Project Goals
Each class member will recruit and select two or three other class members to work on a literature review that addresses an organizational problem (max group size is 4 members). Your self-organized team will work to select an organizational problem of interest to the whole team and then conduct academic research and write a literature review that shows how the academic literature might inform such a problem. The project proposal at the end of this document must be submitted and approved.
The final project will be graded based on the following:
- Project topic proposal
- Final presentation
- Group peer evaluations
Through successful completion of the project, you will:
- Develop your ability to synthesize research in a productive way.
- Explore a new area of interest.
- Challenge your critical thinking skills.
- Learn how to find academic information on a specific topic.
- Develop your oral presentation skills.
- Gain practice in preparing a useful and coherent document, which shows your organizational and writing skills.
- Give you a product for your portfolio of which you can be proud.
When developing your literature review, you might consider answering the following questions:
- What theory provides some explanation for the problem being explored?
- What are the relationships between the theoretical constructs/topics that have been identified in empirical research? What relationships are still being explored?
- What are the implications of these findings for practitioners? How does knowledge of the theory and research findings help solve the problem?
- What additional issues, situations or relationships might new research explore?
Selecting a Topic
There are many topics relevant to managing communication. Your topic does not need to be something on the course syllabus, as long as it is generally relevant to managing communication. Once you have ideas for a topic, however, you should have it approved by your instructor.
Some questions to keep in mind:
- What, specifically, do I want to get out of this project?
- Does it interest me? Can I sustain interest in it?Is the topic something I can get others interested in?
- Will this help me in my career goals? Will it help me develop specific skills (such as interviewing, research, or other skills)? Will it give me something for my portfolio? Will it get me some useful contacts?
- Is the topic something for which there is sufficient published information available? Is it narrowly defined enough that I can do a thorough job on it without writing a book?
- Who is the target audience for the work and what are its needs and expectations? Hint: Your target audience is not your professor.
Suggestions for arriving at a topic:
- Identify a problem that a company is facing. For instance, perhaps you read a news article about how a company is losing good employees. What might the research say about potential explanations for this problem and how to remedy it?
- Look for a new technology or trend that might be influencing how organizations operate. For example, online learning is changing the way that universities operate. What are the implications of these changes for an organization and how might a university prepare themselves to navigate such changes effectively?
- Select a process and look at how it might be influenced by communication. An example might be the use of computer-mediated communication (CMC) in the coordination of social movements. You might ask What are the implications of using the internet and email in mobilizing activists?
Once youve selected a topic, youll need to generate a specific research question to help guide your research. This question should also inform the organization of the literature review that you write.
Conducting Research
Once a topic has been selected, you need to conduct research on your topic and synthesize what the research says.
What does the research say about this topic?
- Most issues that organizations deal with have been addressed, at least in some capacity by management and organization researchers, and thus have been published in academic journals and books.
- Your bibliography should include only academic articles that address your topic area. Examples of academic journals can be found in the Course Resources tab. Note: Wikipedia is not an academic source.
What are the implications of your findings for practice?
- How should managers handle this type of issue?
- How should communication practices change, or be implemented to address the issue?
- How can both areas of research inform each other?
- What was missing from the research you found?
Team Management
Choose your team carefully. Prepare criteria, interview possible team members, and recruit good prospects. If you make a poor choice, it reflects on your selection procedure. Remember, you must live with the choices you make.
Organize your team/effort in whatever way you like, but do it consciously. If you want to be leaderless, choose that optiondon’t just let it happen. Too often the organization is haphazard and dysfunctional for team process and product.
Plan well. Consider division of labor, control systems, evaluation systems, reward systems, and so on. Be creative and resourceful. Prepare a planning chart and use it as a check on your progress.
You must work in a team. Many management projects require teamwork. Treat this project as a forum for learning some skills in managing team activities. Synthesizing research effectively happens when individuals come together to share ideas about what theyve read and how research might be organized in an effective manner. If you dont talk to one another, your paper will reflect the lack of integrative thinking and synthesis required for this assignment.
Paper
Your final paper should be in the range of 15-20 pages, and should have in the neighborhood of 35 academic references. You must utilize APA format. Please proof carefully for grammar, spelling, clarity and overall flow.
