The Journal of applied psychology
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Scholars have assumed that the presence of negative emotions during task conflict implies the absence of positive emotions. However, emotions researchers have shown that positive and negative emotions are not 2 ends of a bipolar continuum; rather, they represent 2 separate, orthogonal dimensions. Drawing on affective events theory, we develop and test hypotheses about the effects of task conflict on positive emotions and job satisfaction. ⋯ Because of the information gains from mild task conflict expression, employees feel more active, energized, interested, and excited, and these positive active emotions increase job satisfaction. The information gained during task conflict, however, is not always energizing: It depends on the extent to which the behavioral context involves active learning and whether the conflict is cross-functional. We discuss theoretical implications for conflict, emotions, and job satisfaction in organizations.
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Planning in teams represents a critical process that lays the groundwork for effective team functioning. The current investigation examined whether emergent team planning can be meaningfully characterized in terms of a distinction between planning that focuses on taskwork and planning that focuses on teamwork. In Study 1, items written to reflect commonly identified indicators of team planning were subjected to an exploratory factor analysis. ⋯ In Study 3, the relationships between the different forms of planning and other team processes (i.e., coordination, interpersonal processes) were examined in order to determine whether there are unique relationships for task-focused and team-focused planning. Results from the first 2 studies provided support for a 2-factor structure of team planning, whereas Study 3 found independent relationships for taskwork and teamwork planning with subsequent team processes. Both forms of planning also exhibited indirect relationships with team performance via the mediating role of subsequent team processes.
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Focusing on "what people want in their group" as a critical antecedent of intragroup conflict, the present study theorizes and empirically investigates the relationships among the psychological needs of group members, intragroup conflict, and group performance. It attends to the within-group average and dispersion of members' psychological needs and examines the effects stemming from group composition of needs on multiple types of conflict. ⋯ The analyses also demonstrated that when the 3 types of conflict were considered together, task conflict was a positive predictor of group performance, whereas relationship conflict was a negative predictor. The findings highlight the motivational aspects of intragroup conflict, revealing the multilevel dynamics of the psychological needs in social settings.
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The study of negative relationships in teams has primarily focused on the impact of negative relationships on individual team member attitudes and performance in teams. The mechanisms and contingencies that can buffer against the damaging effects of negative relationships on team performance have received limited attention. ⋯ The results indicate that high levels of team-member exchange as well as high task-interdependence attenuate how team cohesion and team performance suffer from negative relationships. Implications for research and practice are discussed.
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In this study, we develop and test a model that extends leader-member exchange (LMX) theory to a dual leadership context. Drawing upon relative deprivation theory, we assert that when employees work for 2 leaders, each relationship exists within the context of the other relationship. ⋯ Results also revealed that a lack of alignment in the 2 LMXs led to asymmetric effects on outcomes, such that the relationship with agency leader mattered more than the relationship with one's client leader. Finally, frequency of communication with the agency leader determined the degree to which agency LMX affected job satisfaction in the low client LMX condition.