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Journal of Education for Business

ISSN: 0883-2323 (Print) 1940-3356 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/vjeb20

Team Climate and Productivity for Similar Majors

Versus Mixed Majors

Janet K. Winter , Karen K. Waner & Joan C. Neal-Mansfield

To cite this article: Janet K. Winter , Karen K. Waner & Joan C. Neal-Mansfield (2008) Team Climate and Productivity for Similar Majors Versus Mixed Majors, Journal of Education for Business, 83:5, 265-269, DOI: 10.3200/JOEB.83.5.265-269

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.3200/JOEB.83.5.265-269

Published online: 07 Aug 2010.

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฀ May/June฀2008฀ 265 uch฀ as฀ in฀ the฀ inevitable฀ fall฀ of฀ a฀

chain฀ of฀ dominoes,฀ technology฀ has฀ escalated฀ global฀ marketing,฀ global฀ marketing฀ has฀ intensified฀ competition,฀ competition฀ has฀ intensified฀ the฀ demand฀ for฀creativity,฀and฀creativity฀has฀intensi-fied฀the฀need฀for฀diversity฀and฀teamwork฀ in฀ organizations.฀ Thus,฀ this฀ need฀ has฀ resulted฀ in฀ an฀ attempt฀ by฀ tertiary฀ insti-tutions฀ to฀ teach฀ team฀ skills฀ and฀ to฀ use฀ teamwork฀and฀team฀learning฀as฀a฀teach-ing฀method.฀One฀of฀the฀biggest฀problems฀ is฀communication฀within฀the฀team.฀

REVIEW฀OF฀THE฀LITERATURE In฀ a฀ textbook฀ devoted฀ to฀ teaching฀ teamwork฀ and฀ communication฀ in฀ areas฀ of฀ aviation,฀ the฀ authors฀ quoted฀ George฀ Bernard฀ Shaw’s฀ observation฀ that฀ “The฀ greatest฀problem฀in฀communication฀is฀the฀ illusion฀ that฀ it฀ has฀ been฀ accomplished”฀ (Kanki฀ &฀ Smith,฀ 2001,฀ p.฀ 95).฀ If฀ the฀ basics฀ are฀ inherently฀ problematic,฀ the฀ task฀of฀teaching฀team฀skills฀is฀monumen-tal,฀ as฀ evidenced฀ by฀ current฀ thinking฀ in฀ the฀ area.฀ However,฀ research฀ has฀ shown฀ that฀ interpersonal฀ skills฀ are฀ vital฀ to฀ suc-cess฀ in฀ the฀ workplace฀ (Caldwell,฀ 2006;฀ Camp,฀2007;฀Messmer,฀2007;฀Ruderman฀ &฀Ohlott,฀2006;฀“Tips฀for฀taking,”฀2006).

Importance฀of฀Communication฀ Skills

The฀ Bureau฀ of฀ Vocational฀ Guidance฀ at฀Harvard฀reported฀that฀about฀two฀thirds฀

of฀ those฀ who฀ lose฀ their฀ jobs฀ experience฀ this฀failure฀because฀of฀poor฀people฀skills฀ (Arrien,฀ 2001),฀ and฀ the฀ Center฀ for฀ Cre-ative฀ Leadership฀ in฀ Greensboro,฀ NC,฀ found฀ that฀ most฀ terminated฀ executives฀ exhibited฀ poor฀ communication฀ skills฀ (Arrien).฀ A฀ report฀ from฀ the฀ Carnegie฀ Institute฀ of฀ Technology’s฀ analysis฀ of฀ 10,000฀ personnel฀ records฀ reveals฀ that฀ only฀ 15%฀ of฀ job฀ success฀ is฀ a฀ result฀ of฀ technical฀ proficiency,฀ whereas฀ the฀ remaining฀85%฀is฀attributable฀to฀people฀ skills฀ (Arrien).฀ This฀ interpersonal฀ com- munication฀occurs฀often฀in฀team฀or฀meet-ing฀situations,฀especially฀for฀managers.฀

