Page 145 - Štremfel, Urška, and Maša Vidmar (eds.). 2018. Early School Leaving: Cooperation Perspectives. Ljubljana: Pedagoški inštitut.
P. 145
theoretical, empirical and practical insight into team cooperation ...
model fails to capture the complexity and adaptability of teams (Ilgen et
al., 2005). In a more contemporary conceptualisation, ‘processes’ (P) have
been replaced by ‘mediators’ (M) that broaden the conceptualisation of the
processes to include other variables (the IMOI model: input-mediator-out-
put-input; ibid.). Research findings show that many mediators that link in-
puts with outcomes are in fact not processes, but so-called emergent states
(Marks et al., 2001)2. Moreover, IMOI categories are not necessarily linear-
ly and causally linked as is implied in the I-P-O model (Ilgen et al., 2005).
This contemporary framework also introduced cyclicality in the model by
adding an extra I at the end, indicating that outputs also serve as inputs for
subsequent team cycles in the sense of cyclical feedback loops.
Team processes
There are several theoretical taxonomies that organise team processes (e.g.
Marks et al., 2001; Kozlowski & Ilgen, 2006). A number of categories of pro-
cesses have been identified; these are closely related to the phases of team
development3 – in each stage, different processes (mediators or mediating
factors) are prominent (Ilgen et al., 2005; Marks et al., 2001), although they
often blend into one another (Marks et al., 2001). The taxonomy (see Ilgen
et al., 2005; Marks et al., 2001) holds implications for which team processes
are critical in specific phases:
(1) Forming (transition) phase processes:
a) Mission analysis and goal specification: refer to interpretation of
the team’s mission and identification of the main tasks.
b) Trusting: refers to team members’ trust in team competence to
accomplish a task (team efficacy) as well as their feeling of (psy-
chological) safety.
2 Introduction of the concept of emergent states may lead to confusion with regard to
terminology as it is not always clear in which cases team processes refer to a broad
concept of mediators and which cases to team process in the narrow sense (excluding
emergent states). The literature on team processes does not consistently distinguish
between these two concepts, thus some team processes listed in the section on team
processes overlap with emergent states.
3 Team development is an informal process by which team members create social
structures and work processes. There are different models that describe team devel-
opment. Tuckman’s stage model (1965) is one of the classic ones and describes four
stages in team development: forming, storming, norming and performing.
145
model fails to capture the complexity and adaptability of teams (Ilgen et
al., 2005). In a more contemporary conceptualisation, ‘processes’ (P) have
been replaced by ‘mediators’ (M) that broaden the conceptualisation of the
processes to include other variables (the IMOI model: input-mediator-out-
put-input; ibid.). Research findings show that many mediators that link in-
puts with outcomes are in fact not processes, but so-called emergent states
(Marks et al., 2001)2. Moreover, IMOI categories are not necessarily linear-
ly and causally linked as is implied in the I-P-O model (Ilgen et al., 2005).
This contemporary framework also introduced cyclicality in the model by
adding an extra I at the end, indicating that outputs also serve as inputs for
subsequent team cycles in the sense of cyclical feedback loops.
Team processes
There are several theoretical taxonomies that organise team processes (e.g.
Marks et al., 2001; Kozlowski & Ilgen, 2006). A number of categories of pro-
cesses have been identified; these are closely related to the phases of team
development3 – in each stage, different processes (mediators or mediating
factors) are prominent (Ilgen et al., 2005; Marks et al., 2001), although they
often blend into one another (Marks et al., 2001). The taxonomy (see Ilgen
et al., 2005; Marks et al., 2001) holds implications for which team processes
are critical in specific phases:
(1) Forming (transition) phase processes:
a) Mission analysis and goal specification: refer to interpretation of
the team’s mission and identification of the main tasks.
b) Trusting: refers to team members’ trust in team competence to
accomplish a task (team efficacy) as well as their feeling of (psy-
chological) safety.
2 Introduction of the concept of emergent states may lead to confusion with regard to
terminology as it is not always clear in which cases team processes refer to a broad
concept of mediators and which cases to team process in the narrow sense (excluding
emergent states). The literature on team processes does not consistently distinguish
between these two concepts, thus some team processes listed in the section on team
processes overlap with emergent states.
3 Team development is an informal process by which team members create social
structures and work processes. There are different models that describe team devel-
opment. Tuckman’s stage model (1965) is one of the classic ones and describes four
stages in team development: forming, storming, norming and performing.
145
