Client Articles: Beyond Teams
Beyond Teams - Introduction by: Max Elden
Usually the concepts "self-management" and "team" are combined in the increasingly popular notion of "self-managing work team" (SMWT) as the basic structural building block in developing a form of organization alternative to the top-down, command and control paradigm. Other contributors in this volume present leading edge ideas and research about the design, dynamics, and context of SMWTS. The question addressed in the work reported here is the nature of organizational change required to forward the idea of self- management in a particular organization form such as a work team. "Beyond teams" means at least a focus here on the process of organizational change. What is the relation of self-management to the organization and management of the change process? Does self-management as a goal imply anything about self-management in the change process?
Organizational development (OD) in the direction of self-managed work teams can be part of a strategy of continuous quality improvement, a key element in a discontinuous change such as a paradigm shift, or as argued here, a combination of the two. Change can focus on continuous organizational improvement punctuated by step level breakthrough where accomplishments not previously considered possible are achieved. In this kind of discontinuous change or "reinvention" process an organization fundamentally reformulates or transforms its way of operating. Examples could be a full financial turn- around, a major breakthrough in sales or performance, or a new vision that energizes and redirects and entire organization. This kind of change process can be called organizational transformation (OT).
There are considerable bodies of literature on organization diagnosis, design, and development, but this knowledge reveals little about transformational processes that could punctuate continuous improvement activities in organizations. As Porras and Silvers (1991, p. 52) note in their recent review of organization development (OD): "At present, OD is relatively well defined and circumscribed in terms of its technologies, theory, and research. OT, on the other hand, is emerging, ill-defined, highly experimental, and itself rapidly changing." One of the main purposes of the research reported here is to explore and clarify organizational transformation. While the connection between theory and practice in OT may be lacking or at best emergent, there is both considerable practice and some general, abstract theory.
In terms of practice, the business press is filled with accounts of organizational success stories where something significant-a major breakthrough, a new direction, an awakening-has occurred. Ford with its "team Taurus," or GE with its "workout" program are examples which have elicited some examination by researchers but little grounded theory development around the issue of transformation. On the theory side, there is some recent, serious attention among scholars to theories and strategic thinking in transforming organizations (Kochan and Useem, 1992). None of this, however, helps people in organizations to act in ways that would fundamentally change things. What is needed is a "practice theory" (Vail, 1979, cited in Weisbord, 1987) for organizational transformation.
Obviously restructuring an organization's work system to be more team based can require a major shift in the organization and management of work. But there is much more to an organization than the structure of its work flow. Moreover, a focus on a particular form of organization such as a self-managing team may overlook what is needed for sustainable organizational transformation. Hence this inquiry focuses on the nature of transformational change that includes, but attempts to go beyond, self-managing teams.
The inquiry starts by describing a case of organizational transformation and the ideas used by the company to achieve performance beyond what anyone would have dreamed about only a few years ago. Moreover, now some four years into the process, new breakthroughs continue. This case will provide a means of exploring actual transformative ideas, methods, and activities in practice at Magma Copper, a Fortune 500 company in the business of mining, smelting, and refining copper. Although Magma has clearly transformed itself, explaining how in the sense of a practice theory raises particular problems in research design and methodology. The way these problems were solved by developing the concept of "generative events" and "story listening" is then described before the findings of the research are presented and discussed. To anticipate the main conclusions, Magma has created and sustained organizational transformation by combining leadership and organizational "open space" to create a culture where people are authorized and rewarded for inventing better ways of working together. Some of these inventions are self-managing teams or organizational structure based on this philosophy. Other inventions (such as union participation in executive decision-making, new forms of gain sharing, or a 15-year union contract) have little to do with team-based work design. Magma did not just import teams, standard organization development techniques, or "benchmarking" best practices from other companies. Magma used these ideas and more but in the context of authorizing people to create new possibilities, new "openings for action" on their own terms. In short, transformation seems to be a process of participants inventing, not importing new ways of organizing and managing themselves.