Characteristics฀of฀Effective฀ Teams

According฀ to฀ Kinlaw฀ (1991),฀ effec-tive฀ teams฀ can฀ be฀ identified฀ by฀ four฀ characteristics—they฀ produce฀ results,฀ develop฀ informal฀ processes,฀ develop฀ special฀ feelings,฀ and฀ take฀ leadership.฀ In฀other฀words,฀a฀team฀becomes฀a฀func-tional฀ body฀ whose฀ members฀ comple-ment฀ each฀ other฀ to฀ achieve฀ their฀ com-mon฀ end.฀ Brown฀ (1996)฀ said฀ that฀ the฀ first฀requirement฀for฀team฀success฀is฀that฀ it฀must฀actually฀be฀needed;฀the฀second฀is฀ that฀the฀teamwork฀skills฀must฀be฀devel-oped฀ because฀ these฀ skills฀ do฀ not฀ come฀ naturally฀to฀most฀people.

In฀their฀analysis฀of฀15,000฀team฀mem- bers,฀LaFasto฀and฀Larson฀(2001)฀identi-fied฀four฀personal฀qualities฀or฀teamwork฀

Team฀Climate฀and฀Productivity฀฀

for฀Similar฀Majors฀Versus฀Mixed฀Majors

JANET฀K.฀WINTER KAREN฀K.฀WANER฀

JOAN฀C.฀NEAL-MANSFIELD

UNIVERSITY฀OF฀CENTRAL฀MISSOURI฀ WARRENSBURG,฀MISSOURI

M

ABSTRACT. Teamwork฀and฀interper-sonal฀communication฀are฀indispensable฀ skills฀for฀business฀workers,฀and฀most฀com-panies฀are฀promoting฀diversity฀in฀teams฀to฀ gain฀a฀competitive฀edge.฀Although฀findings฀ suggest฀that฀diversity฀may฀not฀be฀as฀valu-able฀as฀it฀seems฀for฀most฀teams,฀business฀ workers฀need฀to฀manage฀diversity฀success-fully.฀Therefore,฀the฀present฀authors฀tried฀to฀ determine฀whether฀teams฀of฀business฀stu-dents฀with฀similar฀majors฀held฀perceptions฀ about฀issues฀including฀conflict,฀leadership,฀ and฀friendship฀that฀differed฀from฀those฀ of฀mixed฀majors.฀Analyses฀of฀variance฀ indicated฀that฀teams฀with฀similar฀majors฀ expressed฀their฀ideas฀more฀freely฀and฀devel-oped฀friendships฀more฀easily฀than฀did฀teams฀ of฀mixed฀majors.

Keywords:฀friendships,฀mixed฀majors,฀simi-lar฀majors,฀teams

฀

Copyright฀©฀2008฀Heldref฀Publications

factors฀that฀must฀be฀present฀for฀a฀team฀to฀ on฀ the฀ person’s฀ effectiveness฀ within฀ the฀ team฀than฀do฀differences฀in฀background.

Losoncy฀ (1997)฀ outlined฀ seven฀ requirements฀ for฀ a฀ successful฀ team:฀ synergy,฀cooperation,฀determined฀focus,฀ mutual฀ respect,฀ reality฀ base,฀ optimism,฀ and฀ progress.฀ Although฀ differences฀ in฀ backgrounds,฀ approaches,฀ and฀ beliefs฀ can฀ get฀ in฀ the฀ way,฀ Losoncy’s฀ findings฀ suggested฀that฀diversity฀is฀not฀a฀require-ment฀ or฀ an฀ obstacle,฀ particularly฀ for฀ a฀ normal฀ work฀ group.฀ However,฀ many฀ firms฀ today฀ use฀ teams฀ to฀ promote฀ cre-ativity฀and฀innovation฀to฀meet฀and฀beat฀

One฀ of฀ the฀ biggest฀ sources฀ of฀ dif-ference฀ within฀ a฀ team฀ can฀ be฀ culture.฀ According฀ to฀Adler฀ (1991),฀ “Multicul-tural฀ groups฀ have฀ more฀ potential฀ for฀ higher฀ productivity฀ than฀ do฀ homoge-neous฀groups,฀but฀they฀also฀bear฀the฀risk฀ of฀greater฀losses฀due฀to฀faulty฀process”฀ (p.฀128).฀Adler฀described฀the฀causes฀of฀ dysfunction฀in฀a฀multicultural฀group:

