all stakeholders should be included.

  9. Negative affect reduces team awareness: the effects of mood and stress on computer-mediated team communication.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pfaff, Mark S

    2012-08-01

    This article presents research on the effects of varying mood and stress states on within-team communication in a simulated crisis management environment, with a focus on the relationship between communication behaviors and team awareness. Communication plays a critical role in team cognition along with cognitive factors such as attention, memory, and decision-making speed. Mood and stress are known to have interrelated effects on cognition at the individual level, but there is relatively little joint exploration of these factors in team communication in technologically complex environments. Dyadic communication behaviors in a distributed six-person crisis management simulation were analyzed in a factorial design for effects of two levels of mood (happy, sad) and the presence or absence of a time pressure stressor. Time pressure and mood showed several specific impacts on communication behaviors. Communication quantity and efficiency increased under time pressure, though frequent requests for information were associated with poor performance. Teams in happy moods showed enhanced team awareness, as revealed by more anticipatory communication patterns and more detailed verbal responses to teammates than those in sad moods. Results show that the attention-narrowing effects of mood and stress associated with individual cognitive functions demonstrate analogous impacts on team awareness and information-sharing behaviors and reveal a richer understanding of how team dynamics change under adverse conditions. Disentangling stress from mood affords the opportunity to target more specific interventions that better support team awareness and task performance.

  10. Team Learning Beliefs and Behaviours in Response Teams

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boon, Anne; Raes, Elisabeth; Kyndt, Eva; Dochy, Filip

    2013-01-01

    Purpose: Teams, teamwork and team learning have been the subject of many research studies over the last decades. This article aims at investigating and confirming the Team Learning Beliefs and Behaviours (TLB&B) model within a very specific population, i.e. police and firemen teams. Within this context, the paper asks whether the team's…

  11. Using research evidence to inform staff learning needs in cross-cultural communication in aged care homes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gillham, David; De Bellis, Anita; Xiao, Lily; Willis, Eileen; Harrington, Ann; Morey, Wendy; Jeffers, Lesley

    2018-04-01

    Developed countries worldwide are facing an unprecedented demand for aged care services, with recent migrants of diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds increasingly recruited as care workers while at the same time there is growing cultural diversity among aged care residents. This situation is compounded by rapidly changing technology and varied educational levels of care workers from diverse backgrounds. The objectives were threefold: to identify staff learning needs to enable them to provide high-quality cross-cultural care; to improve team cohesion; and identify preferred learning approaches. An interpretive qualitative study utilising focus group and interview data informed the development of an education resource. Fifty six care workers from four residential aged care facilities participated in either focus groups or interviews conducted in private meeting rooms within the care facilities. Participants included personal care attendants, registered and clinical nurses, managers, hospitality staff and allied health professionals. Focus group and interview data were categorised and thematically analysed. Data relevant to cross-cultural care, team cohesion and preferred learning approaches informed education resource development, including case studies. Major themes identified the need to promote cultural awareness and understanding, and strategies for cross-cultural care and communication. Themes related to team cohesion demonstrated that staff were already sympathetic and sensitive to cross-cultural issues, and that culturally and linguistically diverse staff add value to the workforce and are supported by the organisation. Staff required clear, uncomplicated education resources to equip them with skills to address problematic cultural situations. Preferred learning approaches varied and highlighted the need for varied educational materials and approaches, as well as time efficient, opportunistic education strategies for the busy workplace. An education

  12. Personality and community prevention teams: Dimensions of team leader and member personality predicting team functioning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feinberg, Mark E; Kim, Ji-Yeon; Greenberg, Mark T

    2008-11-01

    The predictors and correlates of positive functioning among community prevention teams have been examined in a number of research studies; however, the role of personality has been neglected. In this study, we examined whether team member and leader personality dimensions assessed at the time of team formation predicted local prevention team functioning 2.5-3.5 years later. Participants were 159 prevention team members in 14 communities participating in the PROSPER study of prevention program dissemination. Three aspects of personality, aggregated at the team level, were examined as predictors: Openness to Experience, Conscientiousness, and Agreeableness. A series of multivariate regression analyses were performed that accounted for the interdependency of five categories of team functioning. Results showed that average team member Openness was negatively, and Conscientiousness was positively linked to team functioning. The findings have implications for decisions about the level and nature of technical assistance support provided to community prevention teams.

  13. Actualizing culture change: The Promoting Excellent Alternatives in Kansas Nursing Homes (PEAK 2.0) program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Doll, Gayle A; Cornelison, Laci J; Rath, Heath; Syme, Maggie L

    2017-08-01

    Nursing homes have been challenged in their attempts to achieve deep, organizational change (i.e., culture change) aimed at providing quality of care and quality of life for nursing home residents through person-centered care. To attain deep change, 2 well-defined components must be in place: a shared understanding of (a) the what, or content goals, and (b) the how, or process of change. However, there are few examples of this at a macro or micro level in long-term care. In an effort to enact true culture change in nursing homes statewide, the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services implemented the Promoting Excellent Alternatives in Kansas Nursing Homes program. This program is a Medicaid, pay-for-performance program that formalizes the content and process of achieving culture change through person-centered care principles. This article aims to detail the content (what) and process (how) of a model macro-level program of culture change throughout the State of Kansas. Applications to the micro level (individual homes) are presented, and implications for psychologists' roles in facilitating culture change are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  14. Impact of national context and culture on curriculum change: a case study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jippes, Mariëlle; Driessen, Erik W; Majoor, Gerard D; Gijselaers, Wim H; Muijtjens, Arno M M; van der Vleuten, Cees P M

    2013-08-01

    Earlier studies suggested national culture to be a potential barrier to curriculum reform in medical schools. In particular, Hofstede's cultural dimension 'uncertainty avoidance' had a significant negative relationship with the implementation rate of integrated curricula. However, some schools succeeded to adopt curriculum changes despite their country's strong uncertainty avoidance. This raised the question: 'How did those schools overcome the barrier of uncertainty avoidance?' Austria offered the combination of a high uncertainty avoidance score and integrated curricula in all its medical schools. Twenty-seven key change agents in four medical universities were interviewed and transcripts analysed using thematic cross-case analysis. Initially, strict national laws and limited autonomy of schools inhibited innovation and fostered an 'excuse culture': 'It's not our fault. It is the ministry's'. A new law increasing university autonomy stimulated reforms. However, just this law would have been insufficient as many faculty still sought to avoid change. A strong need for change, supportive and continuous leadership, and visionary change agents were also deemed essential. In societies with strong uncertainty avoidance strict legislation may enforce resistance to curriculum change. In those countries opposition by faculty can be overcome if national legislation encourages change, provided additional internal factors support the change process.

  15. When teams shift among processes: insights from simulation and optimization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kennedy, Deanna M; McComb, Sara A

    2014-09-01

    This article introduces process shifts to study the temporal interplay among transition and action processes espoused in the recurring phase model proposed by Marks, Mathieu, and Zacarro (2001). Process shifts are those points in time when teams complete a focal process and change to another process. By using team communication patterns to measure process shifts, this research explores (a) when teams shift among different transition processes and initiate action processes and (b) the potential of different interventions, such as communication directives, to manipulate process shift timing and order and, ultimately, team performance. Virtual experiments are employed to compare data from observed laboratory teams not receiving interventions, simulated teams receiving interventions, and optimal simulated teams generated using genetic algorithm procedures. Our results offer insights about the potential for different interventions to affect team performance. Moreover, certain interventions may promote discussions about key issues (e.g., tactical strategies) and facilitate shifting among transition processes in a manner that emulates optimal simulated teams' communication patterns. Thus, we contribute to theory regarding team processes in 2 important ways. First, we present process shifts as a way to explore the timing of when teams shift from transition to action processes. Second, we use virtual experimentation to identify those interventions with the greatest potential to affect performance by changing when teams shift among processes. Additionally, we employ computational methods including neural networks, simulation, and optimization, thereby demonstrating their applicability in conducting team research. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

  16. Solving challenges in inter- and trans-disciplinary working teams: Lessons from the surgical technology field.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Korb, Werner; Geißler, Norman; Strauß, Gero

    2015-03-01

    Engineering a medical technology is a complex process, therefore it is important to include experts from different scientific fields. This is particularly true for the development of surgical technology, where the relevant scientific fields are surgery (medicine) and engineering (electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, computer science, etc.). Furthermore, the scientific field of human factors is important to ensure that a surgical technology is indeed functional, process-oriented, effective, efficient as well as user- and patient-oriented. Working in such trans- and inter-disciplinary teams can be challenging due to different working cultures. The intention of this paper is to propose an innovative cooperative working culture for the interdisciplinary field of computer-assisted surgery (CAS) based on more than ten years of research on the one hand and the interdisciplinary literature on working cultures and various organizational theories on the other hand. In this paper, a retrospective analysis of more than ten years of research work in inter- and trans-disciplinary teams in the field of CAS will be performed. This analysis is based on the documented observations of the authors, the study reports, protocols, lab reports and published publications. To additionally evaluate the scientific experience in an interdisciplinary research team, a literature analysis regarding scientific literature on trans- and inter-disciplinarity was performed. Own research and literature analyses were compared. Both the literature and the scientific experience in an interdisciplinary research team show that consensus finding is not always easy. It is, however, important to start trans- and interdisciplinary projects with a shared mental model and common goals, which include communication and leadership issues within the project teams, i.e. clear and unambiguous information about the individual responsibilities and objectives to attain. This is made necessary due to differing

  17. Takım Yönetimi ve Takım Etkinliğini Belirleyen Faktörler : Savunma Sanayinde Ar - Ge Yapan Takımlar Üzerinde Bir Saha Araştırması = Team Management and the Determinants of Team Effectiveness : a Field Research on the Team Operating in Research and Development in Defence Industry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mehtap Özşahin

    2008-06-01

    Full Text Available In order to benefit from teams, the effectiveness of teams should be increased. The role and responsibilities should be defined, team members should be educated to improve their skills, performance objectives should be identified, resources should be used at optimum level, team culture and leadership should be established to increase the team effectiveness. In this study, we aim to examine the relationship among the team effectiveness factors - specified as team synergy, use of resources, skills, communication and performance objectives - innovation orientation and quality orientation at teams in defense industry while leadership effect is high, low and absent. Survey is conducted on 15 team producing equipment for defense industry. Questionnaire form employing five - point Likert Scale is used and data are analyzed through the SPSS statistical program packet.

