Abstract – Design-and-build competitions are integral to effective higher engineering education. Yet, there is not much research investigating if the organizational structures of engineering student teams and team effectiveness follow any trends.
This paper delves into the possibility of this correlation by measuring parameters that contribute to effective teams. This research provides data that is used to judge best practices for engineering student teams. The findings from this paper can then be used as a basis for action when the students find a need for organization development in the future. Additionally, this analysis provides insight into teamwork in engineering. This could benefit 4th year design (a.k.a capstone) projects as well as innovative companies with similar settings.
The core contributors to a team's effectiveness are leadership, direction, planning, knowledge transfer, and meetings for engineering student teams. Although parameters like communication and team culture are important, student teams generally have no problems in these areas. By comparing three organizational structures, it is concluded that in general engineering student teams are best when they follow a holocratic or flatter organizational structure as opposed to a strictly flat organizational structure.
An investigation of verbal episodes that relate to individual and team performance in engineering student teams
