We need teams in nearly every aspect of our lives (e.g., hospitals, schools, flight decks, nuclear power plants, oil rigs, the military, and corporate offices). Nearly a century of psychological ...science has uncovered extensive knowledge about team-related processes and outcomes. In this article, we draw from the reviews and articles of this special issue to identify 10 key reflections that have arisen in the team literature, briefly summarized here. Team researchers have developed many theories surrounding the multilayered aspects of teams, such that now we have a solid theoretical basis for teams. We have recognized that the collective is often stronger than the individual, initiating the shift from individual tasks to team tasks. All teams are not created equal, so it is important to consider the context to understand relevant team dynamics and outcomes, but sometimes teams performing in different contexts are more similar than not. It is critical to have teamwork-supportive organizational conditions and environments where psychological safety can flourish and be a mechanism to resolve conflicts, ensure safety, mitigate errors, learn, and improve performance. There are also helpful teamwork competencies that can increase effectiveness across teams or tasks that have been identified (e.g., coordination, communication, and adaptability). Even if a team is made up of experts, it can still fail if they do not know how to cooperate, coordinate, and communicate well together. To ensure the improvement and maintenance of effective team functioning, the organization must implement team development interventions and evaluate relevant team outcomes with robust diagnostic measurement. We conclude with 3 main directions for scientists to expand upon in the future: (a) address issues with technology to make further improvements in team assessment, (b) learn more about multiteam systems, and (c) bridge the gap between theory and practice. In summary, the science of teams has made substantial progress but still has plenty of room for advancement.
Autophagy has been proposed to promote cell death during lumen formation in three-dimensional mammary epithelial acini because numerous autophagic vacuoles are observed in the dying central cells ...during morphogenesis. Because these central cells die due to extracellular matrix (ECM) deprivation (anoikis), we have directly interrogated how matrix detachment regulates autophagy. Detachment induces autophagy in both nontumorigenic epithelial lines and in primary epithelial cells. RNA interference-mediated depletion of autophagy regulators (ATGs) inhibits detachment-induced autophagy, enhances apoptosis, and reduces clonogenic recovery after anoikis. Remarkably, matrix-detached cells still exhibit autophagy when apoptosis is blocked by Bcl-2 overexpression, and ATG depletion reduces the clonogenic survival of Bcl-2-expressing cells after detachment. Finally, stable reduction of ATG5 or ATG7 in MCF-10A acini enhances luminal apoptosis during morphogenesis and fails to elicit long-term luminal filling, even when combined with apoptotic inhibition mediated by Bcl-2 overexpression. Thus, autophagy promotes epithelial cell survival during anoikis, including detached cells harboring antiapoptotic lesions.
As virtual teams are becoming more frequently implemented within organizations, research examining the effect of virtual tool use on team functioning has correspondingly expanded. One primary focus ...of this literature is the impact of virtuality on team communication. However, findings remained mixed. Specifically, the impact of virtuality on the mechanisms between communication and performance as well as the simultaneous moderating effect of contextual factors on this relationship remains to be fully examined. One reason for this lack of clarity stems from ambiguity regarding the elements that constitute communication. To address this gap, this paper delineates which aspects of communication are most influential and should, consequently, be the primary focus of future research efforts. An overarching framework of the communication process with accompanying research propositions is also described to inform future research and the practice of virtual teams.
Objective: We highlight some of the key discoveries and developments in the area of team performance over the past 50 years, especially as reflected in the pages of Human Factors.
Background: Teams ...increasingly have become a way of life in many organizations, and research has kept up with the pace. Method: We have characterized progress in the field in terms of eight discoveries and five challenges. Results: Discoveries pertain to the importance of shared cognition, the measurement of shared cognition, advances in team training, the use of synthetic task environments for research, factors influencing team effectiveness, models of team effectiveness, a multidisciplinary perspective, and training and technological interventions designed to improve team effectiveness. Challenges that are faced in the coming decades include an increased emphasis on team cognition; reconfigurable, adaptive teams; multicultural influences; and the need for naturalistic study and better measurement. Conclusion: Work in human factors has contributed significantly to the science and practice of teams, teamwork, and team performance. Future work must keep pace with the increasing use of teams in organizations. Application: The science of teams contributes to team effectiveness in the same way that the science of individual performance contributes to individual effectiveness.