  18. Shared Cultural History as a Predictor of Political and Economic Changes among Nation States.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luke J Matthews

    Full Text Available Political and economic risks arise from social phenomena that spread within and across countries. Regime changes, protest movements, and stock market and default shocks can have ramifications across the globe. Quantitative models have made great strides at predicting these events in recent decades but incorporate few explicitly measured cultural variables. However, in recent years cultural evolutionary theory has emerged as a major paradigm to understand the inheritance and diffusion of human cultural variation. Here, we combine these two strands of research by proposing that measures of socio-linguistic affiliation derived from language phylogenies track variation in cultural norms that influence how political and economic changes diffuse across the globe. First, we show that changes over time in a country's democratic or autocratic character correlate with simultaneous changes among their socio-linguistic affiliations more than with changes of spatially proximate countries. Second, we find that models of changes in sovereign default status favor including socio-linguistic affiliations in addition to spatial data. These findings suggest that better measurement of cultural networks could be profoundly useful to policy makers who wish to diversify commercial, social, and other forms of investment across political and economic risks on an international scale.

  19. Need for global and cultural awareness

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zdena Rosicka

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Current and future operations and activities are more and more characterized by multinational collaboration, whether providing humanitarian assistance or keeping the peace, a single nation team is not able to work alone. Cultural adaptability and competence can significantly form the basis of a team performance.

  20. Consequences of team charter quality: Teamwork mental model similarity and team viability in engineering design student teams

    Science.gov (United States)

    Conway Hughston, Veronica

    Since 1996 ABET has mandated that undergraduate engineering degree granting institutions focus on learning outcomes such as professional skills (i.e. solving unstructured problems and working in teams). As a result, engineering curricula were restructured to include team based learning---including team charters. Team charters were diffused into engineering education as one of many instructional activities to meet the ABET accreditation mandates. However, the implementation and execution of team charters into engineering team based classes has been inconsistent and accepted without empirical evidence of the consequences. The purpose of the current study was to investigate team effectiveness, operationalized as team viability, as an outcome of team charter implementation in an undergraduate engineering team based design course. Two research questions were the focus of the study: a) What is the relationship between team charter quality and viability in engineering student teams, and b) What is the relationship among team charter quality, teamwork mental model similarity, and viability in engineering student teams? Thirty-eight intact teams, 23 treatment and 15 comparison, participated in the investigation. Treatment teams attended a team charter lecture, and completed a team charter homework assignment. Each team charter was assessed and assigned a quality score. Comparison teams did not join the lecture, and were not asked to create a team charter. All teams completed each data collection phase: a) similarity rating pretest; b) similarity posttest; and c) team viability survey. Findings indicate that team viability was higher in teams that attended the lecture and completed the charter assignment. Teams with higher quality team charter scores reported higher levels of team viability than teams with lower quality charter scores. Lastly, no evidence was found to support teamwork mental model similarity as a partial mediator of the team charter quality on team viability

  1. Self-managing teams: a strategy for quality improvement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feifer, Chris; Nocella, Kiki; DeArtola, Ignacio; Rowden, Suzanne; Morrison, Stephen

    2003-01-01

    Organizations are impacted by their environments, and health care settings are no different. Individuals charged with improving a practice are often impeded by environmental barriers, including incomplete information for decision making. One strategy to empower an organization for change is to form a self-managing team. This paper discusses the self-managing team concept and uses a case study to illustrate its application in primary care. Factors contributing to team success are presented as a guide, and a reminder--there is more to an effective team than gathering people in a room.

  2. When teams fail to self-regulate: Predictors and outcomes of team procrastination among debating teams

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    E.A.J. van Hooft (Edwin); H. van Mierlo (Heleen)

    2018-01-01

    textabstractModels of team development have indicated that teams typically engage in task delay during the first stages of the team's life cycle. An important question is to what extent this equally applies to all teams, or whether there is variation across teams in the amount of task delay. The

  3. On teams, teamwork, and team performance: discoveries and developments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salas, Eduardo; Cooke, Nancy J; Rosen, Michael A

    2008-06-01

    We highlight some of the key discoveries and developments in the area of team performance over the past 50 years, especially as reflected in the pages of Human Factors. Teams increasingly have become a way of life in many organizations, and research has kept up with the pace. We have characterized progress in the field in terms of eight discoveries and five challenges. Discoveries pertain to the importance of shared cognition, the measurement of shared cognition, advances in team training, the use of synthetic task environments for research, factors influencing team effectiveness, models of team effectiveness, a multidisciplinary perspective, and training and technological interventions designed to improve team effectiveness. Challenges that are faced in the coming decades include an increased emphasis on team cognition; reconfigurable, adaptive teams; multicultural influences; and the need for naturalistic study and better measurement. Work in human factors has contributed significantly to the science and practice of teams, teamwork, and team performance. Future work must keep pace with the increasing use of teams in organizations. The science of teams contributes to team effectiveness in the same way that the science of individual performance contributes to individual effectiveness.

  4. Performance measurement of workplace change: in two different cultural contexts

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chaiwat Riratanaphong

    2014-01-01

    change in different contexts. Two organisations in Thailand and one organisation in The Netherlands were selected to serve as case studies. The impact of culture was explored as a contextual background. Research methods Based on literature review an overview of performance measurement systems and measures has been developed. The list of corporate real estate performance measures has been classified in six categories according to Bradley (2002 and subsequently compared with the findings from the case studies. The six categories include: 1 stakeholder perception, 2 financial health, 3 organisational development, 4 productivity, 5 environmental responsibility and 6 cost efficiency. The impact of workplace change was examined using the work environment diagnosis instrument (WODI questionnaire which evaluates employees’ responses to the changed work environment in three areas: employee satisfaction, perceived productivity support and prioritised aspects (Maarleveld, et al., 2009. The Organisational Culture Assessment Instrument (OCAI; Cameron and Quinn, 2006 was used to assess organisational culture. National culture was measured by using the Value Survey Module 94 (VSM94; Hofstede, 1997. Research findings The conceptual framework that came to the fore from the literature review showed to be useful for both theoretical understanding of performance measurement and practical applications. Proposed performance measures have been applied in all three case studies but in different ways. The three case studies showed that performance measurement of an organisation is multi-dimensional. It includes several performance criteria and performance measures beyond cost efficiency. All seven performance criteria mentioned by Sink and Tuttle (1989 have been applied in all three cases including effectiveness, efficiency, quality, productivity, quality of worklife, innovation and profitability. The four perspectives of the Balanced Scorecard (financial, customer, internal business process

  5. Impact of the Climate Change on Cultural Heritage Sites in Cyprus

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cuca, Branka; Agapiou, Athos; Lysandrou, Vasiliki; Themistocleous, Kyriacos; Nisantzi, Argyro; Michaelides, Silas; Hadjimitsis, Diofantos G.

    2016-04-01

    Climate change is one of the main factors with a significant impact on changes of cultural heritage and landscapes. Exposed and buried archaeological remains are particularly endangered by effects of climate change processes hence it is of great importance to understand the type of risks and the degree of their impact on such assets. Some of the potential risks for cultural heritage and landscape include flooding, intense rainfall, increase in time of wetness, extreme events in temperature change, coastal flooding, drought, wind driven/transported agents (sand, rain or salt) and so forth. From the geo-science perspective, the topic of climate change and the risks it causes is of crucial importance for environmental monitoring in general and it is one of the main applications of the European program on Earth Observation Copernicus. The activities performed in CLIMA project - "Cultural Landscape risk Identification, Management and Assessment" have as one of the main tasks to combining the fields of remote sensing technologies, including the Sentinel data, and cultural heritage monitoring. Such interdisciplinary approach was undertaken in order to identify major climate change risks affecting archaeological heritage in rural areas in Cyprus and to identify the most suitable Earth Observation (EO) and ground-based methods that might be effective in the mapping, diagnostics and monitoring of such risks. This thorough analysis will support the overall design of the CLIMA platform based in EO data analysis, risk models and ground-based methods to provide integrated information for specialists in remote sensing but also to archeologists and policy makers engaged in heritage preservation and management. The case study selected for Cyprus is the awarded Nea Paphos archeological site and historical center of Paphos that is surrounding this UNSECO World Heritage site.

  6. Managing Communication among Geographically Distributed Teams: A Brazilian Case

    Science.gov (United States)

    Almeida, Ana Carina M.; de Farias Junior, Ivaldir H.; de S. Carneiro, Pedro Jorge

    The growing demand for qualified professionals is making software companies opt for distributed software development (DSD). At the project conception, communication and synchronization of information are critical factors for success. However problems such as time-zone difference between teams, culture, language and different development processes among sites could difficult the communication among teams. In this way, the main goal of this paper is to describe the solution adopted by a Brazilian team to improve communication in a multisite project environment. The purposed solution was based on the best practices described in the literature, and the communication plan was created based on the infrastructure needed by the project. The outcome of this work is to minimize the impact of communication issues in multisite projects, increasing productivity, good understanding and avoiding rework on code and document writing.

  7. Team player styles, team design variables and team work effectiveness in Egypt

    OpenAIRE

    El-Kot, Ghada Awed Hassan

    2001-01-01

    The literature has revealed few studies of management in Arab countries in general and particularly in Egypt. Many Egyptian organisations implemented the team concept a number of years ago, however, there do not appear to be any studies investicitaýt inc",D team work effectiveness in Egypt. The literature review and the findings of a pilot study emphasised the need for empirical research in team work in Egypt. Team effectiveness models are examined in order to identify the fact...

  8. Is cultural change associated with eating disorders? A systematic review of the literature.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Doris, Eli; Shekriladze, Ia; Javakhishvili, Nino; Jones, Roshan; Treasure, Janet; Tchanturia, Kate

    2015-06-01

    There is debate as to whether the development of an eating disorder (ED) may be triggered by acculturation to Western culture. While there is evidence to suggest that acculturation to Western culture is associated with risk of having an ED, these findings are limited, vary significantly, and are sometimes conflicting. To review the literature and empirical data on the association between ED symptoms and acculturation in the context of Western culture. A systematic search of peer-reviewed publications using a combination of the keywords "Culture", "Acculturation" and "Eating disorders" was first performed in August 2014 and updated in February 2015 with the following databases: PubMed and SCOPUS. Reference lists were also hand searched. In total, the search provided more than 50 studies. Following screening (as stated in the PRISMA guidelines) of the titles and abstracts by inclusion and exclusion criteria and quality assessment of the full text, 25 studies were identified to be appropriate for the review. Articles were examined in relation to the findings, as well as the ED and acculturation measures used. Eleven studies suggested considerable association between ED and culture change/acculturation. Six studies suggested little or no association between ED and culture change/acculturation. Eight studies did not primarily examine association, yet generated valuable insight. While there was relative consistency across studies in terms of the ED measures selected, measures of acculturation varied significantly. The majority of the evidence reviewed here suggests that there is a substantial association between culture change and ED psychopathology. However, both greater and lesser acculturation have been identified as risk factors for the development of an ED, and this varies depending on the group studied as well as how acculturation and culture change are conceptualized and measured. Further research is warranted to form cross-culturally acceptable definitions and

  9. Cultural Journalism and Cultural Critique in a changing Media Landscape

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nørgaard Kristensen, Nete; From, Unni

    2015-01-01

    This special issue addresses a topic of journalism studies that has previously been somewhat neglected but which has gained increasing scholarly attention since the mid-2000s: the coverage and evaluation of art and culture, or what we term “cultural journalism and cultural critique.......” In this introduction, we highlight three issues that serve to frame the study of cultural journalism and cultural critique more generally and the eight articles of this special issue more specifically: (1) the constant challenge of demarcating cultural journalism and cultural critique, including the interrelations...... of “journalism” and “critique”; (2) the dialectic of globalisation’s cultural homogenisation, on the one hand, and the specificity of local/national cultures, on the other; and (3) the digital media landscape seen in terms of the need to rethink, perhaps even redefine cultural journalism and cultural critique...

