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A Functional Theory of Task Role Distribution in Work Groups

Universität Bamberg/Germany, Institut für Theoretische Psychologie, joachim.stempfle{at}ppp.uni-bamberg.de

Oliver Hübner

Universität Bamberg/Germany, Institut für Theoretische Psychologie

Petra Badke-Schaub

Universität Bamberg/Germany, Institut für Theoretische Psychologie

In social psychology, much research has been conducted with regard to small groups, focusing on a few recurrent themes. Questions of group structure and group composition, however, have been widely neglected in social psychology research, although their importance is being recognized (Barrick, Stewart, Neubert, & Mount, 1998; Moreland, Levine, & Wingert, 1996). The following study focuses on explaining the emergence of a task role distribution in self-organizing work groups. A theory of task role distribution in work groups is being proposed capable of predicting the distribution of task roles in a team based on group members’ skills and preferences. The basic assumption behind the theory is that teams will strive to organize themselves in a functional way, taking into account both external demands (tasks that are assigned to the team) and internal demands (needs and preferences of the team members). A case study has been conducted on a self-organizing team of 15 student software developers working on a project task over a period of three weeks. The theory has been applied to the student project team. For the majority of team members the task role each team member was going to be assigned was predicted correctly by the theory.

Key Words: roles • self-organization • task role distribution • teams • work groups

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