Unit 1 Assignment

GM501-01: Management Theories and Practices II

Dr. Carrie A. O’Hare

March 10, 2018

Unit One Assignment – Annotated Bibliography

Academic Article/Annotation Format

The following peer-reviewed article has been secured from the Virtual Library at Kaplan University. The article has been formatted using the APA hanging indent format. The article reference is shown below and in the References page.

Hunsaker, P., Pavett, C., & Hunsaker, J. (2011). Increasing student-learning team effectiveness with team charters. Journal of Education for Business, 86, 127-139. doi:10.1080/08832323.2010.489588

Author Credibility

All three authors have extensive academic and professional credentials. P. Hunsaker earned a DBA, University of Southern California, Organizational Behavior, Social Psychology and Management (Hunsaker, n.d.). J. Hunsaker earned a PhD, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Urban Education, Business Administration and Sociology (Hunsaker, n.d.). Pavett earned a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Business Administration and Management (Pavett, n.d.).

Each author has published several articles and books including Pavett who in addition to significant publications has also served as a reviewer of professional articles for publication (Pavett, n.d.). J. Hunsaker has published more than 50 articles, including a book on gender issues in the workplace, Strategies and Skills for Managerial Women (Hunsaker, n.d.). P. Hunsaker has authored more than 100 articles in academic and professional journals and 14 books on management and organizational behavior (Hunsaker, n.d.).

Intended Audience

The intended audience includes students who are planning on forming teams and those students who are already participating in teams. Also, the authors are targeting instructors and business educators overseeing and guiding the efforts of those students. Due to the increased usage of team assignments not only in the classroom environment but also in the business and professional environment, there has been an increased number of problems occurring during the completion of the team assignments (Hunsaker, Pavett, & Hunsaker, 2011, p. 127). The authors have explored increasing the effectiveness of teams through the establishment of team charters (Hunsaker et al., 2011, p. 127).

Content Summary

The purpose of the article is to promote the use of team charters (Hunsaker et al., 2011, p. 127). To demonstrate the effectiveness of team charters, a description of the basic elements of a team charter are presented. Along with the description, guidelines are set forth to help instructors and students in developing and incorporating the team charters within their respective teams.

Some of the key topics covered included an explanation of a team charter and why it is important (Hunsaker et a., 2011, p. 128), the various elements of a team charter (pp. 129-131), and the assignment instructions and procedures (pp. 132-135). Other important issues covered included the concepts of free riders and social loafing (Daft, 2017, p. 603; Hunsaker et al., 2011, p. 134). Finally, the concepts of Crunch and Pinch Points were discussed and options to overcome each issue were presented (Hunsaker et al., 2011, pp. 133-134).

Article Credibility: Findings

Reliability.

According to Hunsaker et al. (2011), the team charter concept was implemented three years ago from the date of this article. The authors presented findings based on “student feedback, course evaluations, and a survey of the most recent classes” (Hunsaker et al., 2011, p. 135). The authors studied surveys sent to 93 students in three business management classes Hunsaker et al., 2011, p. 135). Given the repeated application of the team charter, the findings would most likely be similar when repeated.

Objectivity.

Can the findings be objectively confirmed and verified? The answer is yes due to the outside findings that supported the findings of the article. For instance, in the reference list the article, “The Team Charter Assignment: Improving the Effectiveness of Classroom Teams” (Cox & Bobrowski, 2004) was published in a highly respected peer-reviewed journal, The Journal of Behavioral and Applied Management. Thus, an outside highly respected source supported the findings within this study. Other sources referred to the basic contractual obligations such as Rousseau’s Psychological Contracts in Organizations: Understanding Written and Unwritten Agreements (1995) and the article by Edmonston, Roberto, and Watkins (2003), “A Dynamic Model of Top Management Team Effectiveness: Managing Unstructured Task Teams” in Leadership Quarterly.

Validity.

In answering the validity of the findings, the question is whether the findings might apply to other contexts? The answer is absolutely yes and principally based on the proliferation of virtual teams both in the academic context (environment) and in business (contexts) environments worldwide! According to Hunsaker et al. (2011), several studies were completed “to enhance team performance, evaluation, and leadership in the workplace” (p. 127). Further, six studies were identified that related to psychological contracts and team charters throughout the study and within the reference list.

Sources.

There are a variety of peer-reviewed article and book sources within the Reference List. Many highly respected sources include but were not limited to the following, Journal of Management Education, Journal of Applied Psychology, The Journal of Behavioral and Applied Management, Journal of Organizational Behavior, and Administrative Science Quarterly. The findings were related to and supported by several peer-reviewed journal articles and other similar researched materials.

Application

This Professor is a Town Judge and a past Director for the New York State Magistrates Association (NYSMA) with over 3,000 member Judges across the state of New York. There were several statewide committees formed at the September 2017 Conference. Time is a major constraint and with new members, there have been miscommunications at times concerning the delegation of specific duties and responsibilities to be completed in the upcoming year.

According to Daft (2017), a free rider “is a person who benefits from team membership but does not make a proportionate contribution to the team’s work” (p. 603). Although infrequent, there are a very few Judges who are well intentioned but for whatever reason, they are not able to complete their work during the year. However, they accept the accolades when the team is recognized for their overall efforts.

The team charter might alleviate the free rider issue and spell out the specific duties and consequences for not fulfilling those duties. Hunsaker et al. (2011) strongly suggest measuring and rewarding individual contributions (p. 134). Further, the four steps outlined on pages 133 and 134 are ones that this Judge will be enacting in the next two weeks to ensure everyone is aware of their responsibilities and that they understand the critical nature of communicating both minor disruptions and unbearable disruptions in successfully completing team assignments (Hunsaker et al., 2011, p. 133). By adhering to the highlighted elements of a team charter as presented by Hunsaker et al. (2011), this Judge feels the NYSMA team assignments will be more effective and completed in a timelier manner.

Daft, R. L. (2017). Management (13th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.

DeRosa, D. M., & Lepsinger, R. (2010). Virtual team success: A practical guide for working and leading from a distance. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.