  10. Teaming up for better health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aminu, J

    1985-01-01

    The concept of the health care team, as it exists in Nigeria, is discussed. The view is taken that medical care is not just conquest of disease, but the promotion of health. Clearly, because Nigeria is a developing country, the sophisticated 'team' seen in the more developed nations cannot exist. That type of health team must still be a legitimate ambition for the developing countries. An appraisal is made of health problems as they are currently found in Nigeria. Epidemiology shift and the magnitude of the changing problems in health are focussed upon. Poverty, maldistribution of population and services, shortage of manpower, education, enlightenment and mobilisation of society are discussed. Special emphasis is devoted to roles of the nurse and midwife in the tropics. The paper includes an assessment of the role of Government, what has previously been achieved and what is likely to be achieved. The principal thrust is that all factors must be taken into account in order that the health team can function.

  11. The health educator as a team leader in primary health care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brieger, W R; Ramakrishna, J

    1986-01-01

    Health teams naturally vary in size and composition according to their goals and objectives. Leadership of these teams should also be based on these goals. The goals of community-based primary health care, local involvement, cultural relevance, effective use of local resources, imply an important leadership role for health educators. The experience in the Ibarapa Local Government Area in Nigeria shows that health educators can be effective leaders in guiding a primary health care work group through various stages of program development. The use of a flexible, contractual model of team formation fits in well with the health educator's abilities to coordinate various program inputs and serve as mediator between professionals and the communities they serve. The ultimate mark of the health educator's leadership skills is the incorporation of community members into the health team.

  12. Motivating and demotivating forces in teams: cross-level influences of empowering leadership and relationship conflict.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Gilad; Sharma, Payal Nangia; Edinger, Suzanne K; Shapiro, Debra L; Farh, Jiing-Lih

    2011-05-01

    Using cross-cultural laboratory and field studies with samples of leaders, employees, and students from the United States and the People's Republic of China, we examined how team-level stimuli, including empowering leadership and relationship conflict, combine to influence individual members' motivational states of psychological empowerment and affective commitment. As predicted, we found that these motivational states are individually and jointly influenced by teams' level of empowering leadership and relationship conflict and that these motivational states mediate the relationships between team stimuli and team members' innovative and teamwork behaviors and turnover intentions. In addition, results held despite controlling for team members' nationality and collectivism. We discuss contributions of our study to the team motivation, conflict, and stress literatures.

  13. Strategic Culture Change: The Door to Achieving High Performance and Inclusion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, Frederick A.

    1998-01-01

    Presents diversity as a resource to create a high performing work culture that enables all employees to do their best work. Distinguishes between diversity and inclusion, describes a model for diagnosing an organization's culture, sets forth steps for implementing a organizational change, and discusses the human resource professional's role.…

  14. [Does simulator-based team training improve patient safety?].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trentzsch, H; Urban, B; Sandmeyer, B; Hammer, T; Strohm, P C; Lazarovici, M

    2013-10-01

    Patient safety became paramount in medicine as well as in emergency medicine after it was recognized that preventable, adverse events significantly contributed to morbidity and mortality during hospital stay. The underlying errors cannot usually be explained by medical technical inadequacies only but are more due to difficulties in the transition of theoretical knowledge into tasks under the conditions of clinical reality. Crew Resource Management and Human Factors which determine safety and efficiency of humans in complex situations are suitable to control such sources of error. Simulation significantly improved safety in high reliability organizations, such as the aerospace industry.Thus, simulator-based team training has also been proposed for medical areas. As such training is consuming in cost, time and human resources, the question of the cost-benefit ratio obviously arises. This review outlines the effects of simulator-based team training on patient safety. Such course formats are not only capable of creating awareness and improvements in safety culture but also improve technical team performance and emphasize team performance as a clinical competence. A few studies even indicated improvement of patient-centered outcome, such as a reduced rate of adverse events but further studies are required in this respect. In summary, simulator-based team training should be accepted as a suitable strategy to improve patient safety.

  15. Primary care team working in Ireland: a qualitative exploration of team members' experiences in a new primary care service.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kennedy, Norelee; Armstrong, Claire; Woodward, Oonagh; Cullen, Walter

    2015-07-01

    Team working is an integral aspect of primary care, but barriers to effective team working can limit the effectiveness of a primary care team (PCT). The establishment of new PCTs in Ireland provides an excellent opportunity to explore team working in action. The aim of this qualitative study was to explore the experiences of team members working in a PCT. Team members (n = 19) from two PCTs were interviewed from May to June 2010 using a semi-structured interview guide. All interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed. Data were analysed using NVivo (version 8). Thematic analysis was used to explore the data. We identified five main themes that described the experiences of the team members. The themes were support for primary care, managing change, communication, evolution of roles and benefits of team working. Team members were generally supportive of primary care and had experienced benefits to their practice and to the care of their patients from participation in the team. Regular team meetings enabled communication and discussion of complex cases. Despite the significant scope for role conflict due to the varied employment arrangements of the team members, neither role nor interpersonal conflict was evident in the teams studied. In addition, despite the unusual team structure in Irish PCTs - where there is no formally appointed team leader or manager - general issues around team working and its benefits and challenges were very similar to those found in other international studies. This suggests, in contrast to some studies, that some aspects of the leadership role may not be as important in successful PCT functioning as previously thought. Nonetheless, team leadership was identified as an important issue in the further development of the teams. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  16. Tensions between Teams and Their Leaders

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. David Johnson

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available The intersection of teamwork and leadership results in tensions, dilemmas, and paradoxes for both individuals and for institutions such as simultaneously empowering individuals at the same time it frustrates them when our naive, cultural understanding of leadership centralizes power and values leaders who can impose their will and vision on others. Perhaps the fundamental paradox of teamwork and leadership is that the more leadership is focused on an individual the less likely a team’s potential will be realized. Six specific domains where tensions arise are: at team boundaries; culture; who is in charge, rationality/cognition; diversity; and collaborations. Three approaches - clarifying different levels of analysis, temporal factors, and overarching concepts - to resolving tensions are discussed. New conceptions of leadership and the importance of the larger cultural frame within which they are embedded are needed for the management of technology and innovation.

  17. Dispositional factors, experiences of team members and effectiveness in self-managing work teams / Susanna Catherina Coetzee

    OpenAIRE

    Coetzee, Susanna Catherina

    2003-01-01

    Changes in South Africa's political and economic sphere demand the democratisation of the workplace, participation and empowerment of the work force. Flatter hierarchical structures, as a result of downsizing, enhance involvement but also demand that workers function in a more autonomous manner. The use of self-managing work teams has increased in response to these competitive challenges. Self-managing work teams are groups of employees who are fully responsible for a well-d...

  18. Prion Replication Elicits Cytopathic Changes in Differentiated Neurosphere Cultures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iwamaru, Yoshifumi; Takenouchi, Takato; Imamura, Morikazu; Shimizu, Yoshihisa; Miyazawa, Kohtaro; Mohri, Shirou; Yokoyama, Takashi

    2013-01-01

    The molecular mechanisms of prion-induced cytotoxicity remain largely obscure. Currently, only a few cell culture models have exhibited the cytopathic changes associated with prion infection. In this study, we introduced a cell culture model based on differentiated neurosphere cultures isolated from the brains of neonatal prion protein (PrP)-null mice and transgenic mice expressing murine PrP (dNP0 and dNP20 cultures). Upon exposure to mouse Chandler prions, dNP20 cultures supported the de novo formation of abnormal PrP and the resulting infectivity, as assessed by bioassays. Furthermore, this culture was susceptible to various prion strains, including mouse-adapted scrapie, bovine spongiform encephalopathy, and Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker syndrome prions. Importantly, a subset of the cells in the infected culture that was mainly composed of astrocyte lineage cells consistently displayed late-occurring, progressive signs of cytotoxicity as evidenced by morphological alterations, decreased cell viability, and increased lactate dehydrogenase release. These signs of cytotoxicity were not observed in infected dNP0 cultures, suggesting the requirement of endogenous PrP expression for prion-induced cytotoxicity. Degenerated cells positive for glial fibrillary acidic protein accumulated abnormal PrP and exhibited features of apoptotic death as assessed by active caspase-3 and terminal deoxynucleotidyltransferase nick-end staining. Furthermore, caspase inhibition provided partial protection from prion-mediated cell death. These results suggest that differentiated neurosphere cultures can provide an in vitro bioassay for mouse prions and permit the study of the molecular basis for prion-induced cytotoxicity at the cellular level. PMID:23740992

  19. Repeated cross-sectional study of the longitudinal changes in attitudes toward interprofessional health care teams amongst undergraduate students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kururi, Nana; Makino, Takatoshi; Kazama, Hiroko; Tokita, Yoshiharu; Matsui, Hiroki; Lee, Bumsuk; Kanaizumi, Shiomi; Abe, Yumiko; Uchida, Yoko; Asakawa, Yasuyoshi; Shinozaki, Hiromitsu; Tozato, Fusae; Watanabe, Hideomi

    2014-07-01

    The interprofessional education (IPE) program at Gunma University, Maebashi, Japan, uses a lecture style for first-year students and a training style for third-year students. To investigate the comprehensive implications of IPE, the change pattern of attitudes toward health care teams was examined longitudinally in pre-qualified students. The modified Attitudes Toward Health Care Teams Scale (mATHCTS) was used. The overall mean score of the mATHCTS improved significantly after the training-style IPE in their third year. Two individual items in the factor "quality of care delivery" decreased significantly during the first year. In contrast, two individual items in the factor "patient-centered care" increased significantly during the third year. These changes over time were confirmed by analyses using regression factor scores. There are at least two independent attitudes toward collaborative practice (CP) or IPE in response to IPE interventions: the attitude toward "value of IPE for health care providers" may response negatively to IPE in the early stages, and the attitude toward "value of IPE for health care receivers" positively in the later stages. These findings suggest that the continuation of mandatory IPE, which must be designed on the basis of students' high expectations for IPE and CP on entry, may result in profound changes in attitudes amongst participating students.

