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Abstract
This purpose of this paper is to evaluate whether collective mind develops over time and to examine whether collective mind impacts team performance. This study relies on a quasi- experimental laboratory study of twenty teams and a field examination of ten intact work teams. The results of this study indicate that collective mind changes significantly over time and that collective mind is positively and significantly related to team performance.
Keywords: collective mind, development, team performance
Individual cognitive models (Craik, 1943) help in describing, explaining, and understanding a current state and predicting future states (Rouse & Morris, 1986). These models, although imperfect (Hinsz, 1995; Morray, 1997), are important because they are a representation of the environment and its expected behavior (Holyoak, 1984), and thus act as a reference point in organizing knowledge (Rosch, 1978). These models of knowledge structures develop over time, becoming more complex and sophisticated as an individual matures and learns more (Piaget, 1970). A relevant question in business regards a similar process for a group or work team. The management of team cognitive processes is considered one of the most worthwhile pursuits in understanding team performance and organizational performance (Manz & Neck, 1997). In this paper, we evaluate whether this development occurs at a team level of analysis by examining collective mind over time.
Teams are defined as "a distinguishable set of two or more people who interact, dynamically, interdependently, and adaptively toward a common objective, who have each been assigned specific roles or functions to perform, and who have a limited life-span of membership" (Salas, Dickinson, Converse, & Tannenbaum, 1992, p. 4). Teams are more suitable for complex tasks because team members can share and monitor the workload (Mathieu, Goodwin, Heffner, Salas, & CannonBowers, 2000). Team members also can contribute diversity of skills, expertise, and resources that may be necessary for complex tasks that go beyond a single individual's capabilities (Espinosa, Lerch, & Kraut, 2004). The combination of skills, expertise, and resources of team members enable the team to potentially optimize the speed and efficiency in which complex tasks can be completed (Dayan & Elbanna, 2011; McComb, Green, & Compton, 1999). In this paper, we explore the notion of the development of collective mind over time and the effect of...