2. 1. History & Lessons Learned
2. Theoretical Frame: Interaction Network
3. Two sides of the same coin: Quality of working life =
Mobilization of Human Talent & Quality of organizations
4. Concepts: Organisational regimes & Design Principles
5. HOW: Design rules & Change Process
Session Overview
2
4. 4
Work structuring and humanizing the workplace
Bottom up experiments with job design on department level
Ideological started by department head (pioneers)
Supported by academic action research
Focus on quality of working life (job satisfaction)
Despite success, lack of sustainability!
History – after Durham (‘60-’70)
6. Lessons Learned: Lack of Diffusion
• Lack of active support management and focus on short term success
• Isolated: limited design room
• Bottom up is not enough (neglected law of Newton)!
• Finite focus on quality of working life
• (Hidden) Resistance hierarchical levels and support staff
• Ideological clash ‘soft’ <> ‘hard’
• No strategic business need to fundamental change
• Limited theoretical back bone: try and error, depend on enthusiastic consultants
6
7. Evolution of Sociotechnical Systems
Three Waves
Wave One: 1950’s-
1970’s
Wave Three: 1990’s-Present
Wave Two: 1970’s-
1990’s
9. Theoretical Foundations: Lowlands Approach
Prime = understanding, intervening & predicting organizational behavior
Ulbo de Sitter’s (1930-2010)
Interaction network theory
W. Ross Ashby’s (1903-1972)
Law of requisite variety
(only variety beats variety)
Niklas Luhmann’s (1927-1998)
Social system theory
(complexity reduction)
De Sitter’s “toward new factories and offices” (1982):
-Jump job design to organization design
-Ideological clash >> theoretical logic: fruitful dialogue and common language
-Enrich ODevelopment theory (finite attention to develop human competence) with
ODesign theory: OD2
9
10. 10
Social systems theory
Social systems are systems of communication to
interact
Membership with formal expectations and
arrangements
A system is defined by a boundary between itself
and its (infinite complex and chaotic) environment
The internal system is selecting only limited
amount of external information
The criterion for selection is meaning (sense
making)
Social systems are autopoietically closed:
Filtering and processing of external information,
Selective in adapting!
on what is considered meaningful and what is not
10
11. 11
Job satisfaction = quality of working life!
Age
30 35 40
Jobsatisfaction
+
-
70-80% are satisfied
Irrespective of culture,
country, and job
characteristics!
Satisfaction is an indicator for
acceptance given working
conditions
Subjective approach:
All people share the same
basic needs?
Acceptance of current
situation is not an easy start to
change (readiness for change)
Discovery conflict
expetations and reality
Acceptance reality
Switch from intrinsic to extrinsic motivation
11
12. 12
quality
control
customer
family
work stationteamleader
work station
customer
customer planning
intersection
Work as an intersection of job demand
and interaction
A dynamic, objective
view
Human beings
develops needs,
motivation and
orientation in
interaction with his
social environment
A balanced interaction
network is also a
productive network
12
13. intersection
internal interaction
partners
external
interaction
partners
F = family
F
Result of task division
Ideal situation: perfect
balance (incl. work-life
balance)and no waste
All material, information
and means on the right
place, quality and time
Match demand and
limited means
No disturbance
Only one problem:
Ideal situation
doesn’t exist:
interference
Working as an interaction network
13
14. Job demand – job control (regulation)
(Karasek)
14
Real life networks interference (job demand)
Uncertaincy
Lack of (insufficient) material, information , right
people and means
Unbalance demand and capacity
Competitive, conflicting demands
Changing demand
Custom made demand
Human errors
Technical disturbance
Interference risk is a result of complexity
Job control to cope with interference:
Productive work
Active, challenging work
Job demand Job control
14
15. Job demand need Job control
15
Internal operational job control
Task variety
Authority-decision latitude
Craftsmanship
Access to flexible means
Information
Meaningful purpose, shared direction
External operational job control
Coordination/deliberations
Support team and community
Appreciative feedback leader
Natural feedback
Influence
Strategic job control
Participation & co-creation: design for reducing
interference risk and decrease inference sensibility
Learning and continuous improvement
Job demand Job control
15
16. Jobcontrol
Job demandslow high
learning opportunitiesunder-loaded
work
challenging