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Introduction – Marianna
2-3talon
4-5 nia
7-8- Iris
9 & Conclusion – Marianna You only need help me do 7-8 Trust & Accountability and Actual vs Perceived Productivity denpedns on our proposal
CMGT 500 Final Group Literature Review Proposal
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The project goals and objectives are to understand how the influence of teamwork, clarity, and structure could increase collective productivity/efficiency, especially in a remote setting. Hybrid work environments have become more common since COVID-19, and the goal is to support them and see them flourish. Hybrid work environments may offer a sense of comfort to individuals, can potentially benefit organizations due to low costs, and organizations can have the ability to protect them if equipped with the right tools. If done correctly, the organization will be able to continue growing. |
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The purpose of the final product is to leave practitioners with the knowledge on how to use practical frames for optimising communication in a hybrid work environment. |
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The research question for this study is: How does the alignment between task complexity and communication influence coordination and collective efficacy in hybrid teams?– productivity needs to be included in the post conference with/;plo Professor JD are you really working if we can’t see you? Do we trust you? Do you really work with children? – perception Reference Instead of treating the workers as an appendage to the machine, Jeffrey Sonnenfeld notes in his detailed analysis of the studies, the Hawthorne experiments brought to light ideas concerning motivational influences, job satisfaction, resistance to change, group norms, worker participation, and effective leadership. These were groundbreaking concepts in the 1930s. From the leadership point of view today, organizations that do not pay sufficient attention to people and cultural variables are consistently less successful than those that do. From the leadership point of view today, organizations that do not pay sufficient attention to people and the deep sentiments and relationships connecting them are consistently less successful than those that do. The change which you and your associates are working to effect will not be mechanical but humane.
Classic literature and modern literature Equation model about football doesn’t interest JD 30-35 sources Relevant sources – hybrid work or remote work This is easier to read -Does the way teams communicate based on task difficulty affect how well they coordinate and how confident they feel in hybrid work settings? This question originates from both academic literature and real-world practice . Recently, the idea of a flow state has become popular on social media platforms such as TikTok, where creators often discuss productivity, focus, and optimal work performance. In these conversations, flow is usually described as an individual experience of deep concentration and efficiency. However, the concept of flow also appears in collaborative creative environments, especially in music. In hip-hop, for example, multiple artists contribute verses to the same track while maintaining rhythm, timing, and lyrical consistency. This coordinated flow reflects a shared understanding among collaborators. Similarly, in hybrid work environments, successful teamwork depends on more than individual productivity. Team members must communicate effectively to stay aligned on goals, expectations, and responsibilities. Our interest in this topic comes not only from existing research but also from our own experience working remotely while completing projects in an online class. (social media productivity discussions/ real life work experiences / digital class) Answering this research question is important because many organizations struggle with maintaining coordination when employees work remotely or in hybrid settings. Without clear communication practices, teams may experience confusion, delays, or reduced collaboration. By examining how communication aligns with task complexity, this research can provide insight into how teams can coordinate more effectively, maintain a shared workflow, and improve collaboration even when members are not physically in the same location. In traditional office environments, employees can easily ask questions or clarify instructions in person. In remote environments, however, maintaining that same level of coordination can be more challenging. This research aims to identify communication strategies that help teams stay aligned and work effectively in hybrid environments. Specifically, we hope to learn how managers can structure communication to support collaboration and coordination. The goal is to develop a framework that organizations can use to improve communication practices, identify potential gaps, and implement strategies that benefit both the organization and its employees. |
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Relevant Research What does the research say about this topic? What are the most relevant citations? Note: these should be primarily academic articles. Dovidio, J. F., Gaertner, S. L., & Saguy, T. (2009). Commonality and the complexity of “we”: social attitudes and social change. Personality and social psychology review : an official journal of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc, 13(1), 320. Ganotice, F.A., Chan, L., Shen, X. et al. Team cohesiveness and collective efficacy explain outcomes in interprofessional education. BMC Med Educ 22, 820 (2022). Leo, F. M., Filho, E., Lpez-Gajardo, M. A., Garca-Calvo, T., & Gonzlez-Ponce, I. (2023). The relationship among intra-group communication, transactive memory systems, collective efficacy and team performance: A structural equation model analysis with Elite Footballers. European journal of sport science, 23(4), 599606. Li J, Jia L, Cai Y, Kwan HK and You S (2020) EmployeeOrganization Relationships and Team Performance: Role of Team Collective Efficacy. Front. Psychol. 11:206. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00206 Ltjens, D., & Felfe, J. (2026). Beyond Where We Work: Daily Informal Communication, Knowledge Sharing, and Commitment in Hybrid Teams. Administrative Sciences, 16(2), 63. R, , (1986) Organizational Information Requirements, Media Richness and Structural Design. Management Science 32(5):554-571.
