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Professor Ph.D. -
The
Research Interests My research is directed by a
theoretical perspective that views organizations as dynamic systems of
cross-level and multilevel processes unfolding over time. Top-down
processes operate through organizational contexts by exerting influence on
groups and individuals, shaping their experiences, perceptions, and behavior.
Bottom-up processes emerge through individual cognition, affect, and
behavior—and the interactions among individuals—to create unique phenomena at
the group and organizational levels. Resulting organizational behavior within
these systems cuts across levels: people perceive the context and seek
information to interpret salient events, features, and processes comprising
their settings; they develop emergent systems of knowledge and meaning; and
they adapt accordingly. My primary research interests
focus on the processes by which individuals, teams, and organizations learn,
develop, and adapt. I have conducted research in several substantive areas
that relate to this theme over the course of my career. Early work focused on
factors influencing organizational change (technological innovation,
organizational downsizing), processes of individual adaptation (newcomer socialization,
organizational climate), and judgment (knowledge structures, judgment
accuracy). Over the last several years, my
research program has centered on developing theory and research findings to
integrate learning processes across the individual, team, and organizational
levels. Foci include: (1) active learning techniques and technology based
training, and (2) team training and learning, team leadership and
development, and adaptive performance, and (3) aligning training and learning
with the organizational system. The first area has been concerned with the
development of active learning techniques that stimulate mindful,
self-regulated learning and which can be deployed across distributed, remote
computer networks. One major characteristic of remote learning is that it
places more responsibility and control for learning in the hands of trainees,
yet research shows that learners are poor judges their own progress. Thus, a
key focus of this research has been on the effects of individual differences in
how learners actively interact with learning techniques, and how
technology-based training can be designed to adapt to learner characteristics
and to guide them to effective learning. The goal of the second area is to
generalize this work to team training contexts by establishing parallel
processes of team regulation, learning, and adaptability. Theoretical work
has focused on multilevel regulation of individual and team learning,
normative processes of team development that promote adaptability, and team
leadership. Empirical work has centered on validating a multiple goal,
multilevel model of regulation. The third area, at the organizational level,
has addressed theoretically how training activities interface with the
organizational system, and how the impact of training on organizational level
outcomes can be enhanced when training is appropriately aligned with key
organizational system characteristics. The purpose of these combined research
streams is to develop a theoretically based, application relevant foundation
for the design of active learning systems that promote continuous
learning for individuals, teams, and organizations. Examples of Work in My Interest Areas
§ Kozlowski et al. (2000) Active Learning & Embedded Training Design § Kozlowski & Bell (2007) Distributed Learning System Design § Kozlowski et al. (2000) Mastery Training and Performance Adaptability § Kozlowski & Bell (2006) Achievement Orientation and Goal Setting §
Bell & Kozlowski (2002) Adaptive
Guidance § Bell & Kozlowski (in press) Active Learning and Adaptation § Bell & Kozlowski (2002) Goal Orientation and Cognitive Ability
Work Groups and Teams in
Organizations §
Kozlowski
& Bell (2003) Work Groups and Teams in Organizations §
Kozlowski
& Ilgen (2006) Enhancing the
Effectiveness of Work Groups and Teams Leadership, Team Development and
Adaptation § DeShon, Kozlowski et al. (2004) Multilevel Regulation §
Kozlowski
et al. (1998) Training and Developing Adaptive Teams: Theory, Principles, and
Research §
Kozlowski
et al. (1996) A Dynamic Theory of Leadership and Team Effectiveness § Kozlowski et al. (in press) Developing Adaptive Teams: A Theory of Dynamic Team Leadership §
Kozlowski
et al. (1996) Training Leaders and Teams: Theory, Principles, and Guidelines §
Bell
& Kozlowski (2002) Virtual Teams & Leadership
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[click above to download a copy available from Wiley] §
A Multilevel Approach to Training
Effectiveness: Enhancing Horizontal and Vertical Transfer §
An Organizational Systems Approach to Training
Implementation and Transfer Current Research Activities Work is evolving to become more
complex: It is information intensive, it is increasingly structured around
teams rather than individual jobs, and it frequently necessitates a
capability to adapt to shifting problems and tasks. These ongoing changes in
the nature of work, combined with the need to reduce costs, are prompting
organizations to promote learning in the workplace by harnessing
computer-based technologies (e.g., web-based training, e-learning,
simulation-based training) to provide training that is flexible to employee
needs, widely accessible, and available on demand. It is also prompting a
focus on team learning and development, and the role that team leaders can
play in shaping team development and building adaptive teams. My current theory development and research activities
center on these three interrelated areas: Active learning, self-regulation,
and training; team learning, regulation and adaptive performance; and team
leadership, development, and adaptability. Active Learning, Self-Regulation, and Training Work in this area focuses on the psychological processes
of self-regulation and their central role in learning, performance, and
adaptability. One aspect of the research develops and evaluates active
learning techniques that are designed to selectively stimulate the focus and
quality and self-regulatory processes as a means to enhance learning,
performance, and adaptability. A related aspect seeks to more precisely map
the psychological mechanisms responsible for the positive effects of active
learning techniques, and to elaborate our theoretical framework. Finally,
because we have developed techniques that have the potential to be embedded
in computer-based technologies, another aspect of this research stream is
concerned with developing a theoretical framework to guide the design of
distributed learning systems. The research is conducted in the ADAPT Lab (Accelerated Development: Adaptability, Performance, and Training). Team Learning, Regulation, and Adaptive Performance A distinct but related line of work (with Rick DeShon)
seeks to understand how team members collectively learn, regulate their
effort and attention, and develop adaptive performance capabilities. The
challenge is that team learning and performance are ultimately dependent on
individual learning and performance. This work examines the process of
multiple goal regulation in which individual dynamically allocate resources
(attention and effort) to accomplish both individual and team goals and, in
so doing, instantiate a process of dynamic self-regulation and an emergent
parallel process of team regulation. Our work is designed to disentangle
these parallel processes and, in particular, to better understand the factors
that influence how individuals optimally regulate around multiple goals in a
team context. Our research is conducted in the OPTIMA Lab (Optimal Performance
in Teams: Investigation, Modeling, and Analysis). Team Leadership, Development, and Adaptability As training is embedded in technology and pushed into the
workplace and work is restructured around teams, attention on improving the
process of team development naturally shifts to team leaders. Remarkably,
however, there is relatively little theory or research that focus on the
unique roles of team leaders in fostering development. This line of work has
developed a normative theory of adaptive team leadership that is concerned
with how leaders can harness natural variations in the dynamics of the team’s
task engagement to stimulate regulatory processes to build targeted skills,
thereby shaping team development and building adaptive capabilities. This
work is now focused on developing techniques that can be evaluated in
computer-based team simulations. The research is conducted in the ADAPT Lab (Accelerated Development: Adaptability, Performance, and Training) and is funded by the
Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences (Kozlowski,
PI). For even more
information, check out my vita or take a look at the research program
description… Research Program: Developing Adaptability -- Active
Learning Systems and Self-Regulated Learning Contact me: Steve W. J. Kozlowski Department of Psychology 309 Psychology Building Voice: 517.353.8924 Fax: 517.353.4873 Email: stevekoz@msu.edu |
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