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The paper is focused on the problems of chaos control in multi-agent hierarchical systems similar to the environment of the realization of automated factory projects. The research is based on a unique database of empirical studies of human faults and mistakes at the design and commissioning of factory automation systems. It is shown that for primary chaos control it is appropriate to use Design Structure Matrix (DSM) technology tools, enabling to describe synergistic relations between all teams' members on the basis of the frequency and amount of information interchange. For further chaos control an effective system is proposed to track and hinder different human shortcomings spreading in the hierarchical teamwork system. As a basis for it an advanced simulation technique, discrete event modelling, is used. The proposed methodology of suppressing the influence of human shortcomings allows us to increase the synergy in teamwork and to substantially reduce the losses of resources at starting up new factories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Project management is a growing practice and is being utilized in an increasing number of facilities. The project manager is at the head of this project process, and has an important role of overseeing the project and project team, and ultimately ensuring the project ends in success. Analyzing critical qualities of leadership and determining their positive impact can benefit project managers in any industry and therefore promote project success. A few of these leadership styles include: team building, establishing clear relations and roles between project members, openness, self-confidence, organization, and clearly defining project successes, reevaluating when necessary. These leadership styles and traits were researched and analyzed to determine the extent they contribute to the construction, execution, and closure of the project. By adopting these qualities, the project's stakeholders such as investors, clients, or patients are more likely to feel the positive impact of a successful project. Projects can also move more smoothly and efficiently, receiving positive results in less time. This is beneficial not only to the stakeholders, but to all members involved: the organization, the project manager, executive staff, team members, and outsourced facilities. It is not enough to possess one of these crucial traits. As seen in literature and historical examples, a combination is necessary to create balance and develop into a leader that can produce an efficient team and satisfactory end results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the nonlinear relationship between organizational integration and new product market success (NPMS). The concept of organizational integration was measured by assessing the degree of integration among various groups of people involved in the development of new products including new product development ( NPD) teams that are typically the focal points of NPD efforts. New product market success was measured by examining four often-used measures of NPD success. The mail survey research approach was used to gather empirical data from NPD managers in three major industries. The data gathered from this survey process were used as the basis from which to extract information to address this study's major research questions, which include: (1) How is the degree of new product market success related to the nonlinear degree to which groups of people (including NPD teams) integrate during NPD processes? and (2) How is the degree of new product market success related to the nonlinear degree to which separate groups of people (e.g., customers, suppliers, and functional departments) integrate during NPD processes? This study found that high levels of organizational integration (overall organizational integration and supplier organizational integration) during NPD processes are associated with high levels of new product market success. Additionally, this study found that the relationship between new product market success and organizational integration (customer organizational integration and functional organization integration) during NPD processes exhibit nonlinear, U-shaped relationships. Therefore, the first important finding of this study confirms that various forms of organizational integration impact in a positive way the market success of new products. This suggests that management responsible for all NPD projects should consciously integrate important groups of people to support such developments. This study's findings also confirm and imply that new product developers in the studied industries should integrate marketing and research and development (R&D) over the duration of the NPD process. This suggests that new product managers must be proactive to assure that members of NPD teams are actively engaged with groups of supporting people within and outside new-product-producing organizations. Unlike prior research, a major finding of this study suggests that the association between organizational integration and new product market success does not form inverted U -shaped relationships. Data from this research imply that new product market success is linearly influenced by overall and supplier organizational integration. However, this study's data suggest that new product market success is nonlinearly influenced by customer and functional organizational integration. This study's data suggest that when customer organizational integration and/or functional organizational integration is increased, new product market success can be increased at a rate which is greater than a linear rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sometimes selection of the project team members is based on the certain area's specialists' availability. However, big projects, which may include external specialists, can force to open an external competition for the vacant positions in a project team. The aim of the research is to outline importance, benefits