Begin the Journey With the End in Mind

This commentary critically examines the issues raised in the article by Bedeian, Van Fleet, and Hyman from a functional perspective, one that might be used in decisions about who should be a member of a prototypic work group. It takes the position that, like a work group, a journal editorial board exists for a purpose, and that purpose (or function) should play a major role in determining the criteria to be used when staffing the board's membership. When contemporary thinking about the staffing of work groups is applied, the current practices of the journals of interest are found to be appropriate and defensible.