Welcome toClassic STSD: History, Concepts and Practice In North America 1 Bernard Mohr Innovation Partners International Don de Guerre Concordia University.

Welcome to“Classic” STSD:

History, Concepts and Practice In North America

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Bernard MohrInnovation Partners International

Don de GuerreConcordia University

© 2013 Bernard Mohr & Don de Guerre

• Bernard J. Mohr, (co-founder, Innovation Partners International) is a design practitioner, educator and author specializing in performance improvement for complex organizations. Over the last 40 years, his work in the US, Central America, the Caribbean, Western Europe, Canada and the Middle East has focused on strength based Innovation in strategy, organization, leadership, key relationships and work processes and HOW the organization addresses challenges such as merger, rapid expansion, new market demands and sustainability. Recent books include "Appreciative Inquiry: Change At the Speed of Imagination" (Jossey Bass, 2011) and Essentials of Appreciative Inquiry: A Roadmap For Creating Positive Futures (Pegasus Communications, Waltham, USA 2002) and "The Appreciative Inquiry Summit: A Practitioner's Guide for Leading Large-Group Change" (Berrett-Koehler 2003). He can be reached at 207-874-0118 or [email protected]

• Don de Guerre, BA, M.Ed., M.A., Ph.D. After a distinguished international career as a consultant and manager working in the private, public service, and non-profit sectors, Dr. de Guerre is an Associate Professor at Concordia University. His major area of interest is the development of participative governance and organization and the further development of open systems theory. He teaches in the domains of human systems intervention and action research and consulting process

• The STS Roundtable (STS/RT, Inc.) is a professional association where STS researchers and practitioners come together as a professional learning community. We are a global (not-for-profit) network of business leaders, researchers, trade unionists, academics, managers, consultants, and students who share the values, principles and practices of sociotechnical systems theory and a common interest in developing more humane and effective organizations. The purpose of the Roundtable is to provide an open environment in which to share research, knowledge, and practice to support community learning. The members of this professional learning community continually devote time and energy to advance the connections between the principles of democracy and the social and economic objectives of organizations. Since the 1980's, the STS Roundtable has been an open professional learning community advancing the values, theory and practice that create healthy and powerful work systems that are demonstrably capable and responsible -- better places to work and places that work better. For more information about us, please see our website at http://www.stsroundtable.com.

• The Ulbo de Sitter Institute is a community where academics and practitioners come together to exchange experiences, models, cases and good practices based on the STS design and change theory. The members are researchers, managers, consultants, students and unionist from the Netherlands and Belgium. http://www.ulbodesitterkennisinstituut.nl

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mailto:[email protected]

http://www.stsroundtable.com/

http://www.ulbodesitterkennisinstituut.nl/


Acknowledgments

• Special thanks to the following individuals and groups who have generously contributed materials and content to this presentation:

– John Cotter, who has generously shared some of his slides as well as his experience and wisdom and guidance over the years

– Concordia University, for making Don DeGuerre available to share his STS knowledge and experience

– Innovation Partners International, for making Bernard Mohr available to share his STS knowledge and experience

– All the active members of the STS Roundtable and the Ulbo de Sitter Institute, who have given so generously of their time over the years to keep STS alive through thick and thin

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Is your organization an open sociotechnical system?

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Our Agenda

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1) What Is STS Design and Where Did it Come From?

1) What Is STS Design and Where Did it Come From?

3) STS Design – stories and experiences

3) STS Design – stories and experiences

2) STS Design Methodology and Tools

2) STS Design Methodology and Tools


History of STS Design – A North American View

• Great Britain in the 1950s (Tavistock Institute)

• Norway’s Industrial Democracy projects in the mid-1960s

• UCLA beginning in the late 1960s

• Procter & Gamble North America in the late 1960s

• Sweden and Netherlands via Phillips, De Sitter, van Beinum and Univ of Eindhoven in the early 70’s … called Work Restructuring

• UCLA Center for Quality of Working Life in 1975

• Application and refinement in Dutch, Scandinavian, and American industry starting in the 1970s

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An Open Sociotechnical System in Its External Environment

Feedback

Competitors and/or Regulators

InvestorsCustomers

Technical System

Transformation

SocialSystem

INPUT• Materials• Information

OUTPUT• Goods• Services

Key Concepts

STS as a Whole, Open Systems Perspective

8© 2013 Bernard Mohr & Don DeGuerre

Implications1. Organizations are complex systems where the relationship (ie the fit)

between the parts is as important as the parts themselves. Implying that:

the requirements of the social and technical subsystems must be well understood so that this issue of fit can guide organizational and technological choice

quality of working life (as defined by those within the system) is an explicit design criterion along with economic and societal req’ts

2. Involvement in designing and design outcomes are linked. Implying that:

Content Specialists (external and internal) can be part of the design process along with External Stakeholders, BUT those who do the actual day to day work i.e. - “the prime users” of the new design, should be the “prime designers”.

