Communication in effective and ineffective teams : a longitudinal study investigating team members' task and socio-emotional verbal behaviours

Communication in effective and ineffective teams : a longitudinal study investigating team members' task and socio-emotional verbal behaviours

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Publication Type:: Thesis
Issue Date:: 2005

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor	Staudinger, Katrin Ilka	en_AU
dc.date.accessioned	2007-03-14T01:52:36Z
dc.date.accessioned	2012-12-15T03:52:15Z
dc.date.available	2007-03-14T01:52:36Z
dc.date.available	2012-12-15T03:52:15Z
dc.date.issued	2005
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/20122
dc.description	University of Technology, Sydney. Faculty of Design, Architecture & Building.
dc.description.abstract	This study aims to contribute to a better understanding of communication differences in effective and ineffective teams. It investigates task and socio-emotional verbal behaviours over time and its relationship to team effectiveness and team members' self-perceived member viability. The author used an aural observational method to examine verbal communication of three teams. Participants were post-graduate students formed into teams, working on a complex and dynamic task over a project duration of five days in a classroom setting. Spoken interaction was audio recorded and analysed using Bales' (1950) Interaction Process Analysis (IPA). Three questionnaires were developed, mainly by combining existing measurement instruments from communication and small group research, measuring team effectiveness and member viability. The analysis of selected team meetings with IPA displayed interesting task and socio¬emotional communication differences in effective and ineffective teams. These differences were more visible in socio-emotional interaction than in task-related interaction. Observed interaction patterns changed over time, although communication behaviours were more stable in the effective teams. Findings indicate that a consistently high level of positive socio-emotional communication in combination with a consistently low level of negative socio-emotional interaction seem to facilitate team effectiveness, while a high level of negative socio-emotional interaction or constantly changing socio-emotional behaviour seems to inhibit team effectiveness. It seems to suggest that communication behaviours impact upon team effectiveness and member viability. When communication behaviours could be described as task focused with a consistent level of positive reactions, outweighing negative reactions, effectiveness and member viability can increase. Opposite behaviours, shifting from task to interpersonal issues in combination with negative reactions outweighing positive reactions can lead to low levels of perceived member viability and a lack of effectiveness. The results lead to the suggestion that communication behaviours and member viability, particularly cohesion and willingness to continue as a member of this team, seem to be indicators for a team's 'well-being' and impact upon its effectiveness. These factors seem to be especially visible at the beginning and the temporal midpoint of a project. During these two periods, monitoring of the team process is recommended, either self-managed or with support from outside the team in order to prevent communication problems impacting on team effectiveness.	en_AU
dc.format	Thesis (MDesign)	en_AU
dc.format.extent	123334 bytes
dc.format.extent	824416 bytes
dc.format.extent	2691354 bytes
dc.format.extent	1017440 bytes
dc.format.mimetype	application/pdf
dc.language	en	en_AU
dc.language.iso	en_AU
dc.relation	https://opus.lib.uts.edu.au/bitstream/10453/20122/7/02Whole.pdf
dc.relation.replaces	http://hdl.handle.net/2100/255
dc.rights	The author owns the copyright in this thesis including all reproduction and reuse rights for the work. The work may not be altered without the permission of the copyright owner. Attribution is essential when quoting or paraphrasing from this thesis.
dc.rights	au.edu.uts.lib/ppc
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.rights	http://www.lib.uts.edu.au/disclaimer.html	en_AU
dc.rights	Copyright Katrin Ilka Staudinger	en_AU
dc.subject	Teams.	en_AU
dc.subject	Workplace.	en_AU
dc.subject	Groups.	en_AU
dc.subject	Communication.	en_AU
dc.subject	Team members.	en_AU
dc.title	Communication in effective and ineffective teams : a longitudinal study investigating team members' task and socio-emotional verbal behaviours	en_AU
dc.type	Thesis
utslib.copyright.status	open_access

Abstract:

This study aims to contribute to a better understanding of communication differences in effective and ineffective teams. It investigates task and socio-emotional verbal behaviours over time and its relationship to team effectiveness and team members' self-perceived member viability. The author used an aural observational method to examine verbal communication of three teams. Participants were post-graduate students formed into teams, working on a complex and dynamic task over a project duration of five days in a classroom setting. Spoken interaction was audio recorded and analysed using Bales' (1950) Interaction Process Analysis (IPA). Three questionnaires were developed, mainly by combining existing measurement instruments from communication and small group research, measuring team effectiveness and member viability. The analysis of selected team meetings with IPA displayed interesting task and socio¬emotional communication differences in effective and ineffective teams. These differences were more visible in socio-emotional interaction than in task-related interaction. Observed interaction patterns changed over time, although communication behaviours were more stable in the effective teams. Findings indicate that a consistently high level of positive socio-emotional communication in combination with a consistently low level of negative socio-emotional interaction seem to facilitate team effectiveness, while a high level of negative socio-emotional interaction or constantly changing socio-emotional behaviour seems to inhibit team effectiveness. It seems to suggest that communication behaviours impact upon team effectiveness and member viability. When communication behaviours could be described as task focused with a consistent level of positive reactions, outweighing negative reactions, effectiveness and member viability can increase. Opposite behaviours, shifting from task to interpersonal issues in combination with negative reactions outweighing positive reactions can lead to low levels of perceived member viability and a lack of effectiveness. The results lead to the suggestion that communication behaviours and member viability, particularly cohesion and willingness to continue as a member of this team, seem to be indicators for a team's 'well-being' and impact upon its effectiveness. These factors seem to be especially visible at the beginning and the temporal midpoint of a project. During these two periods, monitoring of the team process is recommended, either self-managed or with support from outside the team in order to prevent communication problems impacting on team effectiveness.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/20122