Search results
1 – 10 of 213Hélène Sicotte, Andrée De Serres, Hélène Delerue and Virginie Ménard
The purpose of this paper is to further explore the relationship between new product development project teams and their workspace regarding the impact of the physical (space…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to further explore the relationship between new product development project teams and their workspace regarding the impact of the physical (space variety, indoor environmental quality, large meeting room, workstation) and sociotechnical environments (project commitment, IT environment) on their creativity and effectiveness.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors gathered data on an enterprise’s ten multidisciplinary teams operating in diverse workspaces by four means: over 40 interviews and four months of observation, secondary data and a survey with 645 responses.
Findings
For teams co-located on site and abroad, employees express that proximity in open space is paramount even considering the augmented density. The relationship between team effectiveness and team creativity is strong and bidirectional (correlationβ = 0.40****), but the patterns of relationship between these two variables and certain dimensions of the physical and sociotechnical environment are different. There is a positive and direct impact on team effectiveness, but to a lesser degree on creativity which, in turn, positively influences team effectiveness. Moreover, creativity intervenes (mediator variable) between project commitment, satisfaction with large meeting rooms and the IT environment on their relationship with team effectiveness. When the authors added a direct link between the variables and team effectiveness, the model explains 47.1 per cent of the variance.
Research limitations/implications
The scope of the data is somewhat limited by the time that the company and its teams could allocate to this paper.
Practical implications
The arrangement of space reinforces employees’ sense of belonging to their team as measured by project commitment which along with satisfaction with the large meeting rooms and IT environment influence both team effectiveness and creativity. Managers could consider these three elements as levers for action. Space variety (or balanced layout) is also a way to support team creativity.
Originality/value
Even if open spaces are frequently used, the literature on creative spaces is dedicated mainly to an individual. This paper delivers some results and evidence on the concrete and simultaneous impacts of the workspaces on creativity and effectiveness of multidisciplinary new product development (NPD) team.
Details
Keywords
Clive M.J. Warren, Julia Simmons and Nick Trumble
The purpose of this paper is to establish a benchmark measure of attitudes to property held by major corporations within Australia. The paper aims to show how workplace use is…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to establish a benchmark measure of attitudes to property held by major corporations within Australia. The paper aims to show how workplace use is predicted to change in the near future and the implications of that change for managers of those assets.
Design/methodology/approach
The research in this paper is based on a survey of senior corporate property managers throughout Australia. Using Likert scale responses participants' attitudes to emerging asset management issues were examined.
Findings
The research reveals that there exists a divergence between corporate property managers' perceptions of the role of property to the organisation and the perceived role by business managers. The research also reveals that workplace use is expected to change in the near future with greater need for flexibility in design, contracts and employee behaviour.
Research limitations/implications
The survey response was limited to a small number of senior property executives. Future iterations of the research can seek to establish a broader response from industry. The research establishes a baseline from which future changes in the management of corporate property can be measured.
Practical implications
The paper is important in that it highlights the divide between efficient and effective asset management and the perceptions of asset and business managers. It also indicates the growing need for flexible workplace design supported by flexible property contracts.
Originality/value
The paper provides a basis for evaluating the use of property assets by large corporations within Australia. It will be of practical use to all practitioners and service providers involved in the delivery, design and management of property assets for large corporations.
Details
Keywords
Andrew Joy and Barry P. Haynes
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the impact the workplace can have on knowledge working for a multi‐generational workforce.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the impact the workplace can have on knowledge working for a multi‐generational workforce.
Design/methodology/approach
A case study analysis is undertaken of Leeds City Council (LCC) workplace in the UK.
Findings
The findings from the study show that in the context of LCC there are some key differences between the generations regarding knowledge working preferences for formal/informal meeting spaces. In other aspects, such as knowledge sharing, the generations appear to agree on key aspects such as mentoring and team‐based working environments.
Practical implications
Corporate real estate managers can use the research findings to assist them in providing a range of workplace settings to enhance multi‐generational interaction.
Originality/value
This paper fills a gap in current research by evaluating workplace preferences based on generational differences.
Details
Keywords
Donatella De Paoli and Arja Ropo
The purpose of this paper is to explore hybrid work spaces, combining open-plan, team-based offices with virtual work and leadership, in relation to the main leadership and team…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore hybrid work spaces, combining open-plan, team-based offices with virtual work and leadership, in relation to the main leadership and team challenges virtual project environments encounter.
Design/methodology/approach
In a review of virtual team literature, virtuality is defined and its main challenges to project leadership are identified. Based on the literature, several semi-structured interviews with project team managers within telecom and IT-consultancy were conducted. Using an exploratory approach, the authors introduce some new leadership concepts and functional benefits of open-plan offices important for virtual project environments.