The same group people design BOTH the social AND Technical system



STSD is an INTENTIONAL DESIGN PROCESS aiming to create organizations that are effective in human, economic and societal terms… it is…

Based on Assumption of CHOICE• Organizational choice • Technological choice

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A collaborative process for consciously rethinking AND implementing the choices that make up an entire organizational system—including business/work processes; jobs and organization structure; management practices, beliefs, and assumptions; and technology—to achieve significant breakthroughs in quality, cost, safety, speed, quality of work life and …adaptability.

Definition

REQUIREMENTSOF THE BUSINESS

ENVIRONMENT

ORGANIZATIONAL PURPOSE, VISION Plus SCOPE AND STRUCTURE FOR DESIGNING

Development of a best-fit final design

TECHNICAL SYSTEM

REQUIREMENTS

SOCIAL SYSTEMREQUIREMENTS

(Individual & Org’n)


DEVELOPMENT And IMPLEMENTATION OF A BEST FIT “FINAL” DESIGN

Implementing the design andongoing renewal


Areas of Choice in the Design Process

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Mission and Goals

Tools and Equipment

Operating Philosophy

Vision of Desired Future

Design Guidelines, Principles, and Involvement in the Process

Process Control and Improvement

Horizontal and Vertical Boundaries around Work Units

Information FlowAuthority and Responsibility

Measure,Rewards and RecognitionProcesses for People Selection & Development o\

Distribution of Tasks

© 2013 Bernard Mohr & Don de Guerre 13

Design Activities and Tools

Activity Reason Typical Tools

System “Scan” Agree on ORGANIZATIONAL PURPOSE, VISION Plus SCOPE AND STRUCTURE FOR DESIGNING

Stakeholder mapping, Events, Trends and Developments Map; Philosophy Statements

Business Environment Analysis (BEA)

Clarity on•customer requirements , now and in future•outside influencers – what they want (now/future) what we give (now) and what we want to give (future)

Outside Influencer research and mapping, Customer requirements interviews

Technical System Analysis (TSA)

Agreement on:• Unit Operations for Core Process• Inputs, key activities, outputs for each unit operation • Key Variances• Current and Alternative Variance Controls

Process MappingVariance MatrixVariance Control Tables

Social System Analysis (SSA)

Understanding of current QWLUnderstanding of how current structures processes and practices support GAIL and create behaviors

Interaction/Role Network ChartGAIL GridQWL analyses (6 criteria)

© 2013 Bernard Mohr & Don de Guerre 14

Key ConceptsQWL - Designing for Human Beings – A Core Value of STS Design

Do people still have these needs?

– Elbow room?– Learning on the job?– Variety?

– Mutual support and respect? – Meaningfulness?– Desirable future?


Defining STSThe STSD Paradox

People’s behavior IS influenced by the design of the systems, structures and processes within which they work

However, the primary focus of the STS ORGANIZATION DESIGN process is innovation in structures, systems, policies and practices – the focus is not on changing people (as contrasted with Organization Development interventions seeking to change peoples behavior)

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Key Definitions and Basic ConceptsSTS Principles for Designing and for Design Choices

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STS Design Process : BASIC STEPS or PHASES

1. High level scan of the business environment to clarify organizational purpose and design scope and structures for and participation in designing

2. Analyzing in Detail:a) The Business Environment (to understand the

requirements for technical and social systems)b) Functioning of technical system WRT the Business

Environment requirementsc) Functioning of social system WRT the Business

Environment and QWL requirements3. Generating design alternatives 4. Developing a best-fit final design 5. Implementing the design6. Ongoing renewal

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Technical Analysis: The VARIANCE MATRIX (Nabisco Brands Example)

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STS Process and Methodology

VARIANCE CONTROL TABLE – Nabisco Brands

KeyVariance

Name of Unit Operation

Controlled by Whom (Role)

Activities Required to

Control

Information & Sources of Information Related to

Control Activities

Suggestions for Job or

Organization Redesign?

Suggestions for Changes

in the Technology?