Diversity฀makes฀group฀functioning฀more฀ difficult฀ because฀ it฀ becomes฀ more฀ dif-ficult฀ to฀ see฀ situations฀ in฀ similar฀ ways,฀ understand฀ them฀ in฀ similar฀ ways,฀ and฀ act฀ on฀ them฀ in฀ similar฀ ways.฀ Diversity฀ makes฀reaching฀agreement฀more฀difficult.฀ Employees฀ from฀ the฀ same฀ culture฀ are฀ generally฀easier฀to฀manage;฀they฀are฀more฀ likely฀to฀communicate฀clearly฀and฀to฀trust฀ each฀other฀more฀readily.฀(pp.฀128–129)฀

Some฀ additional฀ problems฀ described฀ by฀Adler฀(1991)฀include฀attitudinal฀prob-lems฀of฀dislike฀and฀mistrust,฀perceptual฀ problems฀ involving฀ stereotyping฀ and฀ undervaluation,฀ communication฀ prob-lems฀ resulting฀ in฀ inaccuracy฀ and฀ inef-ficiency,฀ and฀ stress฀ leading฀ to฀ tension฀ and฀ decreased฀ effectiveness.฀ However,฀฀฀ Adler฀asserted฀that฀the฀advantages฀of฀a฀ culturally฀diverse฀group฀include฀limited฀ groupthink฀and฀more฀and฀better฀ideas.

“Multicultural฀teams฀have฀the฀poten-tial฀ to฀ become฀ the฀ most฀ effective฀ and฀ productive฀ teams฀ in฀ an฀ organization.฀ Unfortunately,฀ they฀ frequently฀ become฀ the฀ least฀ effective”฀ (Adler,฀ 1991,฀ p.฀ 134).฀Diversity,฀like฀any฀resource,฀must฀ is฀ needed,฀ diversity฀ can฀ jump-start฀ the฀ project,฀ especially฀ in฀ the฀ early฀ stages.฀ However,฀ for฀ more฀ routine฀ projects,฀ diversity฀ may฀ be฀ a฀ hindrance,฀ rather฀ than฀a฀help,฀to฀the฀team฀function.

Too฀much฀emphasis฀on฀diversity฀may฀be฀ a฀stumbling฀block฀for฀a฀team,฀as฀Garden- swartz฀and฀Rowe฀(1994)฀found.฀Accord-ing฀ to฀ their฀ research,฀ the฀ four฀ layers฀ of฀ difference฀ are,฀ in฀ order฀ of฀ importance,฀ (a)฀ personality;฀ (b)฀ age,฀ gender,฀ physi-cal฀ability,฀ethnicity,฀etc.;฀(c)฀appearance,฀ work฀experience,฀religion,฀personal฀hab-its,฀etc.;฀and฀(d)฀seniority,฀work฀location,฀ management฀status,฀field,฀etc.฀If,฀as฀their฀ research฀ suggests,฀ managing฀ differences฀ in฀ personality฀ is฀ more฀ important฀ than฀ dealing฀with฀differences฀in฀cultural฀back-grounds,฀ diversity฀ may฀ be฀ a฀ minor฀ ele-ment฀necessary฀only฀for฀special฀projects—฀ despite฀the฀current฀emphasis฀on฀it.

Watson,฀ Kumar,฀ and฀ Michaelsen’s฀ (1993)฀ research฀ on฀ cultural฀ diversity฀ in฀ teams฀ suggested฀ that฀ similar฀ groups฀ are฀ more฀ effective฀ in฀ the฀ early฀ stages฀ but฀ that฀ process฀ and฀ performance฀ levels฀ are฀ almost฀identical฀after฀about฀17฀weeks.฀In฀a฀ discussion฀of฀ways฀to฀effectively฀manage฀ diversity,฀Cox฀and฀Blake฀(1991)฀prefaced฀ their฀ discussion฀ with฀ the฀ bold฀ statement฀ that฀ “the฀ specific฀ link฀ between฀ manag- ing฀diversity฀and฀organizational฀competi-tiveness฀ is฀ rarely฀ made฀ explicit,฀ and฀ no฀ article฀has฀reviewed฀actual฀research฀data฀ supporting฀such฀a฀link”฀(p.฀45).฀O’Reilly฀ (1997)฀supports฀this฀view.฀However,฀Hob-man,฀Bordia,฀and฀Gallois฀(2003)฀reported฀ that฀both฀team฀success฀and฀team฀member฀ relationships฀ were฀ affected฀ when฀ diver- sity฀was฀not฀managed฀and฀team฀relation-ships฀were฀not฀encouraged.

