High-Performing Self-Managed Work Teams: A Comparison of Theory to Practice

Since the mid-1970s, pressure from international competition has forced U.S. businesses to look for better ways to achieve and maintain a competitive position. At the same time, public organizations have been asked to produce their services with fewer dollars. The result of these trends has been a growing urgency among public and private organizations to find new ways of reducing their expenses while maintaining or increasing productivity and quality. One popular tool is the self-managed work team (SMWT). How is it different than a work group or short-term team? Which problems compel an organization to create an SMWT? What factors explain successful SMWTs? What must the organization do to develop high-performance, cost-effective teams? In High-Performing Self-Managed Work Teams, Dale E. Yeatts and Cloyd Hyten, Principle Investigators for the three-year National Science Foundation study of the performance of SMWTs, answer these questions and thoroughly examine the most widely accepted theories that attempt to explain SMWT performance. They introduce a synthesis of these theories based on 10 case studies from three different settings: manufacturing, public service, and health care. In an accessible style, the authors lead students and professionals to better understand the theory behind SMWTs as well as the practical aspects of when to use SMWTs to find solutions and how to develop achieving teams. This book appeals to practitioners and scholars in management, human resources, organization studies, industrial psychology, public administration, organizational communication, marketing, sociology, public health, and nursing.