Organizations are facing stiff competition in the ever‐changing global market‐place and are sure to face increasing battles in the future. To position themselves for success in the coming decade, many organizations are making the transition to an empowered workforce. In an empowering...

Describes the process of team development, emphasizing the role of the team members. Notes the importance of “catalyst” team members and the need for pace in the development process and the meeting of objectives. Gives examples from the author’s experience and concludes that the process is...

As members of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra arrive for rehearsal you would not think anything out of the ordinary. The usual number of musicians are gathering, and there is the usual banter as they take their places and start to tune up. It is only when the practice begins that you notice what...

Leadership is essential in all organizations and educational institutions are no exception, but the concept of academic leadership is unique in higher education and, arguably, is concerned with leadership that extends beyond the organization into the wider world that higher education...

Investigates the relationships between team‐based management systems and organizational effectiveness across a variety of settings throughout the USA. Uses a validated instrument on organizational effectiveness to gather data. Presents survey results to support the claims of team‐based...

An increased level of self‐organization, particularly in autonomous work teams, is widely believed to be a necessary part of a successful firm and a factor in many modern restructuring initiatives. This article investigates the limitations of self‐organized groups and surveys these...

This paper deals with the leeway organizations have to develop and design self‐managing teams by using a model containing four modal verbs: must, may, can and will. “Must” refers to the need for local decision making and is considered to be the result of diversity in environmental demand...

A growing number of organizations are adopting self‐directed work teams (SDWTs), but many firms experience trouble with the transition – the time needed for SDWT development. The addition of a SDWT represents a change in the organization and requires that managers adjust their use of...

Emerging in the literature on organizational design is the question of the efficacy of self‐managed work groups. From task‐forces and matrix prescriptions of the 1970s, imperatives towards de‐centralization, networked capabilities and self‐managed teams seem to be part of the IT‐driven...

Provides theoretical background for examining the development of self‐managed work teams as a total quality management (TQM) intervention at the employee level. Briefly summarizes the current knowledge regarding self‐managed work teams within the context of sociotechnical system design....