Bradford S. Bell

Work Groups and Teams in Organizations

Contemporary work organizations make heavy use of work teams to meet both immediate and strategic objectives. This chapter addresses the nature and dynamics of work teams. It emphasizes the types of teams that are commonly used in work settings and the processes that are key to their success. The extensive literature on work teams is reviewed and organized around the shifting demands the teams life cycle—from formation to disbanding. Special emphasis is given to research needs relative to team training and development and the role of team leadership. Keywords: composition; development; effectiveness; leadership; team life cycle; team processes; work teams

A Typology of Virtual Teams: Implications for Effective Leadership

As the nature of work in today’s organizations becomes more complex, dynamic, and global, there has been increasing emphasis on distributed, “virtual” teams as organizing units of work. Despite their growing prevalence, relatively little is known about this new form of work unit. The purpose of this article is to present a theoretical framework to focus research toward understanding virtual teams and identifying implications for effective leadership. The authors focus on delineating the dimensions of a typology to characterize different types of virtual teams. First, the authors distinguish virtual teams from conventional teams to identify where current knowledge applies and new research needs exist. Second, the authors distinguish among different types of virtual teams, considering the critical role of task complexity in determining the underlying characteristics of virtual teams and leadership challenges the different types entail. Propositions addressing leadership implications for the effective management of virtual teams are proposed and discussed.

Current issues and future directions in simulation-based training in North America

A number of emerging challenges including globalization, economic pressures and the changing nature of work has combined to create a business environment that demands innovative, flexible training solutions. Simulations are a promising tool for creating more realistic, experiential learning environments to meet these challenges. Unfortunately, the current literature on simulation-based training paints a mixed picture as to the effectiveness of simulations as training tools, with most of the previous research focusing on the specific technologies used in simulation design and little theory-based research focusing on the instructional capabilities or learning processes underlying these technologies. This article examines the promise and perils of simulation-based training, reviews research that has examined the effectiveness of simulations as training tools, identifies pressing research needs, and presents an agenda for future theory-driven research aimed at addressing those needs.

Team Learning, Development, and Adaptation

Preface. Part 1. How Groups Learn and What They Learn. V.I. Sessa, M. London, Group Learning: An Introduction. S.W.J. Kozlowski, B.S. Bell, Team Learning, Development, and Adaptation. H. Arrow, J. Cook, Configuring and Reconfiguring Groups as Complex Learning Systems. R.S. Tindale, S. Stawiski, E. Jacobs, Shared Cognition and Group Learning. A.P.J. Ellis, C.O.L.H. Porter, S.A. Wolverton, Learning to Work Together: An Examination of Transactive Memory System Development in Teams. Part 2. Member, Group, and Organizational Factors Influencing Group Learning. K.A. Jehn, J. Rupert, Group Faultlines and Team Learning: How to Benefit from Different Perspectives. C.O.L.H. Porter, A Multilevel, Multiconceptualization Perspective of Goal Orientation in Teams. N. Zakaria, A. Amelinckx, D. Wilemon, Navigating Across Culture and Distance: Understanding Determinants of Global Virtual Team Performance. S.J. Zaccaro, K. Ely, M. Shuffler, The Leaders Role in Group Learning. Part 3. Learning Interventions. C.S. Burke, E. Salas, D. Diaz, The Role of Team Learning in Facilitating Team Adaptation Within Complex Environments: Tools and Strategies. E.A.J.A. Rouwette, J.A.M. Vennix, Team Learning on Messy Problems. D.P. Brandon, A.B. Hollingshead, Collaborative Knowledge and Training in Online Groups. J.A. Cannon-Bowers, C.A. Bowers, A. Sanchez, Using Synthetic Learning Environments to Train Teams. J. Silberstang, T. Diamante, Phased and Targeted Interventions: Improving Team Learning and Performance. Part 4. Assessment of Group Learning. K.C. Stagl, E. Salas, D.V. Day, Assessing Team Learning Outcomes: Improving Team Learning and Performance. T.L. Gessner, K.L. Langkamer, R.J. Klimoski, Research Designs for Assessing Group Learning.

2. Developing adaptability: A theory for the design of integrated-embedded training systems

The ALS is a theoretically driven approach to the design of integrated-embedded training systems that is highly flexible and offers ease of implementation. It operates by exerting leverage on foci of the self-regulation system, which recent research has demonstrated to be central to learning and performance for difficult, complex, and dynamic tasks. The training strategy incorporated in the ALS constructs instructional interventions by combining specific training components that affect different aspects of the SRS. By designing synergistic combinations, instructional interventions can be tailored to the developmental progress of trainees and can enhance learning, performance, and adaptability.Our research will target those training components that offer the greatest practical and theoretical potential for improving complex skill acquisition, and the enhancement of adaptive capabilities. By building on existing principles of training design (e.g. mastery goals, sequencing), and examining promising new ideas (e.g. information, interpretation) that are likely to be key capabilities of the next generation of advanced technology systems, the research is expected to yield new principles of training design uniquely suited for the design of integrated-embedded training systems.