work
over-loaded
work
boring
work
stress risks
highlow
Low strain
work
challenging
work
High strain
work
Passive, boring
work
Quality of working life
16
(Karasek)
16
17. 17
(illegal) Work arrounds
Buffers and hidden waste
Focus on self interest
Safety risks
Work-life imbalance
Early mental retirement
Bullwhip effect
Lack of Job Control
17
20. 20
Quality of working and healthy aging
Malta
Denmark
Sweden
Finland
Slovenië
Austria
United Kingdom
Hungary
Belgium
Luxembourg
Netherlands
Germany
Ireland
Cyprus
Estland
Romania
Greece
Italie
Czechia
Spain
Portugal
Poland
France
Lithuania
Latvia
Slovakia
Bulgaria
21. Design and quality of organisation(al)
health
organization
design
division
executing tasks
(PS)
separation
execute – control
(CS)
complex
interaction
network
need for
central control &
standards
high
interference
risk
high
interference
sensibility
Unability to cope with
interference at the source
21
22. 22
Quality of organization
Businessdemand
uncertaincy
Effective control
(regulation)
Static central
control
Dynamic
local (distributed)
control
Stressed
organisation
Organised
anarchy
Classic
bureaucracy
High:custom
made
Low:repetitive
production
Productive,
humane
organisation
22
23. Business demand as starting point
Efficiency Efficiency
Quality
+
Flexibility
+
Flexibility
Flexibility
Innovation
+
Service
Sustainability
+ Innovation
Quality Quality Quality
1960
1970
1980
1990
2000
Efficiency Efficienc
y
Efficiency
2010 War on talent
+
23
24. Price
Bureaucratic
Regime
Product variationlow high
Uncertainty
lowhigh
Price +
Quality
Quality driven
Regime
Price +
Quality +
Flexibility and time
Flexible
Regime
Price +
Quality +
Flexibility and time +
Product / service innovation
Network
Regime
In search of the most effective regime
labour market
policies
sustainability
24
30. Functional concentration of activities
& central control illusion
Every
department is
confronted with
total variety and
lack of customer
focus
Departmental
focus on control
utilization of
means
Only at central
level total
overview and
illusion of control
30
31. Principle 4
Control by strict rules and procedures
Sorry,
It’s not on my work instruction
You must a 237/654/9B/654M
form sent to department 39
Bureaucratic regime
31
32. Detailed rules & procedures
Strictly budget driven
Simple jobs
Narrow tasks
Closed supervision
Specialised tasks
Separate think - do
Command and control
Central decision making
Focus on hierarchical
authority
Power based
Top down
Structure Culture
Systems People
Bureaucratic regime
32
33. Structure Culture
Systems People
Horizontal coordination
and meetings
Quality Circles
On line process control
Quality circles
Less hierarchical
Reduced power distance
Integration quality
control
Problem solving skills
Consulting meetings
Quality driven regime
33
44. Take away responsibilties
and simple jobs
Powerlessness
Alienation
Distrust
Helplessness
Early mental retirement
Effects……….
44
45. Businessdemand
Effective control
Static central
control
Dynamic
local control
Stressed
organisation
Productive,
humane
organisation
Organised
anarchy
Classic
bureaucracy
highlow
Stressed organisation
45
Complex/lack of communication
Untransparent credits and cost
Isolated silo’s and hidden waste
Slow responsiveness and long throughput times
Risk avoiding culture and internal focus
High coordination cost (management)
Disconnection management and employees
Focus on exploitation & Neglect exploration and
innovation
Unhealthy high strain work and work-life
imbalance
45
47. Businessdemand
Effective control
Static central
control
Dynamic
local control
Stressed
organisation
Productive,
humane
organisation
Organised
anarchy
Classic
bureaucracy
highlow
47
1. Focus on first effectiveness second efficiency: added value
2. Respect diversity and reduction of complexity:
a) Focus on custom families (product, market, technology
combinations) in stead of task specialization (reduce
variety subsystem)
b) Reduce number of transfer points (interference risk)
3. Human scale:
a) Work teams 8 – 12
b) Working communities 40
c) Strategic units 200
4. Self organisation: Increase local control and support and
healthy hierachy: horizontal coordination and reduce number
of hierarchical layers (decrease interference sensibility) with
specific added value
5. Minimal critical specification based on trust and craftsmanship
6. Aligned systems (planning and control, HR practice,
technology)
7. Result only work environment
8. Human talent mobilization
9. Direct democracy: Strategic participation/partnership and co-
creation
Design principles
47
50. Reduced organisational complexity:
Conditions for local control
The variety of the
whole system stays the
same.
