Title

The impact of cross-training and workload on team functioning: A replication and extension of initial findings

Abstract

Although previous research has shown that cross-training team members improves team performance, a number of questions remain concerning the nature of cross-training. The current study provides an extension of previous cross- training research by investigating two theoretical issues: the nature of cross-training and the joint impact of cross-training and workload on team functioning. The study examined 40 three-person teams performing a simulated radar task. Results indicated that positional rotation was an effective cross-training method for highly interdependent tasks, that cross-trained teams developed a greater degree of interpositional knowledge than did teams that were not cross-trained, and that cross-training was important only under high-workload performance conditions. The current study suggests that the type of cross-training necessary to improve team performance may be related to the nature of the task and that cross-training may be effective in allowing teams to coordinate implicitly - that is, without the need to communicate overtly. Taken together with previous work, the results of this study indicate strong support for the efficacy of cross-training as a means to help teams perform well. Potential applications of this research include training for military, medical, and aviation teams.

Publication Date

3-1-1998

Publication Title

Human Factors

Volume

40

Issue

1

Number of Pages

92-101

Document Type

Article

Personal Identifier

scopus

DOI Link

https://doi.org/10.1518/001872098779480550

Socpus ID

0032032805 (Scopus)

Source API URL

https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/0032032805

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