University of Twente Student Theses
Team Based Talent Management Practices in academic research groups : An exploratorey study at a Dutch public University
Oxyzoglou, Sevasti (2020) Team Based Talent Management Practices in academic research groups : An exploratorey study at a Dutch public University.
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| Abstract: | Team based talent management and how to achieve it is the principal objective of this study, hence we care about generating a substantive theory with regards to how talent is embedded and used in the context of interactions between team members. From the literature review it can be concluded that teamwork is one of the most important practices of talent management. Adopting a team-based perspective, we seek to show appreciation for talent as a collective phenomenon with paying attention to the importance of interdependence and social capital (reciprocity, trust, cooperation, division of labor) inside the teams. The discussion on talent is equally prevalent for universities as knowledge intensive organizations where the focus on individual performance does not correspond with how academic staff works every day and with how research is realised. This condition makes it important to investigate what a team-oriented approach to talent management entails and whether it adds extra value to the team setting of academic research groups. Ultimately, we would like to showcase how universities can maximize the team-based talent management practices in order for talent to optimally grow by rather focusing on the collective capacity of the team. The following questions are the starting point for our grounded theory study: Q1: How is talent utilized in interactions or dependencies between the team members of a team? Q2: How can we optimize teamwork practices to enhance talent use at the collective team level? In depth semi-structured interviews was the selected methodology for data collection. We focused our analysis on two research teams from a University in the Netherlands. Based on the interview questions three initial bigger themes emerged. The first one refers to teamwork (how team members communicate, cooperate and affront problematic situations in the groups which they belong), the second theme was talent perception (the definition of talent and how talented people work together in each of the groups) and the third theme was the role of the individuals inside each group. Starting with the theme of teamwork, it seemed that for most team members communication is something easy, facilitated by an open-door policy with extensive discussions and awareness of what other people doing with frequent meetings taking place and frequent sharing of ideas. At the same time most people are aware of what is happening in the group, hence there is awareness of what others are doing while interdependent relations also contribute in the decreased perception of awareness. Finally, concerning the management of problematic situations, these are dealt by individual effort and then by requesting assistance and trying to find the cause, the solution and how to avoid the problem with an open and sincere behavior. In the second group people also indicated that they solve scientific problems effectively because of the effective combination of roles and collaboration. The theme of talent perception was also examined during the interviews, and results indicated that there has been a separation between natural/innate talent and 3 academic talent, which requires intellectual capabilities, work, critical thinking and communication talent, while it was also prevalent the importance of the context in the definition of talent. Both groups also made substantial references to collective or team talent and to complementarity of different talents. In addition, has been reported that there may be less talented individuals due to lack of personal development or lack of comfort in a role, in other words misfit between the person and the position. Concerning the role of individuals, success of the team can be attributed to different individual team members in both groups with the level of importance depending on the nature of the research project. Both individuality and mutuality consist important values for researchers to work individually and cooperate where it is needed. Furthermore, in the assumption of promotion individualistic culture by the academic world, it has been said that for some the way it depends on the type of grant and the project, some believe that there is a strong hierarchy in the academic world that is also a cause for competition, while the vast majority said that collective effort is required from all disciplines. Finally, the majority stated that if someone leaves the group automatically deprives them of knowledge. Overall it seems that by grouping people in teams it is more beneficial for the organisation people share their knowledge and their feelings to the others easily and they create relationships and improve the organization’s communication |
| Item Type: | Essay (Master) |
| Faculty: | BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences |
| Subject: | 85 business administration, organizational science |
| Programme: | Educational Science and Technology MSc (60023) |
| Link to this item: | https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/80820 |
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