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Straus, E., Uhlig, L., Khnel, J., & Korunka, C. (2023). Remote workers well-being, perceived productivity, and engagement: which resources should HRM improve during COVID-19? A longitudinal diary study. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 34(15), 29602990. Y Jasmine Wu, Brennan Antone, Leslie DeChurch, Noshir Contractor, Information sharing in a hybrid workplace: understanding the role of ease-of-use perceptions of communication technologies in advice-seeking relationship maintenance, Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, Volume 28, Issue 4, July 2023, zmad025, |
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Theory Which theories apply to this topic? Does the theory suggest you will find something specific (hypotheses)? If so, what might it suggest? |
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The theories that fit into this topic are the Common Group Approach, Social Information Processing (SIP), and the Media Richness Approach. For this research project, we will mainly focus on the Common Group Approach while lightly touching on the other two theories. We aim to highlight how the Common Group Approach can influence and shape relationships and media channels. The Common Group Approach emphasizes a collective identity and a ‘shared flow state’ within an organization, which directly leads to increased productivity. This theory explores how an individuals actions influence the broader organizations success. Similar to a human body where every organ must coordinate to function, this approach suggests that when team members understand their specific roles within the collective, the organization maintains stability and coordinationeven in a hybrid setting. Social Information Processing (SIP) focuses on the relationship between management and employee using verbal cues to build trust without being in person in a work environment. This has significant value when the workspace is remote. GOOD Possibility Media Richness relates to which channel is best for the project, ex: video or text.Revalent for finding the right match during a hybrid workspace JD DOESNT THINK IT WILL FIT The common ground approach suggests that when teams communicate effectively, they develop a shared understanding that can lead to higher productivity, stronger coordination, and greater collective efficacy. Social Information Processing (SIP) theory proposes that employees can build relationships through communication patterns over time, which helps teams adapt and achieve higher levels of coordination. Media Richness Theory suggests that when communication channels match the complexity of a task, teams will demonstrate better coordination and improved performance. Note: Artificial intelligence was used to assist with the grammar, clarity, and structure of the writing in this assignment. The brainstorming, development of ideas, and core concepts were created by group 13. AI was used only as a tool to help refine the wording and organization of those ideas. |
Execution Plan
Our group will meet virtually Saturday mornings between 10-2PST depending on availability. Additional meetings may be scheduled as needed. Talon has created a collaborative google drive folder for the group. It has been utilized throughout the semester.
- Group member responsible for posting group deliverables that week.
- March 11th-Nia
- March 18th -Marianna
- March 25th-Iris
- April 1st-Talon
- April 8th-Iris
- Group member responsible for posting to class group forums that week.
- March 11th-Nia
- March 18th -Talon
- March 25th-Marianna
- April 1st-Iris
- April 8th-Marianna
- Group member responsible for attending and participating in the live session.
- March 11th-Talon
- March 18th -Nia
- April 1st -Marianna
- April 8th-Iris
(talks about post 2020)
-Hybrid teams and productivity amongst small businesses (less than 50-100)
productivity and hybrid remote
Productivity
- Task completion
- Are you really working?
- Does online affecting productivity
- Find theories (2 that support paper) -check out hawthorne affect for this
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Remote Hybrid
- Small businesses
- Post covid
- Why they go hybrid
- What does hybrid bring to the table?
- How does the work environment stay a community/connected
- are you really working if we can’t see you? Do we trust you? Do you really work with children? – perception