Findings
The findings suggest that project managers encounter several new kinds of challenges while leading virtual projects. Co-location of the project team during certain stages in open-plan, team-based offices may meet some of these challenges. The authors claim that spatial arrangements and their embodied subjective experiences make an impact on the effectiveness of virtual project teams.
Research limitations/implications
This paper develops new conceptual thinking of how office facilities may contribute to productive virtual project teams. Further empirical studies in other settings are needed to generate generalizable findings.
Practical implications
The paper discusses and provides arguments for real estate and facility managers, as well as project and team leaders, for the importance of open-plan offices for virtual project teams.
Originality/value
The paper combines and benefits from different discussions on workspaces, virtual team and leadership. Furthermore, the paper introduces the notion of spatial leadership beyond the mainstream leader-centric approach to point out the importance of physical workspace of virtual teams and how the workspaces can perform leadership functions.
Details
Keywords
Brenda A. Barker Scott and Michael R. Manning
Ask leaders what their organizations need more of to thrive, and many will identify collaboration. Yet many collaborative efforts fail. A focus on the inner workings of teams, to…
Abstract
Ask leaders what their organizations need more of to thrive, and many will identify collaboration. Yet many collaborative efforts fail. A focus on the inner workings of teams, to the exclusion of the ecosystem in which teams work, has masked the importance of a collaborative context. We undertook a single case study of an exemplar firm with the intent of offering a nuanced illustration of the collaborative workplace. We illustrate how three contextual factors related to work, relationships, and behaviors shift the setting from a place where collaboration is hard to do, to one that embodies collaboration as a widespread competence.
Details
Keywords
Sara Dexter and Emily A. Barton
The authors tested the efficacy of a team-based instructional leadership intervention designed to increase middle school mathematics and science teachers' use of educational…
Abstract
Purpose
The authors tested the efficacy of a team-based instructional leadership intervention designed to increase middle school mathematics and science teachers' use of educational technologies for multiple representations of content to foster students' conceptual understandings. Each school's leadership team comprised an administrator, a technology instructional specialist role, and a mathematics and a science teacher leader.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors tested the intervention in a quasi-experimental design with five treatment and five matched comparison schools. Participants included 48 leadership team members and 100 grade 6–8 teachers and their students. The authors analyzed data using two-level, nested multiple regressions to determine the effect of treatment on leaders' practices; leaders' practices on teachers' learning and integration; and teachers' learning and integration on students' learning. Leaders and teachers completed monthly self-reports of practices; students completed pre- and post-tests of knowledge in science and math.
Findings
Significant treatment effects at the leader, teacher and student levels establish the efficacy of this team-based approach to school leadership of an educational technology integration innovation. Leaders at treatment schools participated in a significantly higher total frequency and a wider variety of leadership activities, with large effect sizes. Teachers participated in a significantly wider variety of learning modes focused on technology integration and integrated technology significantly more frequently, with a wider variety of technologies, all with moderate effect sizes. Students in treatment schools significantly outperformed students in comparison schools in terms of science achievement but not in mathematics.
Research limitations/implications
The overall sample size is small and the approach to participant recruitment did not allow for randomized assignment to the treatment condition. The authors tested the influence of treatment on leader practices, on teacher practices, and on student achievement. Future work is needed to identify the core components of treatment that influence practice and investigate the causal relationships between specific leaders' practices, teacher practices and student achievement.
Originality/value
This study establishes the efficacy of a replicable approach to developing team-based instructional leaders addressing educational technology. It contributes to the knowledge base about how district leaders and leadership educators might foster school leaders' instructional leadership, and more specifically technology leadership capacity.
Details
Keywords
Adam Camenzuli and Kevin McKague
Drawing on a qualitative study of youth microfranchising in the Tanzanian computer sales, service, and training sector, the purpose of this study is to identify the challenges and…
Abstract
Purpose
Drawing on a qualitative study of youth microfranchising in the Tanzanian computer sales, service, and training sector, the purpose of this study is to identify the challenges and advantages of a team-based approach to owning and operating a microfranchise business in the context of a least developed country. However, disadvantaged entrepreneurs typically still lack a critical mass of specialized technical skills and general managerial skills to manage a differentiated and competitive microenterprise business. A team-based approach to microfranchising can allow for combining specialized skills among more than one business owner; however, the potential risks and opportunities of team-microfranchising have not been studied. This study makes a contribution toward filling this gap by identifying five challenges and five advantages of team microfranchising which provide guidance for future research and practice.
Design/methodology/approach
Qualitative data (interviews, observation and archival documents) were analyzed from an in-depth case study of youth microfranchising in the Tanzanian computer sales, service and training sector.
