Group Dynamics for Teams

Levi, Daniel J.

ISBN 10: 1412977622 / ISBN 13: 9781412977623

Published by SAGE Publications, Inc, 2010

Seller Inventory # mon0000316825

Synopsis:

Grounded in psychological research but with a very practical focus on organizational behaviour issues, this book explains the basic psychological concepts of group dynamics with a focus on their application with teams in the workplace.

The book begins with an overview of how teams are being used in the workplace and the factors that relate to team success. It goes on to examine basic topics such as goals, norms, cooperation, and communication while reviewing the main challenges teams face, including conflict, decision making, problem solving, creativity, and valuing diversity. The final section analyzes the use of teams in the workplace, including the impact of organizational culture, technological support for teams, differences among types of work teams, team building, and team evaluation and reward.

About the Author:

Daniel Levi is a retired professor in the Psychology and Child Development Department at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, California. He holds an MA and a PhD in environmental psychology from the University of Arizona. He has taught classes in teamwork, environmental psychology, and organizational psychology. His teamwork class was designed primarily for engineering and business students. He has conducted research and worked as a consultant with factory and engineering teams for a variety of technology companies. In addition, he has worked on international team research projects in Europe and Asia.

Dr. Levi’s research and consulting with factory teams primarily focused on the use of teams to support technological change and the adoption of just-in-time and quality programs. This work examined a variety of team issues, including job redesign, training, compensation, supervision, and change management approaches. His work with professional teams primarily was focused on engineering design teams. These projects examined the use of concurrent engineering, self-management, and the globalization of teams. The topics of this work included the impact of information technology on teams, facilitation and training needs for professional teams, and the impacts of organizational culture and leadership.

Early work on the book was sponsored by an engineering education grant from NASA. This project focused on the development of teamwork skills in engineering students working on multidisciplinary projects. It led to the development of cases and activities for learning teamwork skills and research on teamwork training and evaluating and rewarding student teams. Additional research on student teams examined gender and cross-cultural issues, social support within teams, and bullying and hijacking in student teams.

Bibliographic Details

Title: Group Dynamics for Teams
Publisher: SAGE Publications, Inc
Publication Date: 2010
Binding: paperback
Condition: Good
Edition: 3rd Edition