Every unit is confronted
with less variety and
has customer focus:
emotional connection
and human feedback
mechnanism
Departmental focus on
control customer flow
Local overview and
control
50
51. Flexible regime
Structure Culture
Small units with a
whole task
Decentralised control
Small central control staff
Cross functional teams
Systems
Just in time
Result driven: mutual
goal setting
Flexible work
arrangements
Focus on business process
Management and staff:
support and facilitate
Trust based control
People
Multi skilled
Self management
Teamwork
51
52. Network regime
Structure Culture
Mini companies
Temporarily structures
Networking
Strategic partnering
Systems
Focus on time to market
People
Custom oriented
people =
business partner
Stake holder involvement
Broad competences
Human capital
Entrepreneurs
Participation in strategic
issues
52
53. Customer focussed
Human talent is
seen as business
capital
High involvement
Partnership
Speeding up product
innovation process
Mini companies
Temporal structures
Networking
Price
Quality
Flexibility
Product innovation
Transformation
process is leading
Managers and staff
dept. have a
supporting and
facilitating role
Multi-skilling
Teamwork
Self management
Just in time
Minimal specification
Local differentiation
Result driven
Business line oriented
Small units with a
whole task
and decentralised
control
Price
Quality
Flexibility
CulturePeopleSystemsStructureBusiness
demands
53
54. Culture
Focus on hierarchical
authority
Power based:
Command and
control
Less hierarchical
Reduced power
distance
Transformation
process is leading
Managers and staff
dept. have a
supporting and
facilitating role
Customer focussed
Human talent is
seen as business
capital
People
Narrow tasks
Simple and routine
work
Integration of
quality control
Group meetings
Quality awareness
Multi-skilling
Teamwork
Self management
High involvement
Partnership
Systems
Detailed rules and
procedures
Budget driven
Quality circles
Statistical process
control
Just in time
Minimal specification
Local differentiation
Result driven
Speeding up product
innovation process
Structure
Specialisation
Division of labour
Horizontal meetings
Business line oriented
Small units with a
whole task
and decentralised
control
Mini companies
Temporal structures
Networking
Business
demands
Price
Price
Quality
Hierarchy
Price
Quality
Flexibility
Price
Quality
Flexibility
Product innovation
Bridging the gap: example
54
55. people
culture
structure
systems
Ontwerpen & ontwikkelen
Guiding principles & leadership
Strategic choices
Organisational behaviour
viabilityproductivity
involvement
Managementofchange
Conservatingmechanism
An integral approach
Quality of organisation Quality of working relations
Quality of working life
55
56. Price
Bureaucratic
Regime
Product variationlow high
Uncertainty
lowhigh
Price +
Quality
Quality driven
Regime
Price +
Quality +
Flexibility and time
Flexible
Regime
Price +
Quality +
Flexibility and time +
Product / service innovation
Network
Regime
In search of the most effective regime
labour market
policies
sustainability
56
57. Design sequence rules: PCS
From
the whole
to
the parts
+
macro
structure
macro
structure
meso
structure
micro
structure
micro
structure
meso
structure
‘production’structure
Controlstructure
From
the
parts
to
the
w
hole
(Information)systems
Mission vision goals strategy guiding principles
Organisation design
1 2 3
4
5
57
59. Characteristics of change proces
Every change process is unique
Mixed interventions
Design teams
Large scale conferences
Support self organization and co-
creation
In-company training and education
Open education
Iterative approach
Mix top down and bottom up
Create a common vision, awareness and
readiness to change
Strategic design: design team of key
positions with consultation whole system
Operational design: (emergent) co-
creation of involved stakeholders
5959
60. 1. What have you learned?
2. What is common with the traditional approach (part 1)
3. What are the differences?
4. Futher questions or remarks
Dialogue in small groups
60
61. Original STS Lowlands Lowlands Approach
Context Efficiency
Repetitive manufacturing
Surplus labor market
Efficiency, quality, flexibility, innovation
Custom made (knowledge work)
Future war on talent/ healthy aging; shortage
labor market
Objective Humanization of work Business demand:
Quality of working life
Quality of organisation(al) health
Quality of working relations
Subject Job design (micro level) Organisation design and designing
Concepts Open Systems
Joint optimalisation social
& technical system
Bottom up change
Design and change as a strategic competing
(meaningful-sense making) factor
Division of labor: twin structure concept
(production & control structure)
Education for self organization, co-creation,
top-down and bottom-up
Summary
61
Editor's Notes
Quality of working life is in modern configurations an important issue. In traditional organisations unused potential had lead to lack of involvement. In the flexible and network organisations taks variety and regulation capacity are of great importance to cope with the business demands and to improve quality of working life.