and disadvantages of the competence-based selection as an approach selecting project team members besides many other possible approaches. The tasks of the research are to summarize the sets of competencies for project team members, describe the process of the competence-based selection and develop questionnaire for definition of Latvian public organisations' more popular job competences and ways of the competency model application in the human resource management (HRM) processes if applicable. The survey' population is "employees of a personnel/human resource (HR) departments or employees, who deal with HR affairs, as well as current and past project teams' members (including managers) in Latvian public administrative organizations that are members of the Latvian National Project Management Association". The project team members' competence-based selection is suitable and rational approach, nevertheless, it is necessary to apply joint scheme of selection for the best results. This time-consuming process requires a lot of preparation work including adaptation of the approach in case of a certain project. The application of the Analytic-Hierarchy Process is proposed to make the competence-based selection more rational. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the Project Manager role and competencies has been addressed in various studies (PMI, 2007, Brill, Bishop, and Walker, 2006, El-Sabaa, 2001, Crawford, 2000, Patterson, 1991), none of them were based on the answers provided by project team members. This is peculiar since, the relevant contribution of project team members toward project success is widely recognized (Shenhar et al., 2002) but at the same no or limited attention has been devoted to listening team members' voices. In order to answer to this shortcoming, a study focused on how project team members evaluate the project manager role and project managers behaviours has been carried out. A questionnaire was sent to more than 1000 people, 108 were considered valid. Among the findings we can mention that team members consider the project manager role very important but many of the project managers they worked with were not considered suitable for that role. In addition, the more team members are senior, the less consider the project manager role important. This is especially true for male respondents. As expected, receiving clear objectives from the project manager is considered fundamental by team members but contrary to the dominant project management literature, team members also consider fundamental that project managers possess technical skills aligned to the project domain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In emerging markets, technology ventures increasingly rely on new product development ( NPD) teams to generate creative ideas and to mold these innovative ideas into streams of new products or services. However, little is known about how behavioral integration (a behavioral team process) and collective efficacy (a motivational team process) jointly facilitate or inhibit team innovation performance in emerging markets-especially in China, the world's largest emerging-market setting with collectivist and high power distance cultures. Drawing on social cognitive theory and behavioral integration research, this article elucidates the relationships between behavioral integration dimensions (i.e., collaborative behavior, information exchange, and joint decision-making) and innovation performance and also examines how collective efficacy moderates these relationships in China's NPD teams. Results from a sample of 96 NPD teams in China's technology ventures reveal that information exchange is positively associated with innovation performance. Collaborative behavior positively but marginally influences innovation performance, whereas joint decision-making does not relate to innovation performance. Moreover, collective efficacy demonstrates an important moderating role. Specifically, both collaborative behavior and joint decision-making are more positively associated with innovation performance when collective efficacy is higher. In contrast, information exchange is less positively associated with innovation performance when collective efficacy is higher. This study makes important theoretical contributions to the literature on team innovation and behavioral integration in emerging markets by offering a better understanding of how behavioral and motivational team processes jointly shape innovation performance in China's NPD teams. This study also extends social cognitive theory by identifying collective efficacy as a boundary condition for the overall effectiveness of behavioral integration dimensions. In particular, this study highlights the condition under which behavioral integration dimensions facilitate or inhibit NPD team innovation performance in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, in the context of fierce market competition, companies increasingly seek out employees who, beyond their intellectual and technical skills and abilities, own a high level of emotional intelligence. This can be seen from the very beginning of the recruitment process, starting with the job description, where emotional intelligence is one of the required abilities. In this context, the main aim of this paper is to identify the strengths and weaknesses assumed in managing a team of emotionally intelligent workers. Our research question is "How can team leaders intervene on time and benefit from strengths, respectively reduce the weaknesses of an emotionally intelligent team?" This paper presents a case study conducted within a team of professionals, from a multinational company. The results of the case study indicate that leading emotionally intelligent workers includes both strengths, such as cooperation, participation, commitment to goals, effectiveness, better communication, as well as weaknesses, for example: too many leaders, high pressure, stress, a lower level of motivation or lower chances of getting promoted. The presented case study exemplifies that leading emotionally intelligent employees implies decisions on the management of work stress, management of motivation and management of internal promotion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- The pursuit of knowledge should be the objective of managers in the workplace, both for the purpose of empowerment and to achieve financial objectives. It is important that retail managers have a need to solidify their transformational leadership knowledge, which ultimately could increase their capacity to excel. