Application of DSM in the field Organizational Psychology

DSM 2015: Modeling and managing complex systems - Proceedings of the 17th International DSM Conference Fort Worth (Texas, USA), 4-6 November 2015

Year: 2015
Editor: Browning, T. R.; Eppinger, S. D.; Schmidt, D. M.; Lindemann, U.
Author: Fink, S.; Kasperek, D.; Reif, J.; Kugler, K.; Brodbeck, F.; Maurer, M.
Series: DSM
Section: Analyzing and Managing Organizations, Teams and Individuals
Page(s): 53-63

Abstract

As organizations face many challenges such as globalization or a dynamic and complex environment, new forms of collaboration have emerged like Multiteam Systems (MTS). MTS can be described as complex networks of teams, working together in order to reach an overall goal. The phenomenon of MTS has been studied in the field of Organizational Psychology. The objective of this paper is to exemplarily show that structural analysis criteria can be meaningfully applied in the field Organizational Psychology. We base our analysis on a qualitative study exploring influencing factors of effective collaboration in MTS. The influencing factors were described in a Design Structure Matrix and analyzed by different structural analysis criteria. The results provide valuable insights about the interaction of the influencing factors and help identifying the characteristics of the system and its behavior. The results of the analysis can be used when aiming to improve the collaboration in MTS.

Keywords: Structural Complexity Management, design structure matrix, structural analysis criteria, Multiteam Systems MTS