Untill now I only have looked from a business point of view. The reality is more complex, because we alsoo have to deal with labourmarket issues, policies. I hope it is clear that the different strategic choices different organisation models requires. The are 4 different configurations, I wil shar with you: 1234 The changing demands and change of configurations requires workplace innovation, in terms of renewal and development. An other important remark is that not all the different business lines have the same time table. For instance… It is a danger to speak as a fad or mode about productinnovation as the reality for instance just begin with phase 3!
In stead of a one sided approach workplace innovation need an integral approach of the interpendent domensions as 1234. The different configuration can now be descriped in this four perspectives.
These principles have had consequences for both the culture and people. The culture can be recognised in the habit that people are looking to their boss and copying his behaviour. The position in the chrismas tree is important, and not what you are doing. A lot of symbols reinforce this power based culture. The space of an office, number of windows and the cloths you supposed to wear. People have simple jobs with narow tasks and they perform their jobs with close supervision. There is a lot of criticism about the Tayloristic configuration, but we have to realise that this model has brought us an enormous growth of productivity!! So don’t trow it away to easily. Technics like time and motion studies could still be of great value in the back offices of public services with a mass production business line
In the quality drive organisation in fact the structure does not change a lot, but to garantee quality the different element of the chain should be in right balance. This is done by meetings and meetings…. People in the workplacesses are involved by quality circles for solving problems. The have learned to analyse and improve the processes. On line process conrol systems are in place to monitor and manage the quality aspects. Also the culture is changed a bit. You may use the frontname of you boss when you speak to eachother. You can also say that the power distance has become smaller. In the job of people we see the integration of the quality control tasks. Employees have regular consulting meetings and are well trained in problemsolving skills.
What happens if an organisation as mentioned before has also to cope with flexibility and time pressure? We can predict to regconise the following botlle necks…..
The first field of trouble is the slow or difficult communication. This is a symptom of the internal complexity. To get things done you need 5 to 10 people. People from different departments with different perspectives. You all know the joke if ….
The complexity is produced by the architecture of our organisations and the choices we once have made in divide the activities in the workflow.
Everbody is working very hard to do their job. But the weak point of the chain can be found between the elements. In organisations unther pressure people tend to fall back in their own team or department. And the law of reducing your own missery occur… This law teach us that to survive in case of trouble you have to report at last as 10 reason why that problems isnt yours but the problem of an other department.
This slide say enough about the innovationpower….
In the end their is always a solution the BOSS who is working 60 – 80 hours per week and already has two suite cases for all the reports
A succesfull strategy to reduce the need for cooperation is building in silo’s. this strategy effects in long throughput times. Products or dossiers are more waiting in a que than inproduction…
The lack of regulation capacity and small simple jobs has consequences for peoples behaviour. Taking away the responsibilities of employees resulted in …..
In the flexible configuration the business line is the base for the organisational building blocks. The building blocks are small units with a whole task in stead of task division. Decentralised conrol is implemented and only a small control staff remained central. Coordination and control take place by cross functional teams. The systems can be characterised by…. These organistions have a culture where everybody is focussed on the whole business line and management en staff support and facilitate the productione processes. The people are multi-skilled, work in self management teams
In the network coonfiguration mini companies and external partners work together in temporarily structures. The structure as control mechanismn is less powerfull and culture is more and more important to create a whole system in which people are seen as a business partner. Stake holders are involved in the important decision making processes. Employees have developped broad competences and participate in strategic issues. They are the human capital and act as entrepreneurs.
The challenge for innovation the workplace is bridging the gap on 4 pillars people, culture, structure and systems. These 4 pillars are connected together in a metaphor with a robe. We call this an integral approach. A one sided approach will not give the desired results and will give tension on the robe. To get al real innovation of the workplace a transition on all the pillars is need to get results on productivity, involvement and viability. And off course is the length of the gap based on strategic choice which is made on the current and future market demands. Bridging the gap is not only a process of developing organisation concepts, but also a process of change. Rethinking and implementing new organisation concepts, needs also rethinking the strategy of change management.
Untill now I only have looked from a business point of view. The reality is more complex, because we alsoo have to deal with labourmarket issues, policies. I hope it is clear that the different strategic choices different organisation models requires. The are 4 different configurations, I wil shar with you: 1234 The changing demands and change of configurations requires workplace innovation, in terms of renewal and development. An other important remark is that not all the different business lines have the same time table. For instance… It is a danger to speak as a fad or mode about productinnovation as the reality for instance just begin with phase 3!