Where Occurs

Where Observed

Where Controlled

No. 10 – Proportion of Ingredients into mix

u/o III u/o IIIIVVVI

XVIXVIIXXIIIXXIV

u/o III Mixer Selects formula.Monitors and Adjusts. Weights Within Tolerances.

Feedback from u/o V and XVI re dough performance.Needs info from u/o I and II re materials received and buffer solution strength and temperature.Needs info on previous batch run.

u/o I through XVI should be on same team.Training on how materials interact.

Instrument to evaluate dough rheology.

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Superior/Subordinate

Relations

Relations Within Work Groups

Relations Across Work

Groups

Relations With Outsiders

G Goal Setting

Supervisors Convey information top

down

Results shared, but little participation in

goal setting.

Supervisors are linked. Others are

not.

Contact is at the top only.

Customers don’t feel included in

goal setting.

A Adaptation

Input solicited. Use depends on quality

of input.

Better planning for change needed.

Information is received, but

usually after the fact.

Changes in other product areas not

known until problems arise.

I Integration

Employees expect supervisor to solve all their problems.

Good communication.

Conflict resolution not satisfying.

Frustrating, unclear about how to resolve

problems.

Little opportunity to work on

external issues. Time not available.

L Long-Term Development

Supervisor key to learning, but not

active in personnel development.

Informal communication

only.

Little cross-training,

Little awareness of future needs

and skills required.

STS Process and MethodologyExample :This is a summary sheet taken from a multi-page GAIL report at a white collar financial services organization. A completed GAIL report often contained a

multi-page description for each of the sixteen cells.

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STS Process and Methodology QWL (Measured by 6 Intrinsic Motivators)

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-5 0 +5 -5 0 +5 -5 0 +5

0 10 0 10 0 10

EFFECTIVE ORG DESIGN

HIGH QWLMEETS THE BASIC HUMAN NEEDS OF

WORK

ELBOW ROOM LEARNING ON THE JOB VARIETY (Autonomy in (a) Setting Goals decision making) (b) Getting Feedback

MUTUAL SUPPORT AND RESPECT

MEANINGFULNESS(a) Socially Useful(b) See Whole Product

DESIRABLE FUTURE

OPTIMAL

MAXIMAL

High Engagement


Sample Cases: Manufacturing Greenfield (Startup)

• The Organization– A new “wallboard plant in New England, 220 employees at full capacity, late 80’s

• Initial Results Obtained– “Start-up = On time and 8% under budget (A Corporate "first ever")”– “Labor Productivity = 50% fewer people.”– “Quality = Highest Customer Satisfaction Ratings in Division.”– “Market Share = 150% increase in two years.”– “Safety = 74% better than Division level.”– “Operating Costs = Lowest Conversion costs in division.”– ** The organization design has been renewed many times and “survived” multiple

changes in corporate ownership and leadership**

• What we did and what we learned– Content, timeline and the nature of the interventions

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Sample Cases: Financial Services Company (Redesign)

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• The Organization– A large financial services company located in the midwest - late 80’s - 350 employees

• Initial Results Obtained– Total redesign of mission, operating philosophy, processes, structure, rewards, etc.– Eliminated two layers of management, redesigned all roles including VP’s– Created highly empowered self-managing ‘customer-focused’ service teams organized

around customer accounts – one of the first ‘customer-focused’ designs in FS– ‘Quantum-leap’ in all standard service performance metrics to the extent that they

were abandoned in favor of new metrics 12 months into implementation– Cost of operations reduced 15%, saving millions of dollars over the life of the design– Quality of work environment (QWL) improved from ‘worst’ to ‘best’ in company– Success of initial redesign expanded STS to banking operations and redesign of 4000

financial advisors nationwide followed 12 months later – Initial redesign model lasted 10 years and survived 3 changes in management

• What we did and what we learned– Content, timeline and the nature of the interventions

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Summary

1. STS as a design process…is

1. A primary construct is organizations as “open, sociotechnical systems” – and the importance of designing with the “environment” in mind.

2. Choice as a key element in sociotechnical systems design• Organizational choice• Technological choice

3. Design Principles guide the process vs. a one size fits all solution4. A key principle is “joint optimization”

A collaborative process for consciously rethinking and implementing the choices that make up an entire organizational system—including business/work processes; jobs and organization structure; management practices, beliefs, and assumptions; and technology—to achieve significant breakthroughs in performance, involvement, and quality of work life.

© 2013 Bernard Mohr & Don DeGuerre

Welcome toClassic STSD: History, Concepts and Practice In North America 1 Bernard Mohr Innovation Partners International Don de Guerre Concordia University.

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