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach -- A structured management development programme (MDP), consisting of a comprehensive spectrum of retail management and leadership theory and practices, was designed to develop transformational leadership by using transformational teaching and learning strategies. The sample for this study consisted of seven retail managers from a group of 20 managers, employed by Retek, the largest independent retail pharmacy group in South Africa. A focus group interview identified the dominant themes and produced a landscape to understand the retail managers' environment, their preferred teaching methodology and benefits experienced from attending the MDP. Findings -- By transforming themselves, these managers have become more empathetic leaders, armed with self-awareness and a deeper awareness of team issues. The MDP created in a shift in their attitude towards attending training programmes and subsequently, has created a more accommodating philosophy towards workplace learning. The study added to the understanding of how transformational teaching and learning lead to more effective transformational leadership and the integration of theory into practice by retail managers. The conclusion was that by embracing and practising a transformational teaching and learning ideology, the managers would be better equipped with managerial and transformational leadership abilities. Originality/value -- This research provided a landscape for future management development training in terms of selection of managers to attend, relevant curriculum, teaching and learning methodology as well as benefits of this type of professional development. This initiative was the first project in which such a programme has been designed, developed and instructed in this particular organisation and encompassed a unique experience in terms of training, professional development and the change in the willingness to engage in training and acknowledgement of the value of learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A body of literature suggests that ethnic heterogeneity limits economic growth. This article provides microeconometric evidence on the direct effect of ethnic divisions on productivity. In team production at a plant in Kenya, an upstream worker supplies and distributes flowers to two downstream workers, who assemble them into bunches. The plant uses an essentially random rotation process to assign workers to positions, leading to three types of teams: (i) ethnically homogeneous teams, and teams in which (ii) one or (iii) both downstream workers belong to a tribe in rivalry with the upstream worker’s tribe. I find strong evidence that upstream workers undersupply non-coethnic downstream workers (vertical discrimination) and shift flowers from non-coethnic to coethnic downstream workers (horizontal discrimination), at the cost of lower own pay and total output. A period of ethnic conflict following Kenya’s 2007 election led to a sharp increase in discrimination. In response, the plant began paying the two downstream workers for their combined output (team pay). This led to a modest output reduction in (i) and (iii) teams—as predicted by standard incentive models—but an increase in output in (ii) teams, and overall. Workers’ behavior before conflict, during conflict, and under team pay is predicted by a model of taste-based discrimination. My findings suggest that interethnic rivalries lower allocative efficiency in the private sector, that the economic costs of ethnic diversity vary with the political environment, and that in high-cost environments firms are forced to adopt “second best” policies to limit discrimination distortions. JEL Codes: D03, D22, D24, D61, D64, D74, F63, J24, J33, J71, 012, 014. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper addresses group process and team management strategies. Recognizing the trajectory in both groups and teams, as living systems in our postmodern society, it challenges why teams are assessed as having better performance or development. Groups have been used for social transformation in many ways, and teams thrive in our zeitgeist, affecting almost the entire active working population. This paper discusses a new way to understand group process and teams using three bodies of knowledge: (1) complexity theory including dialogic, organizational recursion, and holographic principles and the knowledge through comprehension and explanation, (2) systems thinking properties applied to living systems, including interaction, interdependence, autonomy and dependency, organization and self-production, and (3) rhizomic structures as a mode of knowledge that is non-hierarchical and possibly provides a useful means of understanding society as interconnected alliances in movement. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article describes various methods to improve collaboration within team members for the betterment of business. It analyses the usefulness of meetings and suggest ways to improve quality and efficiency of time spent for meetings. The author suggests that the best use of meeting as a tool for managing business happens when the team members let go of ownership on their ideas, and accept treatment of the same as ideas of the team for analysis and implementation.