Previous research has demonstrated that work team characteristics can be related to effectiveness (Campion, Medsker, & Higgs, 1993). This study provides a replication with professional knowledge worker jobs, different measures of effectiveness, and work units that varied in the degree to which members identified as a team. Data were collected from 357 employees, 93 managers, and archival records for 60 teams in a financial services organization. Team characteristics were measured with questionnaires completed by employees and managers. Effectiveness measures included immediate manager judgments at two points in time, senior and peer manager judgments, employee judgments, and archival records of employee satisfaction and performance appraisals. Results were similar to previous findings in that most team characteristics were related to most effectiveness criteria. Relationships were strongest for process characteristics, followed by job design, context, interdependence, and other characteristics. Further, work units higher on single‐team identity were higher on many team characteristics and effectiveness measures.

Strategy plays two roles in the practice of an I/O psychology consultant. First, strategy sets the direction for any organization, including a consulting firm of I/O psychologists as well as an independent consulting business of an individual consultant. Second, strategy can be a consulting area for I/O psychologists because it requires expertise in management and organizational processes.This chapter gives a brief overview of strategy in these two roles. For a more detailed presentation, there are many sources on strategy or on organizational processes. A few are referenced in this chapter. 1 Strategic planning is essentially deciding what your organization wants to accomplish, what opportunities or challenges it faces, what capabilities it has, its specific plan, and how all its members contribute to its success. In spite of the obvious natural fit between the process of developing strategic plan-This chapter is dedicated to the memory of Cathy Higgs-visionary thinker, extraordinary consultant, mentor, and friend. Her intelligence, creativity, and generosity will always be remembered.'A useful Web site for I/O psychologist consultants is that of Andrea Corney, JD, MBA (http://www.acorn-od.com/), who outlines particular tools and uses of organizational process consulting skills in a strategy setting. Corney's Web site is one of the few sources with specific examples of how organizational consulting skills apply in a strategy setting. A second useful source is Galbraith (1995), particularly chapter 9, which outlines a step-by-step process for building an organizational design based on strategy.