The฀Present฀Study

According฀ to฀ the฀ aforementioned฀ research,฀diversity฀of฀backgrounds,฀atti-tudes,฀ and฀ values฀ is฀ not฀ an฀ important฀

component฀of฀team฀effectiveness.฀How-ever,฀ managing฀ diversity฀ ineffectively฀ may฀have฀a฀negative฀effect.

Therefore,฀the฀purpose฀of฀the฀present฀ study฀ was฀ to฀ determine฀ if฀ significant฀ differences฀existed฀between฀the฀percep-tions฀of฀students฀in฀teams฀with฀the฀same฀ business฀majors฀and฀the฀perceptions฀of฀ students฀ in฀ diverse฀ teams฀ with฀ mixed฀ business฀ majors฀ (including฀ accounting,฀ computer฀information฀systems,฀finance,฀ whose฀ business฀ college฀ was฀ accredited฀ by฀the฀Association฀to฀Advance฀Collegiate฀ Schools฀of฀Business฀International.฀Dur-ing฀ the฀ first฀ week฀ of฀ the฀ semester,฀ 188฀ full-time฀students฀(89฀men,฀81฀women,฀ 18฀ unspecified)฀ who฀ were฀ enrolled฀ in฀ business฀ communication฀ courses฀ were฀ randomly฀ assigned฀ to฀ teams฀ with฀ the฀ same฀business฀majors฀or฀to฀teams฀with฀ mixed฀ majors.฀ The฀ sample฀ was฀ almost฀ equally฀divided฀on฀the฀dimension฀of฀sex,฀ and฀ 78%฀ of฀ the฀ students฀ were฀ young-er฀ than฀ 23฀ years.฀ The฀ percentages฀ of฀ students฀ reporting฀ each฀ major฀ were฀ as฀ follows:฀ 14%฀ accounting,฀ 3%฀ business฀ education,฀ 13%฀ computer฀ information฀ systems,฀13%฀finance,฀6%฀graphic฀arts,฀ 24%฀management,฀13%฀marketing,฀and฀ 14%฀other.฀We฀tried฀to฀balance฀teams฀in฀ terms฀of฀men฀and฀women,฀and฀the฀few฀ international฀ students฀ were฀ randomly฀ assigned฀ to฀ teams.฀ Because฀ we฀ used฀ a฀ convenience฀ sample,฀ researchers฀ can฀ generalize฀the฀findings฀and฀conclusions฀ only฀to฀the฀students฀in฀this฀study.฀

Procedure

At฀the฀beginning฀of฀the฀semester,฀we฀ instructed฀ students฀ on฀ team฀ develop-ment,฀ the฀ phases฀ of฀ team฀ development฀ (forming,฀ storming,฀ norming,฀ and฀ per-forming),฀steps฀in฀dealing฀with฀conflict,฀ and฀the฀decision฀process฀(Guffey,฀2003).฀ Teams฀worked฀on฀projects฀such฀as฀writ-ing฀ letters฀ and฀ memos฀ and฀ respondTeams฀worked฀on฀projects฀such฀as฀writ-ing฀

to฀ readiness-assessment฀ tests฀ through-out฀the฀semester.

We฀ conducted฀ a฀ face-validity฀ check฀ on฀ the฀ Questionnaire฀ on฀Team฀ Climate฀ and฀made฀changes฀to฀clarify฀the฀items.฀ The฀ Questionnaire฀ on฀ Team฀ Climate฀ was฀ adapted฀ by฀ us฀ from฀ the฀ Student฀ Reaction฀Questionnaire฀that฀Neal฀(1994)฀ developed฀ and฀ analyzed.฀ Analysis฀ of฀

the฀ questionnaire฀ resulted฀ in฀ a฀ coeffi-cient฀Cronbach’s฀alpha฀reliability฀of฀.84,฀ which฀is฀above฀the฀.70฀acceptance฀level฀ recommended฀by฀Nunnally฀(1978).฀