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine how internal locus of control (LOC) as a well-established entrepreneurial personality trait at team level impacts team performance (effectiveness and efficiency) in Austria. In addition, it investigates the interaction effects of LOC diversity and affective trust on the internal LOC-performance relationship. Design/methodology/approach – Data originated from 44 entrepreneurial teams based in nine business incubators in Austria. Partial least squares (PLS) structural equation modelling was used to estimate the model. Findings – Results indicate that higher internal LOC at team level promotes entrepreneurial team effectiveness and efficiency. However, team efficiency is increased when such teams possess a high internal LOC and low LOC diversity. Affective trust is identified as a crucial component in enhancing entrepreneurial team effectiveness, especially when the team has a high internal LOC. Originality/value – This study extends research on internal LOC at team level by investigating it as a predictor of entrepreneurial team effectiveness and efficiency. Second, it systematically analyses if and how diversity in internal LOC affects team performance in an entrepreneurial team context. The paper takes a pioneering step by testing a key methodological contribution of addressing the inherent bias in measuring diversity of small teams. Finally, it is one of the first studies to show not only the importance of affect in general, but also the trust based on affect for entrepreneurial team dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to test the moderating role of emotion regulation in the transformation of both task and process conflict into relationship conflict. Design/methodology/approach – A field study of multi-teams systems, in which (94) respondents are engaged in interpersonal and inter-team interactions, was conducted to test the effects of the interaction of emotion regulation and task and process conflict on the emergence of relationship conflict in 23 multi-team client/supplier systems. Findings – The findings show that when collective emotion regulation strategies are effective, process conflict is less likely to transform into relationship conflict. An emerging finding of this study shows that process conflict mediates the interaction between task conflict and emotion regulation on relationship conflict in multi-team systems. Research limitations/implications – This study uses a relatively small number of projects and participants: further studies with larger samples are recommended; in addition, longitudinal studies would allow for further testing the effect of team longevity in the emergence of effective emotion regulation strategies.ct transforming into relationship conflicts. Practical implications – The findings imply that managers of multi-team systems should actively try to stimulate their teams to develop effective emotion regulation strategies as effective emotion regulation mechanisms minimize the risk of process conflict transforming into relationship conflicts. Originality/value – The paper looks at a real-world (as opposed to lab-situation) environment; it addresses a contingency model of intra-group conflict and tests the transformation of task and process conflicts into relationship conflict taking into account the moderating effect of emotion regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to analyze the influence of two categories of conflict antecedents – input and behavior antecedents – on the level of relationship conflict (RC) in top management teams (TMTs). The authors apply a process view to conflict, and consider that the effect of the input antecedents on RC may be mediated by a behavioral antecedent: behavioral integration. Design/methodology/approach – Using a survey instrument, multi-informant data were collected from 64 TMTs. An aggregation and measurement analysis was performed. To test the hypotheses of mediation, bootstrapping procedures were used. Findings – The results show that the effects of team tenure, intragroup trust and value consensus on relationship conflict are mediated by behavioral integration. However, TMT size does not affect relationship conflict – either directly or indirectly – through behavioral integration. Research limitations/implications – It is concluded that encouraging intragroup trust and value consensus among TMT members facilitates the integrated behavior of the team. This behavioral integration may allow conflict to be constructive. Therefore, firms should make an effort to encourage this psychological context. Originality/value – Previous research about the antecedents of RC in the field of TMTs is inconclusive. Additionally, a new approach to conflict antecedents is considered, to establish a direct and independent relationship between different categories of antecedents and TMT conflict. A relationship of interdependence is considered between different types of antecedents and their effects on RC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to explore the factors that influence buyer decision-making in public procurement. The objective is to better understand the processes and conditions that support different supply arrangements, which maximise SME participation. Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses case study evidence of contract awards across multiple organisational contexts including: a local authority, commercial semi-state, police force, and a tourist agency. Findings – National policy and the role of procurement exerted mixed effects upon the cases. The procurement processes were broadly similar and included cross-functional teams, consideration of trade-offs and market research. Research limitations/implications – The paper highlights the transition of public organisations toward strategic procurement including supplier engagement. Practical implications – This offers buyers a decision support tool that promotes equal opportunities for SME participation, a key goal of EU procurement. The implications for suppliers of each buying decision are also outlined. The concept of practical rationality is used to support the framework. Originality/value – A normative framework of