Laboratory Simulation of Organizational Stress

With a research focus on organizational stress, such as might be precipitated by natural disaster, an attempt was made to "bridge the gap" between the field and laboratory through "realistic simulation." Three teams of police communication room personnel participated in each of the three simulations with normal system demands. The teams then confronted system stress through a simulated disaster. Changes in team performance patterns under stress appeared related to strains existent in the system prior to stress and to incompatabilities between system structure and emergent system demands. Among the most important changes in group structure which increased system capacity was the gradual emergence of a display mechanism whereby intra-team activity became more shared.