  20. Teaching and Learning Culture with AETs : What Cross-cultural Pragmatics can Tell Us

    OpenAIRE

    Fukazawa, Seiji

    1997-01-01

    This article aims to discuss the feasibility of applying the findings from cross-cultural pragmatic studies to the teaching of culture in team teaching. Referring to some studies on cross-cultural speech act realizations such as refusals and apologies, first, the present study examines whether the English textbooks used in junior/senior high schools in Japan appropriately illustrate examples of authentic pragmatic interactions. Secondly, it shows two excerpts of classroom discourse between a ...

  1. Team-based primary care: The medical assistant perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sheridan, Bethany; Chien, Alyna T; Peters, Antoinette S; Rosenthal, Meredith B; Brooks, Joanna Veazey; Singer, Sara J

    Team-based care has the potential to improve primary care quality and efficiency. In this model, medical assistants (MAs) take a more central role in patient care and population health management. MAs' traditionally low status may give them a unique view on changing organizational dynamics and teamwork. However, little empirical work exists on how team-based organizational designs affect the experiences of low-status health care workers like MAs. The aim of this study was to describe how team-based primary care affects the experiences of MAs. A secondary aim was to explore variation in these experiences. In late 2014, the authors interviewed 30 MAs from nine primary care practices transitioning to team-based care. Interviews addressed job responsibilities, teamwork, implementation, job satisfaction, and learning. Data were analyzed using a thematic networks approach. Interviews also included closed-ended questions about workload and job satisfaction. Most MAs reported both a higher workload (73%) and a greater job satisfaction (86%) under team-based primary care. Interview data surfaced four mechanisms for these results, which suggested more fulfilling work and greater respect for the MA role: (a) relationships with colleagues, (b) involvement with patients, (c) sense of control, and (d) sense of efficacy. Facilitators and barriers to these positive changes also emerged. Team-based care can provide low-status health care workers with more fulfilling work and strengthen relationships across status lines. The extent of this positive impact may depend on supporting factors at the organization, team, and individual worker levels. To maximize the benefits of team-based care, primary care leaders should recognize the larger role that MAs play under this model and support them as increasingly valuable team members. Contingent on organizational conditions, practices may find MAs who are willing to manage the increased workload that often accompanies team-based care.

  2. Theater Security Cooperation: The Military Engagement Team. Lessons and Best Practices

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-01-01

    team leader ensures completion of the DTS authorizations. Concurrently, MET arranges lodging through U.S. Embassy-approved hotels and any ground...host nation’s satisfaction and willingness to further develop the relationship with U.S. forces. As such, it is important for the MET to gain an...understanding of the cultural factors that influence each engagement. Cultural factors may include traditional customs such as methods of greeting

  3. An organizational culture gap analysis in 6 New Zealand community pharmacies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scahill, Shane L; Carswell, Peter; Harrison, Jeff

    2011-09-01

    The barriers to moving forward and meeting the expectations of policy makers and professional pharmacy bodies appear to relate to the organizational culture of community pharmacy. Despite the importance of cultural change for business transformation, organizational culture has largely gone unnoticed in community pharmacy practice research. To perform an organizational culture gap analysis in 6 New Zealand community pharmacies. Mean scores from a cultural rating survey (n=47) were calculated for 8 cultural clusters and mapped onto a typical and a beneficial pattern match (ladder diagram) for each case site. These ladder diagrams provide an understanding of the gap between the 2 ratings based on the gradient of the lines joining cultural clusters-the rungs of the ladder. Software can be used to generate a Pearson correlation describing the strength of the relationship between the typical and beneficial ratings. Eight cultural clusters were mapped: "leadership and staff management"; "valuing each other and the team"; "free-thinking, fun and, open to challenge"; "trusted behavior"; "customer relations"; "focus on external integration"; "provision of systematic advice"; and the "embracing of innovation." Analysis suggested a high level of correlation between the means of the typical and beneficial ratings. Although the variance between average ratings might be quite small, the relative difference can still be meaningful to participants in the cultural setting. The diagrams suggest a requirement for external integration, the provision of systematic advice, and the embracing of innovation to become more typical in most pharmacies. Trusted behavior is the most typical and most beneficial cultural dimension in most pharmacies, whereas valuing each other and the team is the least beneficial. Gaps in organizational culture have been identified through the use of a rating survey. The dimensions of focus on external integration, providing systematic advice, and embracing

  4. Repositioning through Culture: Testing Change in Connectivity Patterns

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Beatriz Plaza

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Symbolic knowledge-driven innovations can play an important role in the economic development of cities and regions. Cultural events and infrastructures can act as powerful connectivity engines, generating new connections, rewiring links, and repositioning institutions/cities/regions on the Internet map. Within this framework, this paper aims to contribute to the analytical understanding of culture-led repositioning. For this purpose we perform regression analysis with cultural networks (observational cross-sectional network data from digital media for a specific cultural case study: the Basque Culinary Center (BCC, a higher education faculty of haute cuisine promoted by the University of Mondragon along with a group of Michelin-starred chefs. Results show that a cultural sector, such as haute cuisine, can contribute to structural changes in connectivity patterns, putting an institution/city/region on the media map. It is the connection (in the online press of the BCC to the influential Michelin-starred chefs that can fuel the accumulation of press articles (media items on the BCC; and it is precisely this accumulation of press articles that can impact BCC revenues. Put differently, the co-branding between the influential Michelin chefs and the BCC may have put the BCC on the press map, promoting new student registrations and fostering Basque haute cuisine. The main contribution of this article is a prototype of regression analysis to test repositioning with network data.

  5. TEAM.

    Science.gov (United States)

    National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (DOT), Washington, DC.

    This document presents materials covering the television campaign against drunk driving called "TEAM" (Techniques for Effective Alcohol Management). It is noted that TEAM's purpose is to promote effective alcohol management in public facilities and other establishments that serve alcoholic beverages. TEAM sponsors are listed, including…

  6. First, build the project team

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Snyder, J.C. [Duke/Fluor Daniel, Charlotte, NC (United States)

    1997-03-01

    The EPC consortium of American, Japanese and Indonesian companies has been formed to construct the first phase of the coal-fired Paiton Power Project in Indonesia under a lump sum turnkey contract. A Consortium Agreement defines the respective roles, scope and responsibilities, as well as allocation of risks and rewards for each member. The roles of members have been assigned to match their experience and expertise and a Division of Responsibility document has been drawn up for each stage of the project. The management of the project depends on an effective team aligning the consortium members to a common set of project goals and objectives. Communication and understanding are all important. The project team have overcome some of the challenges of differences in culture, language, contractual practice and experience between the members. Some of the systems which are in place to minimise the effect of these differences and to focus on the execution of the project are outlined. (UK)

  7. CHANGING PRESCRIBING CULTURE - A FOCUS ON CODEINE POSTPARTUM.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Adhami, Noor; Whitfield, Karen; North, Angela

    2016-09-01

    charts for postpartum women (less than 5%). Those that are prescribed are ceased once highlighted to medical staff. The obstetric pharmacist now presents a session on postpartum analgesia at every new resident medical officer orientation outlining suitable medications to prescribe. In addition all new pharmacists to the women's and new born's team receive training about postpartum analgesia. This study highlights the impact that can be achieved when health care professionals work together to change the culture and prescribing habits in a hospital setting, to enhance patient safety. Evaluating the evidence and presenting to stakeholders as well as providing ongoing training and education to medical, nursing and pharmacy staff are all essential to a successful outcome. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

  8. Saccharomyces cerevisiae gene expression changes during rotating wall vessel suspension culture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johanson, Kelly; Allen, Patricia L.; Lewis, Fawn; Cubano, Luis A.; Hyman, Linda E.; Hammond, Timothy G.

    2002-01-01

    This study utilizes Saccharomyces cerevisiae to study genetic responses to suspension culture. The suspension culture system used in this study is the high-aspect-ratio vessel, one type of the rotating wall vessel, that provides a high rate of gas exchange necessary for rapidly dividing cells. Cells were grown in the high-aspect-ratio vessel, and DNA microarray and metabolic analyses were used to determine the resulting changes in yeast gene expression. A significant number of genes were found to be up- or downregulated by at least twofold as a result of rotational growth. By using Gibbs promoter alignment, clusters of genes were examined for promoter elements mediating these genetic changes. Candidate binding motifs similar to the Rap1p binding site and the stress-responsive element were identified in the promoter regions of differentially regulated genes. This study shows that, as in higher order organisms, S. cerevisiae changes gene expression in response to rotational culture and also provides clues for investigations into the signaling pathways involved in gravitational response.

  9. Relations between mental health team characteristics and work role performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fleury, Marie-Josée; Grenier, Guy; Bamvita, Jean-Marie; Farand, Lambert

    2017-01-01

    Effective mental health care requires a high performing, interprofessional team. Among 79 mental health teams in Quebec (Canada), this exploratory study aims to 1) determine the association between work role performance and a wide range of variables related to team effectiveness according to the literature, and to 2) using structural equation modelling, assess the covariance between each of these variables as well as the correlation with other exogenous variables. Work role performance was measured with an adapted version of a work role questionnaire. Various independent variables including team manager characteristics, user characteristics, team profiles, clinical activities, organizational culture, network integration strategies and frequency/satisfaction of interactions with other teams or services were analyzed under the structural equation model. The later provided a good fit with the data. Frequent use of standardized procedures and evaluation tools (e.g. screening and assessment tools for mental health disorders) and team manager seniority exerted the most direct effect on work role performance. While network integration strategies had little effect on work role performance, there was a high covariance between this variable and those directly affecting work role performance among mental health teams. The results suggest that the mental healthcare system should apply standardized procedures and evaluation tools and, to a lesser extent, clinical approaches to improve work role performance in mental health teams. Overall, a more systematic implementation of network integration strategies may contribute to improved work role performance in mental health care.

