IOSR Journal of Mathematics (IOSR-JM) e-ISSN: 2278-5728, p-ISSN: 2319-765X. Volume 15, Issue 3 Ser. I (May – June 2019), PP 63-74 www.iosrjournals.org DOI: 10.9790/5728-1503016374 www.iosrjournals.org 63 | Page A Fuzzy Model for Cross-Functional Team Formation Based On Personality Traits Orkun Kozanoğlu 1 , Arjan Skuka 2 1 Department of Industrial Engineering, Üsküdar University, İstanbul, Turkey 2 Department ofIT, Education Faculty, Ss. Cyril and Methodius University, Skopje, North Macedonia Corresponding Author:OrkunKozanoğlu Abstract Despite the significance of cross-functional teams in today’s business environment, a few analytical approaches have been proposed for team formation problem. The objective of this paper is to propose a cross-functional team formation model by which a predetermined number of individuals are selected from various expertise groups based on their personalities. The proposed model employs Five-Factor Model of personality traits as a framework for the assessment of team members’ personalities. However, an inherent problem in team formation is thatassessing team member candidates with respect to these personality traits involves vagueness and subjectivity. In addition,the target level of personality traits in a team cannot be set precisely as it depends on the objectives and tasks that a team is expected to realize.Based on these premises, a fuzzy goal programming model forteammember selection is proposed and demonstratedwith an illustrativeexample. Keywords:Cross-functionalteam formation, Fuzzy Goal Programming, Five-Factor Model --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date of Submission: 08-05-2019 Date of acceptance: 24-05-2019 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I. Introduction Due to the competition based on agility and flexibility of today‘s business environment, cooperation of people with diverse knowledge, expertise and skills in cross-functional team setting has become a significant way to respond to customer expectations. However, despite the growing importance of cross-functional teams in organizations, there is still limited research about analytical models of team formation. Tseng et al. (2004) developed a methodology for the multi-functional team formation based on fuzzy sets theory and grey decision theory. Shipley and Johnson (2009) developed an algorithm based on belief in the fuzzy probability of a cognitive style fitting a defined goal in order to facilitate the selection of employees who meet the project goals. Tavana, Azizi and Behzadian (2012) proposed a framework for player selection in soccer in which the alternative combinations of the selected players are evaluated with a fuzzy inference system and the best combinations for team formation are determined. This paper presents an analytical model for allocating a predetermined number of individuals from various functional groups to form a cross-functional team with desired level of personality traits which is expected to maximize the outcomes of the team. In the proposed model, team composition is optimized by using fuzzy goal programming (FGP) approach due to the imprecision and subjectivity in determining the target levels of personality traits; and assessment of the team member candidates with respect to thesepersonality traits. Team members‘ personalities are assessed by using Five-Factor Model (FFM), which analyzes the personalities of individuals under five major dimensions. The outline of this paper is as follows. In the following section, preliminaries about team composition, FFM personalitytraitsand their effects of on team outcomesand fuzzy sets will be discussed. In section 3, the proposed model will be presented and an application of the model will be illustrated in section 4. In the last section, conclusions of the paper will be presented. II. Personality And Team Effectiveness Due to the scope of the tasks they perform, cross-functional teams should be composed of members to provide the sufficient diversity and balance in terms of the required knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs). Selecting the people with better individual KSAsis expected to result in a more effective team However, even if each team member is an expert in his/her field, this would not guarantee the overall team effectiveness because the interpersonal dynamics of the team affect the motivation of the team members and subsequently the team performance. Thus, the researchers have posited personality traits to be related to team performance (Driskell, Hogan and Salas, 1987).