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Looks at the use of the Team Management Index (TMI) as a team building intervention in a programme of organizational development (OD). Attempts to assess the instrument’s effectiveness using a variety of measures (including the taxonomy of De Meuse and Liebowitz, 1981). In so doing, raises wider methodological and epistemological issues as to the whole nature of data collection, validity and proof in measuring the effectiveness of OD interventions. Discovers that, according to the measurement criteria, set out by De Meuse and Liebowitz, the TMI can be considered to be an effective OD instrument. However, finds that these measurement techniques are “blunt” and, by their very nature, lacking in academic rigour. Argues, therefore, that all levels of data collection and evidence gathering can never constitute 100 per cent proof of a causal link between OD interventions and resultant changes in the organization. Concludes that what will be deemed to count as adequate evidence or proof of an intervention’s effectiveness ultimately will be a personal choice; that in concentrating on comparing before and after measures of a team’s effectiveness theorists have ignored the change process which is taking place as a team begins to become effective, and have treated teams at the end of a team building intervention as if they were finished products; and finally that research time should be devoted to studying the process of change which a team undergoes during its development (of which team building is just the beginning) in order to highlight the ways in which an organization could nurture, support and facilitate this process to ensure the effective development of its work teams.

For many years there has been a preoccupation with the need to evaluate the effectiveness of team building interventions (TBIs) in organizational development projects. Often these evaluations attempt some kind of measurement of the team before and after the team‐building event in order to measure any change in skills or attitudes. Such work has several potentially valuable outcomes. However, such research often has had mixed success in gathering or assessing data that would serve as conclusive (“bottom line”) proof in these cases. Much of the research does not even attempt an evaluation. It may be that the nature of the phenomena under investigation itself, or the circumstances under which data are collected, is not amenable to that kind of analysis. The starting point for this paper then, is twofold: (1) if it has proved elusive and largely fruitless to try to evaluate team building in these ways; maybe there is a better and more useful way to examine the action that takes place on TBIs?; and; (2) if it is the case that team building is often an intervention that in practice turns out to be less than permanent (and perhaps even damaging), what can be done to help overcome this problem? Takes the view that to try and assess the effectiveness of the team building event per se is to treat the team after the team‐building event as a finished product. Instead, the team‐building intervention is seen as a start, with the team in the process of becoming. Sees the team as a dynamic entity, always under flux and adapting to its circumstances. Postulates that if we can identify what is happening both within the team and to the individuals involved during a team‐building event that sparks off this process of becoming an effective team, then this might gives assistance to the organization as to what kinds of support, practices and resources they might be able to offer the team on its return to ensure the becoming continues. Data were collected from 22 full‐time MBA students on a three‐day outward bound residential course via an open‐ended questionnaire. Each student was asked to recount, in their own words, positive and negative events on a daily basis and consider whether anything had changed regarding themselves or the team. Examines emergent themes in a discursive way and proposes tentative recommendations in what is a preliminary study in an ongoing piece of work.

To provide readers with a better understanding of the organizational conditions that lead to complexity in team structure, operation, and dynamics, and introduce guidelines for facilitating complex team interventions.

This article is based on the author's 20 years' experience as an internal OD executive, external consultant, and associate professor in the areas of organizational change and teambuilding.

The article concludes that team‐building failures frequently occur when facilitators operate from team archetypes that are radically outmoded, and severely underestimate the complexity of certain team‐building issues. Readers are introduced to six guidelines for managing complex team interventions.

This article is designed to help OD practitioners plan extremely complex and difficult team‐building interventions. The article should serve as a useful tool to experienced OD consultants who are attempting to tackle more advanced team‐building interventions. An organizational example is provided to illustrate key concepts.

The author believes that this article provides a unique perspective, by examining issues of organizational complexity that must be faced by experienced team facilitators.

There are a number of decision-making problems encountered by a building design team. This issue is apparent in assessment of building envelope materials and designs in the early design stage. The purpose of this paper is to develope a decision support tool based on a quality function deployment (QFD) approach integrated with a knowledge management system (KMS) and fuzzy theory to facilitate a building design team to simultaneously mitigate the decision-making problems when assessing the building envelope materials and designs for the first instance.

This study engaged a design team comprising three decision makers (DMs) to test the developed decision support tool through a case study of a representative building project. The study employed deductive qualitative data analysis with use of a framework analysis approach to analyze perspectives of the DMs after completing the case study through a semi-structured interview.

A mapping diagram derived qualitatively from the framework analysis suggested that the tool can help mitigate the identified decision-making problems as a whole.

Practical contributions of using the decision support tool include achievement of a more efficient design and construction management, and higher productivity of a project. In terms of academic contributions, this study expands capabilities of a conventional decision support system, KMS, and QFD tool to handle decision-making problems.