public procurement decision-making is generated from the cases. Buying complexity and supplier engagement are two conditions that support a 2×2 decision framework. The framework extends efficient and central-buying decisions to include adapted and balanced decisions. This range offers buyers a decision support tool that promotes equal opportunities for SME participation, a key goal of EU procurement. The implications for suppliers of each buying decision are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – This paper aims to address how management practices successfully implemented somewhere else, namely adoptive management innovation, have been introduced into Chinese firms and then effectively implemented, or to investigate key activities of the generative mechanism through which an adoptive management innovation occurs. Design/methodology/approach – Since the purpose of management innovation is to utilize organizational resources more efficiently and further their goals, with little intention to pursue differentiation and without any protection from patent, adoptive management innovation has been prevailing around China and even the whole world. Based on the conception of what makes adoptive management innovation unique, this paper attempts to investigate the case of the Organizational Efficiency Management of Jiangxi Mobile in China to identify key activities of adoptive management innovation and develop a two-interlinked-subprocess framework of adoption decision and implementation, aiming to offer suggestions for firms in adopting new management practices. Findings – The results indicate that adoption of existing management practices or methods from somewhere else is a more complex and logical process rather than a simple one of knowledge transferring. It needs to integrate existing practices into new organizational context and establish their innovative value during implementation. One core element of the process framework is the emphasis on activities of problem diagnoses and realization of the fitness between management practices adopted and the new organizational context, and another one is the sequence of activities in the whole process. Research limitations/implications – This research is constrained by at least three limitations. First, the authors' findings for the two-subprocess framework of adoptive management innovation need to be further confirmed for more organizations. Second, little attention has been paid to relative advantages of different sequence of activities. Third, when focusing on adoptive management innovation from a process perspective, this research does not address problems such as why some managers pursue innovative opportunities by introducing new practices, how contextual elements, internal elements, and top management teams affect management innovation, or how the performance of adoptive management innovation could be improved in China. Originality/value – The findings offer some valuable insights for further research in how to explore the generative mechanism of organizational changes or innovations in China and hold important implications for management practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When designing contests to motivate employees, should managers organize employees to compete in teams or as individuals? We develop a behavioral economics model that shows that if contestants are averse to being responsible for the team's loss, a team-based (TB) contest can yield higher effort than an individual-based (IB) contest. This prediction is contrary to those of standard economics models, which favor IB contests over TB contests. We test the competing predictions using laboratory economics experiments. The results show that when contestants do not know each other, average effort levels in the TB and IB contests are not different. When contestants are allowed to socialize with potential teammates before making effort decisions, TB contests yield higher effort relative to IB contests. We also show that the relative efficacy of TB contests is driven by contestants' aversion to letting their team down. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers the relationship between employee voice and employee engagement. Employee perceptions of voice behaviour aimed at improving the functioning of the work group are found to have both a direct impact and an indirect impact on levels of employee engagement. Analysis of data from two organisations confirms that the direct connection between perceptions of voice behaviour and engagement is mediated by both employee trust in senior management and the employee–line manager relationship. Key concepts are outlined, and the implications of the findings for future research and for the management of engagement are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

We examine what kinds of patterns of mechanisms can be applied in the coordination of several inter-related project teams. We identify three distinct coordination schemes; namely: centralized coordination, decentralized coordination, and balanced coordination. In addition, we compare individuals' perceptions on communication, coordination effectiveness, project efficiency, learning, task analyzability, and task uncertainty between the three identified coordination schemes. The results of our study extend to both theoretical and practical understanding of coordination in multi-team projects and its relation to communication, coordination effectiveness, project performance, and learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author reflects on ten rules to start a Regional Student Group (RSG), a group of students across a geographical region with a common field of research. The author informs that the RSG program of the International Society for Computational Biology (ISCB) Student Council (SC) has provided the opportunity for local student groups to become affiliated with the SC and share their experiences. The rules include forming the right team, having a plan and thinking about resources and logistics.