As innovative endeavors have become more complex and time-intensive, there has become an increasing reliance on expert teams in organizations. Expert innovation teams are comprised of team members ...with extensive experience and mastery in a particular discipline. These teams utilize fluid membership that expands the available knowledge of the team but creates challenges for effective teamwork. We argue that the mechanism for creating an enduring impact and developing a product to fruition requires the cognitive and social integration of fluid team members. This article focuses on how teams effectively integrate knowledge with diverse, and possibly fluid, team members and how teams can organize knowledge through planning and reflection to implement the idea successfully. Knowledge integration and team reflexivity are considered in tandem to emphasize the multi-faceted nature of generating and implementing innovative solutions and the conflicting teamwork processes that hinder innovative efforts. To understand how these competing teamwork processes required for successful innovation interact, we developed a framework that considers resilience as the factor that elicits team creative performance. In doing so, we discuss how innovation teams build resilience over time and how creative failure can lead to greater levels of innovation.
Provides an introduction to this special issue which explores the Science of Teamwork-what psychological science in 2018 tells us about the process and outcomes of teamwork in a variety of contexts. ...This work draws from and affects all areas of psychology. The science and practice of teamwork is now an interdisciplinary activity. Teamwork is a complex phenomenon requiring multiple lenses and approaches. What follows is a description of our process in putting together the issue and a brief description of the articles that compose it. (PsycINFO Database Record
The tumor-promoting functions of autophagy are primarily attributed to its ability to promote cancer cell survival. However, emerging evidence suggests that autophagy plays other roles during ...tumorigenesis. Here, we uncover that autophagy promotes oncogenic RAS-driven invasion. In epithelial cells transformed with oncogenic RAS, depletion of autophagy-related genes suppresses invasion in three-dimensional culture, decreases cell motility, and reduces pulmonary metastases in vivo. Treatment with conditioned media from autophagy-competent cells rescues the invasive capacity of autophagy-deficient cells, indicating that these cells fail to secrete factors required for RAS-driven invasion. Reduced autophagy diminishes the secretion of the promigratory cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6), which is necessary to restore invasion of autophagy-deficient cells. Moreover, autophagy-deficient cells exhibit reduced levels of matrix metalloproteinase 2 and WNT5A. These results support a previously unrecognized function for autophagy in promoting cancer cell invasion via the coordinate production of multiple secreted factors.
Our results delineate a previously unrecognized function for autophagy in facilitating oncogenic RAS-driven invasion. We demonstrate that an intact autophagy pathway is required for the elaboration of multiple secreted factors favoring invasion, including IL-6.
Organizations are increasingly becoming dynamic and unstable. This evolution has given rise to greater reliance on teams and increased complexity in terms of team composition, skills required, and ...degree of risk involved. High‐reliability organizations (HROs) are those that exist in such hazardous environments where the consequences of errors are high, but the occurrence of error is extremely low. In this article, we argue that teamwork is an essential component of achieving high reliability particularly in health care organizations. We describe the fundamental characteristics of teams, review strategies in team training, demonstrate the criticality of teamwork in HROs and finally, identify specific challenges the health care community must address to improve teamwork and enhance reliability.
Although existing models of e-learning effectiveness in information systems (IS) have increased our understanding of how technology can support and enhance learning, most of our models do not take ...into account the importance of social presence. Thus, this study extends previous research by developing a model of e-learning effectiveness which adds social presence to other oft studied variables including application-specific computer self-efficacy (AS-CSE), perceived usefulness, course interaction, and e-learning effectiveness. Using data from 345 individuals, this model was validated through a field study in an introductory IS survey course. Results indicate that AS-CSE and perceived usefulness were related to course performance, course satisfaction, and course instrumentality. In addition, course interaction was related to course performance and satisfaction. Finally, social presence was related to course satisfaction and course instrumentality. Implications for research and practice are discussed.
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