I nterdisciplinary C ommittee on O rganizational S tudies University of Michigan 12 th Likert Dissertation Poster Session Friday, March 31 st , 2017 Abstracts Name: Jon Atwell Department/Program: Sociology and Complex Systems E-Mail Address: [email protected]Website: jonatwell.com Year in Program: 7 Title: Analytical Approaches to the Production of Shared Practices, Symbols and Meanings Abstract: Conventions are solutions to social coordination problems that are not formally agreed upon. They are also arbitrary in the sense that an alternative behavior would also solve the coordination problem. These emergent norms are essential for well-functioning groups, organizations, and societies, yet the processes by which they emerge are still little understood. In particular, it is not clear under what conditions a large, decentralized group can create a new convention. Following recent research, this project explores this question through large group behavioral experiments. Previous research treats network topology as the sole independent explanatory factor, but I present here evidence that small amounts of information about the behavior of others in the network can radically change the prospects for the emergence of conventions in small-world and random network topologies. This finding offers a resolution to a puzzle regarding why topologies with reasonable average shortest path lengths have not supported the emergence of conventions in previous research. It also suggests information from sources that are often treated as analytically superfluous can significantly alter outcomes and that cultural learning and resources are more diffuse that network-centered research would suggest.
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Interdisc ip l inar y
Committee on
Organizat ional
Stud ies Univers ity o f Mich igan
12th Likert Dissertation Poster Session Friday, March 31st, 2017
Year in Program: 5 Title: Getting acquainted: How learning about colleagues' personal lives impacts workplace interactions, for better and worse Abstract:
In my dissertation, I introduce the concept of personal knowledge, discuss how it is formed, explore how
it is used, and examine potential boundary conditions of its effects. In Chapter 1, I motivate the need for
this investigation by highlighting an unresolved workplace tension: the simultaneous deep need for
human connection and fear of letting others know one’s self. In Chapter 2, I draw on theories of relational
schema, person perception, and interpersonal dynamics to develop an understanding of how the quantity
of personal knowledge acquired impacts the way the known colleague is perceived and treated. I argue
that through blurring the work-life boundary, colleagues gain personal knowledge about one another,
which changes the way they interact in both positive and negative ways. In Chapter 3, through three field
studies across diverse samples of university staff, cross-industry dyads, and consulting teams, I
demonstrate that having greater levels of personal knowledge leads to a more individuated, humanized
perception of the known colleague, which results in increased responsiveness and decreased social
undermining. Further, I show that this effect holds over and above alternative relational mechanisms of
liking, trust, and respect. I also reveal that the positive effect of personal knowledge on responsiveness is
not mitigated by perceptions of value incongruence or work-to-life interference. Finally, in Chapter 4, I
discuss the theoretical implications of my dissertation for the relationships at work and work-life
literatures.
Interdisc ip l inar y
Committee on
Organizat ional
Stud ies Univers ity o f Mich igan
12th Likert Dissertation Poster Session Friday, March 31st, 2017
Year in Program: 6 Title: Resistance in the Core: A Mixed Methods Investigation Into Teachers' Professional Learning Networks in the Context of Reform Abstract:
This mixed methods study focuses on how informal learning operated in the context of a formal
Professional Learning Community (PLC) reform initiative. Given the breadth and depth of evidence for
the positive effects of PLCs on teacher learning, one might reasonably expect the formal learning related
to PLCs to be both predominant among and preferred by teachers. The quantitative evidence suggests
that the PLC reform was correlated with new learning ties, but my analysis of the qualitative evidence
revealed that PLC groups tapped into preexisting informal learning network structures with little to no
reference to their informal nature. In one local learning network affected by this reform, one key group
of teachers reported negative affect with regard to the formal PLC reform, more positive descriptions of
informal learning incidents than formal learning incidents, more negative descriptions of formal learning
incidents than informal learning incidents, and a preference for informal learning over formal learning. If
reforms of teachers’ professional learning are to succeed, accounting for and privileging teachers’
preexisting informal learning is necessary.
Interdisc ip l inar y
Committee on
Organizat ional
Stud ies Univers ity o f Mich igan
12th Likert Dissertation Poster Session Friday, March 31st, 2017
Abstracts
Name: Christian A. Martell
Department/Program: Center for the Study of Higher and Postsecondary Education
Year in Program: 5 Title: Technology with Embodied Physical Actions: Understanding Interactions and Effectiveness Gains in Teams Working with Robots Abstract:
Teams are increasingly adopting robots for various purposes, including saving human lives in first-
responder situations and delivering medical services to areas where it is hard to send human experts.
However, the adoption of robots transforms teamwork and creates new dynamics among team members
that are unprecedented in human teams. Despite the long history of information systems research
examining different technologies used by teams, little research has focused on how robots are reshaping
teamwork dynamics and how teams can enhance outcomes when incorporating robots into their
teamwork. In this dissertation, I will address this gap by investigating several ways to improve the
effectiveness of teams working with robots. The dissertation involves several experiments in which teams
consist of multiple robots and individuals. Various psychological and emotional dimensions of team
processes, including trust, team efficacy, and perceived similarity, will be measured to test their impacts
on team outcomes such as performance, viability, and satisfaction. This dissertation will contribute to the
current field of research by developing an understanding of interactions among team members as well as
between humans and robots in order to find ways to improve team effectiveness. It will also provide
direction for designers of these robots and for managers of human-robot teams.
Interdisc ip l inar y
Committee on
Organizat ional
Stud ies Univers ity o f Mich igan
12th Likert Dissertation Poster Session Friday, March 31st, 2017
Abstracts
Name: Chen Zhang
Department/Program: Management & Organizations, Ross School of Business
Year in Program: 4 Title: Exploring Work Activities as both Constraints and Opportunities in Enhancing Workday Energy and Well-Being: A Look at Meetings and Instant Messaging Abstract:
I examine conditions under which interactive work activities in knowledge work, particularly meetings and
instant messaging (IM) conversations, may facilitate workday energy replenishment and well-being
enhancement, despite the constraints they may create for micro breaks at work. In today’s workplaces,
people are increasingly faced with heightened work demands and prolonged work hours (Michel, 2011;
Reid & Ramarajan, 2016). It has thus become more and more challenging for people to replenish their
energy resources (as manifested in high vigor and low fatigue) to sustain work performance and maintain
personal well-being during a workday. Furthermore, opportunities for replenishment through nonwork
activities (e.g., relaxing activities) are limited at work. An important question thus surfaces: Can some
work activities themselves serve as a pathway to replenishing energy and enhancing well-being, despite
the constraints they create? I explore ways in which meetings and IM conversations may have such