At฀ the฀ end฀ of฀ the฀ semester,฀ stu-dents฀ responded฀ to฀ 18฀ statements฀ on฀ the฀Questionnaire฀on฀Team฀Climate.฀Of฀ those฀statements,฀17฀had฀7-point฀Likert-฀ type฀ scales฀ ranging฀ from฀ 1฀ (little)฀ to฀

7฀ (much).฀ We฀ conducted฀ an฀ analysis฀ of฀ variance฀ (ANOVA)฀ to฀ determine฀ if฀ significant฀ differences฀ existed฀ between฀ teams฀ of฀ similar฀ majors฀ and฀ teams฀ of฀ mixed฀majors฀on฀any฀of฀the฀statements.฀ Also,฀ we฀ ran฀ a฀ chi-square฀ test฀ on฀ one฀ statement฀ that฀ presented฀ six฀ options,฀ where฀team฀members฀chose฀one฀option฀ that฀best฀described฀their฀teams.

TABLE฀1.฀Means,฀Standard฀Deviations,฀F฀values,฀and฀Probabilities฀of฀Responses฀of฀Similar-Majors฀and฀Mixed-Majors฀฀ Student฀Teams

฀ Similar฀majors฀ Mixed฀majors

Question฀ M฀ SD฀ ฀n฀ M฀ SD฀ ฀n฀ F฀ df฀ p

Did฀you฀feel฀as฀if฀you฀were฀a฀full฀member฀of฀your฀group?฀ 6.49฀ 0.89฀ 95฀ 6.31฀ 1.22฀ 93฀ 1.39฀ 1,฀186฀ .2392 Did฀you฀feel฀comfortable฀to฀express฀your฀ideas?฀ 6.49฀ 1.05฀ 95฀ 6.16฀ 1.23฀ 92฀ 3.93฀ 1,฀185฀ .0490 How฀much฀personality฀conflict฀did฀your฀team฀have?฀ 2.13฀ 1.68฀ 95฀ 2.44฀ 1.66฀ 93฀ 1.67฀ 1,฀186฀ .1985 How฀much฀idea฀conflict฀did฀your฀team฀experience?฀ 2.49฀ 1.58฀ 95฀ 2.77฀ 1.56฀ 93฀ 1.48฀ 1,฀186฀ .2247 How฀much฀procedural฀conflict฀did฀your฀team฀experience?฀ 2.37฀ 1.57฀ 95฀ 2.55฀ 1.60฀ 93฀ 0.61฀ 1,฀186฀ .4373 How฀much฀conflict฀did฀your฀team฀experience฀as฀a฀result฀of฀

฀฀฀differences฀in฀areas฀such฀as฀cultural,฀gender,฀and/or฀age?฀ 1.57฀ 1.24฀ 93฀ 1.80฀ 1.34฀ 93฀ 1.43฀ 1,฀184฀ .2339 How฀often฀does฀one฀person฀dominate฀the฀team?฀ 3.14฀ 1.71฀ 94฀ 3.30฀ 1.70฀ 92฀ 0.44฀ 1,฀184฀ .5074 When฀you฀are฀the฀leader,฀how฀well฀does฀your฀team฀let฀you฀

฀฀฀lead?฀ 5.41฀ 1.48฀ 95฀ 5.44฀ 1.36฀ 91฀ 0.02฀ 1,฀184฀ .8893 Even฀if฀you฀have฀an฀assigned฀leader,฀how฀often฀does฀your฀

฀฀฀team฀just฀jump฀in฀and฀get฀it฀done฀cooperatively?฀ 5.66฀ 1.26฀ 95฀ 5.73฀ 1.58฀ 93฀ 0.11฀ 1,฀186฀ .7438 How฀easy฀does฀your฀team฀find฀it฀to฀make฀decisions?฀ 5.77฀ 1.16฀ 95฀ 5.63฀ 1.37฀ 93฀ 0.52฀ 1,฀186฀ .4707 How฀effective฀did฀you฀feel฀your฀leader฀was?฀ 5.95฀ 1.31฀ 93฀ 5.69฀ 1.55฀ 91฀ 1.45฀ 1,฀182฀ .2300 How฀much฀friendship฀is฀there฀in฀your฀team฀(i.e.,฀do฀people฀