Findings
Results revealed that microfranchise businesses in sectors that require multiple complementary higher-level skills are suited to a team microfranchise approach. Findings suggest that the greater the limitations on franchisee skills and the more pronounced the lack of public goods and institutions, the greater the potential for team microfranchising to overcome the entrepreneurial capacity constraints and institutional voids in low-income market contexts. Further, team-based microfranchises may be able to compete more effectively in sectors where economies of scale are not a significant factor, such as service industries and small-scale niche manufacturing. Also identified are five potential challenges and five areas of opportunity for practitioners seeking to implement a team-microfranchise approach.
Research limitations/implications
The current study examined microfranchising among teams of youth in the Tanzanian computer sales and service sector. Further research could examine team microfranchising among other demographic groups in different sectors and the different regulatory, institutional and cultural contexts of other regions and countries.
Social implications
If developed effectively in the right contexts, the team-based approach to microfranchising can potentially double the job-creation impacts of microfranchising ventures.
Originality/value
This study is the first to assess the viability and boundary conditions of a team-based approach to microfranchising.
Details
Keywords
The concept of Lean office design has emerged, claiming to support an efficient labour process. This article aims to investigate how the two main perspectives identified in the…
Abstract
Purpose
The concept of Lean office design has emerged, claiming to support an efficient labour process. This article aims to investigate how the two main perspectives identified in the Lean office: the neo-Tayloristic approach and the team-based approach, based in different historical backgrounds, use the office design to shorten lead time and free up time.
Design/methodology/approach
An extensive review is done in the article of what the Lean office concept means for different research areas and to practitioners.
Findings
The study presents the two Lean office perspectives in relation to each other, something that has not been done before since it is only recently the team-based Lean office was introduced. The study also presents possible risk and benefits of two perspectives from an employee and organizational perspective.
Research limitations/implications
Since this is a first exploratory review of the Lean office concept based on theories and examples from design practice, further empirical studies are needed to determine risks and benefits of the concept.
Practical implications
The clarifying examples in the article make it useful for people involved in the design and building process of offices.
Originality/value
The article brings together the fields of labour process, office research and facility management with the design practice and presents the two perspectives Lean office design in relation to each other, which has not been done before since the team-based Lean office has only recently been introduced.
Details
Keywords
James Bennett, Michael Pitt and Samantha Price
Now there are four generations of people sharing the workspace, each group brings different views, expectations, desires, dreams, values and ideas about work and life. This paper…
Abstract
Purpose
Now there are four generations of people sharing the workspace, each group brings different views, expectations, desires, dreams, values and ideas about work and life. This paper will examine how four generations work together in different ways and explores organisational strategies for managing the transition of knowledge through the generations. The factors of team working, mentoring and the design of the physical and virtual workplace are considered.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is an examination of the workplace using a literature review. The content reviewed explores the characteristics of each generation, their cultural values and identity and the method to incorporate this into strategy, workplace design and workplace productivity.
Findings
The results of the paper demonstrate that it is vital for organisations to actively facilitate the transition of knowledge which is currently taking place within the multi‐generational workplace. The findings demonstrate that the changing pattern of work and life dictate that organisations have to adapt their culture to meet the demands and expectations of new generations in the workplace.
Research limitations/implications
The paper does not look at workplace scenarios as a possible method of testing the theories suggested.
Practical implications
By understanding the make up of the workforces, facilities can be adapted to take advantage of employee characteristics which may lead to productivity improvement.
Originality/value
The link between the transition of knowledge and the management and design of facility space is made. Embracing workplace styles of flexible work locations, informal and fluid use of space, space for mentoring and team work, fun, open collaborative spaces, plug and play technological environments and non‐hierarchical organisational structures are just a few of the strategies which will have to be implemented in order to attract and retain high performance individuals.
Details
Keywords
The aim of this paper is to demonstrate the role the behavioural environment plays in office productivity.
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to demonstrate the role the behavioural environment plays in office productivity.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper reviews the literature from the occupier perspective. This approach enables a greater appreciation of the social context of offices. The review establishes the need to link work process with the office environment. It identifies the need to understand how occupiers make sense of space through personalisation. The balance between the positive interactions in the office and negative distractions are explored.
Findings
The review of the literature reveals that by adopting the occupier perspective potential tensions can be identified between individual, private and team‐based collaborative work areas. These tensions can have an impact on the office occupier's productivity.
Originality/value
This paper establishes that to ensure office environments are designed for optimum productivity; consideration needs to be given to the role of the behavioural environment. Office environments need to be designed to enhance collaboration, whilst at the same time ensure individual private work is not compromised.
Details