  10. A large-scale longitudinal study indicating the importance of perceived effectiveness, organizational and management support for innovative culture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cramm, Jane M; Strating, Mathilde M H; Bal, Roland; Nieboer, Anna P

    2013-04-01

    Teams participating in QI collaboratives reportedly enhance innovative culture in long-term care, but we currently lack empirical evidence of the ability of such teams to enhance (determinants of) innovative culture over time. The objectives of our study are therefore to explore innovative cultures in QI teams over time and identify its determinants. The study included QI teams participating between 2006 and 2011 in a national Dutch quality program (Care for Better), using an adapted version of the Breakthrough Method. Each QI team member received a questionnaire by mail within one week after the second (2-3 months post-implementation of the collaborative = T0) and final conference (12 months post-implementation = T1). A total of 859 (out of 1161) respondents filled in the questionnaire at T0 and 541 at T1 (47% response). A total of 307 team members filled in the questionnaire at both T0 and T1. We measured innovative culture, respondent characteristics (age, gender, education), perceived team effectiveness, organizational support, and management support. Two-tailed paired t-tests showed that innovative culture was slightly but significantly lower at T1 compared to T0 (12 months and 2-3 months after the start of the collaborative, respectively). Univariate analyses revealed that perceived effectiveness, organizational and management support were significantly related to innovative culture at T1 (all at p ≤ 0.001). Multilevel analyses showed that perceived effectiveness, organizational support, and management support predicted innovative culture. Our QI teams were not able to improve innovative culture over time, but their innovative culture scores were higher than non-participant professionals. QI interventions require organizational and management support to enhance innovative culture in long-term care settings. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Description of dynamic shared knowledge: an exploratory study during a competitive team sports interaction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bourbousson, J; Poizat, G; Saury, J; Seve, C

    2011-02-01

    This exploratory case study describes the sharedness of knowledge within a basketball team (nine players) and how it changes during an official match. To determine how knowledge is mobilised in an actual game situation, the data were collected and processed following course-of-action theory (Theureau 2003). The results were used to characterise the contents of the shared knowledge (i.e. regarding teammate characteristics, team functioning, opponent characteristics, opposing team functioning and game conditions) and to identify the characteristic types of change: (a) the reinforcement of a previous element of shared knowledge; (b) the invalidation of an element of shared knowledge; (c) fragmentation of an element of shared knowledge; (d) the creation of a new element of shared knowledge. The discussion deals with the diverse types of change in shared knowledge and the heterogeneous and dynamic nature of common ground within the team. STATEMENT OF RELEVANCE: The present case study focused on how the cognitions of individual members of a team coordinate to produce a team performance (e.g. surgical teams in hospitals, military teams) and how the shared knowledge changes during team activity. Traditional methods to increase knowledge sharedness can be enhanced by making use of 'opportunities for coordination' to optimise team adaptiveness.

  12. Increasing Student-Learning Team Effectiveness with Team Charters

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hunsaker, Phillip; Pavett, Cynthia; Hunsaker, Johanna

    2011-01-01

    Because teams are a ubiquitous part of most organizations today, it is common for business educators to use team assignments to help students experientially learn about course concepts and team process. Unfortunately, students frequently experience a number of problems during team assignments. The authors describe the results of their research and…

  13. Four cultures: new synergies for engaging society on climate change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matthew C. Nisbet; Mark A. Hixon; Kathleen Dean Moore; Michael. Nelson

    2010-01-01

    The scientific community has largely reached consensus that climate change is real, is exacerbated by human activities, and is causing detectable shifts in both living and non-living components of the biosphere. Yet, documenting and predicting the ecological, economic, social, and cultural consequences of climate change have not yet stimulated an appropriately strong...

  14. Effects of team emotional authenticity on virtual team performance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Catherine E Connelly

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available Members of virtual teams lack many of the visual or auditory cues that are usually used as the basis for impressions about fellow team members. We focus on the effects of the impressions formed in this context, and use social exchange theory to understand how these impressions affect team performance. Our pilot study, using content analysis (n = 191 students, suggested that most individuals believe that they can assess others’ emotional authenticity in online settings by focusing on the content and tone of the messages. Our quantitative study examined the effects of these assessments. Structural equation modeling (SEM analysis (n = 81 student teams suggested that team-level trust and teamwork behaviors mediate the relationship between team emotional authenticity and team performance, and illuminate the importance of team emotional authenticity for team processes and outcomes.

  15. Knowledge management in design teams using a project website

    OpenAIRE

    Otter, den, A.F.H.J.; Lima, C.P

    2007-01-01

    In this paper the sharing of knowledge in architectural design teams using a Project Website is discussed. The results of multiple case studies, being part of a recently finished PhD research project to communication and performance of design teams using a Project Website, show that systems for sharing of knowledge in such teams are hard to change and better systems are difficult to implement for various reasons. Sharing of knowledge in such teams is important for collective understanding of ...

  16. Popular culture and the "new human condition": Catastrophe narratives and climate change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bulfin, Ailise

    2017-09-01

    Striking popular culture images of burnt landscapes, tidal waves and ice-bound cities have the potential to dramatically and emotively convey the dangers of climate change. Given that a significant number of people derive a substantial proportion of their information on the threat of climate change, or the ;new human condition;, from popular culture works such as catastrophe movies, it is important that an investigation into the nature of the representations produced be embedded in the attempt to address the issue. What climate change-related messages may be encoded in popular films, television and novels, how are they being received, and what effects may they have? This article adopts the cultural studies perspective that popular culture gives us an important means by which to access the ;structures of feeling; that characterise a society at a particular historic juncture: the views held and emotional states experienced by significant amounts of people as evident in disparate forms of cultural production. It further adopts the related viewpoint that popular culture has an effect upon the society in which it is consumed, as well as reflecting that society's desires and concerns - although the nature of the effect may be difficult to quantify. From this position, the article puts forward a theory on the role of ecological catastrophe narratives in current popular culture, before going on to review existing critical work on ecologically-charged popular films and novels which attempts to assess their effects on their audiences. It also suggests areas for future research, such as the prevalent but little studied theme of natural and environmental disaster in late-Victorian science fiction writing. This latter area is of interest because it reveals the emergence of an ecological awareness or structure of feeling as early as the late-nineteenth century, and allows the relationship of this development to environmental policy making to be investigated because of the

  17. Shifting the balance of power? Culture change and identity in an English health-care setting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McDonald, Ruth

    2005-01-01

    A recurring theme in Government policy documents has been the need to change the culture of the NHS in order to deliver a service "fit for the twenty-first century". However, very little is said about what constitutes "culture" or how this culture change is to be brought about. This paper seeks to focus on an initiative aimed ostensibly at "empowering" staff in an English Primary Care Trust as a means of changing organisational culture. It presents findings from an ethnographic study which suggests that this attempt at "culture change" is aimed at manipulating the behaviour and values of individual employees and may be interpreted as a process of changing employee identity. Employees reacted in different ways to the empowerment initiative, with some resisting attempts to shape their identity and others actively engaging in projects to bring their unruly self into line with the ideal self to which they were encouraged to aspire. The challenges presented by the need to respond to conflicting Government policies created tensions between individuals and conflicts of allegiance and identity within individual members of staff. Alternative forms of self-hood did not merely replace existing identities, but interacted with them, often uncomfortably. The irony is that, whilst Government seeks to promote culture change, the frustrations created by its top-down target-driven regime acted to mitigate the transformational and reconstitutive effects of a discourse of empowerment aimed at achieving this change.

  18. Highly effective cystic fibrosis clinical research teams: critical success factors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Retsch-Bogart, George Z; Van Dalfsen, Jill M; Marshall, Bruce C; George, Cynthia; Pilewski, Joseph M; Nelson, Eugene C; Goss, Christopher H; Ramsey, Bonnie W

    2014-08-01

    Bringing new therapies to patients with rare diseases depends in part on optimizing clinical trial conduct through efficient study start-up processes and rapid enrollment. Suboptimal execution of clinical trials in academic medical centers not only results in high cost to institutions and sponsors, but also delays the availability of new therapies. Addressing the factors that contribute to poor outcomes requires novel, systematic approaches tailored to the institution and disease under study. To use clinical trial performance metrics data analysis to select high-performing cystic fibrosis (CF) clinical research teams and then identify factors contributing to their success. Mixed-methods research, including semi-structured qualitative interviews of high-performing research teams. CF research teams at nine clinical centers from the CF Foundation Therapeutics Development Network. Survey of site characteristics, direct observation of team meetings and facilities, and semi-structured interviews with clinical research team members and institutional program managers and leaders in clinical research. Critical success factors noted at all nine high-performing centers were: 1) strong leadership, 2) established and effective communication within the research team and with the clinical care team, and 3) adequate staff. Other frequent characteristics included a mature culture of research, customer service orientation in interactions with study participants, shared efficient processes, continuous process improvement activities, and a businesslike approach to clinical research. Clinical research metrics allowed identification of high-performing clinical research teams. Site visits identified several critical factors leading to highly successful teams that may help other clinical research teams improve clinical trial performance.

  19. The influence of national culture on organizational change and competitiveness in Serbia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ostojić Đorđe

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Globalization of business has created a worldwide market where companies from around the world make interactions. National cultures have a significant influence on the way companies do business, as well as on company's market position. National culture influences the way managers interpret their environment, the types of organizational changes and employee motivation. Companies must perform more rigorous selection of workers, so as to employ a worker whose individual cultural values (that are formed under the influence of national culture correspond to organizational culture of a company, improving the competitiveness of companies in the process.

  20. Measuring Team Learning Behaviours through Observing Verbal Team Interaction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raes, Elisabeth; Boon, Anne; Kyndt, Eva; Dochy, Filip

    2015-01-01

    Purpose: This study aims to explore, as an answer to the observed lack of knowledge about actual team learning behaviours, the characteristics of the actual observed basic team learning behaviours and facilitating team learning behaviours more in-depth of three project teams. Over time, team learning in an organisational context has been…

  1. The Relationship between Management Team Size and Team Performance: The Mediating Effect of Team Psychological Safety

    OpenAIRE

    Midthaug, Mari Bratterud

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this thesis is to explore the relationship between team size (number of team members) and team performance in management teams. There is a lack of empirical research exploring the potential links between these two elements within management teams. Further, little attention has been paid to potential mechanisms affecting this relationship. In this study, team psychological safety has been examined as a potential mediator in the size-performance relationship, hypothesizing that t...

  2. How to create high-performing teams.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lam, Samuel M

    2010-02-01

    This article is intended to discuss inspirational aspects on how to lead a high-performance team. Cogent topics discussed include how to hire staff through methods of "topgrading" with reference to Geoff Smart and "getting the right people on the bus" referencing Jim Collins' work. In addition, once the staff is hired, this article covers how to separate the "eagles from the ducks" and how to inspire one's staff by creating the right culture with suggestions for further reading by Don Miguel Ruiz (The four agreements) and John Maxwell (21 Irrefutable laws of leadership). In addition, Simon Sinek's concept of "Start with Why" is elaborated to help a leader know what the core element should be with any superior culture. Thieme Medical Publishers.