Introduction
Magma-A: Part I
Magma-A: Part II
Research Issues & Designs
Findings: Generating A Culture of Invention
Invention As A Practice Theory For Organizational Transformation
Contrasting Organization Development And Transformation
Summary, Acknowlegements And References
Organizational development (OD) in the direction of self-managed work teams can be part of a strategy of continuous quality improvement, a key element in a discontinuous change such as a paradigm shift, or as argued here, a combination of the two. Change can focus on continuous organizational improvement punctuated by step level breakthrough where accomplishments not previously considered possible are achieved. In this kind of discontinuous change or "reinvention" process an organization fundamentally reformulates or transforms its way of operating. Examples could be a full financial turn- around, a major breakthrough in sales or performance, or a new vision that energizes and redirects and entire organization. This kind of change process can be called organizational transformation (OT).
There are considerable bodies of literature on organization diagnosis, design, and development, but this knowledge reveals little about transformational processes that could punctuate continuous improvement activities in organizations. As Porras and Silvers (1991, p. 52) note in their recent review of organization development (OD): "At present, OD is relatively well defined and circumscribed in terms of its technologies, theory, and research. OT, on the other hand, is emerging, ill-defined, highly experimental, and itself rapidly changing." One of the main purposes of the research reported here is to explore and clarify organizational transformation. While the connection between theory and practice in OT may be lacking or at best emergent, there is both considerable practice and some general, abstract theory.
In terms of practice, the business press is filled with accounts of organizational success stories where something significant-a major breakthrough, a new direction, an awakening-has occurred. Ford with its "team Taurus," or GE with its "workout" program are examples which have elicited some examination by researchers but little grounded theory development around the issue of transformation. On the theory side, there is some recent, serious attention among scholars to theories and strategic thinking in transforming organizations (Kochan and Useem, 1992). None of this, however, helps people in organizations to act in ways that would fundamentally change things. What is needed is a "practice theory" (Vail, 1979, cited in Weisbord, 1987) for organizational transformation.
Obviously restructuring an organization's work system to be more team based can require a major shift in the organization and management of work. But there is much more to an organization than the structure of its work flow. Moreover, a focus on a particular form of organization such as a self-managing team may overlook what is needed for sustainable organizational transformation. Hence this inquiry focuses on the nature of transformational change that includes, but attempts to go beyond, self-managing teams.
The inquiry starts by describing a case of organizational transformation and the ideas used by the company to achieve performance beyond what anyone would have dreamed about only a few years ago. Moreover, now some four years into the process, new breakthroughs continue. This case will provide a means of exploring actual transformative ideas, methods, and activities in practice at Magma Copper, a Fortune 500 company in the business of mining, smelting, and refining copper. Although Magma has clearly transformed itself, explaining how in the sense of a practice theory raises particular problems in research design and methodology. The way these problems were solved by developing the concept of "generative events" and "story listening" is then described before the findings of the research are presented and discussed. To anticipate the main conclusions, Magma has created and sustained organizational transformation by combining leadership and organizational "open space" to create a culture where people are authorized and rewarded for inventing better ways of working together. Some of these inventions are self-managing teams or organizational structure based on this philosophy. Other inventions (such as union participation in executive decision-making, new forms of gain sharing, or a 15-year union contract) have little to do with team-based work design. Magma did not just import teams, standard organization development techniques, or "benchmarking" best practices from other companies. Magma used these ideas and more but in the context of authorizing people to create new possibilities, new "openings for action" on their own terms. In short, transformation seems to be a process of participants inventing, not importing new ways of organizing and managing themselves.
Introduction
Magma-A: Part I
Magma-A: Part II
Research Issues & Designs
Findings: Generating A Culture of Invention
Invention As A Practice Theory For Organizational Transformation
Contrasting Organization Development And Transformation
Summary, Acknowlegements And References