Heterogeneous vs. Homogeneous Groups

2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 40-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theodore E. Davis
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Group Process ◽  
Gender Diversity ◽  
Homogeneous Groups ◽  
Business Courses ◽  
Heterogeneous Groups ◽  
Academic Grades ◽  
And Performance ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Racially Mixed

The primary purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of racial and gender diversity on group process and problem solving in an academic setting. The importance of this dynamic is its value in preparing students for the workplace. The supposition is if a group is homogeneous, commitment and performance is improved. Data for the study was collected from upper-level undergraduate male and female students, registered in two sixteen week business courses taught by one instructor, at a large university in a metropolitan city in the northeastern United States. There were five racially mixed groups of seven members in each of the four sections of the two courses. During this period, group members met frequently for class projects, including a series of case analyses. Only balanced heterogeneous groups significantly enhanced their groups’ performance on complicated problem-solving tasks over time. They exceeded the performance of all homogeneous groups, except that of the black American female homogeneous groups. Ultimately, the academic grades of the balanced heterogeneous groups as well as their individual members were in the upper half of all grades issued.

Newly Created Heterogeneous Groups

2014 ◽  
pp. 224-235 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theodore E. Davis
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Group Process ◽  
Gender Diversity ◽  
Homogeneous Groups ◽  
Heterogeneous Groups ◽  
Business Course ◽  
Academic Grades ◽  
Upper Level ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Racially Mixed

The primary purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of racial and gender diversity on group process and problem solving in an academic setting. The importance of this dynamic is its value in preparing students for the workplace. The supposition is if heterogeneous groups had enough time to resolve group process conflicts, they could significantly increase their performance on group tasks (Davis, 2012). Moreover, their later performance on tasks should exceed the performance of the homogeneous groups (Davis, 2012). However, how much time, as well as tasks, does it take heterogeneous groups to start to exceed the performance of the homogenous groups? Data for the study was collected from upper-level undergraduate male and female students registered in a sixteen-week business course taught by one instructor at a large university in a metropolitan city in the northeastern United States. There were five racially mixed groups of seven members in the four sections of the course. During this period, group members met frequently for a series of case analyses. Only balanced heterogeneous groups significantly enhanced their groups’ performance on complicated problem-solving tasks over time. They exceeded the performance of all homogeneous groups, except that of the Black American female homogeneous groups. Ultimately, the academic grades of the balanced heterogeneous groups as well as their individual members were in the upper half of all grades issued.

Newly Created Heterogeneous Groups

2016 ◽  
pp. 2213-2222
Author(s):  
Theodore E. Davis Jr.
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Group Process ◽  
Gender Diversity ◽  
Homogeneous Groups ◽  
Heterogeneous Groups ◽  
Business Course ◽  
Academic Grades ◽  
Upper Level ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Racially Mixed

The primary purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of racial and gender diversity on group process and problem solving in an academic setting. The importance of this dynamic is its value in preparing students for the workplace. The supposition is if heterogeneous groups had enough time to resolve group process conflicts, they could significantly increase their performance on group tasks (Davis, 2012). Moreover, their later performance on tasks should exceed the performance of the homogeneous groups (Davis, 2012). However, how much time, as well as tasks, does it take heterogeneous groups to start to exceed the performance of the homogenous groups? Data for the study was collected from upper-level undergraduate male and female students registered in a sixteen-week business course taught by one instructor at a large university in a metropolitan city in the northeastern United States. There were five racially mixed groups of seven members in the four sections of the course. During this period, group members met frequently for a series of case analyses. Only balanced heterogeneous groups significantly enhanced their groups' performance on complicated problem-solving tasks over time. They exceeded the performance of all homogeneous groups, except that of the Black American female homogeneous groups. Ultimately, the academic grades of the balanced heterogeneous groups as well as their individual members were in the upper half of all grades issued.

scholarly journals Mapping the Knowledge about the Gender of Company Executives

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 15
Author(s):  
Mercedes Rodríguez-Fernández ◽  
Eva M. Sánchez-Teba ◽  
Juan Herrera-Ballesteros
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Behavior ◽  
Web Of Science ◽  
Gender Diversity ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Leadership Positions ◽  
Units Of Analysis ◽  
And Performance ◽  
And Gender ◽  
New Research ◽  
Visualization Techniques

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the literature on Gender and Company Executives with the purpose of identifying lines on which future research could be directed in order to eradicate gender differences in the decision-making bodies of companies. A bibliometric study has been carried out on the Web of Science collection, which, after a series of filters, has given rise to a sample of 144 articles from 1992 to 2018. Keywords and bibliographic references were the units of analysis used. With this information, bibliometric maps have been created applying the methodology of co-word and co-cite, clustering, and visualization techniques. The results suggest that this is an emerging scientific area not yet sufficiently developed, hinting at new research related to topics, such as career, gender diversity and performance, gender and leadership, organizational behavior and mobility, and gender and ethics. The emergence of the concept of “glass cliff” has been detected in the literature analyzed as a sign of the risk posed to women by the access to leadership positions.

scholarly journals Ethnic and gender diversity, process and performance in groups of business students in Sweden

2008 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 243-254 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timurs Umans ◽  
Sven‐Olof Collin ◽  
Torbjörn Tagesson
Keyword(s):  
Business Students ◽  
Gender Diversity ◽  
And Performance ◽  
And Gender

The Influence of Personality Composition in Applied Piano Groups

1977 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 171-183 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valerie Suchor
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Group Process ◽  
Student Perception ◽  
Process Data ◽  
Student Groups ◽  
Verbal Activity ◽  
Group Type ◽  
Teacher Flexibility ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Problem Solving Process

