Search

Background: Several benefits of working in a self-organizing team, such as higher job satisfaction and better en-gagement to work have been demonstrated in previous studies.Objective: To examine whether those employees working in a self-organizing team have higher job satisfaction and lower turnover intentions compared to those in non-self-organized teams. Further, to test whether psycho-social factors defined by the Job Demand-Control model would function as mediators.Design: A cross-sectional survey study.Setting(s): Home care and assisted living facilities (with 24-h assistance).Participants: Licensed practical nurses (N = 377), registered nurses, therapists and managers (N = 183), and other employees (N = 31) in services for older people.Methods: A survey for employees working in services for older people and who were either in the self-organized teams or in the non-self-organized teams. Data was analyzed using linear regression and mediation analyses.Results: Those employees who worked in a self-organizing team were more satisfied with their job and had lower turnover intentions compared to those in a non-self-organizing team (mean [SD] 3.9 [1.0] vs. 3.7 [1.0], p = 0.006 and 2.2 [1.2] vs. 2.5 [1.3], p = 0.006, respectively). Moreover, job demands and job strain partially mediated the effect of self-organizing teamwork on job satisfaction (Average causal mediation effect [95%CI] 0.09 [0.02-0.15] and 0.10 [0.03-0.18], respectively), as well as on turnover intentions (Average causal mediation effect [95%CI] -0.08 [-0.15 to -0.01] and -0.20 [-0.18 to-0.03], respectively).Conclusions: In the context of older people care services, working in self-organizing teams may enhance employee wellbeing by lowering job demands and job strain, but not by improving job control. Based on the findings of this study, self-organization seems beneficial, however, it requires real autonomy for the teams and team building.Tweetable abstract: Self-organizing teamwork increases job satisfaction and decreases turnover intentions via lower job demands and strain in older people care.(c) 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

I dagens organisationer blir teamarbete allt vanligare för att uppnå dem organisatoriska målen. Denna decentralisering formas på grund av den komplexitet som finns i vissa arbetsuppgifter, sådana uppgifter som enskilda medarbetare inte har kunskaperna till. Ofta behövs det flera kompetensområden för att slutföra ett projekt eller uppnå ett organisatoriskt mål. Att arbeta i team kan då vara en lösning (Courtney, Navarro, & O'Hare, 2007). Detta sätt att arbeta på kan också gynna kreativitet, flexibilitet och produktivitet (Sutherland & Schwaber, 2016). Detta är en kvalitativ studie där intervjuer genomförs med medlemmar i två självorganiserande företag. Under den teoretiska referensramen beskrivs de modeller som senare utgör en tolkningsmodell för hur motivation, organisationskultur och effektivitet kan samspela i ett självorganiserade företag. Syftet med denna uppsats är att få reda på hur motivationsfaktorer och kulturfaktorer kan påverka effektiviteten i självorganiserande team. Studien visar på att en välfungerande kommunikation och ett starkt samarbete är viktiga faktorer för att ett team ska kunna vara effektivt. Om det uppstår störningar exempelvis i form av konkurrens inom organisationen eller brister i samarbetet kan detta påverka effektiviteten oerhört negativt. Studien indikerar även att kompetens är en av de största motivationsfaktorerna inom självorganiserande team. In today’s organizations teamwork is becoming more common to achieve organizational goals. This decentralization is formed because of the complexity that exists in certain tasks, tasks hat individual employees do not have the knowledge in. Often several areas of competence are needed to complete a project or achieve an organizational goal. Working in team can then be a solution (Courtney, Navarro, & O'Hare, 2007). This way of working can also promote creativity, flexibility and productivity (Sutherland & Schwaber, 2016). This is a qualitative study where interviews with members of two self-organizing companies are conducted. The theoretical framework describes the models that later will constitute an interpretational model for how motivation, organizational culture and efficiency can interact in as self-organized company. The purpose of this paper is to find out how motivational factors and cultural factors can influence the effectiveness in self-organized teams. This study shows that a well-functioning communication and a strong collaboration are important factors for a team to be effective. If there are disruptions, for example in the form of competition within the organization or lack of cooperation, this can have a negative impact of efficiency. This study also indicates that competence is one of the biggest motivational factors within self-organizing teams.

