*********************************
There is now a CONTENT FREEZE for Mercury while we switch to a new platform. It began on Friday, March 10 at 6pm and will end on Wednesday, March 15 at noon. No new content can be created during this time, but all material in the system as of the beginning of the freeze will be migrated to the new platform, including users and groups. Functionally the new site is identical to the old one. webteam@gatech.edu
*********************************
Name: Yichen Tang
Master’s Thesis Proposal Meeting
Date: Tuesday, February 1st, 2022
Time: 10:00 AM
Location: click here
Advisor:
Christopher Wiese, Ph.D. (Georgia Tech)
Thesis Committee Members:
Paul Verhaeghen, Ph.D. (Georgia Tech)
Keaton Fletcher, Ph.D. (Georgia Tech)
Christopher Wiese, Ph.D. (Georgia Tech)
Title: Unpacking the effect of functional diversity
Abstract: Functional diversity can be broadly defined as the level of heterogeneity in team members’ professional areas or specialties. The unique value of functionally diverse teams is that members have unique knowledge that can be used to complete tasks. Notably, the distinct perspectives team members bring to the table may act as a double-edged sword, such that the research on the direct effect of functional diversity on team effectiveness remains inconclusive. Therefore, the proposed study will use a meta-analytical approach to investigate the effect by looking at performance and creativity as two team effectiveness indicators. Moreover, the proposed study will also investigate the boundary conditions that moderate the relationship between functional diversity and team effectiveness, including conceptualizations of functional diversity (e.g., Dominant, Background, or Intrapersonal), sample type (e.g., student vs. adults employee, military Vs. non-military), team characteristics (e.g., familiarity, team size), and task characteristics (e.g., complexity). Eventually, the proposed study is expected to leverage the understanding of functional diversity by 1) clarifying the differentiated effect on performance and creativity, 2) clarifying the differences between previously used conceptualizations, and 3) exploring multiple contextual factors that influence the impact of functional diversity.
