Week 2

Question 1

Organizational Behavior (OB)

Answer 1

is the study of individuals and their behavior within the context
of the organization in a workplace setting. It is an interdisciplinary field that includes sociology,
psychology, and management.”

“A field of study that investigates the impact that individuals, groups, and structure have on
behavior within organizations,
for the purpose of applying such knowledge toward improving an organization’s
effectiveness.

Question 2

Why teams in health care?

Answer 2

• Synergy: 1+1=3
• Teamwork necessary to provide care
• Complex nature of medicine
• Increasing chronic diseases and multimorbidity
• Specialization/ task differentiation
• Providing 24h care
• Mobilize knowledge and expertise: combining technical and non-technical skills
• Social appeal/ desirable

Question 3

Added value of teams

Answer 3

Individual level
* Stress
* Job satisfaction
* Well-being
* Intension to leave

Team level
* Learning
* Errors

Organizational level
* Quality and safety of care
* Effective use of resources
* HR outcomes: sick leave, staff turnover
* Financial
* Patient satisfaction

Question 4

What is a team? Standard definition (I)

What is a team? Standard definition (II)

Answer 4

“A collection of individuals who are interdependent in their tasks, who share responsibility for
outcomes, who see themselves and who are seen by others as an intact social entity embedded
in one or more large social systems”
(Cohen & Bailey)

“A team is a relatively small group of people working on a clear defined, challenging task
that is most efficiently completed by a group working together, rather than individuals
working alone or in parallel;
who have clear, shared, challenging, team objectives derived directly from the task;
who have to work closely and interdependently to achieve those objective;
whose members work in distinct roles within the team;
and who have the necessary authority, autonomy and resources to enable them to meet the
team objectives”
(West & Markiewicz)

Question 5

What is een “real team”? (I)

Answer 5

• Not a team in name only, but a “real team”
• Features of a “real team” following Hackman:
  o Clear team boundaries
   Name and functions of all team members
   Consensus on who is part and not part of the team?
  o Team member stability
   Gives time to learn how to work together
  o Interdependency
   The need to interact frequently, closely, exchange resources
   Structural interdependency : tasks, goals, outcomes
   Shared accountability instead of individual
   Not referring to behavioural interdependency (create interdependency regardless
  of the collaborative requirements of the tasks)
• Based on real team characteristics, Lyubovnikova et al. identified real team membership:
  o Structural interdependency:
• Team members work closely together in a tightly coordinated way
  o Shared objectives:
• Team members work together towards a common purpose/shared goal
• Team members share several common objectives which are clear and agreed upon in the team
• Facilitates cooperative strategies and transactive memory
  o Team reflexivity:
• In order to recognize the purpose of a team (shared objectives) and how to achieve this (interdependency)
• Team members regularly and systematically review their performance
• and adapt future team objectives and care processes accordingly

Question 6

How to improve team performance I

Answer 6

I) Training
II) Tools
III) Organizational redesign
IV) Programme

Question 7

Features of a “real team” following Hackman:

Answer 7

o Clear team boundaries
 Name and functions of all team members
 Consensus on who is part and not part of the team?

o Team member stability
 Gives time to learn how to work together

o Interdependency
 The need to interact frequently, closely, exchange resources
 Structural interdependency : tasks, goals, outcomes
 Shared accountability instead of individual
 Not referring to behavioural interdependency (create interdependency regardless
of the collaborative requirements of the tasks)

Question 8

Based on real team characteristics, Lyubovnikova et al. identified real team membership:

Answer 8

o Structural interdependency:
* Team members work closely together in a tightly coordinated way

o Shared objectives:
* Team members work together towards a common purpose/shared goal
* Team members share several common objectives which are clear and agreed upon in the team
* Facilitates cooperative strategies and transactive memory

o Team reflexivity:
* In order to recognize the purpose of a team (shared objectives) and how to achieve this (interdependency)
* Team members regularly and systematically review their performance
* and adapt future team objectives and care processes accordingly

Question 9

Membership:

Answer 9

• Multiple team membership: serving on multiple teams simultaneously
• Boundaries less clear and based on different criteria
• Membership based on person or knowledge/skills

Question 10

Teaming

Answer 10

• Teaming is…
  o “teamwork on the fly”
  o “flexible teamwork”
  o “ a verb; a dynamic activity, not a bounded static entity”
  o “when people apply and combine their expertise to perform complex tasks or develop
  solution to novel problems”
  o “fluid process”
• Building a team based on the expertise required for a specific task
• And not following the stable and traditional structure and teamwork
• Doing the job and learning at the same time