Felix C. Brodbeck

Errors in training computer skills: on the positive function of errors

Traditionally, errors are avoided in training. In contrast to this approach, it is argued that errors can also have a positive function and that one has to learn to deal efficiently with errors on a strategic and an emotional level (error management). An experiment tested these assumptions. One group (n = 9) received guidance for error-free performance; another group (n = 15) received error training. In the latter group, errors were produced by assigning problems that were too difficult to deal with. The error-training group showed higher scores in the nonspeed performance tests. Error training seems to be positive for people with high scores on the cognitive failure questionnaire (Broadbent, Cooper, FitzGerald, & Parkes, 1982).

Bullying roles in changing contexts: The stability of victim and bully roles from primary to secondary school

The present study was conducted to predict bullying roles over a 6-year time period and across contexts differing in the degree of peer hierarchies. Out of two representative data sets from primary (N 1/4 1525) and secondary school (N 1/4 2958), 282 children (156 boys; 126 girls) were followed up longitudinally. Self-reports on bullying experiences and peer reports about social status were assessed by a structured individual interview (in primary school) and by questionnaire given classwise (in secondary school). Risk analyses showed that only a bully role in primary school yields a risk of being sustained in secondary school. However, victims in primary school classes with a more pronounced degree of hierarchical structuring proved stable in their role while the victim role was unstable from primary school classes with low hierarchical structuring. This interaction did not apply to bully role stability. Differential characteristics of the victim and the bully role in primary school and secondary school settings are discussed.

The Influence of Social Identity and Personality on Outcomes of Cultural Diversity in Teams

The present study examined the influence of social identity and personality on work outcomes among business students who worked together in culturally diverse teams. As predicted, a negative effect of identification with one’s cultural background and a positive effect of identification with the team on well-being were found under conditions of high diversity. For commitment, the same pattern of findings was obtained, but now the impact of identification with the team was found regardless of the level of diversity. No support was found for strong positive outcomes associated with the case in which individuals identify with the team and with their cultural background.With respect to personality, the intercultural traits of Emotional Stability and Flexibility were found to have a positive effect on work outcomes under conditions of high diversity. Interestingly, whereas Flexibility had a positive effect on exam grades under conditions of high diversity, a negative effect of this trait was found under conditions of low diversity.

Information Sampling and Group Decision Making: The Effects of an Advocacy Decision Procedure and Task Experience

Group discussions tend to focus on information that was previously known by all members (shared information) rather than information known by only 1 member (unshared information). If the shared information implies a suboptimal alternative, this sampling bias is associated with inaccurate group decisions. The present study examines the impact of 2 factors on information exchange and decision quality: (a) an advocacy group decision procedure versus unstructured discussion and (b) task experience. Results show that advocacy groups discussed both more shared and unshared information than free-discussion groups. Further, with increasing experience, more unshared information was mentioned in advocacy groups. In contrast, there was no such increase in unstructured discussions. Yet advocacy groups did not significantly improve their decision quality with experience.

Does the ‘romance of teams’ exist? The effectiveness of teams in experimental and field settings

When we criticize practitioners for their practice, we need to be sure of both their practice and our criticism. If we try to tell a fire-station commander that his use of teams to fight house fires in an inner city housing area is based on romantic misunderstandings, we might just be dismissed as ivory tower academics. The use of teams to accomplish tasks that could not otherwise be accomplished is central to our species’ development. Catching antelopes on the Savannah 200,000 years ago or taking stones from the Preseli mountains in Wales to Stonehenge in southern England and erecting them in the famous circle could not have been accomplished without teamwork; heart bypass operations require tight interdependent working between surgeons, anaesthetists, surgical nurses and administrators; as passengers on airliners, we regularly rely on teamwork to deliver us safely to our destination. There are as many compelling examples as there are tasks that cannot be accomplished without people working interdependently in small groups. We suggest that the critical question researchers should seek to answer for those who work on such tasks is, ‘How can we work most effectively in teams to accomplish the task?’ A separate, but increasingly important question is, ‘How can we manage organizations so that team based working contributes optimally to organizational effectiveness?’ These, we believe, are the urgent questions we should be answering in research.

