Spontaneous Self-Managing Teams: Evidences From The Field

Previous research on task revision suggests that when individuals are in charge of procedures, roles, or tasks that they evaluate as incorrect and/or dysfunctional, they will engage in a spontaneous task redefinition. At the group level, while numerous studies have focused on the most appropriate group structure in relation to a variety of factors, little research has been conducted to examine the effect of a designed formal structure which is experienced by the group members as dysfunctional and conflicting with their and the organization’s goals. The purpose of this study is to understand what happens, collectively, when group members experience a designed structure and task assignments that they consider unfair and penalizing themselves and the organization. A field study of a group of 20 pattern makers operating in one of the major Italian fashion firms highlights the motivations and the processes through which members of the group engage in a spontaneous group redesign, enacting a structure totally different from the one designed by the management. Specifically, although the group was designed by management as an externally managed team, the group members themselves redefined tasks and group structure acting as a self-managing team, without that power being conferred upon them by managers. The new structure was discovered through observations and ethnographic interviews. Social network analysis techniques were applied to the data collected.