В статье представлены результаты исследования эмоционального интеллекта в самоорганизующихся командах исследователей. Предметом исследования была взаимосвязь между ролями в команде и уровнем эмоционального интеллекта. Объектом исследования послужили команды студентов предпринимательской магистратуры, созданные по принципу самоопределения для целей исследования и получения продуктов интеллектуальной деятельности. Методология исследования построена на модифицированной типологии командных ролей Р. Белбина и моделях эмоционального интеллекта Н. Холла. В результате анализа структуры и состава команд гипотеза о взаимосвязи между уровнем эмоционального интеллекта и ролями в команде нашла подтверждение. В статье представлены выявленные в ходе исследования эмоциональные профили каждой командной роли. Несмотря на схожий в целом характер распределения уровня эмоционального интеллекта, для отдельных ролей обнаружены явные отклонения от средних значений. Отклонения связаны с элементами эмоционального интеллекта: эмоциональной осведомленностью, эмпатией, управлением эмоциями, самомотивацией. Роль Душа Компании характеризуется низким уровнем самомотивации и распознавания эмоций; роль Переговорщика — высоким уровнем эмпатии и распознавания эмоций. Высокий уровень эмоциональной осведомленности, самомотивации необходим для выполнения роли Аналитика, Эксперта и Стратега, но роль Эксперта, кроме прочего, требует и относительно высоко развитого навыка управления эмоциями. Также следует отметить роль Критика, обладающего самым низким в команде уровнем эмоциональной осведомленности, и роль Генератора Идей как не требующую высокого уровня эмпатии. Таким образом, в самоорганизующихся командах обнаружено влияние составляющих эмоционального интеллекта на формирование командной роли, играемой каждым участником, The article describes results of emotional intelligence research within the teams of intellectual property developers. The relation between team roles and emotional intelligence level was the subject of analysis. The research object were entrepreneurship master degree program students teams, created on the self-determination approach for the purpose of intellectual property development. Methodology of research based on the modified R. Belbin typology of team roles and N. Hall model of EQ. Teams structure and content results in the confirmation of the hypothesis of link between perceptive role and EQ level. There are emotional profiles of each team role identified and presented inthe article. In spite of similar general distribution pattern of emotional intelligence, the obvious deviation from average for several team roles discovered. These deviations relate to emotional intelligence features: emotional awareness, empathy, emotion management, self-motivation regarding Team-worker, Monitor Evaluator, Specialist, Plant, Negotiator. Team-worker features the low level of self-motivation and emotion awareness; Negotiator – high level of empathy and emotion recognition. High level of emotion awareness and self-motivation is requisite for Specialist, Investigator and Strategist; moreover, Specialist needs to have highest level of emotion management skill. Plant role does not require a high level of empathy, and Evaluator role features the lowest level of emotional awareness. Therefore in self-organizing teams the emotional intelligence impact on team role adoption discovered., №1(46) (2019)

Syfte: Studiens syfte är att öka förståelsen för det agila ledarskapet och hur det främjar de anställdas motivation. Metod: Vid genomförande av studien har en kvalitativ metod tillämpats där empiri samlats in med hjälp av tio semi-strukturerade intervjuer. Intervjuerna har, i kombination med insamlad teori från vetenskapliga artiklar, utgjort underlag för den data som har bearbetats i analysen och följaktligen lett fram till studiens slutsats. Resultat & Slutsats: Studien visar att agilt ledarskap kan utövas i olika typer av roller med den gemensamma uppgiften att främja ett agilt arbetssätt. Agila ledare kan öka motivationen hos individen genom att delegera ansvar, uppmuntra till självständighet och se till att teamet strävar efter gemensamma mål som ligger i linje med organisationens mål. Förslag till fortsatt forskning: Denna studie har fokuserat på ledarens perspektiv på ledarskapets relation till det agila arbetssättet. Liknande studier med medarbetarens perspektiv hade skapat ytterligare underlag för att dra slutsatser kring hur ledarens prestationer fungerar i praktiken. Det finns även ett behov av att sätta det agila ledarskapet i relation till organisatorisk agility. Med frågeställningar kring det agila arbetssättet ur ett organisatoriskt perspektiv kan nya insikter nås och forskningen inom området bli mer heltäckande. Uppsatsens bidrag: Studien har bidragit med ökad förståelse för agilt ledarskap inom banksektorn samt hur agila ledare arbetar för att främja motivation hos de anställda. Studien riktar sig till forskare inom ledarskap som är intresserade av att erhålla en fördjupad bild av hur det agila ledarskapet inom banksektorn fungerar, samt vad det har för kopplingar till motivation. Studien är även av intresse för ledare som finner intresse för att lära sig mer om agila arbetssätt, agilt ledarskap samt motivation. Purpose: The purpose of the study is to increase the understanding of the agile leadership and how agile leaders cultivate motivation for the employees. Method: A qualitative method was used to collect data from ten semi-structured interviews. This data, in combination with relevant theory within the domain of the study, laid the foundation for the results and conclusions of the study. Results and conclusions: The study shows that agile leadership can be applied in different roles with the common task of promoting agile workplaces. Agile leaders increase the motivation for individuals through delegating responsibilities, encouraging independence, and ensuring that the team strives for common goals that are in line with the organization's goals. Future research: This study has focused on the leaders’ perspective on the leadership’s relation to the agile work method. A similar study with the employees’ perspective should contribute with additional research to draw conclusions about how well the leaders’ performance actually works in practice. We also find it interesting to put agile leadership in relation to organizational agility. With questions about the agile way of working from an organizational perspective, the research area can be enhanced with valuable insights. Contribution: The study has contributed to an increased understanding of agile leadership in the banking sector and of how agile leaders work to promote motivation among employees. The study is directed towards the scholar who is interested in obtaining a deeper understanding of how the agile leadership in the banking sector works in practice and its links to motivation. The study is also of interest to leaders who find interest in learning more about agile working methods, agile leadership and motivation.