A one-session study of six four-student groups investigated problem-solving and performance in piano as influenced by a judging-perceiving personality preference of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. Three group types were formed from the freshman music majors of nonkeyboard concentration: predominately judging, predominately perceiving, and equally mixed. The task involved both the harmonization and performance of the melody. Groups were scored on two factors of performance: aesthetic-expressive and accurate. Group process was evaluated by dividing the sessions into time segments and encoding verbal activity into six problem-solving behaviors. As a measure of student perception, each student completed a questionnaire. No difference was found in performance results; however, each group type developed its own problem-solving process. Significant differences were found in the amount of total verbal activity, specific verbal behavior, and student perception of group process. Data suggest the importance of teacher flexibility in developing an optimal problem-solving process.

scholarly journals Assessing the Effect of Perceived Diversity Practices and Psychological Safety on Contextual Performance for Sustainable Workplace

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (21) ◽  
pp. 11653
Author(s):  
Ritika Dongrey ◽  
Varsha Rokade
Keyword(s):  
Work Performance ◽  
Banking Sector ◽  
Gender Diversity ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Psychological Safety ◽  
Contextual Performance ◽  
Work Behavior ◽  
Developmental Opportunities ◽  
And Performance ◽  
And Gender

Perceiving discrimination in workplace practices psychologically damages employees and affects their work performance. The current study aims to find differences in perceived diversity practices (i.e., equal representation and developmental opportunities and gender diversity promotion) and the psychological safety of diverse groups in the workplace. Further, the study investigates the relationship of equal representation and developmental opportunities, gender diversity promotion, and psychological safety with employee contextual performance. A sample size of (n = 536) respondents was collected from the private banking sector in India, and was further analyzed using statistical tools, such as factor analysis, correlations, analysis of variance, and regression analysis. The findings indicate differences in gender and tenure diversity regarding “equal representation and development opportunities”, and “gender diversity promotion.” Furthermore, “equal representation and development opportunities,” and “psychological safety” showed a significant negative relationship with the employee contextual performance. Further, no association between perceived “gender diversity promotion” practices and “contextual performance” was found. The novelty of the current research is unlike previous research; the study highlights that excess psychological safety, equality in representation, and development opportunities to have “workforce diversity” make employees aggressively explicit and disengage them from additional work behavior. The findings of the study and application of SPSS software for the analysis of the employee’s perception, behavior, and performance will aid managers and leaders in better decision making for employees; business growth; effective human resource and business management; and for building a healthy, collaborative, and sustainable work environment in the private banks and similar organizations.

Board of directors characteristics and performance in family firms and under the crisis

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 119-142 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisabete Simões Vieira
Keyword(s):  
Board Of Directors ◽  
Family Firms ◽  
Stock Exchange ◽  
Gender Diversity ◽  
Family Firm ◽  
Family Businesses ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Board Of Directors ◽  
And Performance ◽  
And Gender

Purpose This paper aims to examine the relationship between board of directors’ characteristics and performance in family businesses. It offers evidence to the question of whether a family firm (FF) differs from a non-family firm and looks at the possibility of asymmetrical effects between periods of stability and economic adversity. Design/methodology/approach A panel data approach was applied to a sample of Portuguese firms listed the on Euronext Lisbon exchange between 2002 and 2013. Findings The results show that FFs are likely to have a lower proportion of independent members and higher gender diversity on their boards than non-family firms. FF performance is positively related to ownership concentration and gender diversity. There are performance premiums for family businesses, which have more gender diversity than their counterparts. These effects also depend on whether the economy is in recession. The evidence suggests that the presence of women on the board and the leverage and size of the FFs have a more significant impact on the performance in periods of economic adversity. Research limitations/implications One limitation of this study is the small size of the sample as it was drawn from the Euronext Lisbon exchange, a small stock exchange market. Originality/value This study provides input into the academic discussion on corporate governance and FF, an area which is in need of research. In addition, the authors examine this issue in conjunction with generalised economic adversity, focusing on the possible asymmetrical effects that the nature of the board of directors may have on performance in periods of stability and those of economic adversity. The role of board of directors is crucial to the understanding of corporate behaviour and the setting of the policy that regulates corporate activities.

scholarly journals Covid-19 and performance disclosure: does governance matter?

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahmoud Elmarzouky ◽  
Khaldoon Albitar ◽  
Khaled Hussainey
Keyword(s):  
Firm Performance ◽  
Gender Diversity ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
Board Independence ◽  
Board Size ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Related Information ◽  
And Performance ◽  
And Gender ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose This paper aims to investigate whether Covid-19 related information is associated with a higher level of performance disclosure in the annual reports. Furthermore, it examines the moderating effect of corporate governance on the relationship between Covid-19 and the performance disclosure by using three governance mechanisms: board size, board independence and gender diversity. Design/methodology/approach The authors use quantitative content analysis. The authors applied an automated textual analysis technique to measure the level of Covid-19 information and performance disclosure for the UK Financial Times Stock Exchange all-share non-financial firms. Findings The authors found a significant positive relationship between the Covid-19 disclosure and the firm performance disclosure in the annual reports. The authors also find that both board independence and gender diversity moderate the relationship between the Covid-19 related information and the level of performance disclosure in the annual reports. The authors further run a robustness analysis, which confirms the main results. Practical implications The finding is beneficial for the regulatory setters to better understand whether firms provide generic or meaningful Covid-19 information linked to the firm’s performance. The unique findings of this paper are relevant to regulators, governments, management, shareholders and academics. Originality/value The authors contribute to the literature in a unique and core research area not researched previously. The paper links the Covid-19 disclosure with the firm performance from the corporate narrative perspective. The paper underlines governance factors as a moderating role in this relationship by considering three main mechanisms: board size, board independence and gender diversity.

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