This research is focused on obtaining a deeper understanding of the role of teams and team leadership in the improvement of quality within organizations. The objectives of the research are to provide a systematic description of team leadership and its role in team development and effectiveness, and to develop an interdisciplinary methodology that will assist in transformations to quality organizations. The research design involves the disciplines of anthropology, computer education and cognitive systems,computer science, engineering technology, management, and psychology. The interdisciplinary research group willinvestigate teams and team leadership at several organizational levels (i.e., the organization as a whole,the team itself, and the individual within the team), and will examine factors that influence teams, including the culture of the organization and the belief and behavior patterns that relate to this culture. The outcomes of the research are expected to include an interdisciplinary model of team leadership, knowledge about team formation and maturation processes, knowledge about technical professional work processes, tools to assist in transformations to quality organizations, and a basis for identifying and educating team leaders. Companies participating in this study include IBM, Texas Instruments, TUElectric, and the Defense Logistics Agency.