Puranam and Håkonsson (2015) challenge us to ponder what we as organization design theorists make of Valve’s way (see also Jeppesen, 2008). We believe that Valve, in spite of its radical vision, does not represent a challenge to fundamental organization design theory and that it is questionable to what extent it represents a new blueprint for organization design, despite it being consistent with an “egalitarian Zeitgeist” (Puranam, 2014). In fact, managerial authority may be of increasing importance rather than the opposite (Guadalupe, Li, & Wulf, 2015). Thus, Valve is, and will remain, an outlier, albeit a voguish one.

There are many ways to exercise authority. Perrow (1986), in his review of March and Simon’s Organizations (1958), offers a threefold classification of the ways authority can be exercised in organizations: (1) direct, “fully obtrusive” controls such as giving orders and direct monitoring; (2) bureaucratic controls such as defined specializations, roles, and hierarchy; and (3) “control of the cognitive premises underlying action.” Valve ostentatiously makes little use of direct authority. It downplays bureaucracy, although in fact many bureaucratic controls are in place. Instead, the legal authority vested in the owners of the company (especially the majority shareholder, Gabe Newell) is used quite extensively to set the premises of action and thus unobtrusively channel employees’ efforts and communication patterns into a highly productive configuration. The sustained high profits of the company, and its ability to attract and retain talented software developers, are testimony to the success of this organizational model. At the same time, contextual variables – in particular Valve’s identity as a video game creator and the fact of a single majority shareholder – are also critical factors contributing to its success. As a result, even within the software industry, the range of companies for which this organizational model is appropriate is quite limited.

Titel: Agilt ledarskap – Ett sätt att leda en organisation med medarbetaren i centrum. Författare: Anna Hillerbratt, Victor Fors & Sara Sandén Institution: Linnéuniversitetet, Ekonomihögskolan. Program: Human Resource Management. Kurs: Företagsekonomi III – Organisation, Kandidatuppsats. Handledare: Olle Duhlin Examinator: Mikael Lundgren Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att genom tolkning och värdering av organisationers beteenden skapa en uppfattning av det agila ledarskapet. Syftet är även att förstå om och hur det agila ledarskapet kan appliceras på organisationer oavsett om agila metoder används eller ej. Studien är intressant för studenter och ledare men även individer vilka är intresserade av hur ledarskap kan komma att se ut i förhållande till framtidens organisationer. Metod: En fallstudie som behandlar agilt ledarskap ur ett organisationsperspektiv. Studien har genomförts med en kvalitativ forskningsstrategi och en induktiv metod. Slutsats: Vi har genom tidigare forskning av det agila uppfattat att fokus initialt legat på den praktiska tillämpningen av agila metoder, och att det saknades en ledarskapsteori baserad på de två huvudsyftena i det agila synsättet. Resultatet av studien är därför den egenutvecklade VAS-modellen, Vilja, Anpassning, Samarbete. Modellens värdegrund är: Med de anställdas utveckling i centrum skapar vi tillsammans en attraktiv arbetsplats och en lönsam organisation, en organisation som kan säkerställa frekvent leverans av kvalitet och på så sätt tillgodose kundens behov samt vara lyhörd för förändring. Nyckelord: Agil, agilt synsätt, ledarskap, självstyrande team, kommunikation, motivation, flexibilitet. Title: Agile leadership – a way to lead an organization with the employee as the main focus. Authors: Anna Hillerbratt, Victor Fors & Sara Sandén Institution: Linnaeus University, School of Business and Economics. Program: Human Resource Management. Course: Business Administration III – Organization, Supervisor: Olle Duhlin Examiner: Mikael Lundgren Purpose: The purpose of this study is to create an understanding of agile leadership through the interpretation and valuation of organizational behaviors. The purpose is also to understand if and how agile leadership can be applied to organizations regardless of whether or not agile methods are used. The study is interesting for students and leaders, but also individuals who are interested in how leadership can develop in relation to future organizations. Methodology: A case study that adresses agile leadership from an organizational perspective. The study was conducted with a qualitative method and an inductive approach. Conclusions: We have, through previous research, perceived that the focus of the agile methodologies initially was based on the practical application of agile methods and that there was no leadership theory based on the two main purposes of the agile approach. The results of the study is therefore a self-developed VAS-model. The basic principle of the model is: With the employees as the main focus we create an attractive workplace and a profitable organization, an organization that ensures frequent delivery of quality, thus meeting customer needs and being responsive to change. Key words: agile, agile approach, leadership, self-organizing teams, communication, motivation, flexibility.

