Volume 10 (2024)
The Seven Ps of Workplace Expertise: Achieving Optimal Team Performance in MotoGP
Barbara J. Stanford, Ed.D.
Independent Researcher
Abstract
Within the highly competitive and technical world of international professional motorcycle racing, the aim is optimal on-track performance. Successful attainment of that objective lies in the formation of an expert team in which members bring their individual skills, knowledge, and experience to bear in ways that benefit the group as a whole and achieve intended outcomes. This ethnographic study explores how members of a factory MotoGP team, Team Vinco (a pseudonym), coordinate their efforts and pool their collective expertise within a unique working environment to effectively function as a unit despite intense time pressure, rapidly changing scenarios, and stressful decision-making conditions. Findings are framed by a set of specific competencies I refer to as The Seven Ps of Workplace Expertise (Preparation, Partnership, Professionalism, Positivity, Persistence, Productivity, and Passion), and lend credence to the notion that individuals who engage in physical and cognitive collaboration often outperform individuals who operate independently. The ethnographic narrative is deeply rooted in my informants’ native point of view (Malinowski, 1922), and reflects their cultural language and experience. This study lays the groundwork for future examinations of expert teams within and outside of professional motorcycle racing.
Keywords
Motorcycling, Motorcycle racing, MotoGP, motorsport, Teamwork, Expert Teams, Workplace Expertise, Ethnography, Organizational Theory
Stanford, B J. (2024). The seven Ps of workplace expertise: Achieving optimal team performance in MotoGP. International Journal of Motorsport Management, 10, Article 1.