Designing the Self Managing Organization

1. Designing the Self Managing Organization Ronald E. Purser, Ph.D. College of Business San Francisco State Univ.

2. Designing the SMO: Basic Methods • Democratize the Strategy Creation Process by using the Search Conference method • Democratize the redesign of Business Processes using the Participative Design method

3. Microsoft Xerox Hewlett-Packard Charles Schwab Lucent Technology Sybase United Airlines Champion Paper Dupont American Express Hoescht-Celanese Celgard Syncrude Canada Sequa Chemicals Levi Strauss Bell South Companies Using Participative Design and Search Conferences

4. What is Participative Design? • Method that enables employees to participate directly in the redesign process • No Reengineering “Czars,” BPR or Representative Design Teams (No designs are imposed) • Uses dialogue to arrive at local solutions • Relocates responsibility for design and management with those closest to the work

5. What Are the Benefits of PD? • Draws on the knowledge and expertise already within work groups • Restructures the way work is designed to enhance motivation and commitment • Reduces design and implementation cycle time • Develops internal capacity for change and redesign

7. Participative Design Session: A Basic Agenda • Introductions and Expectations • Understanding the Fit Between Strategic Vision and Organization Design • Briefing on Design Principle 1 - Bureaucratic Structure • Work Unit Analysis (Software) • Six Psychological Requirements Matrix • Essential Skills and Competencies Matrix

8. Participative Design Session: A Basic Agenda • Work Unit Analysis (Hardware) • Work Flow Mapping • Technical and Variance Analysis • Briefing: Design Principle 2 - Democratic Structure and Self Managing Organization • Redesign • Critical Tasks and Work Flow • Formal Structure

9. Participative Design Session: A Basic Agenda • Interim Reports (Prototypes) • Implementation Planning (Transition into New Design) • Setting Measurable Goals, Expected Outputs • Team Scope, Boundaries, and Constraints • Relational Agreements • Team Roles (Common, General, and Specific) • Reporting Relationships and Structure • Open Issues and Priorities • Performance Management Process • Compensation • Finalize Design

10. Work Analysis: 6 ψ Criteria • Autonomy:Adequate Elbow Room for Decision Making • Opportunity for Learning(Goal Setting and Feedback) • Optimal Level of Variety • Mutual Support & Respect • Meaningfulness(Quality of product and understanding of whole production process) • A Desirable Future

11. Work Analysis: 6 ψ Criteria • Autonomy:Adequate Degree of Freedom for Decision Making (-5….0….+5) • The sense that I can make my own decisions without close supervision, but I also know my prescribed limits and boundaries. • Opportunity for Learning(Goal Setting and Feedback) • Ample opportunity for developing and sharing knowledge and skills, and opportunities for applying what one has learned. I have an opportunity to: • Set reasonably challenging goals, and (-5….0….+5) • Receive timely feedback on my work that provides the opportunity to improve my performance (-5….0….+5) • Optimal Level of Variety

12. Work Analysis: 6 ψ Criteria • Optimal Level of Variety: • The work that I do is neither too demanding nor too easy or boring, but somewhere in between.(-5…..0….+5) • Mutual Support & Respect • In my work group, people help one another without being told to do so, even if it is beyond their normal duties. (0……………………10) • Meaningfulness • I feel the products and services of my company are fulfilling a worthwhile purpose to customers/society.(0………………….10) • I can see how my piece of work fits into the larger scheme of things. I have a good sense of the overall product/service. (0…………………10)

13. Work Analysis: 6 ψ Criteria • A Desirable Future • This organization offers me room to grow, develop and advance. I have a career path; this is not a dead-end job. (0……………………10)

14. Exercise: Work Analysis Matrix • Fill Out 6 Criteria Matrix in your groups • Use your current job as a reference point • Work across the matrix, horizontally for each item (for example, start with AUTONOMY) • Say/discuss the reasons for your ratings • After your group is finished discussing everyone’s ratings, who seems to have the most motivating job? Why? Who seems to have jobs that are deficient in motivational criteria?

15. PD at American Express • Ruled out a top-down change process • Needed an Accelerated change process • Used PD to create a “big picture” strategic organization design • Utilized TFC members directly in created the new design • Linked the new design to business strategy

16. PD at American Express • New design eliminated functional silos • Increased interdependence--multi-skilled teams • Teams focused on market segments • Organized in an “end-to-end” process that provided enhanced customer service

17. Syncrude Canada Design Process Community Discussion of Proposal & Process Town Hall Decision Meeting Integration Workshop Staff New Teams Implement Town Hall Team and Cross- Team Process Design Search Conferences P.D.Workshops June ‘93 September ‘93 February ‘94 June ‘94 • Design Process Steps: • Over 300 employees participated in four meetings to discuss and approve the design process. • Four Search Conferences, plus an Integration Workshop led to a Town Hall meeting. Key principles • and parameters for Participative Design are established. • A series of Participative Design Workshops are convened to create new designs for the division. • Another Town Hall meeting is held to decide the final design for Mine Mobile Maintenance division. • Employees bid and apply for new team positions. • Self-managing teams designed and negotiated goals, roles, and procedures and cross-team processes. • Implementation to self-management begins in June, 1994.

18. The Democratic Design Principle in Action Self-Managing Teams in the U.S. Federal Circuit Courts

19. Designing the Self Managing Organization Finale Thank-you for your interest!