Schedule
Workshops
Communication Technologies at Work: Changing Organization Boundaries and Evolving Employee IdentitiesAnita Blanchard
University of North Carolina Charlotte
This interactive workshop will explore new mediated communication technologies and how we currently perceive that they will change the way organizations function and employees work. Technology radically changes the boundaries between people; time and space are no longer important. Boundary issues, relating to virtual teams, telecommuters, inter-organizational/professional virtual communities and the changing conceptions of work and play, will be explored and discussed. Identity issues have also gathered a great deal of attention: how does the accurate knowledge (or not) of one's co-workers affect employees. Recent technologies such as Facebook and LinkedIn, as well as SecondLife, could change what we believe about the effects of mediated communication on organizations and employees.
Partnering for Sustainable Change
Rebecca Borden
Sun Microsystems
These days, change is 'business as usual' for many organizations in the IT industry. Increased competition and globalization are just two of the factors driving the need for rapid and constant change. Many organizations struggle to fully sustain and implement changes within a dynamic environment. This struggle ensues in part, because responsibility for the change is typically assigned to a single entity rather than drawing a combined effort across relevant organizations. This workshop will focus on a model for driving sustainable change within organizations and the need for a partnership between the Human Resources function and the business function in order to drive this change.
Technology in the Workplace: It's Supposed to Help, But How do we React?
Zinta Byrne
Colorado State University
Organizations are becoming more geographically dispersed, utilizing virtual teams to cover remote locations, often spanning multiple time zones. Such changes in the organizational landscape have brought about differences in communication patterns. Specifically, face-to-face meetings are not always feasible and employees share information using a variety of electronic media such as email and voicemail. In fact, some employees never meet one another or their supervisor or boss, yet are expected to work collaboratively across multiple time zones and cultural barriers.
Little research to date, however, has examined the effect of using alternative media (e.g., telephone, email) for organizational procedures such as performance appraisals, interviews, or layoffs. Communication research suggests that it is not just the message that matters; how the message is delivered (i.e., communication medium) has an impact on individuals reactions and acceptability of the message. Some initial research has supported this contention. Times are a changing but research is not keeping pace.
Participants in this workshop will explore some of the initial research that has been conducted focusing on employee reactions to organizational practices which are now executed and implemented via new technology solutions versus face-to-face communications, as in the past. Participants will be expected to brainstorm and discuss potential research questions resulting from the global workforce that is rapidly changing, and the impact of a geographically dispersed and technologically savvy workforce on research in IO Psychology.
I'm cool, you're not, na na na boo boo: Thinking about socially competent behavior in organizations
Eric Heggestad
University of North Carolina Charlotte
The nearly 100 year history of theory and research on the concept of social effectiveness (and the related and often interchangeable concepts of social intelligence, social skills, political skills, etc.) has resulted in very little consensus; frankly, the area of study is murky and lacks direction. Yet, it is a topic of central import to the changing workplace, with applications from customer service, to leadership, to coaching and development. In this workshop, we will explore the notion of socially competent behavior, where it comes from, and how organizational outcomes may be impacted. Through interactive presentation and discussion, we will identify and define some basic concepts, develop a conceptual model of social effectiveness, and examine some recent findings from the empirical literature.
Build a Work-Class Technology-Based Training System
Kurt Kraiger
Colorado State University
This workshop will review evidence of what works (and does not work) in web-based training programs, and then present practical steps in designing a world-class distance learning program. Examples from corporate learning programs will be provided. Topics will include choosing training vendors, effective web-based training design, and principles to ensure effective training delivery and implementation.
Realities of Working in Virtual Teams: Issues and Ideas
Ken Bettenhausen & Ellie Gibbons
University of Colorado, Denver & University of Colorado Health Sciences Center
With the rapid increase in communication technologies, more organizations are using virtual teams to facilitate group work. There are estimates that over 50% of large companies use virtual teams and 60% of professional employees work in virtual teams. We will begin this workshop by presenting an overview of issues relating to virtual teams and then report our findings on the impact of virtual teams on team member emotions. Then, we will move to an interactive discussion aimed at generating and refining ideas relating to the use of virtual teams in organizations.
Virtual Teams: A Review and Discussion of Future Directions
Travis Maynard
Colorado State University
In this workshop, a forum will be provided whereby I will encapsulate what has been done within the virtual team (VT) literature. Specifically, I will use the literature review that my colleagues and I published in the Journal of Management in 2004 (Martins, Gilson, & Maynard, 2004) as well as literature published since this time to establish a "place-holder" for where the VT literature is currently. Then, I hope to "switch gears" and have the remainder of the workshop be interactive where participants can discuss their thoughts about where the literature should go and some of the challenges that are likely to arise when pursuing these future directions.
What Do We Know About Team Performance? 25 Years of Progress...
Eduardo Salas
University of Central Florida
This interactive session will provide an overview of what we know (so far) about teams, teamwork, team training and team performance. It will highlight the evidence that is available from the science of team performance after over two decades of basic and applied research. The session will be a unique opportunity for participants to learn about the science of team performance; about the hallmarks of effective teams and about the fun in conducting team research.
Organizational Change Dynamics: The Differences Between Success and Failure
Scott Tannenbaum
Group of Organizational Effectiveness
Organizations across the globe are experiencing incessant change, and the pace is unlikely to abate. People and companies that handle change effectively perform better and are healthier...but managing change is difficult. I/O psychologists should be ideally suited to both advance knowledge about organizational change (through our research) and enable change (through our applied work). At a minimum, we must understand change dynamics to implement I/O practices effectively. Unfortunately, as a field we have not paid a great deal of attention to organizational change issues. This interactive workshop will examine change dynamics, including the practice of change management, and will explore opportunities for change-related research.
Assessment Centers DO Have (Construct) Validity to Measure Intended Constructs
George Thornton
Colorado State University
Considerable evidence related to the assessment center method will be presented to support inferences that the method can be used to predict future performance, diagnose strengths and weaknesses, and foster development. Following the modern view of validation codified in professional guidelines (APA et al, Standards and SIOP, Principles), this presentation will review multiples types of evidence to support the different inferences typically made about participation in assessment centers. Both published and unpublished evidence over the past 40 years (including recent studies) will be summarized.
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