Gordon, a Manager, Makes the Following Statement: "Our Experimentation with a Teams-Focused

question 265

Short Answer

Gordon, a manager, makes the following statement: "Our experimentation with a teams-focused product development process is complete, and the evidence clearly supports adopting this process across our organization. We picked a test project to see if productivity would be better under shared leadership, team accountability, and collaborative work. That project, Zen Park Frantic, was a market success. What more do we need to know?"
Linda, another manager, responds by saying: "You are jumping to conclusions. If Zen Park Frantic went especially well, then that improvement was probably caused by the Hawthorne effect and almost any change from the normal procedures would have produced a benefit."
Which of the following is a point at issue between Gordon and Linda?
Was Zen Park Frantic a market success?
Would Zen Park Frantic have been as successful if it had followed the organization's normal procedures?
Are team-based product development processes successful in any organizational setting?
Is the "Hawthorne effect" an important concept in explaining the causes of increased productivity?
Does the evidence support a move to team-based product development?

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Definitions:

Nonnormal Populations

Distributions that do not follow a normal (Gaussian) bell-shaped curve, often requiring different statistical techniques for analysis.

Sample Sizes

The count of data points or items chosen from a larger group for the purpose of statistical examination.

Pooled-variances T-test

A statistical method for comparing the means of two populations when it is assumed that both populations have equal variances.

Population Variances

A measure of the spread of a population's values, indicating how much the members of the population differ from the population mean.