Preston C. Bottger

Individual versus group problem solving: An empirical test of a best-member strategy☆

Abstract It is generally accepted that group performance is a positive function of member ability. However, most research has focused on process losses and gains from poor group dynamics and group creativity, respectively. While the high level of performance by a groups best member is often noted, it is rarely incorporated into the theories and interventions. This study shows that a “best-member strategy” can equal the performance of an interacting group. In such a strategy, the group adopts as its own the individual decision of the member it identifies as “best.” This decision rule is no more risky than a group decision as measured by outcome variance, and the ability to identify expertise is independent of individual task skill. Furthermore, the often hypothesized error correction mechanism of interacting groups is found not to rectify large errors more effectively than noninteracting groups, and the quality of emergent solutions is no better than that of nonemergents. The subjects are 158 managers and graduate students working in 28 groups. The task is the NASA moon problem.

An integration of process and decision scheme explanations of group problem solving performance

Abstract This article develops a model of group problem solving in which performance is a function of group resources and strategies for their use. Resources are defined as the joint task knowledge of a groups two most expert members. Decision scheme is essentially defined as the degree of influence of these two experts and is shown, for certain composition conditions, to be related to group process, specifically, effective conflict management. Similarities between the model and other social influence theories are examined, and implications for organizational problem solving are explored. The task is the “Moon Survival” problem, and the subjects are 102 managers and graduate management students, working in 21 groups.

The relationships among group size, member ability, social decision schemes, and performance

Abstract This study examines the effect of member task skills and social decision schemes on the performance-size relationship for both simulated and interacting groups. Group performance is found to be a linear function of log size, with returns to scale a positive function of group member ability and the use of nonunit rather than unit weight social decision schemes. Reexamination of data from previous studies shows that the direction and magnitude of these effects are similar across tasks. The subjects are 555 managers and graduate students, 382 of whom worked in 87 groups of size two to six members. The task was the NASA moon exercise.

Effect of Assimilation of Work Experience on Growth Satisfaction: Assessment of an Internal Validity Threat Due to Higher Order Needs

Within the context of the job characteristics model, Bottger and Chew (1986) argue that capacity for growth, rather than need for growth, would predict individual differences in growth satisfaction. In three large samples, they show that propensity to assimilate work experience (AWE) has a significant main effect on growth satisfaction, independent of job scope and context satisfaction. By contrast, growth need strength (GNS) has a null main effect and weak interaction effect on growth satisfaction. The present study assesses a possible threat to the internal validity of the Bottger and Chew findings. It examines whether higher order needs, namely growth need strength and needs for achievement, dominance and autonomy actually explain the AWE effect on growth satisfaction. Two samples of managers (N = 440 and N = 708) from the original Bottger and Chew study are used here. Using regression analysis, we show that the AWE effect is not attributable to needs.

Student Assessment and GMAT: Quantitative Versus Verbal Components in Performance on Examinations and Assignments:

Student failures in individual MBA courses most frequently occur in those units with an emphasis on quantitative techniques. This has led some management schools to give, or consider giving, higher weight to GMAT(q) than GMAT(v) in selection decisions. This paper shows that GMAT(q) is a good predictor of examination but a poor predictor of assignment performance in quantitative MBA courses. In contrast, GMAT(v) is a good predictor of grades in both examinations and assignments. If assignments rather than examinations more appropriately test managerial skills, these findings question any relative emphasis on GMAT(q) over GMAT(v) in selection decisions. The results highlight the link between assessment procedures and admission policy. The subjects are 102 MBA students in an Australian management school.

Different Determinants of Task Persistence and Growth Satisfaction: Affective Responses to Perfor Mance, Planning and Job Characteristics

We question the assumption that short term motivation and longer term professional growth satisfaction are functions of the same factors. Task persistence, a key index of motivation, is shown to be an inverse function of depression in response to setbacks, a positive function of planning and is independent of job scope and context satisfaction. Growth satisfaction is a positive function of work success, elation in response to success, job scope and context satisfaction. Subjects are 130 salespersons. The findings question a basic tenet of job enrichment theory; namely, that motivation is a function of job design, and supports the proposition that individual differences in affective responses to perfor Mance predict unique variance in motivation and growth.

Managerial Decision Making: Comparison of Participative Decision Methods in Australian and Singaporean/Hong Kong Chinese Samples

This exploratory study compares the decision-making styles of Singaporean and Hong Kong Chinese (SHK) managers and Australian (AUS) managers. On hypothetical standardised problems, these managers appear to use similar levels of participation in response to similar situational contingencies. However, on actual problems the decision-making effectiveness of SHK managers appears to be more sensitive to variations in leader infor Mation than in leader power, and viceversa for Australian managers. This finding is consistent with reported differences in value dimensions across the two samples. Subjects are 93 managers from Singapore and Hong Kong and 99 managers from Australia.