฀฀฀talk฀about฀anything฀besides฀school฀work)?฀ 6.06฀ 1.20฀ 95฀ 5.68฀ 1.53฀ 91฀ 3.61฀ 1,฀184฀ .0590 Have฀team฀members฀appeared฀to฀have฀developed฀new฀

฀฀฀friendships/relationships฀that฀go฀beyond฀the฀classroom?฀ 5.32฀ 1.62฀ 95฀ 4.72฀ 1.95฀ 93฀ 5.19฀ 1,฀186฀ .0239 Rate฀the฀cooperativeness฀of฀your฀group฀members.฀ 6.28฀ 1.01฀ 92฀ 6.10฀ 1.19฀ 90฀ 1.25฀ 1,฀180฀ .2654 Rate฀the฀competitiveness฀of฀your฀group฀members฀(my฀idea฀

฀฀฀is฀best).฀ 3.71฀ 1.96฀ 95฀ 3.58฀ 1.87฀ 91฀ 0.19฀฀ 1,฀184฀ .6626 How฀often฀is฀the฀person฀with฀the฀ideas฀the฀one฀who฀

฀฀฀assumes฀leadership?฀ 4.89฀ 1.31฀ 94฀ 4.99฀ 1.27฀ 93฀ 0.26฀฀ 1,฀185฀ .6129 How฀much฀did฀you฀develop฀your฀team฀skills?฀ 5.67฀ 1.23฀ 95฀ 5.66฀ 1.22฀ 92฀ 0.00฀ 1,฀185฀ .9529

Note.฀Respondents฀answered฀on฀a฀Likert-type฀scale฀ranging฀from฀1฀(little)฀to฀7฀(much).฀

TABLE฀2.฀Responses฀of฀Students฀Who฀Were฀in฀Teams฀of฀Similar฀Majors฀and฀Mixed฀Majors

฀ Similar฀majors฀ Mixed฀majors฀ Totala

Statement฀that฀best฀describes฀your฀team฀ %฀ n฀ %฀ n฀ %฀ n

One฀or฀two฀do฀all฀the฀work—usually฀effectively.฀ 7.45฀ 14฀ 6.38฀ 12฀ 13.83฀ 26 One฀or฀two฀do฀all฀the฀work—not฀very฀effectively.฀ 0.00฀ 0฀ 0.00฀ 0฀ 0.00฀ 0 There฀seem฀to฀be฀two฀subgroups฀most฀days.฀ 5.85฀ 11฀ 3.72฀ 7฀ 9.57฀ 18 Everybody฀seems฀to฀share฀the฀work฀fairly฀evenly,฀and฀we

฀฀฀accomplish฀a฀great฀deal.฀ 29.26฀ 55฀ 30.85฀ 58฀ 60.11฀ 113 Everybody฀seems฀to฀share฀the฀work฀fairly฀evenly,฀but฀it฀

฀฀฀takes฀a฀while฀to฀get฀everyone฀to฀agree.฀ 6.91฀ 13฀ 7.98฀ 15฀ 14.89฀ 28 One฀person฀disagrees฀with฀everyone฀else฀much฀of฀the฀time.฀ 1.06฀ 2฀ 0.53฀ 1฀ 1.60฀ 3 Total฀ 50.53฀ 95฀ 49.47฀ 93฀ 100.00฀ 188

a_χ2_{(4,฀N฀=฀188)฀=฀1.5775,฀p฀=฀.81.}

RESULTS

The฀ values฀ in฀Table฀ 1฀ show฀ that฀ the฀ ANOVA฀ revealed฀ significant฀ differ-ences฀between฀teams฀of฀similar฀majors฀ and฀teams฀of฀mixed฀majors฀in฀the฀team฀ members’฀levels฀of฀comfort฀in฀express- ing฀their฀ideas฀and฀in฀developing฀friend-ships฀ that฀ go฀ beyond฀ the฀ classroom.฀ Teams฀ with฀ similar฀ majors฀ (M฀ =฀ 6.49,฀ SD ฀=฀1.05)฀felt฀significantly฀more฀com-fortable฀ in฀ expressing฀ their฀ ideas,฀F(1,฀ 185)฀ =฀ 3.93,฀p฀ >฀ .049,฀ than฀ did฀ teams฀ with฀ mixed฀ majors฀ (M฀ =฀ 6.16,฀SD฀=฀ 1.23).฀ Likewise,฀ teams฀ with฀ similar฀ majors฀(M฀=฀5.32,฀SD฀=฀1.62)฀appeared฀ to฀ develop฀ new฀ friendships฀ that฀ went฀ beyond฀the฀classroom฀more฀frequently,฀ F(1,฀ 186)฀ =฀ 5.19,฀p฀ >฀ .023,฀ than฀ did฀ teams฀of฀mixed฀majors฀(M฀=฀4.72,฀SD฀=฀ 1.95).฀ This฀ may฀ be฀ because฀ they฀ had฀ common฀classes฀and฀consequently฀simi-lar฀interests.฀