E-Learning in postsecondary education.

Over the past decade postsecondary education has been moving increasingly from the classroom to online. During the fall 2010 term 31 percent of U.S. college students took at least one online course. The primary reasons for the growth of e-learning in the nation’s colleges and universities include the desire of those institutions to generate new revenue streams, improve access, and offer students greater scheduling flexibility. Yet the growth of e-learning has been accompanied by a continuing debate about its effectiveness and by the recognition that a number of barriers impede its widespread adoption in higher education. Through an extensive research review, Bradford Bell and Jessica Federman examine three key issues in the growing use of e-learning in postsecondary education. The first is whether e-learning is as effective as other delivery methods. The debate about the effectiveness of e-learning, the authors say, has been framed in terms of how it compares with other means of delivering instruction, most often traditional instructor-led classroom instruction. Bell and Federman review a number of meta-analyses and other studies that, taken together, show that e-learning produces outcomes equivalent to other delivery media when instructional conditions are held constant. The second issue is what particular features of e-learning influence its effectiveness. Here the authors move beyond the “does it work” question to examine how different instructional features and supports, such as immersion and interactivity, influence the effectiveness of e-learning programs. They review research that shows how these features can be configured to create e-learning programs that help different types of learners acquire different types of knowledge. In addressing the third issue—the barriers to the adoption of e-learning in postsecondary education—Bell and Federman discuss how concerns about fraud and cheating, uncertainties about the cost of e-learning, and the unique challenges faced by low-income and disadvantaged students have the potential to undermine the adoption of e-learning instruction. Based on their research review, the authors conclude that e-learning can be an effective means of delivering postsecondary education. They also urge researchers to examine how different aspects of these programs influence their effectiveness and to address the numerous barriers to the adoption of online instruction in higher education.

Building the infrastructure: The effects of role identification behaviors on team cognition development and performance.

The primary purpose of this study was to extend theory and research regarding the emergence of mental models and transactive memory in teams. Utilizing Kozlowski, Gully, Nason, and Smiths (1999) model of team compilation, we examined the effect of role identification behaviors and posited that such behaviors represent the initial building blocks of team cognition during the role compilation phase of team development. We then hypothesized that team mental models and transactive memory would convey the effects of these behaviors onto team performance in the team compilation phase of development. Results from 60 teams working on a command-and-control simulation supported our hypotheses.

The effects of technical difficulties on learning and attrition during online training.

Although online instruction has many potential benefits, technical difficulties are one drawback to the increased use of this medium. A repeated measures design was used to examine the effect that technical difficulties have on learning and attrition from voluntary online training. Adult learners (N = 530) were recruited online and volunteered to participate in a 4-hr training program on using computer spreadsheets. Technical difficulties were inserted in some of the training modules in the form of error messages. Using multilevel modeling, the results indicated that the presence of these technical difficulties impaired learning, such that test scores were lower in modules where trainees encountered technical difficulties than in modules where they did not encounter technical difficulties. Furthermore, the effect on learning was greater among trainees who eventually withdrew from the course than among trainees who completed the course. With regards to attrition, pretraining motivation provided a buffer against dropping out, especially when trainees encountered technical difficulties. Learning also predicted attrition from the subsequent module, such that attrition was higher among trainees with low test scores in the previous module. The current study disentangles some of the implications of technical difficulties and suggests that organizations should provide trainees with the technical support required to overcome technical difficulties in training. Furthermore, the findings contribute to our theoretical understanding of the implications of interruptions on performance in online training.

100 Years of Training and Development Research: What We Know and Where We Should Go

Training and development research has a long tradition within applied psychology dating back to the early 1900s. Over the years, not only has interest in the topic grown but there have been dramatic changes in both the science and practice of training and development. In the current article, we examine the evolution of training and development research using articles published in the Journal of Applied Psychology (JAP) as a primary lens to analyze what we have learned and to identify where future research is needed. We begin by reviewing the timeline of training and development research in JAP from 1918 to the present in order to elucidate the critical trends and advances that define each decade. These trends include the emergence of more theory-driven training research, greater consideration of the role of the trainee and training context, examination of learning that occurs outside the classroom, and understanding training’s impact across different levels of analysis. We then examine in greater detail the evolution of 4 key research themes: training criteria, trainee characteristics, training design and delivery, and the training context. In each area, we describe how the focus of research has shifted over time and highlight important developments. We conclude by offering several ideas for future training and development research.

Advances in Technology-Based Training

1. Introduction to Managing HR in North America 2. Staffing and Developing the Multinational Workforce 3. Advances in Technology-Based Training 4. New HR Challenges in the Dynamic Environment of Legal Compliance 5. The Changing Family and HRM 6. Ethics and HRM 7. Health, Safety and HRM 8. Competitive Advantage Through HRM 9. Counterproductive Leader Behavior 10. Outsourcing and HRM 11. The Costs of Employee Benefits 12. Executive Compensation: Something Old, Something New 13. HRM After 9/11 and Katrina 14. Concluding Thoughts