To read this content please select one of the options below:

Self‐managed teams in the auto components industry: Construction of a theoretical model

Celso Luis Alves Pais (Oporto, Portugal)

Team Performance Management

ISSN: 1352-7592

Article publication date: 19 October 2010

2205

Abstract

Purpose

The overall purpose of this paper is to explain theoretically the autonomy phenomenon of teams working within the auto manufacturing context and its implications for the technical and social aspects of group work.

Design/methodology/approach

Three auto component companies were studied. The procedures of a qualitative methodology were followed, adopting naturalistic observation techniques of work teams, and unstructured and semi‐structured interviews conducted with operators, supervisors and middle managers. To analyse and interpret the qualitative data obtained, the grounded theory technique was used.

Findings

In this paper 33 concepts were obtained, which resulted from the constant comparative method applied to data. The relationships between those concepts allowed the construction of a theoretical model that is settled in the “bridge” concept. This “bridge” is a metaphor that translates the process which binds operational work group goals to the needs of external clients. This process is supported by social aspects – team decision making, participation, mutual helpfulness, and social and emotional relationships, and by technical aspects – operations and information. The bridge has four pillars that are critical to the effective functioning of self‐directed teams: team facilitation, hierarchical relationships established within the teams, quality of manufactured components, and productivity achieved.

Research limitations/implications

The present investigation was carried out in a specific industry, which does not allow for the generalization of the model to other industries. Furthermore, it may be questioned whether the same results be obtained if the operators of the teams observed were interviewed, not individually, but in a group situation. Other kinds of research design and other industries organized on the basis of autonomous work groups must be studied, applying the grounded theory technique, in order to compare diverse theoretical models.

Practical implications

The organization of the industrial automotive production based on self‐directed teams, which know the needs of external customers and to whom a high level of participation in operational decisions was given, can generate a substantial increase of working groups' efficiency and an increase in job satisfaction.

Originality/value

The study of teams in the automotive components industry – in a southern country of Europe – and the consequent elaboration of a specific theoretical model draws attention to the need for social research that takes into account the fact that realities are constructed by the actors who interact in a certain context. No theoretical model can ever encompass the reality of all contexts.

Keywords

Citation

Luis Alves Pais, C. (2010), "Self‐managed teams in the auto components industry: Construction of a theoretical model", Team Performance Management, Vol. 16 No. 7/8, pp. 359-387. https://doi.org/10.1108/13527591011090646

Publisher

:

Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2010, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Related articles