The impact of information technology ( IT) on the performance of distributed projects is not well understood. Although prior research has documented that dispersion among project teams has an adverse effect on project performance, the role of IT as an enabler of communication to bridge the spatial distance among team members in distributed networks has not been empirically studied. We focus on the role of IT as a moderator of the relationship between team dispersion and project performance using projects as the unit of analysis. We find that IT mitigates the negative effect of team dispersion on project performance, especially in high information volume projects. Our central contribution is the development of an empirically tested model to improve the understanding of the operational impact of IT as a vehicle to bridge spatial dispersion among distributed teams that are engaged in knowledge-intensive work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of leader-member exchange (LMX) is predicated on the notion that leaders have differing quality relationships with each subordinate, leading to the formation of an ingroup and an outgroup. This suggests that for a sophisticated understanding of the impact of LMX relationships on individuals’ sentiments and behaviors, followers’ perceptions of the collective set of workgroup LMX relationships may be as important as their individual LMX relationships. This research examines employee perceptions of LMX across 67 work units, and investigates how these perceptions relate to coworker exchange (CWX) relationships and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). Results indicate that CWX is strongly, positively related to the LMX of the participant and their colleagues. A significant, positive relationship between measures of CWX and OCBs directed toward the work unit, but not the organization, was also observed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

We update the original core competence notions of identification and development to fit high efficient innovation processes in dynamic environments, with aim to progress the concept's applicability for scholars and practitioners. To the core competence concept we add four dimensions previously missing: time (shared history and shared future aims), managerial hierarchy levels (corporate and SBU), innovation development modes and outcome types (radical/incremental and exploitation/exploration), and finally innovation team characteristics and support structure (homogenous/heterogeneous and formal/informal structure). We propose that existing core competencies are ideally explored by homogenous teams managed at the SBU-level, in structured context, which infers competitive imitation protection. The process starts with identification then progressed by a change in structure: going from formal to informal, which will increase core competence and company performance. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Have you ever experienced a situation at work in which a highly performing and highly skilled employee was accused of some inappropriate behaviour in the workplace? You probably watched, along with other employees, to see if the person being accused would be confronted if their behaviour was indeed determined to be unethical. Maybe you were disappointed because your organization overlooked the unethical behaviour due to the fact that the accused employee was such a "good" performer? Albert Einstein said, "A man's ethical behaviour should be based effectually on sympathy, education, social ties; no religious basis is necessary. Common Workplace Ethics; Punctuality, Responsibility, Integrity, Loyalty, Teamwork, Positive attitude, Professionalism Most of us have experienced or witnessed some type of inappropriate behaviour in the workplace and have been involved or observed how our organization handled it. Many organizations do a good job of finding their moral grounding and deal with unethical behaviour when it is encountered. Other organizations may struggle even though they understand and value the importance of practicing good ethical behaviour in the workplace. Workplace ethics will help make the entire staff more satisfied with their jobs. Workplace ethics is the moral philosophy developed by a place of business that determines what is expected of employees in a particular setting. Unlike the difference in job descriptions, workplace ethics apply to all members of the organization and are used to determine what is the right, wrong and preferred way to behave at work. There are a number of reasons why developing a workplace code of ethics is important. It Sets The Rules, Equal Playing Field, Enhanced Reputation, and Values Drive Behaviour. When a business has a set of values that are shared and known by the entire staff, the environment will be conducive to values-driven. Knowing what is right and what is wrong, according to the workplace ethics, will naturally encourage behaviour that is consistent with the values. When an employee sees that he is continually being treated fair and in a way consistent with the ethics, it will encourage him to treat others fairly as well. It is a living example of the Golden Rule. The ethics code will also encourage members of the staff to react more positively to others, which will be passed on throughout the staff creating a contagious wave of positive actions. Work Ethics is invisible employee behaviour, noticeable by its absence. Ethics is something that is learned & chosen throughout one's life. It helps a lot in effective productivity as well as a great balance of responsibilities in your life on personal & professional front. Thus, Ethics are the difference between what you could do versus what is right to do. