Team work and collaboration as a tool for increased managerial learning
AUTHOR: Jared Reed DATE: 06.09.07 ISSUE 1, 2007
The value of interaction in the workplace is a source of increasing productivity and learning.
According to one of the many exceptional papers presented at the National Honours Colloquium at the Australian School of Business in August, organisations worldwide are rapidly restructuring work around teams, tapping into this new method of achieving company growth and stimulated knowledge.
| "The findings of this study are expected to have practical implications for the design of management information systems," says Serena Alim |
Other outstanding Honours research papers presented at the Colloquium included exploring different approaches to free trade attainment, the occupational health and safety of Visa 457 workers in Australia, and corporate volunteering in the Australian banking sector.
The teamwork research, by UNSW Accounting Honours student Serena Alim, examined how the learning process of project teams can be better understood, and whether the speed of learning in these group situations can be improved.
Unlike previous studies, this study also investigates whether learning can be transferred to other contexts and how this transfer of learning may be aided by collaboration.
Ms Alim says the study has implications for organisations because work teams are increasingly employed on a short-term, temporary basis.
"Teams work together to complete tasks as a collective unit. The study raises questions about the value of collaboration for improved learning due to the high rate of team work in organisations,” Ms Alim said.
"Learning is central to company performance and many decision contexts allow for learning.”
Ms Alim says practitioners emphasise the value of teamwork, proposing that intellectual knowledge is differentiated from physical assets, because intellect grows rapidly when shared.
"The findings of this study are expected to have practical implications for the design of management information systems, by highlighting the role of collaboration in learning and its value as a function of information.
"The framework and findings presented in this study will lead to a greater understanding of the significance of collaboration, as it may be one our most valuable human resources,” said Ms Alim.
40 of Australiasia's most outstanding business students will present their research at the fifth National Honours Colloquium, to be held at UNSW on August 17.
The National Honours Colloquium offers an exceptional opportunity to 4th year Honours students to present their research-in-progress and receive constructive feedback on their research from UNSW academics, peers and industry contacts.