II. Survey Instruments for the Measurement of Team Effectiveness.
There are numerous instruments to measure the effectiveness of teams by surveying the members and leaders of teams. These surveys are sometimes used for self-analysis by the team. Goodman's exhaustive study of team surveys found that historically these surveys assessed the following (Goodman 244):
a. type of group -- college students
b. type of questions -- does A cause B? Does ABC cause D?
c. specific types of methods -- attitude questionnaires
d. type of data collected -- quantified and subjected to statistical analysis
e. presentation of suggestions for future research -- need for more refined tests
f. types of interventions suggested -- team development, nominal group techniques, quality circles
g. standard used to judge proper and improper research -- does it use experimental model? (control groups, random sample, etc.)
In Parker's Team Development Survey, team members are asked to rank their team on a scale from one to eight (seldom to very frequently) on the following areas. After completing the questionnaire they are asked about the strengths, areas for improvement, and action steps for improving the team (33):
1. Clear Purpose
2. Informality
3. Participation
4. Listening
5. Civilized disagreement
6. Consensus Decisions
7. Open Communications
8. Clear roles and work assignments
9. Shared leadership
10. External relations
11. Style diversity
12. Self-assessment