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Creating strategic alliances by engaging in co-branding has become increasingly widespread in many industries. This form of cooperation allows businesses to share resources and knowledge and to set common goals - but also forces the two companies to work together. This article looks at co-branding from the perspective of strategic management and focuses on the problems that can arise in team management and organization. The purpose of the article is to present recent research advances that may encourage rethinking co-branding strategies at the level of projectization which described the level of commitment in the co-branding project. Characteristics of successful team-building for co-branding ventures are also discussed. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an integrated view of the formation of teams by examining individuals' emotions in relation to trust in the context of identity and exchange. We recognize the importance of trust within a team, especially in the process of team formation. By looking at the issue of trust within a framework of social exchange and identity, this paper provides an extensive view of the psychological aspects of team formation and development, from assignment to a team at the beginning, to evolving into a cooperative team on the one hand, or into a non-cooperative team on the other. Most newly formed teams somehow function despite the fact that the members are strangers to each other, however some of them regress into non-functioning teams as members become familiar with each other i.e. the team working status is worse than when the team started. We argue that emotions are crucial in defining the direction of team development to either the functional or dysfunctional side by influencing formation of affect based trust (or distrust). Identity as a mental framework and exchange as behavioral interaction are important to understanding the affective experience of individuals within a team. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine challenges faced by senior construction managers in managing cross-cultural complexity and uncertainty. The rationale was to identify the key strategies that are considered essential for managing cross-cultural complexity and uncertainty. Design/methodology/approach – Interviews with 20 senior construction managers, ten in Kenya and ten in the UK, were recorded, transcribed and entered into the qualitative research software NVivo. Validity and reliability were achieved by first assessing the plausibility in terms of already existing knowledge on some of the cultural issues raised by participants. The findings were presented to the participants through workshops and group discussions. Findings – The emerging key issues suggested that project leaders need to learn how to control their own characteristics and to use them selectively. An effective multicultural construction project team should focus on team output and attributes that characterise a multicultural team as a social entity. Practical implications – Findings indicate that the role of construction project managers has significantly changed over the past two decades. In order to deal with cross-cultural uncertainty, project leaders must have superior multicultural and interpersonal skills when managing global multicultural heavy engineering projects. Originality/value – The research shows that leaders of global construction project teams need a good understanding of their culture, environment and the value of their individual contributions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Utilizing new product development ( NPD) teams to accomplish complex tasks in firms has been an emergent issue in many industries throughout the last couple of decades. Despite numerous studies, formation and efficient management of NPD teams is still a developing research domain. Using the knowledge-based view of the firm and social network theories complementarily, this paper contributes to literature by examining the intrafirm social relational structures of NPD teams. Focusing specifically on the network centrality of the NPD teams, this paper argues that network centrality types of closeness, betweenness, and degree centralities influence the quality and richness characteristics of knowledge received through task advice seeking. Subsequently, the knowledge gained with these characteristics enhances product innovativeness and new product success. Consequently, the second contribution of this paper is to conceptualize the effect of the task advice-seeking activities of NPD teams on NPD outcomes. The paper concludes with a discussion of the empirical testing of the proposed model, including suggestions for focal construct operationalizations as well as other future research directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

More (rather than fewer) material resources are thought to be the key driver in innovation project performance. Recent empirical evidence, however, suggests that the influence of material resource availability on innovation projects is not as simple and straightforwardly positive as it may seem. We build on the concept of an innovation project team's resource elasticity to disentangle the material resource-innovation output conundrum. This concept is analogous to the marketing concept of price elasticity and points to four types of innovation project teams based on their resource elasticity: In resource-elastic teams, the relationship between material resources and innovation outcomes is positive (hence, they are 'resource driven' when able to dispose of adequate material resources or 'resource victims' when lacking these material resources). In contrast, and as a significant departure from previous work, resource-inelastic teams show no or even a negative relationship between material resource adequacy and team performance (thus, the teams are 'resourceful' if they can perform with limited material resources or 'resource burners' if they show low success with adequate material resources). Because neither adequate nor inadequate material resources seem to be a reliable predictor of success, we synthesize empirical research efforts that point to each team type's key characteristics to derive novel implications for managing innovation projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]