When฀ describing฀ the฀ conflict฀ that฀ they฀ experienced,฀ teams฀ with฀ similar฀ majors฀and฀those฀with฀mixed฀majors฀all฀ reported฀minimal฀conflicts฀with฀person-alities,฀ ideas,฀ procedures,฀ culture,฀ gen- der,฀and฀age฀differences.฀The฀teams฀usu-ally฀ allowed฀ their฀ leaders฀ to฀ lead,฀ and฀ members฀worked฀together฀cooperatively฀ to฀ make฀ decisions฀ and฀ to฀ complete฀ the฀ work.฀ A฀ chi-square฀ test฀ (see฀ Table฀ 2)฀ showed฀ that฀ no฀ significant฀ differenc-es฀ existed฀ in฀ how฀ teams฀ with฀ similar฀ majors฀versus฀teams฀with฀mixed฀majors฀ did฀their฀work.฀Most฀of฀the฀time,฀team฀ members฀ seemed฀ to฀ share฀ the฀ work฀ fairly฀ evenly฀ and฀ felt฀ that฀ they฀ accom-plished฀ a฀ great฀ deal.฀ Team฀ members฀ also฀ reported฀ that฀ they฀ had฀ developed฀ team฀skills.฀

DISCUSSION

The฀ results฀ of฀ the฀ present฀ research฀ suggest฀ that฀ students฀ work฀ fairly฀ well฀ in฀teams฀and฀that฀they฀are฀not฀very฀con-cerned฀about฀differences฀in฀major.฀There฀ are฀differences,฀however,฀that฀have฀ped-agogical฀implications.

Students฀in฀both฀similar-majors฀teams฀ and฀ mixed-majors฀ teams,฀ for฀ the฀ most฀ part,฀ felt฀ that฀ they฀ were฀ full฀ members฀ of฀ their฀ teams.฀ However,฀ students฀ in฀ mixed-majors฀ teams฀ were฀ not฀ as฀ com-fortable฀ expressing฀ their฀ ideas.฀ There-fore,฀ diversity฀ among฀ team฀ members฀

may฀not฀necessarily฀mean฀that฀a฀variety฀ of฀ ideas฀ will฀ be฀ presented฀ unless฀ there฀ is฀ intervention,฀ such฀ as฀ coaching฀ or฀ inspired฀ leadership.฀ Factors฀ other฀ than฀ diversity฀ of฀ majors฀ should฀ be฀ present฀ to฀ promote฀ innovation฀ and฀ creativity.฀ Still,฀teams฀were฀able฀to฀make฀decisions฀฀ easily฀and฀to฀efficiently฀and฀effectively฀ complete฀their฀tasks.฀

Most฀ of฀ the฀ time,฀ team฀ members฀ worked฀together฀well,฀probably฀because฀ members฀experienced฀little฀conflict฀con-cerning฀personalities,฀procedures,฀ideas,฀ culture,฀ gender,฀ or฀ age.฀ Teaching฀ team฀ skills฀ at฀ the฀ beginning฀ of฀ the฀ semester฀ and฀ reinforcing฀ communication฀ skills฀ throughout฀the฀semester฀may฀have฀con-tributed฀ to฀ members’฀ working฀ together฀ well.฀In฀addition,฀members฀tended฀to฀be฀ more฀cooperative฀than฀competitive.