Values and behavior orientation in leadership studies: Reflections based on findings in three German-speaking countries

Abstract The article focuses on two sets of concepts commonly used in the explanation of leadership behavior, including values in one area and behavioral intentions in the other. Most leadership researches concentrate exclusively on one or the other area and there are few integrative approaches. The literature also shows that there are often implicit assumptions of a direct and linear relationship between the two sets of concepts. We introduce a model reflecting this research dichotomy by differentiating between “far-from-action” concepts like values or leadership ideals and “close-to-action” concepts like intended behavior. In a next step, we question the assumption of a direct and linear link between the two sets of concepts and discuss two studies in order to find out whether there is empirical support for our argument. We compare empirical findings on leadership ideals (GLOBE study) and intended leadership behavior (Vroom/Yetton study) collected from managers in the German-speaking countries Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. The results show inconsistencies that suggest quite complex intrapersonal processes influenced by cultural factors. We conclude that the link between “far-from-action” and “close-to-action” concepts is worth pursuing further and expands the initial model, thus paving the way for a more holistic understanding of the intrapersonal processes on which leadership behavior is based. Finally, we discuss the consequences of these processes for the stability of leadership behavior.

Group Processes in Organizations

The article refers to group processes as they influence organizational functioning. The main features of groups (e.g., norms, cohesion, roles), and factors contributing to their performance are characterized. We detail well-established concepts like groupthink and social identity theory. Further, we refer to important current topics in organizational practice and research related to group functioning, like team mental models, diversity in groups, and counterproductive work behavior. Finally, hints at the practical relevance in terms of the implementation of these concepts in organizational contexts are provided (e.g., organizational change, leadership in multinational corporations, and shared leadership).

Fehlentscheidungen von Gruppen durch Coaching verringern

In diesem Kapitel wird der Forschungsstand zu Fehlentscheidungen von Gruppen dargestellt. Dabei wird insbesondere auf Prozessverluste und -gewinne in der Gruppenarbeit sowie auf Gruppendenken, verteiltes Wissen und kollektives Lernen eingegangen. Praktische Implikationen fur Coaches runden das Kapitel ab, um den Transfer dieser Theorien in den Coachingalltag zu erleichtern.

Wer schön ist, «wird» auch gut

Zusammenfassung: Studien zum Attraktivitatsstereotyp zeigen, das physisch attraktiven Personen positivere Personlichkeitseigenschaften zugeschrieben werden als unattraktiven Personen. Auswirkungen auf deren Personlichkeit konnten in der bisherigen Forschung jedoch nicht nachgewiesen werden. Eine Ursache dafur wird in der allgemein geringen Korrespondenz zwischen fremd- und selbsteingeschatzter Attraktivitat gesehen. In zwei Studien mit insgesamt 271 Vpn, bei denen die Darbietung der Stimuli variiert wurde, zeigen sich moderate Zusammenhange zwischen physischer Attraktivitat und bestimmten Personlichkeitsmerkmalen bei jenen Personen, die eine hohe Korrespondenz zwischen fremd- und selbsteingeschatzter Attraktivitat aufweisen. In den ubrigen Personengruppen mit geringer Korrespondenz sind die in der Literatur beschriebenen niedrigen Zusammenhange zwischen physischer Attraktivitat und Personlichkeit nachweisbar.

Internationale Mitarbeiterbefragung (MAB)

Wahrend meiner langjahrigen Praxis in der befragungsgestutzten Organisationsentwicklung internationaler Unternehmen spielte sich in den Ruckmeldungsworkshops zu den Ergebnissen von weltweit durchgefuhrten Mitarbeiterbefragungen des Ofteren folgende Episode ab: Wenn wir auf die themenspezifischen Vergleiche zwischen den Unternehmensstandorten unterschiedlicher Lander und Kulturregionen zu sprechen kamen, wurde von den Vertretern jener Standorte, deren Ergebnisse bei bestimmten Themenbereichen (z. B. Fuhrung, Zusammenarbeit, Mitarbeiterengagement) unterdurchschnittlich ausgefallen waren, vorgebracht, dass solche Differenzen auf kulturbedingt unterschiedliches Antwortverhalten beim Ausfullen von Fragebogen zuruckzufuhren sei und nicht notwendigerweise auf tatsachlich bearbeitungswurdige Schwachstellen in den jeweiligen Standorten. Das wisse man ja aus der kulturvergleichenden Forschung. Deshalb solle man die Befragungsergebnisse hier nicht so ernst nehmen, und es bestunde auch kein gesicherter Handlungsbedarf am besagten Standort.