Self-Directed Teams
Self-Directed Teams 1
Running head: SELF-DIRECTED TEAMS
Self-Directed Teams
HRD 644
Human Resources Development: Theory & Practice
Barry University
by
Jessica Rodriguez
Self-Directed Teams 2
Self-directed teams can be defined as teams that are able to regulate their behavior on relatively whole tasks for which they have been established, including making decisions about work assignments, work methods, and scheduling activities (Cohen, Ledford, & Spreitzer, 1996; Goodman, Devadas, & Hughson, 1988). For example, in manufacturing environments, a selfdirected team might be responsible for a whole product, or a clearly defined segment of the production process. Among the distinguishing characteristics of self-directed teams are the following: they are empowered to share various management and leadership functions; they plan, control and improve their own work processes; they set their own goals (aligned to the corporate strategy); the team creates/manages their own schedule and reviews their performance; they may prepare their own budgets and co-ordinate their work with other departments; they may order materials from suppliers, keep inventories; and team leaders may be responsible for developing skills within the team, when they are needed (Irani, Sharp & Kagioglou, 1997).
In their literature review, Muthusamy, Wheeler, and Simmons (2005) found that selfdirected teams contribute to various dimensions of performance effectiveness, such as; productivity improvements, cost savings, employee satisfaction, quality of work-life indicators, and team effectiveness. They also added innovativeness to this list. Self-directed teams are known to have autonomy, high degree of informality, intense information exchange, and participative decision-making. All of these are characteristics that facilitate innovation (Muthusamy et al, 2005).
When trying to introduce the concept of self-directed teams in a company, some resistance is inevitable.
Running head: SELF-DIRECTED TEAMS
Self-Directed Teams
HRD 644
Human Resources Development: Theory & Practice
Barry University
by
Jessica Rodriguez
Self-Directed Teams 2
Self-directed teams can be defined as teams that are able to regulate their behavior on relatively whole tasks for which they have been established, including making decisions about work assignments, work methods, and scheduling activities (Cohen, Ledford, & Spreitzer, 1996; Goodman, Devadas, & Hughson, 1988). For example, in manufacturing environments, a selfdirected team might be responsible for a whole product, or a clearly defined segment of the production process. Among the distinguishing characteristics of self-directed teams are the following: they are empowered to share various management and leadership functions; they plan, control and improve their own work processes; they set their own goals (aligned to the corporate strategy); the team creates/manages their own schedule and reviews their performance; they may prepare their own budgets and co-ordinate their work with other departments; they may order materials from suppliers, keep inventories; and team leaders may be responsible for developing skills within the team, when they are needed (Irani, Sharp & Kagioglou, 1997).
In their literature review, Muthusamy, Wheeler, and Simmons (2005) found that selfdirected teams contribute to various dimensions of performance effectiveness, such as; productivity improvements, cost savings, employee satisfaction, quality of work-life indicators, and team effectiveness. They also added innovativeness to this list. Self-directed teams are known to have autonomy, high degree of informality, intense information exchange, and participative decision-making. All of these are characteristics that facilitate innovation (Muthusamy et al, 2005).
When trying to introduce the concept of self-directed teams in a company, some resistance is inevitable.
References: Cady, S.H., & Valentine, J. (1999). Team innovation and perceptions of consideration: What difference does diversity make? Small Group Research, 30(6), 730-750. Cohen, S. G., Ledford, G. E., & Spreitzer, G. M. (1996). A predictive model of self-managing work team effectiveness. Human Relations, 49(5), 643-676. Collins, M.A. & Amabile, T.M. (1999). Motivation and creativity. In RJ. Sternber (Ed.), Handbook of Creativity (pp. 297-312). New York: Cambridge University Press. Goodman, P. S., Devadas, R., & Hughson, T. L. (1988). Groups and productivity: Analyzing the effectiveness of self-managing teams. In J. P. Campbell & R. J. Campbell (Eds.), Productivity in organization (pp. 295-325). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Irani, Z., Sharp, J. M., & Kagioglou, M. (1997). Communicating Through Self-Directed Work Teams (SDWTs) Within an SME Learning Organization. Journal of Workplace Learning, 9(6), 199. Moravec, M., Johannessen, O. J., & Hjelmas, T. A. (1997). Thumbs Up for Self-Managed Teams. Management Review, 86(7), 42-48. Muthusamy, S. K., Wheeler, J. V., & Simmons, B. L. (2005). Self-Managing Work Teams: Enhancing Organizational Innovativeness. Organization Development Journal, 23(3), 5366. Taggar, S. (2002). Individual creativity and group ability to utilize individual creative resources: A multilevel model. Academy of Management Journal, 45(2), 315-331.