  3. "That's not how we do it": managing the inherited medical practice team.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hills, Laura

    2013-01-01

    Most medical practice managers who take a new job will inherit an existing team. Those first few days on the job are critical because they can determine whether or not the new manager will succeed. This article provides a game plan for new medical practice managers so they get off on the right foot with their inherited teams. It suggests strategies for learning about the team's culture and for demonstrating visibly that there is a new manager in the job. It offers guidelines about introducing the new manager to the inherited team, discussing past experiences, and establishing new expectations. This article further provides practical tips for serving as a role model, gaining allies, and dealing with troublemakers quickly and effectively. It suggests strategies for speaking about the previous practice manager and for creating excitement with the inherited team. Finally, this article offers a set of 15 questions a new manager can ask members of the inherited team to get to know them, an additional 25-point team assessment instrument, and a step-by-step strategy for raising the bar for mediocre, lackluster, or dysfunctional inherited teams.

  4. A conceptual model to improve performance in virtual teams

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shopee Dube

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Background: The vast improvement in communication technologies and sophisticated project management tools, methods and techniques has allowed geographically and culturally diverse groups to operate and function in a virtual environment. To succeed in this virtual environment where time and space are becoming increasingly irrelevant, organisations must define new ways of implementing initiatives. This virtual environment phenomenon has brought about the formation of virtual project teams that allow organisations to harness the skills and knowhow of the best resources, irrespective of their location. Objectives: The aim of this article was to investigate performance criteria and develop a conceptual model which can be applied to enhance the success of virtual project teams. There are no clear guidelines of the performance criteria in managing virtual project teams. Method: A qualitative research methodology was used in this article. The purpose of content analysis was to explore the literature to understand the concept of performance in virtual project teams and to summarise the findings of the literature reviewed. Results: The research identified a set of performance criteria for the virtual project teams as follows: leadership, trust, communication, team cooperation, reliability, motivation, comfort and social interaction. These were used to conceptualise the model. Conclusion: The conceptual model can be used in a holistic way to determine the overall performance of the virtual project team, but each factor can be analysed individually to determine the impact on the overall performance. The knowledge of performance criteria for virtual project teams could aid project managers in enhancing the success of these teams and taking a different approach to better manage and coordinate them.

  5. Changing academic culture to improve undergraduate STEM education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suchman, Erica L

    2014-12-01

    Improving undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education requires faculty with the skills, resources, and time to create active learning environments that foster student engagement. Current faculty hiring, promotion, and tenure practices at many universities do not measure, reward, nor encourage faculty pursuit of these skills. A cultural change is needed to foster improvement. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  6. Interdisciplinary: Cultural competency and culturally congruent education for millennials in health professions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hawala-Druy, Souzan; Hill, Mary H

    2012-10-01

    The increasingly diverse multicultural and multigenerational student population in the United States requires that educators at all levels develop cultural knowledge, awareness, and sensitivity to help diverse learners fulfill their potential and to avoid cultural misunderstandings that can become obstacles or barriers to learning. The purpose of this study was to design and implement eclectic, creative, evidence-based interdisciplinary educational activities, along with culturally congruent teaching strategies, within a semester-long university course that promoted positive and culturally competent learning outcomes for culturally diverse, largely millennial students. The interdisciplinary course would prepare health professional students with the requisite knowledge and skills, through transformative learning that produces change agents, to provide culturally congruent and quality team-based care to diverse populations. This was a qualitative and quantitative study, which measured students' level of cultural awareness, competence, and proficiency pre and post the educational intervention. Instruments used for data collection included the Inventory for Assessing The Process of Cultural Competence-Student Version (IAPCC-SV) by Campinha-Bacote, course evaluations, students' feedback, and portfolio reflections. The study was conducted at a private academic institution located in the Mid-Atlantic region and the sample population included inter-professional students (N=106) from various health professions including nursing, pharmacy, and allied health sciences. Results from the pre- and post-test IAPCC-SV survey revealed that mean scores increased significantly from pre-test (60.8) to post-test (70.6). Thus, students' levels of cultural competency (awareness, knowledge, skills, desire, encounter) improved post-educational intervention, indicating that the teaching methods used in the course might be applied on a larger scale across the university system to cater to the

  7. Practice what you preach: developing person-centred culture in inpatient mental health settings through strengths-based, transformational leadership.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beckett, Paul; Field, John; Molloy, Luke; Yu, Nickolas; Holmes, Douglas; Pile, Emily

    2013-08-01

    The experience of nursing staff and consumers in inpatient mental health wards is often reported as being negative. Efforts to improve culture and practice have had limited success, with ineffective leadership, staff resistance, and unresponsive organisational culture identified as common barriers to change. Practice development has been promoted as an approach to developing person-centred culture that enables professional development through participation, learning and empowerment. For person-centred practice to flourish, organisational leadership at all levels must reflect the same principles. In preparation for the opening of a new integrated mental health service, an inpatient mental health team participated in a practice development project. An action research approach was used to facilitate a series of "away days," initially with the nursing team and then other members of the multidisciplinary team (MDT). Transformational leadership principles were adopted in the facilitation of team activities underpinned by strengths and solution-focused practices. Evaluation of the project by staff members was very positive and there was a high level of participation in practice development activities. The project resulted in the creation of a development plan for the ward, which prioritised five key themes: person-centred care, personal recovery, strengths-based principles, and evidence-based and values-based care. The project outcomes highlight the importance of leadership, which parallels the ideals promoted for clinical practice.

  8. Leading Teams of Leaders: What Helps Team Member Learning?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Higgins, Monica; Young, Lissa; Weiner, Jennie; Wlodarczyk, Steven

    2010-01-01

    School districts are moving toward a new form of management in which superintendents need to form and nurture leadership teams. A study of 25 such teams in Connecticut suggests that a team's effectiveness is maximized when the team members are coached by other team members, not the superintendent, and when they are coached on task-related…

  9. Relationship between staff-reported culture change and occupancy rate and organizational commitment among nursing homes in South Korea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Minhong; Choi, Jae-Sung; Lim, Jinseop; Kim, Young Sun

    2013-04-01

    This study aims to examine culture change in nursing homes in South Korea and to identify the outcomes of culture change implementation. Data were taken from survey responses from 223 top- or mid-level staff among nursing homes in South Korea that were selected through a proportionate random-stratified sampling method from four regions nationwide. Culture change in nursing homes was operationalized by five person-directed care (PDC) constructs and three organizational environment constructs, and outcome quality was indicated by changes to occupancy rate and organizational commitment. After controlling for facility characteristics, the effect of staff-reported culture change on occupancy rate and organizational commitment was analyzed through the multiple-regression method. Consistent with previous research, this study revealed positive effects of culture change for nursing homes in South Korea. The study found that staff-reported culture change correlated with occupancy rate and organizational commitment. Given that culture change variables were significantly related to occupancy rate and organizational commitment, the findings of the study provide a persuasive argument that policies and/or programs to support culture change in nursing homes should be enhanced. Management-level workers in these facilities should have the skills and knowledge to foster more PDC and a more person-directed environment.

  10. Canadian Punjabi Sikh men's experiences of lifestyle changes following myocardial infarction: cultural connections.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Galdas, Paul M; Oliffe, John L; Wong, Sabrina T; Ratner, Pamela A; Johnson, Joy L; Kelly, Mary T

    2012-01-01

    To describe how culture underlies Canadian Punjabi Sikh men's experiences of adopting lifestyle changes following myocardial infarction (MI). Qualitative, interpretive design. In-depth, individual interviews were conducted with 27 Canadian Punjabi Sikh men post-MI. Data were analysed using constant comparative methods. Cultural influences were identified in Punjabi Sikh men's descriptions of their experience of adopting lifestyle changes. Actions related to self-care, rehabilitation and lifestyle change post-MI were embedded in collectivist family and community contexts. Three themes, derived from the data, were found to intertwine with these contexts; they related to food consumption, physical exercise and faith and religion. These findings highlight how collectivist ideals influence Canadian Punjabi Sikh men's adoption of lifestyle changes post-MI. The content and processes by which healthcare providers deliver heart health and rehabilitation to Canadian Punjabi Sikh men might be guided, at least in part, by the collectivist cultural practices underpinning our findings.

  11. A Project Team: a Team or Just a Group?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kateřina

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper deals with issues related to work in either teams or groups. The theoretical part discusses a team and a group with regards to its definition, classification and basic distinction, brings in more on the typology of team roles, personality assessment and sociometric methods. The analytical part tests the project (work team of a medical center represented in terms of personality and motivational types, team roles and interpersonal team relations concerning the willingness of cooperation and communication. The main objective of this work is to verify the validity of the assumptions that the analyzed team represents a very disparate group as for its composition from the perspective of personality types, types of motivation, team roles and interpersonal relations in terms of the willingness of cooperation and communication. A separate output shall focus on sociometric investigation of those team members where willingness to work together and communicate is based on the authors’ assumption of tight interdependence.

  12. The Team Climate Inventory: application in hospital teams and methodological considerations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ouwens, M; Hulscher, M; Akkermans, R; Hermens, R; Grol, R; Wollersheim, H

    2008-08-01

    To test the validity, reliability and discriminating capacity of an instrument to assess team climate, the Team Climate Inventory (TCI), in a sample of Dutch hospital teams. The TCI is based on a four-factor theory of team climate for innovation. Validation study. Hospital teams in The Netherlands. 424 healthcare professionals; 355 nurses working in 22 nursing teams and 69 nurses and doctors working in 14 quality-improvement teams. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, Pearson's product moment correlations, internal homogeneity of the TCI scales based on Cronbach alpha, and the TCI capability to discriminate between two types of healthcare teams, namely nursing teams and quality-improvement teams. The validity test revealed the TCI's five-factor structure and moderate data fit. The Cronbach alphas of the five scales showed acceptable reliabilities. The TCI discriminated between nursing teams and quality-improvement teams. The mean scores of quality-improvement teams were all significantly higher than those of the nursing teams. Patient care teams are essential for high-quality patient care, and team climate is an important characteristic of successful teams. This study shows that the TCI is a valid, reliable and discriminating self-report measure of team climate in hospital teams. The TCI can be used as a quality-improvement tool or in quality-of-care research.

  13. A comparision of employees’ perceived job situation among team members in virtual versus face-to-face teams

    OpenAIRE

    Stavland, Tone

    2016-01-01

    Master's thesis in Executive MBA The globalization and increased competition, in combination with pressure to quickly adapt and find good solutions in complex situations, has forced companies to change organizational structures. To organize in team, is seen as an instrument to get a more flat and flexible organization. Team is recommended as best practice HRM, and seen as a tool to create high performance organizations. Over the years, computer based technologies for communication has deve...

  14. Management Teams

    CERN Document Server

    Belbin, R Meredith Meredith

    2012-01-01

    Meredith Belbin's work on teams has become part of everyday language in organizations all over the world. All kinds of teams and team behaviours are covered. At the end of the book is a self-perception inventory so that readers can match their own personalities to particular team roles. Management Teams is required reading for managers concerned with achieving results by getting the best from their key personnel.

