University of Twente Student Theses
A team is more than the sum of its parts : the role of diversity in personalities in virtual teams
Hackelberg, T. (2014) A team is more than the sum of its parts : the role of diversity in personalities in virtual teams.
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| Abstract: | Working in teams is growing in popularity during the past decades. The purpose of this research is to identify the role of diversity in personality for the anticipated productivity and satisfaction of the team-members. Furthermore the effect of receiving information about diversity on the anticipated productivity and satisfaction is measured. After filling in a personality-questionnaire participants got the idea they had to work in a team. They had to solve some examples of the task and became members of a high emotional or high extravert team, as well as a homogeneous or diverse team. Participants received a preprogramed message of their fictional team-members. They were asked to fill in another questionnaire about their expectations regarding productivity, satisfaction and conflict in their team. Conclusions of the questionnaires are that members of a diverse team expect more satisfaction in their team than in a homogeneous team. Also, members of a high extravert team expect more satisfaction than members of a high emotional team. Providing participants with positive information about diversity has a positive effect on the expected satisfaction in a diverse team, but not in a homogeneous team. Furthermore, the explorative part of this study indicates that high extravert participants expect high productivity, satisfaction and conflict in a diverse team constellation. They expect low productivity in a homogeneous team-constellation. We can conclude that personality, as well as diversity in a team, plays a crucial role in the anticipated productivity, satisfaction and conflict. Interesting is that anticipated conflict goes in combination with anticipated satisfaction and productivity. These ideas provide a good starting point for future research, to finally advise management on how to create a well balanced team in terms of personality-diversity. |
| Item Type: | Essay (Master) |
| Faculty: | BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences |
| Subject: | 77 psychology |
| Programme: | Psychology MSc (66604) |
| Link to this item: | https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/64883 |
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