DHB Enhancing the Effectiveness of Partially Distributed Teams: Pilot Studies on Distance and Leadership

技术描述：部分分布的团队（PDT）由多个地理上分布的子组组成，其中每个子组包含并配的团队成员，但是子组之间的通信必须主要通过信息和通信技术进行。本地和远程子组的这种混合配置导致了pdt中独特的（但尚未得到充分理解的）行为动态。目前的研究将进行试点研究，为与pdt有关的行为动力学的更大规模国际实地实验做准备。我们将与四所大学的学生团体合作，进行两项试点研究。第一项研究将测试和改进一套实验程序，这些程序在灾难响应情景的背景下制定和跟踪部分分布式团队项目的过程和成功。第二项研究将实施一个小规模的国际实验，以帮助我们测试和选择几种领导配置，我们正在考虑在未来的大规模国际现场实验中使用。虽然试点研究的目的是发展和完善我们的实验程序，从而减少大规模国际PDT实验的风险和不确定性，但它们作为科学研究也具有智力价值。从第二次试点研究中收集的定性数据出发，我们将发展有根据的理论来解释PDT组成和领导配置如何与团队动态、发展过程和结果相互作用。研究中收集的定量数据将为我们对领导力因素的解释提供趋同的证据。更广泛的影响和重要性：灾害响应团队往往分布在遥远的地方，必须跨距离协作和协调工作。他们是分布式团队的典型例子：一群人在共同目标的指导下执行相互依赖的任务，并通过使用电子通信技术跨越空间、时间和组织边界进行工作。当危机具有国际规模时，灾难响应团队更有可能是一个全球分布的团队——一个临时的、文化多样化的、国际分散的、电子通信的工作组。全球分布式团队的其他常见应用是软件开发项目和跨国组织的其他国际努力。全局分布式团队的常见配置是部分分布式团队（PDT），它包括位于同一位置的子组，与位于其他位置的一个或多个子组一起工作，由计算机网络技术的进步提供支持。pdt倾向于群体内的团队动态（与子群体成员的互动增加和偏好行为；信任和团队凝聚力降低，子群体之间的冲突增加）。一个特定小组的成员通过面对面的互动来进行他们的团队合作。共享的物理环境与面对面协作中出现的丰富的社会线索相结合，促进了子群体内的凝聚力、共同身份的发展和更好的冲突管理。然而，子团队之间的团队内部动态可能会威胁到整个团队的凝聚力和发展，并可能对团队绩效产生可怕的后果。此外，领导力对团队效率的重要决定因素pdt的影响仍未得到探讨。在这项研究中，我们将进行两项试点研究，其中一项是国际范围的，为一项大规模的全球实地实验做准备，研究群体内团队动力学，以提高PDTs的有效性。研究中使用的任务将涉及制定支持当地应急管理和恢复工作的软件需求。本研究有以下主要目标：。它将进一步加深我们对全球化如何影响劳动力的理解，并阐明组织如何增加对分布式团队的有效使用。它将引入大学课堂，在本科和研究生水平，文化多样性和合作的研究问题，出现与劳动力全球化。

Technical Description:A partially distributed team (PDT) consists of multiple, geographically-distributed subgroups, where each subgroup contains collocated team members but communication among subgroups must occur primarily through information and communication technology. This hybrid configuration of local and remote subgroups leads to unique - and as yet poorly understood - behavioral dynamics within PDTs. The current research will conduct pilot studies in preparation for a larger-scale international field experiment of the behavioral dynamics associated with PDTs. Working with student groups from four universities, we will carry out two pilot studies. The first study will test and refine a set of experimental procedures that enact and track the process and success of partially distributed team projects, in the context of a disaster response scenario. The second study will implement a small-scale international experiment to help us test and select among several leadership configurations we are considering for use in a future large-scale international field experiment.Although the pilot studies have been designed to develop and refine our experimental procedures and thereby reduce the risk and uncertainty of the large-scale international PDT experiment, they also have intellectual merit as scientific research. Working primarily from the qualitative data collected in the second pilot study, we will develop grounded theory to explain how PDT composition and leadership configuration interact with team dynamics, development processes and outcomes. The quantitative data collected in the study will provide converging evidence for our interpretation of leadership factors.Broader Impacts and Importance:Disaster response teams are often far-flung, and must collaborate and coordinate efforts across distance. They are a prime example of a distributed team: a group of people who carry out interdependent tasks guided by a common purpose and work across space, time, and organizational boundaries by using electronic communication technologies. When a crisis is of international proportions, the disaster response team is further likely to be a globally distributed team - a temporary, culturally diverse, internationally dispersed, and electronically communicating work group. Other common applications of globally distributed teams are software development projects and other international efforts of multi-national organizations. A common configuration for globally distributed teams is the partially distributed team (PDT), which includes subgroups in the same location, working with one or more subgroups in other locations, supported by advancements in computer networking technologies. PDTs are prone to ingroup team dynamics (increased interaction with and preferential behavior towards members in one's subgroup; reduced trust and team cohesiveness, and increased conflict between subgroups). Members of a given subgroup conduct much of their teamwork via face-to-face interaction. The shared physical context coupled with the rich social cues present in face-to-face collaboration fosters cohesion, the development of a shared identity, and better conflict management within a subgroup. However, ingroup team dynamics between subgroups can threaten overall team cohesiveness and development and may have dire consequences on team performance. Furthermore, the impact of leadership on PDTs, an important determinant of team effectiveness, remains unexplored. In this research we will conduct two pilot studies, one of which is international in scope, to prepare for a large-scale global field experiment to study ingroup team dynamics for the purpose of increasing the effectiveness of PDTs. The task used in the studies will involve developing requirements for software that is to support local efforts in emergency response management and recovery.This research has the following broad objectives:. It will further our understanding of how globalization impacts the work force, and shed light on how organizations can increase their effective use of distributed teams.. It will introduce into the university classroom, at both undergraduate and graduate levels, the research issues of cultural diversity and collaboration that arise with workforce globalization.