  15. Liquid modern journalism with a difference : The changing professional ethos of cultural journalism

    OpenAIRE

    Jaakkola, Maarit; Hellman, Heikki; Koljonen, Kari; Väliverronen, Jari

    2015-01-01

    Reflecting a change from high to liquid modern culture, journalism is said to be encountering a transformation from high toward liquid modernity. Cultural journalism, however, has been found to be "journalism with a difference". Due to this distinctive character, the principles of general journalism do not directly apply to cultural journalism. Consequently, the manifestations and consequences of the high and liquid modern ethos appear differently in cultural journalism. Proposing a theoretic...

  16. Virtual Teams and International Business Teaching and Learning: The Case of the Global Enterprise Experience (GEE)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gonzalez-Perez, Maria Alejandra; Velez-Calle, Andres; Cathro, Virginia; Caprar, Dan V.; Taras, Vasyl

    2014-01-01

    The increasing importance of global virtual teams in business is reflected in the classroom by the increased adoption of activities that facilitate real-time cross-cultural interaction. This article documents the experience of students from two Colombian universities who participated in a collaborative international project using virtual teams as…

  17. The relationship between servant leadership, organisational citizenship behaviour and team effectiveness

    OpenAIRE

    Bright Mahembe; Amos S. Engelbrecht

    2014-01-01

    Orientation: Team effectiveness and organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB) are outcomes vital for team success. Servant leadership practices also play a critical role in team effectiveness and OCB. Research purpose: The goal of the study was to analyse the relationships between servant leadership, OCB and team effectiveness in the South African school system. Motivation for the study: The changing nature of leadership, coupled with the increased use of teams, necessitates a study o...

  18. Cultural and social change of foreign students in Indonesia: The influence of Javanese Culture in Teaching Indonesian to Speakers of Other Languages (TISOL)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saddhono, Kundharu

    2018-03-01

    Teaching Indonesian to Speakers of Other Languages (TISOL) program is increasingly in demand by people in various parts of the world. Foreign students learn a lot of Indonesian language in major cities in Indonesia. The purpose of this study is to explain the cultural and social changes of foreign students in Indonesia, especially in Java, which is following TISOL program. This study focused on the influence of Javanese culture on foreign students studying Indonesian in Java. Research method used is descriptive qualitative with ethnography approach. This research was conducted in TISOL program organized by in Central Java, East Java, and Yogyakarta. Sources of data used are documents and informants. The sampling technique used is purposive sampling. Purposive sampling is considered more capable to obtain complete data in the face of various realities. Data collection techniques are done by reviewing documents or records using content analysis techniques. Other techniques used are interview techniques with some students and lecturers to get data about the factors that affect the cultural and social changes of foreign students in Indonesia. Also, interviews were also conducted with teachers to request a different process in TISOL. The most common way used to improve validity in qualitative research is the triangulation technique. In this study used triangulation theory, triangulation method, and review of informants. The results show that using Javanese culture is very influential in the cultural and social changes of foreign students in Indonesia. Students become more enthusiastic and active in responding to learning in TISOL that is influenced by Javanese culture. The change comes from internal and external students. This change helps foreign students to understand Indonesian language and culture more comprehensively.

  19. An Australian Feeling for Snow: Towards Understanding Cultural and Emotional Dimensions of Climate Change

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrew Gorman-Murray

    2010-03-01

    Full Text Available In Australia, snow is associated with alpine and subalpine regions in rural areas; snow is a component of ‘natural’ rather than urban environments. But the range, depth and duration of Australia’s regional snow cover is imperilled by climate change. While researchers have considered the impacts of snow retreat on the natural environment and responses from the mainland ski industry, this paper explores associated cultural and emotional dimensions of climate change. This responds to calls to account for local meanings of climate, and thus localised perceptions of and responses to climate change. Accordingly, this paper presents a case study of reactions to the affect of climate change on Tasmania’s snow country. Data is drawn from a nationwide survey of responses to the impact of climate change on Australia’s snow country, and a Tasmanian focus group. Survey respondents suggested the uneven distribution of Australia’s snow country means snow cover loss may matter more in certain areas: Tasmania was a key example cited by residents of both that state and others. Focus group respondents affirmed a connection between snow and Tasmanian cultural identity, displaying sensitivity to recent changing snow patterns. Moreover, they expressed concerns about the changes using emotive descriptions of local examples: the loss of snow cover mattered culturally and emotionally, compromising local cultural activities and meanings, and invoking affective responses. Simultaneously, respondents were ‘realistic’ about how important snow loss was, especially juxtaposed with sea level rise. Nevertheless, the impact of climate change on cultural and emotional attachments can contribute to urgent ethical, practical and political arguments about arresting global warming.

  20. Online gaming for learning optimal team strategies in real time

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hudas, Gregory; Lewis, F. L.; Vamvoudakis, K. G.

    2010-04-01

    This paper first presents an overall view for dynamical decision-making in teams, both cooperative and competitive. Strategies for team decision problems, including optimal control, zero-sum 2-player games (H-infinity control) and so on are normally solved for off-line by solving associated matrix equations such as the Riccati equation. However, using that approach, players cannot change their objectives online in real time without calling for a completely new off-line solution for the new strategies. Therefore, in this paper we give a method for learning optimal team strategies online in real time as team dynamical play unfolds. In the linear quadratic regulator case, for instance, the method learns the Riccati equation solution online without ever solving the Riccati equation. This allows for truly dynamical team decisions where objective functions can change in real time and the system dynamics can be time-varying.

  1. Putting the "Team" in the Fine Arts Team: An Application of Business Management Team Concepts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fisher, Ryan

    2007-01-01

    In this article, the author discusses current challenges to the idea of teamwork in fine arts teams, redefines the terms team and collaboration using a business management perspective, discusses the success of effective teams in the business world and the characteristics of those teams, and proposes the implementation of the business model of…

  2. A Project Team: A Team or Just a Group?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Katerina Hrazdilova Bockova

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available This paper deals with issues related to work in either teams or groups. The theoretical part which discusses a team and a group with regards to its definition, classification and basic distinction brings in more on the typology of team roles, personality assessment and sociometric methods. The analytical part tests the project (work team of a medical center represented in terms of personality and motivational types, team roles and interpersonal team relations concerning the willingness of cooperation and communication. The main objective of this work was to determine whether the existing team is not by its nature rather a working group that contributes to the generally perceived stagnation of that field.

  3. Organizational culture and knowledge management in the electric power generation industry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mayfield, Robert D.

    Scarcity of knowledge and expertise is a challenge in the electric power generation industry. Today's most pervasive knowledge issues result from employee turnover and the constant movement of employees from project to project inside organizations. To address scarcity of knowledge and expertise, organizations must enable employees to capture, transfer, and use mission-critical explicit and tacit knowledge. The purpose of this qualitative grounded theory research was to examine the relationship between and among organizations within the electric power generation industry developing knowledge management processes designed to retain, share, and use the industry, institutional, and technical knowledge upon which the organizations depend. The research findings show that knowledge management is a business problem within the domain of information systems and management. The risks associated with losing mission critical-knowledge can be measured using metrics on employee retention, recruitment, productivity, training and benchmarking. Certain enablers must be in place in order to engage people, encourage cooperation, create a knowledge-sharing culture, and, ultimately change behavior. The research revealed the following change enablers that support knowledge management strategies: (a) training - blended learning, (b) communities of practice, (c) cross-functional teams, (d) rewards and recognition programs, (e) active senior management support, (f) communication and awareness, (g) succession planning, and (h) team organizational culture.

  4. German financial media's responsiveness to Deutsche Bank's cultural change

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Strauß, N.

    2015-01-01

    Based on first-order and second-order agenda building theory, this study analyzes the responsiveness of German financial media to frames of the "cultural change" proclaimed in the banking industry, exemplified by Deutsche Bank. Findings suggest a difference between the two major German financial

  5. The Power of "We": Effects of Psychological Collectivism on Team Performance over Time

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dierdorff, Erich C.; Bell, Suzanne T.; Belohlav, James A.

    2011-01-01

    We examined the influences of different facets of psychological collectivism (Preference, Reliance, Concern, Norm Acceptance, and Goal Priority) on team functioning at 3 different performance depictions: initial team performance, end-state team performance, and team performance change over time. We also tested the extent to which team-member…

  6. Mutual goals as essential for the results of team coaching

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pedersen, Louise Møller

    2015-01-01

    Background: Facilitated by an external coach, team coaching has been introduced as a method to increase team competency, effectiveness, and learning mainly at the middle manager level (named coachees). However, team coaching also has some pitfalls which will be explored in this chapter. Intervent......, organizational changes can interrupt the implementation of team coaching interventions. Clear communication and resolution of conflict s are essential for the process and results of team coaching and should be integrated into the theory of team coaching.......Background: Facilitated by an external coach, team coaching has been introduced as a method to increase team competency, effectiveness, and learning mainly at the middle manager level (named coachees). However, team coaching also has some pitfalls which will be explored in this chapter....... Intervention: A 13 month team coaching intervention focusing on team safety-related competences, effectiveness, and learning was conducted in three department teams (team X, Y and Z) in a medium-sized Danish company (Company A). However, at the end of the intervention results between the three teams varied...

