Chair for Human Resources and Work Process Management

Institute for Applied Work Science

Transregio 29 „Industrial Product-Service Systems – Dynamic Interdependency of Product and Service in Production Area“ - Partial Project C5 – Integrating heterogeneity in IPS²

Background and Aims:

To ensure a successful IPS² design and delivery, various fields of expertise need to be integrated. In contrast to traditional work systems service provision in IPS² is not solely a supplier’s performance, but depends on an integration of processes. Consequently, there is a high demand for coordination, communication and knowledge integration among the original manufacturer, its suppliers and customers. Against this background personal competencies that enable social actors to perform within the heterogeneous work system of an IPS2 are mandatory for the system’s sucess. The purpose of our research project lies in the specification, measurement and development of such competencies.

to research in knowledge-intensive services, an Industrial Product Service System can be characterized as communication-intensive organization. There is a need to solve novel problems on a collective base through integration of various parties’ expert knowledge. This especially applies to the design and delivery phase of Industrial Product Service Systems.

Although it is assumed that such heterogeneous teams, due to their broader knowledge base, develop better products and services and ensure lower development costs than homogeneous teams, empirical studies in the field of team diversity show that capitalizing on the potential advantages of team members` heterogeneity is a difficult challenge.

Increasing heterogeneity can for example be connected with barriers in communication and cooperation, a higher amount of conflict or an increasing level of stress among team members.

Consequently, personal competencies in dealing with heterogeneity, enabling employees to communicate successfully across organizational or hierarchical boundaries and within interdisciplinary contexts, become necessary for all employees involved in an IPS².

In this context, a competence can be seen as a behavioural disposition, respectively a cross-situational capacity to act enabling social actors to succeed and solve problems in face of ambiguous and dynamic environments. The term is strictly distinguished from (professional) qualification, which pertains to more formally defined knowledge and skills referring to a specific job profile.

Prior research in communication intensive organizations, for example, has highlighted the importance of collaborators’ customer orientation, openness to networking, individual attitude towards win-win solutions and a shared understanding of product-service integration. In this project we develop a measurement and development concept for such integration competencies.

In order to do so, we make use of insights from competence research as well as on group research regarding knowledge integration and shared cognition in teams.

In our analysis we thereby take the individual as well as the group level into account which is mandatory for the treatment of an Industrial Product Service System as a system of interaction and knowledge integration. Against this background we apply a multilevel-model that specifies individual and group specific competencies and identify related development instruments.

As a result of our system-analysis we provide possible ways to enhance competence development through process design, team organization and leadership. Here, our approach is to identify such mechanisms that can be integrated into everyday work processes and lead to a self-regulated and continuous competence development after their implementation.

Building on these findings, we will further differentiate insights for a variety of business models, particularly with regard to several degrees of automation, and formulate transfer statements which will be assigned to a demonstrator-model.

Publications

• KÜPPER, M. & WILKENS, U. (2011): Umgang mit Risiko als Führungsaufgabe – Lernen von Hochleistungsteams. Beitrag erscheint voraussichtlich 2011 in: Grote, S. (Hrsg.): Zukunft der Führung. Springer (in Druck).
• WILKENS, U. & EXTERNBRINK, K. (2010): Führung in Veränderungsprozessen. In: Busse Colbe, W. von; Coenenberg, A. G.; Kajüter, P.; Linnhoff, U.; Pellens, B. (Hrsg.): Betriebswirtschaft für Führungskräfte. Eine Einführung für Ingenieure, Naturwissenschaftler, Juristen und Geisteswissenschaftler. 4. Auflage. Stuttgart: Schäffer-Poeschel Verlag, S. 209-233.

Conference- and Discussionpapers

• SPRAFKE, N., EXTERNBRINK, K., WILKENS, U. (2011): Microfoundations of Dynamic Capabilities - Exploring the Impact of Individual Capabilities and the Role of Empowerment as Additional Condition. Paper presented at the 7th SKM Symposium jointly with 9th International Conference on Competence-based Management, 28-30 September 2011, Johannes Kepler University Linz.
• EXTERNBRINK, K. (2011): Kompetenzentwicklung als Führungsaufgabe - Einfluss transformationaler Führung auf die Entwicklung dynamischer Fähigkeiten von Individuen, Teams und Organisationen. Vortrag auf dem AUP Kolloquium, Bochum.
• EXTERNBRINK, K., REIß, C., WILKENS, U. (2011): Impact of Team Members’ Competence on the Development of Team Mental Models and Team Performance: A theoretical Framework and Propositions. Presentation at the sixth annual INGRoup conference, Minneapolis.
• EXTERNBRINK, K., REIß, C. & WILKENS, U. (2011): Antecedents and Consequences of Team Mental Models in Project Teams - A Competence Perspective; Paper im download der Kommissionstagung Organisation des VHB, 24./25. Feb. 2011, Berlin.
• EXTERNBRINK, K. & REIß, C. (2010): Kompetenzen zur Integration von Heterogenität in HLBs, IAW-Seminar, Bochum.
• WILKENS, U.: "Wandlungsfähige Produktionssysteme benötigen dynamische Fähigkeiten von Organisationen und Individuen", HAB-Tagung 08./09.10.2010 in Hannover.
• WILKENS, U.: "Hochleistung in Arbeitssystemen aus Sicht der Kompetenzforschung", Expertenworkshop an der Deutschen Universität für Weiterbildung, 14.06.2010, Berlin.
• WILKENS, U.: "Qualifikation und Organisation heterogener Mitarbeiterteams in HLB", Industriearbeitskreis bei Trumpf in Diezlingen, 03.12.2009.