Often฀the฀person฀with฀ideas฀assumed฀ a฀ leadership฀ role,฀ but฀ occasionally฀ one฀ person฀would฀dominate฀the฀team.฀How-ever,฀ most฀ of฀ the฀ time฀ team฀ members฀ let฀their฀leaders฀lead,฀and฀members฀felt฀ that฀ their฀ leaders฀ were฀ effective.฀When฀ projects฀ needed฀ to฀ be฀ completed,฀ team฀ members฀worked฀cooperatively.฀In฀other฀ words,฀ team฀ members฀ made฀ decisions,฀ shared฀ the฀ work,฀ and฀ accomplished฀ a฀ great฀deal.฀

As฀ cohesiveness฀ increased฀ during฀ the฀ semester,฀ more฀ friendships฀ devel-oped฀among฀members฀of฀similar-majors฀ teams฀ than฀ among฀ members฀ of฀ mixed-majors฀ teams.฀ The฀ findings฀ suggest฀ that฀effective฀teams฀have฀members฀who฀ have฀developed฀special฀feelings฀for฀each฀ other฀ and฀ have฀ members฀ who฀ comple-ment฀each฀other.฀

Implications฀and฀ Recommendations

Team฀learning฀appears฀to฀be฀an฀effec-tive฀ teaching฀ method,฀ according฀ to฀ the฀ findings฀ of฀ this฀ study,฀ and฀ the฀ quality฀ of฀interpersonal฀communication฀among฀ team฀ members฀ determines฀ the฀ effec-tiveness฀of฀the฀team.฀Instructors฀should฀ use฀ teams฀ of฀ mixed฀ majors฀ to฀ prepare฀ students฀ for฀ the฀ real฀ world฀ and฀ to฀ help฀ them฀work฀on฀goal฀focus,฀despite฀differ-ences.฀ Students฀ should฀ be฀ encouraged฀ to฀ express฀ their฀ ideas,฀ especially฀ when฀ they฀ are฀ members฀ of฀ diverse฀ teams,฀ and฀ teams฀ of฀ similar฀ majors฀ should฀ be฀ formed฀ if฀ the฀ goal฀ is฀ to฀ develop฀

cohe-siveness฀ within฀ majors.฀ In฀ addition,฀ instructors฀should฀continue฀to฀use฀teams฀ that฀ work฀ together฀ during฀ the฀ entire฀ semester,฀ and฀ they฀ should฀ instruct฀ stu-dents฀ at฀ the฀ beginning฀ of฀ the฀ semester฀ on฀ group฀ development,฀ phases฀ of฀ team฀ development,฀steps฀in฀dealing฀with฀con-flict,฀and฀the฀decision-making฀process.

Future฀research฀should฀be฀conducted฀ both฀ (a)฀ to฀ identify฀ and฀ develop฀ peda-gogy฀that฀would฀help฀students฀in฀diverse฀ teams฀to฀express฀their฀ideas฀more฀will- ingly฀and฀(b)฀to฀discover฀ways฀of฀devel-oping฀ cohesiveness฀ within฀ diverse฀ teams.฀ Teamwork฀ may฀ mean฀ the฀ dif-ference฀between฀success฀and฀failure฀for฀ many฀workers฀and฀companies.

NOTES

Janet฀K.฀Winter,฀ EdD,฀is฀a฀professor฀of฀man- agement฀and฀teaches฀primarily฀business฀commu-nications;฀she฀researches฀in฀the฀areas฀of฀business฀ communications฀and฀management.฀

Karen฀K.฀Waner ,฀PhD,฀is฀a฀professor฀of฀man-agement฀and฀teaches฀and฀researches฀in฀the฀areas฀of฀ business฀communications฀and฀management.฀

Joan฀ C.฀ Neal-Mansfield,฀ PhD,฀ is฀ a฀ professor฀ of฀ management฀ and฀ dean฀ of฀ the฀ Harmon฀ Col-lege฀of฀Business฀Administration.฀She฀teaches฀and฀ researches฀ in฀ the฀ areas฀ of฀ business฀ communica-tions฀and฀management.

Correspondence฀ concerning฀ this฀ article฀ should฀ be฀ addressed฀ to฀ Prof.฀ Janet฀ K.฀ Winter,฀ Dockery฀ 400,฀University฀of฀Central฀Missouri,฀Warrensburg,฀ MO฀64093,฀USA.

E-mail:฀winter@ucmo.edu

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