Page 39 - Psychological Management of Individual Performance

performance in a changing world of work 17
WORKING IN TEAMS

Organizations are increasingly implementing teamwork and other group work arrange-
ments (Ilgen, 1999; West, Borrill, & Unsworth, 1998). Therefore, one might argue that
organizations become more interested in team performance than in individual perfor-
mance. However, because teams are composed of individuals, team processes and team
performance cannot be completely understood and improved without taking individual
performance into account. From the perspective of individual performance, three inter-
related aspects are important here. First, which individual difference variables predict
individual performance within a teamwork setting? Second, which aspects of individual
performance are relevant for team performance? Third, how does individual performance
translate into team performance?
As an answer to the first question, researchers have suggested that task-related skills
and knowledge are not sufficient when accomplishing tasks in a team-work setting.
Additionally, interpersonal and self-management skills and knowledge are regarded to
be essential for performing well in a team-work setting (Stevens & Campion, 1994). With
respect to the second question, individual task performance is necessary for high team
performance. Moreover, for a team to accomplish its often interrelated tasks, this will
not be sufficient. One can assume that specific facets of contextual performance, partic-
ularly helping and altruistic behavior, are highly relevant here. For example, Podsakoff,
Ahearne, and MacKenzie (1997) have shown that helping was positively related to both
quantity and quality aspects of group performance in a production setting.
The third question of how individual performance translates into team performance
refers to the discussion on multiple levels within organizational research (Kozlowski &
Klein, 2000; Rousseau, 1985). The question might sound trivial and the answer straight-
forward when the tasks to be accomplished are additive and team performance is just the
sum of team members’ individual performance, e.g., when all team members assemble
a product independently from one another—however, then one might question whether
this group is a team at all. In many teamwork settings in which tasks are disjunctive and
in which members are mutually dependent on one another, the combination of individual
performances into team performance is much more complex (Sonnentag, 1999).

GLOBALIZATION

‘Globalization’ has become a catchword when describing today’s business world.
Globalization comprises two major developments: first, production and services are
produced for a global market and they compete world wide; second, companies’ work-
forces become increasingly global, i.e., ‘culturally diverse’. With respect to the delivery
of global products and services, the consequences of globalizations are most obvious
within direct employee–customer interactions. What is regarded as good individual per-
formance in these interactions varies largely between different cultures. When compa-
nies ignore these differences and implement globally the identical selection, training, and
performance evaluation procedures, they might miss those feature and behaviors which
are perceived as the most appropriate in a specific culture, i.e., those which constitute
high individual performance.
Also the fact that many companies employ a globally composed workforce is linked to
issuesofindividualperformance.Forexample,individualsinculturallydiverseteamsand