  7. Planned change or emergent change implementation approach and nurses' professional clinical autonomy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luiking, Marie-Louise; Aarts, Leon; Bras, Leo; Grypdonck, Maria; van Linge, Roland

    2017-11-01

    Nurses' clinical autonomy is considered important for patients' outcome and influenced by the implementation approach of innovations. Emergent change approach with participation in the implementation process is thought to increase clinical autonomy. Planned change approach without this participation is thought not to increase clinical autonomy. Evidence of these effects on clinical autonomy is however limited. To examine the changes in clinical autonomy and in personal norms and values for a planned change and emergent change implementation of an innovation, e.g. intensive insulin therapy. Prospective comparative study with two geographically separated nurses' teams on one intensive care unit (ICU), randomly assigned to the experimental conditions. Data were collected from March 2008 to January 2009. Pre-existing differences in perception of team and innovation characteristics were excluded using instruments based on the innovation contingency model. The Nursing Activity Scale was used to measure clinical autonomy. The Personal Values and Norms instrument was used to assess orientation towards nursing activities and the Team Learning Processes instrument to assess learning as a team. Pre-implementation the measurements did not differ. Post-implementation, clinical autonomy was increased in the emergent change team and decreased in the planned change team. The Personal Values and Norms instrument showed in the emergent change team a decreased hierarchic score and increased developmental and rational scores. In the planned change team the hierarchical and group scores were increased. Learning as a team did not differ between the teams. In both teams there was a change in clinical autonomy and orientation towards nursing activities, in line with the experimental conditions. Emergent change implementation resulted in more clinical autonomy than planned change implementation. If an innovation requires the nurses to make their own clinical decisions, an emergent change

  8. Employee Knowledge Sharing in Work Teams: Effects of Team Diversity, Emergent States, and Team Leadership

    Science.gov (United States)

    Noh, Jae Hang

    2013-01-01

    Knowledge sharing in work teams is one of the critical team processes. Without sharing of knowledge, work teams and organizations may not be able to fully utilize the diverse knowledge brought into work teams by their members. The purpose of this study was to investigate antecedents and underlying mechanisms influencing the extent to which team…

  9. Knowledge sharing in international product development teams

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sonne, Anne-Mette; Harmsen, Hanne

    Many companies are facing an increasing need to compete on a global scale. But as companies move into multiple markets, the process of developing new products becomes increasingly complex. Coping successfully with the increased internationalization forces companies to excel at collaboration...... company are far from trivial and the problems associated with transfer will increase with geographical and cultural difference (Bresman et al., 1999). Especially tacit knowledge is difficult to transport across national boarders (Kogut & Zander, 1992) and not much research exists on how companies overcome...... development process is by using teams. Teams are considered one of the best tools for exchanging especially tacit knowledge, since this kind of knowledge is transferred best through personal interaction and face-to-face meetings (Madhavan & Grover, 1998; Nonaka, 1994). In accordance with this, more and more...

  10. Between Flexibility and Reliability. Changing Planning Culture in China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chiu-Yuan Wang

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this research is to provide an outline to address questions with regard to the transformation of planning in China that has occurred after the 1980s. The research is using “planning evolution” as the main research skeleton. The starting point is to investigate to what extent Chinese urban planning has developed after the opening up and other reforms under the state-led and market-driven modes of Chinese reformation, and to investigate how the different modes and various actors have influenced urban planning, based on the investigation of the respective political and economic changes within the initial reformation in general, and planning in particular. In recent years, China has undeniably undergone a dramatic process of urban growth and transformation. Apart from its speed and scope, it is less recognized that these processes are confronting the Chinese planning institutions with new and unexpected demands almost on a daily basis. In reference to the increasing importance of private investments and developments within the Chinese urbanization process, a new balance between public planning and private developments, and between top-down and bottom-up approaches is required to be able to generate both a reliable and responsible framework for long-term urban development and a flexible system of implementation that meets the needs of changing conditions and new demands. Flexibility and reliability become the new demands for planning practice. Based on the theory of planning culture, planning traditions, concepts, systems and decision-making processes are always related to the cultural context and cultural background of the people and societies involved. Investigating the contemporary urban transformation and urban development processes in China can allow us to outline the new planning culture of contemporary China in relation to its historical roots and traditional characteristics in a long term framework. I argue that the changing

  11. Assessing safety culture using RADAR matrix

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mariscal-Saldana, M. a.; Garcia-Herrero, S.; Toca-Otero, A.

    2009-01-01

    Santa Maria de Garona nuclear power plant, in collaboration with Burgos University, has proceeded to conduct a pilot project aimed at seeing the possibilities for the RADAR (Results, Approach, Development, Assessment and review) logic of EFQM model, as a tool for self evaluation of Safety Culture in a nuclear power plant. In the work it has sought evidences of Safety culture implanted in the plant, and identify strengths and areas for improvement regarding this Culture. the score obtained by analyzing these strengths and areas for improvements has served to prioritize actions implemented. The nuclear power plant has been submitted voluntarily to the mission SCART (Safety Culture Assessment Review Team), an international review being done for the first time in the world at a plant in operation and the team of experts led by International Agency of Atomic Energy (IAEA) has identified this project as a good practice, an innovative process implemented in the plant, that must be transmitted to other plants. (Author) 10 refs

  12. [Investigation of team processes that enhance team performance in business organization].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nawata, Kengo; Yamaguchi, Hiroyuki; Hatano, Toru; Aoshima, Mika

    2015-02-01

    Many researchers have suggested team processes that enhance team performance. However, past team process models were based on crew team, whose all team members perform an indivisible temporary task. These models may be inapplicable business teams, whose individual members perform middle- and long-term tasks assigned to individual members. This study modified the teamwork model of Dickinson and McIntyre (1997) and aimed to demonstrate a whole team process that enhances the performance of business teams. We surveyed five companies (member N = 1,400, team N = 161) and investigated team-level-processes. Results showed that there were two sides of team processes: "communication" and "collaboration to achieve a goal." Team processes in which communication enhanced collaboration improved team performance with regard to all aspects of the quantitative objective index (e.g., current income and number of sales), supervisor rating, and self-rating measurements. On the basis of these results, we discuss the entire process by which teamwork enhances team performance in business organizations.

  13. Information and Communication Technology and Cultural Change How ICT Changes Self-Construal and Values

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hansen, Nina; Postmes, Tom; van der Vinne, Nikita; van Thiel, Wendy

    2012-01-01

    This paper studies whether and how information and communication technology (ICT) changes self-construal and cultural values in a developing country. Ethiopian children were given laptops in the context of an ICT for development scheme. We compared children who used laptops (n = 69) with a control

  14. ‘Inheriting’ our Cultural Heritage: Changes of paradigm of conservation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stefano Francesco Musso

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available The world is quickly and deeply changing, facing new challenges in the built environment. Conservation can play a crucial role for preserving the future of the planet, not wasting but rather continuing to use (or reuse the depot of physical traces that the previous ages left us, as provisional responsible for them, in cultural ways and respectful. A crucial question rises apropos: are we really ready and able to inherit this impressive mine of knowledge, “identity” and cultural richness? We cannot in fact go on along the paths that have been traced, within the western world and culture, since more than two centuries about conservation/restoration (with all their contradictions and suggestions. We cannot behave as if nothing has changed and ignoring the problems of the contemporary societies, or like they were external to our commitments, interests and responsibilities. The key-lecture will deal with some of the main challenges that the culture of conservation (or “movement”, as someone could call it will have to face in the near future in order to survive and not to reduce itself to an ancillary role and to an un-influencing condition within the contemporary world. A particular focus will be put for this reason on the crucial role that ICT play also in this field.

  15. Cultural diversity in organizations : Enhancing identification by valuing differences

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Luijters, Kyra; van der Zee, Karen I.; Otten, Sabine

    The present research investigated the role of perceived similarity in cultural values (associated with diversity in cultural backgrounds) and an intercultural group climate in predicting identification with both the organization and the work team. The relevance of perceived similarity in cultural

  16. CULTURAL CHANGES IN INTERCULTURAL EDUCATION: THE CASE OF STUDENTS IN ETHNIC TRIQUI UAIM

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Francisco A. Romero-Leyva

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Globalization processes have overflowed their colonial influence in all societies that are now separate share ways of living and coexist without the need for physical contact between individuals themselves within it. There are many aspects that transform but it is noteworthy that language as a means of human communication changes every day because communications exercised through virtual networks that have become the ideal and most usual to communicate with each other perverting language and sometimes changing their habits or cultural practices causing profound cultural changes that alter the identity.

  17. Pro-active Behaviour in Context of Team Climate

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ladislav Pilař

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Employees are considered to be the main source of creativity, innovation, change and development of the enterprise, which can be considered as key success factors. However, if the company climate does not encourage employee activity, development may slow or stagnate. This article focuses on the possibility of prediction of personal initiative and employee silence based on quantification of the team climate. Relationships between constructs (1 “Team climate” and (2 “Pro-active Behaviour” are evaluated on the basis of Exploratory and Confirmatory factor analysis. All factors of the construct “Team climate”: (T1 Future olrientation, (T2 Peer support of change, (T3 Team Vision and (T4 Regular Contact, have a significant impact on the factors of the construct “Pro-active Behaviour”: (P1 Initiative and a negative impact on (P2 Defence silence. No statistically significant effect in relation to the factors (P3 Loyalty and (P4 Stagnation was identified. The effects, in relation to the initiative of the employees were identified in the interval r = |0.305| − |0.488|. The factor of Defence silence of employees effects “Team climate” factors in the interval r = |0.329| − |0.550|. In both cases this concerns medium dependence. The research results can be used to quantify the quality of team climate in order to enhance the individuals’ long-term initiative and organisational effectiveness. This knowledge serves managers as the basis for leadership and development of pro-active behaviour of team members.

  18. The changing psychology of culture in German-speaking countries: A Google Ngram study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Younes, Nadja; Reips, Ulf-Dietrich

    2017-05-05

    This article provides evidence for the long-term affiliation between ecological and cultural changes in German-speaking countries, based on the assumptions derived from social change and human development theory. Based on this theory, the increase in urbanisation, as a measure of ecological change, is associated with significant cultural changes of psychology. Whereas urbanisation is linked to greater individualistic values and materialistic attitudes, rural environments are strongly associated with collectivistic values like allegiance, prevalence of religion, and feelings of belonging and benevolence. Due to an increase in the German urbanisation rate over time, our study investigates whether Germany and the German-speaking countries around show the presumed changes in psychology. By using Google Books Ngram Viewer, we find that word frequencies, signifying individualistic (collectivistic) values, are positively (negatively) related to the urbanisation rate of Germany. Our results indicate that predictions about implications of an urbanising population for the psychology of culture hold true, supporting international universality of the social change and human development theory. Furthermore, we provide evidence for a predicted reversal for the time during and after World War II, reflecting Nazi propaganda and influence. © 2017 International Union of Psychological Science.

  19. Dialysis: Reducing Infections and Changing Culture

    Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

    This podcast is an account from an infection preventionist about the challenges and successes with engaging dialysis care teams to focus on "Zero Preventable Infections" in outpatient dialysis facilities.

  20. The effects on team emotions and team effectiveness of coaching in interprofessional health and social care teams.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dimas, Isabel Dórdio; Renato Lourenço, Paulo; Rebelo, Teresa

    2016-07-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of coaching behaviours provided by peers and by the leader on the emotions experienced by interprofessional health and social care teams and on members' satisfaction with the team, as well as on team performance. Data were obtained from a survey among 344 employees working in 52 interprofessional health and social care teams from nine Portuguese organizations. The results show that leader coaching and peer coaching have a positive effect on the level of team members' satisfaction with the team and on positive emotions, and a negative effect on negative emotions. Furthermore, coaching provided by peers presents a positive effect on team performance as assessed by the leader of the team. Our findings put forward the importance of engaging in coaching behaviours to promote quality of the team experience, as well as the achievement of team performance objectives. Further studies should explore how coaching behaviours impact the patient, whose well-being is the ultimate objective of a team in the health and social care system, namely in terms of the patient's perception of quality care or patient outcomes.