The purpose of this paper is to determine the usability of design reviews to inform designers about low carbon technologies and building performance. The design review of three domestic and two non-domestic case studies are evaluated.

Data collection and analysis methods include interviews and meetings with design teams and contractors, design tools audit and revision of drawings and project documentation. In addition, building's envelope and systems, and in-use performance evaluations are used to inform design teams about the actual performance of the buildings.

This study showed that targets and intentions defined in the design process are not always compatible or reality checked. These contradictions between targets within a project can undermine the performance of a building. The design review can identify unrealistic expectations to assess fairly the performance of buildings. The study showed that changes made during construction to the original design are related to lack of specifications or experience with low carbon technologies. Design reviews can help designers to identify the knowledge gaps within their practice. Furthermore, the results showed that building-related energy consumption was close to expectations, while user-related consumption was higher than expected due to occupancy assumptions made during the design. The design review showed that designers require more knowledge about buildings’ in-use performance in order to take informed-based design decisions.

This paper showed the main stages of a design review, and their usability to assess building performance and to inform designers. The results of this study suggest that designs can benefit from design reviews by learning about low carbon technologies installation and building's operation.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of team building and employee empowerment on employee competencies and examine the moderating role of organizational learning culture in between these relationships.

An integrated research model is developed by combining resource-based view, signalling theory and experiential learning theory. The validity of the model is tested by applying moderated structural equation modelling (MSEM) approach to the data collected from 653 employees working in cement manufacturing companies. The reliability and validity of the dimensions are established through confirmatory factor analysis and the related hypotheses are tested by using MSEM.

The findings suggest that organizational learning culture significantly strengthens the relationships of team building and employee empowerment on employee competencies.

The research is undertaken in Indian cement manufacturing companies which cannot be generalized across a broader range of sectors and international environment.

The findings of the study have potential to help decision makers of manufacturing companies to develop strategies which will enable them to improve employee competency, to formulate effective human resource development interventions and to enhance the capability of the employees to achieve desired goals and objectives of the organization.

The research is unique in its attempt to combine three frameworks to build a new theoretical model explaining the importance organizational learning culture along with team building and employee empowerment.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the leadership behaviors of managers of virtual teams (VTs), particularly in the areas of trust building and conflict management. This study aims to expand the research of VT performance by offering first-person accounts from VT leaders on the strategies implemented to drive VT performance.

This study used a grounded theory approach to examine the leadership behaviors through in-depth interviews with eight field managers of VTs employed by different technology companies. Interview questions focused on trust-building and conflict management techniques. This structured qualitative study incorporates elements of narrative inquiry interwoven in the findings.

Building a high-trust environment was found to be critical to VT performance. VT managers indicated that effective conflict resolution skills were also important.

Although the sample size is within the suggested range for a valid phenomenological study, the results may lack generalizability. Participants were limited to the technology industry; leaders of high-performing VTs in other industries could offer differing results.

This study’s contribution is the exploration and identification of innovative techniques that VT managers implemented to build trust and resolve conflict. A lack of holistic training programs for the VT leader is also considered along with suggestions for future research and implications for the VT managers.

This study’s contribution is the exploration and identification of innovative techniques that VT managers implemented that drive VT performance, particularly related to building high levels of trust and managing conflict effectively. Practices are suggested whereby both the VT leader and the organization take an active role in ensuring that the VT has the opportunity to perform optimally.

Better work can be accomplished through team and organisational activity if people are given an opportunity to develop their own skills and approaches to working together. This report on team‐building in Egypt is offered as one approach to development. The critical need is for managers to build teamwork and share responsibilities to face world problems effectively, management development being the first step in human resource development, which is the essential step in world development.

You can keep coaching during the game.

In the postpandemic era, organizations have planned a combination of on-site and virtual work to portray the “New Normal”. The authors aim to analyze the effect of virtual team (VT)-building strategies on virtual team performance and HR performance in the “New Normal” context. This study aims to explore the drivers and barriers to VT performance and its contribution to HR performance.

The study utilized the grounded theory approach. Semistructured interviews with 114 VT leaders of national and multinational companies in India were conducted and NVivo 8.0 software was used to analyze data.

VT-building strategies contribute to VT collaboration and subsequently to VT performance. It was found that VT-building strategies catalyze VT collaboration which is impacted by the drivers and barriers of VTs, affecting VT performance and HR performance.

The primary contribution of this work is the development of a framework that delivers important insights to VT leaders, talent managers, HR professionals and academicians.

This study uniquely examines the VT-building strategies and VT performance through the “New Normal” paradigm lens. This study proposes a conceptual model for VT performance and HR performance. It also provides the team-building strategies, drivers and barriers for VT performance. This work offers the roadmap to achieve VT performance and HR performance. This research also contributes to the human resource management literature by discussing the VT performance and HR performance in the “New Normal” paradigm. It provides insights to VT leaders, talent managers, HR professionals and academicians.