Razvoj programske opreme je kreativen in umsko intenziven proces, ki ga je težko kvantitativno ovrednotiti in nadzorovati. Eden izmed pomembnih dejavnikov, ki vplivajo na proces razvoja programske opreme, je motivacija. Raziskave kažejo, da motivacija pomembno vpliva na različne vidike uspeha IT projektov, kot so doseganje projektnih rokov, produktivnost, skladnost s proračunom, nizka fluktuacija zaposlenih ter nizki izostanki od dela. V magistrskem delu obravnavamo vidik motivacije pri agilnem razvoju programske opreme. Empirična raziskava predstavlja osrednji del našega raziskovalnega dela. Na osnovi pregleda literature smo identificirali dejavnike motiviranja, katerih vpliv na motivacijo smo raziskali v empirični raziskavi. Izvedli smo anketo na 116-ih članih agilnih razvojnih timov v treh organizacijah, ki se ukvarjajo z razvojem programske opreme. Rezultate smo obdelali ter analizirali z orodji za statistično obdelavo podatkov. Na osnovi teoretičnih izhodišč in rezultatov empirične raziskave smo izdelali model motivacije pri agilnem razvoju programske opreme (MARPO). Model MARPO smo aplicirali na metodologijo Scrum ter pripravili priporočila za vzpostavitev in ohranjanje motivacije pri agilnem razvoju programske opreme. Software development is creative and mentally intensive process, which is hard to quantify and measure. Motivation is one of the important factors that have impact on the efficiency and quality of software development processes. Research shows that motivation has important impact on success factors of IT projects such as software quality, productivity and overall project success. Main research topic of the master thesis is motivation of agile teams in agile software development. Based on a literature review we have identified motivational factors in software development. These were the basis of our empirical study, which was conducted on 116 members of agile software development teams in 3 organizations. The results were processed and analysed using tools for statistical data processing. We have developed a model of motivation in agile software development (MARPO) based on findings from literature review and our empirical study. Finally, we have applied the model to Scrum methodology and provided recommendations, which can be used by Scrum practitioners in order to improve and maintain motivation in agile teams.

Valve is a very interesting case study! The company shares many features with open source software projects. In Valve, as in the open source world, the focus is on creating advanced technologies and letting developers self-select projects and tasks. Self-selection seems to work particularly well in an environment where technology development itself has a coordinating function. In software development, people have a strong bond of common knowledge based on design philosophies and approaches, language and terminology, and engineering tasks. In most cases, they also share a similar educational background and/or development experience that helps them implement creative ideas in physical machines and graphic environments. Developers rarely rely on detailed instructions from higher-level managers because they already have the implicit knowledge of what needs to be done. When inconsistent views about development come to the forefront, they are best reconciled where the knowledge resides: with the experts. Moreover, it appears that Valve has uncovered how developers’ self-selection of projects and tasks can be a powerful motivator to unleash their creativity., Journal of Organization Design, 4 (2), ISSN:2245-408X

What can we learn from outliers? While statisticians rightly warn us against their non-representativeness, we believe it is also true that thinking carefully about what makes them atypical may improve our understanding of the typical case. This is the premise behind the Organization Zoo series. Valve Corporation (Valve) is an unusual firm. It is a rare example of a firm that appears to operate without any formal hierarchy in its organization. What can we learn about the viability of authority hierarchies from Valve’s way of organizing? We wrote a brief account of Valve based on public information sources and asked several renowned organizational experts to comment on this unusual firm. We asked them to write a short commentary on what the Valve example means for organizational theorists and practitioners. Thankfully, they all accepted, and we are excited to present the results of their thinking in this first “exhibit” in the Organization Zoo.

Valve is the prototype knowledge-based company because its organizational design fosters creativity, action, fast learning, and high productivity. I experienced a similar organization about 15 years before Valve, at Oticon, the Danish hearing aid manufacturer which dropped bosses, titles, departments, and most of the bureaucracy and paperwork that slows down work. As in Valve, the value-creation was spectacular: 60% growth in market value each year for a ten-year period.

Valve Corporation represents an intriguing case study of organization design and strategy. In this short commentary (cf. Puranam & Hakonsson, 2015), I discuss Valve’s use of tipping points and thresholds in strategic decision making. While Valve indeed illustrates structural features such as polyarchy and markets-in-hierarchy, what appears to be novel about Valve is their use of specific social mechanisms in making decisions. I also discuss the broader opportunity for future work to study these mechanisms — such as self-selection, thresholds and matching — in the context of entrepreneurship, strategy and innovation.