Research Methods Writing

Assignment #2 Article Summary Example

Article 1 Summary

1. Citation Information

Sandoff, M., & Nilsson, K. (2016). How staff experience teamwork challenges in a new

organizational structure. Team Performance Management, 22(7-8), 415-427.

http://www.emeraldinsight.com.libproxy.temple.edu/doi/full/10.1108/TPM-05-2016-0021

2. Summary of Article

This study explored challenges occurring in teams that are part of a new organizational

structure. The challenges are based on observations and experiences from members of a team.

The participants were employees of Public Administration and also had the position and title of

Developmental Leader. Each leader had expertise in one or two areas There are multiple

department in Public Administration, therefore, the authors selected from three separate

departments. They selected from three departments because they differed from each other in

terms of demography, therefore, the city was equally represented within the group. Overall, there

were 18 participants: 17 females, 1 male. The method was qualitative and the authors used

interviews with open ended questions to acquire their data. The interviews were 60-90 minutes in

duration and took place in the office of the person being interviewed. The setting was located at

the Public Administration department in the city of Gothenburg. The results showed that there

were various challenges as described by the participants. The article findings concluded that

insufficient attention was paid to developing proper leadership, ground rules, information,

meetings, coordination and norms for teams. The resolutions for these issues were lacking and

there was a need for effective leadership skills and training for the developmental leaders.

3. Article Relation to Topic in Assignment#1

This article relates to my topic of study because it studies and uncovers challenges in

teams. Although the team being studied in this research is a specific team in a small

municipality, these challenges are not specific to only that group. These are challenges that affect

teams all over. Each challenge that has been discussed in this article are accounts of dysfunction

observed and told by the team members being studied. Some of the challenges discussed by the

members are: lack of organizational prerequisites for teamwork, shortage of information among

team members, few scheduled meetings, and absence of coordination and leadership. Each

challenge was described in detail within the article. For example, the issue about scheduled

meetings was described as being unproductive and unengaging. Additionally, each team had a

manager that is responsible for managing and leading the team, however, the team members

stated that leadership and management traits were absent in the designated person. The article

concluded with recommendations for creating cohesive, cooperative and coordinated working

teams and leaders.

Article 2 Summary

1. Citation Information

M. Berlin, J. (2014). Common incentives for teamwork – the unspoken contract's significance.

Team Performance Management, 20(1/2), 65-80.

http://www.emeraldinsight.com.libproxy.temple.edu/doi/full/10.1108/TPM-04-2013-0011

2. Summary of Article

The purpose of this study was to identify and study common incentives for teamwork.

The design of the study is a qualitative case study. It studied teamwork at a university hospital

over a four-year period. Ten psychiatric teams were studied for twelve to eighteen months.

According to the article, the authors chose psychiatry because that field has a long experience of

teamwork. The authors collected data through observations and interviews during teamwork at

treatment conferences. There have been 52 observations and 48 interviews during the span of the

study. The research limitations conclude that they findings should be treated with caution

because the study was conducted at a public organization, specifically studying one group of

people within the same field. The findings showed that the incentives identified for teamwork

was shared responsibility and the unspoken contract. The unspoken contract has been described

as cooperation, autonomy and trust between team members. The theoretical framework is based

on a theory about ongoing conflict between self-interests and common interests called the social

dilemma. The common incentives that were identified are: responsibility, holistic approaches,

support and the unspoken contract. The implications provided useful information for

practitioners to understand the importance of common incentives. The conclusion identified

common incentives, such as, shared responsibility, appreciation and long-term approaches to

team work and the importance of developing transparent systems to foster effective teamwork.

3. Article Relation to Topic in Assignment#1

This article relates to my topic of study because it discusses common challenges that arise

in many teams across many industries. Although this study cautions against making

generalizations because this study was specific to one field over a long period of time, the same

issues and resolutions keep repeating themselves through all of my research. I understand that

different approaches and resolutions fit better for different industries, however, there is a pattern

that describes the same basic problems and resolutions throughout each field. I also believe that

this article related to my topic because cookie cutter approaches do not exist when resolving

team challenges. I believe having a diverse view and toolboxes creates better conditions to

critical think about and rectify problems in the future.