Designing Effective Work Groups

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Intergroup Relations in Organizations

Jeanne M. Brett

Jorn Kjell Rognes

In investigating intergroup relations in organizations, we assume that groups are the basic structural building blocks of organizations and that relations between groups in organizations must be managed. We want to know why some intergroup relations are more difficult to manage than others, how to distinguish well-managed intergroup interfaces from those that are poorly managed, and what factors lead to effectiveness.

We have drawn on a diverse literature in investigating these questions, including microtheory that focuses on the enactment of organizational roles, macrotheory ...