Relatively little is known about how the composition of individual conflict management styles affects group functioning. This is unfortunate because, specifically in short-term project groups, this... Show moreRelatively little is known about how the composition of individual conflict management styles affects group functioning. This is unfortunate because, specifically in short-term project groups, this conflict management style composition may be pivotal given the strong task focus rather than establishing norms to guide or manage conflict. Therefore, we examined whether conflict style asymmetry within short-term project groups affects the link between intragroup conflict and the performance of groups. Data were collected among short-term project groups and the results suggest that asymmetry in both forcing and the problem-solving conflict management styles moderates the negative effect of task, relationship, and process conflicts on the performance of groups. We offer a discussion of the implications of these findings. Show less
Janss, R.; Rispens, S.; Segers, M.; Jehn, K.A. 2012
In this thesis I focus on the question how the alignment of interdependency leads to an effective level of performance in work groups or teams. For the continuance of every organization it is... Show moreIn this thesis I focus on the question how the alignment of interdependency leads to an effective level of performance in work groups or teams. For the continuance of every organization it is important to organize individuals so that their actions are aligned (Heath & Staudenmayer, 2000). In this thesis I claim that the relationship between coordination and effectiveness is still not clearly understood and lacks theoretical clarity and empirical evidence. Where most of the management and organizational design literature focused only on the functional task interdependencies, I suggest that in order to gain more understanding of the complex coordination-performance relationship in groups, other more social types of interdependence need to be considered as well. I introduce in addition to functional interdependence, the constructs of cognitive and affect-based interdependence. I studied the main and integrative effects of these three interdependencies on individual and group performance in three organizational settings. Show less
