PhD Final Thesis April 2013.pdf - Anglia Ruskin Research Online

Thesis Keith Gale 2013• A ‘cognitive resource diversity’ paradigm developed through the field ofmanagement theory argues that diversity between team members creates anenvironment for positive performance due to individual unique cognitivetraits (Hambrick et al, 1996). Supported by Simons et al, (1999),observations found that individual diversity added to the quality of debatesand gave a positive impact upon team decisions.The apparent conflicting theories do not assist with congruence of individualstowards group performance - but a deeper analysis of the published literature affordssome guidance upon usage within a construction environment. Bunderson (2003)examined the collective functional expertise attributed towards each group andallocated certain traits toward a particular paradigm. Lant et al (1992) found thatfunctional homogenous teams comprising experts relevant to an industry provided apositive relationship where performance would improve. On this basis it wouldappear that individuals comprising construction professionals lean towards the‘similarity-attraction’ paradigm where an individual’s performance and groupperformance align (Horwitz, 2005).3.6 Key elements of group behaviour theoriesTraditional behaviour theory directly linked performance to financial payment(Taylor, 1914) where human production is proportional against pecuniary gain. Thissimplified view was added by development of behaviour theories followinginvestigations into human relations in the workplace by Henry Dennison and EltonMayo. A shift from Taylorist views toward more complex relationships betweenindividuals followed Mayo’s studies at the Hawthorne plant of Western Electric.Mayo’s conclusion of individual alignment with group performance was that:‘It is at least evident that the economists’ presupposition of individual selfpreservation as motive and logic as instrument is not characteristic of the industrialfacts ordinarily encountered. The desire to stand well with one’s fellows, the socalled human instinct of association, easily outweighs the merely individual interestand the logical reasoning upon which so many spurious principles of managementare based.’ (Mayo, 1949, p 39).53