Autonomous work group an essential ingredient for effective organising? Essay

Following the inevitably of many businesses to assimilate alternative molds of counterfeit design this paper tries to explain and make or so sense rough the enduringness of supreme formulate aggroups in organising. It will be argue the thesis that much(prenominal) groups consider been, be and will be in force(p) in some definite shapingal condition. The assumptions underpinning this idea will be explored along the dialectic forming three sections.To understand this concept it seems important introduce nonions of undivided, group and explain why they argon so central from an organisational point of view. Thus, the first part of this paper will present some mental effects resulting by their interaction of these actorsMoreover, macrocosm the idea of autonomous change state group part of a complex constitution, it will be restrictive analyse its characteristics without locate it among others concepts produced by sociotechnical researchers. Thus, a broader compend of sociotechnical system (STS) will be part of the second section.Difference between what STS aimed to achieve, what they really achieved, and/or what they atomic number 18 achieving now is still discussed. This lack of unanimous consensus lets the debate open to several interpretations, and offer the opportunity to explore and shroud few issues colligate to the self-importance-managing groups. Hence, the delay side of this paper will address a discuss about the enjoyment of oversight, the subordination of adult male criteria to the dictates of efficiency, the application to some(prenominal) linear and non-linear systems, and a motion toward a self-leading aggroup type.The magnitude of such topic and the number of interesting studies surrounding this ara offer to the author a dilemma regarding what should be treated and what should non. Obviously, having this script humanistic approach major evidence is attached to populate in organisation, and respectively team memb ers, and management. Moreover, analysing the way in which the system adapted itself during the second half of the choke century, it will be argued that organisations designed or redesigned in respect of human criteria in original industries and environments, apprise reach a competitive advantage respect those that will non do it. In short, STS is an effective dick by which it is possible chalk up both individual and organisational require.Pursuing the paper this line of argument, issues related to politics, unions, and bureau, and other effects of identifications, ideology and control are non buyt in this paper neither because not relevant, nor because of secondary importance, preferably, due to the limitation of the length.Individuals, Groups and OrganisationTo some extent groups always existed, even in the States -where in duration of cold war ambitions were light-emitting diode to unbridled individualism, organisation used to split job into subtask, assigned it to var ious subunits, than these subunits divided subtask into sub-subunits and so on. Even if an organisation is formally organised according individual performance, the division of labour break d hold the organisation into groups. What does group means, and what needs a group fill for both organisation and individual? A psychological group is any number of people who interact with one other, are psychologically aware of one other, and perceive themselves as group (Schein 1994), and are seen as group by the others from outside (Hackman 1987, in brownish 2003).If in everyday life, groups mess be form through a spontaneous or random meeting -such as four friends meets for chance in library, in organisational setting they have diverse origin. Basically, it is possible recognise cardinal types of groups in organisation, those which are designedly created by motorbuss in order to follow up the tasks required from the organisational mission, an those ful alter psychological needs of indi vidual beyond the lower limit ones of doing their jobs respectively formal and slack groups (Schein 1994).According to its duration the former can be of two types long-lasting -such as the group of lecturer or/and professors forming the BOR depth at Lancaster University or temporary -such as a matrix group of lecturers or/and professors committed in a project for a definite time or mission. Nevertheless, organisation cooks an informal structure within which individuals interacting with others generates a group that fulfil their social needs. that contrary to the everyday life the interaction depend on defined physical location, being in fact their activity within the organisation limited by their tasks and mission to perform -such as the casualty to interact with people both meeting and operative in the same seat, depth, building and so on. way in mind that groups can simultaneously fulfil diverse organisational functions and needs of their members, it useful here to bed th ese kinds of functions in organisational and individual (Schein 1994). According to this partition, it is possible group organisational functions as those features coinciding with the mission of the organisation -i.e. civilizeing on a complex or mutually beneficial task, generating new ideas or creative solutions, liaison or coordinating functions, facilitate the accomplishation of complex decision, or be a vehicle of socialisation or training.On the other hand, among needs group members can fuck off with them and groups can fulfil there are needs such as those of affiliation, sense of identification and maintain self esteem, establish and tests social reality, moreover, it come down insecurity and anxiety. Appear now clear why groups are so important, from an organisational point of view it speed, facilitate, and remedy the task-related functions. On the other hand, spending two third of our life within the dressplace, meeting our psychological needs inn a group, and spendin g two third of our adult life in a work setting of various kinds, groups run short a integral part of such work settings (Schein 1994152).Thus, an enormous plausibly can be offered mixing up informal and formal functions, to comprehend it means to imagine how they can serve at the same both organisational and individual. Reed supported this thesis stating understand organisations means handgrip the diverse policy-making forces acting in it, nevertheless, decisions are not taken during a board of director, rather main actors discuss and reach agreement during a dinner on a golf manakin (2002). In other words, linking together individuals needs and organisational functions to fulfil, by means of formal and informal organisation could be achieved, through effectiveness and the right balance with the social needs of employees, an organisational competitive advantage.The Socio practiced System (STS)Understand the dynamic crop made up of individuals needs interacting in organisati onal setting it is not as easy as at a first sight. After two decades in which the human relation (HR) approach allocate attention to the employees, not work condition per se, that has the sovereign impact on productivity (Peters & Waterman, cited in Moldaschl & Weber 1998350), the sociotechnical group took another direction. Researches, associated with the work done by the Tavistock Institute in London, instead of concentrating on the enterprise as social system -where technology was not considered and workers were treated violate whilst their job remained the same (Trist, in Moldaschl & Weber 1998), attempted to overcome both Tayloristic and HR approach of work design.Whereas the HR movement achieved the so-called Hawthorne public relation effect -enforcing psychotechnics to deal with employees psychological wealth, STS underlined the importance of a real design of tasks (Emery 1978). The idea of STS implies that any productive organisation or part thereof is a combination of te chnology and social system in mutual interaction to each other. Each adjudicates each other and the nature of work determines the type of organisation that develops among workers, whilst the sociopsychological characteristics of the worker determine the manner in which a given job will be performed (Schein 1994).This idea led to the reading of an open system theory in which organisations imports and converts various things from its environment -such as people, money equipment, raw material, and so on, and exports products, services and waste materials which result from the conversions process (Schein 1994). Importing people the organisation have to deal with individuals needs, values, norms, and expectations, as a consequence, to be effective the organisation have to take in account both the nature of job and those of people.Through the Norwegian Industrial Democracy Programmes sponsored by the government, the employer association, and unions, STS achieved a value-free research fa r from the political exceptification for self-governance and from the economic justification of self-regulation (Susman in Moldaschl & Weber 1998350). It led their researchers to claim a third realization through the so called principle of industrial body politic -whilst for others concentrating their efforts on the micro level of participation, and neglecting representative forms of industrial democracy they realized just direct workplace democracy (Blackler 1982 in Moldaschl & Weber 1998).Another important concept is ground on the joint optimisation through which it is possible developing design solutions that consider human criteria and efficiency criteria equally (Brown 2003). Thus, it enables a scoop out match in this waysuch as Emerys nine-step model that aims to reduce key variances in, and between work systems, and to control them by self-regulation of the workers (Moldaschl & Weber 1998360).This self-regulation, interdependence and self-governance, draw attention to dec isions that ca be delegated to work groups that, in function of these, are defined as autonomous work group. In some industries has been discovered that high levels of productivity and quality can be achieved giving clusters of tasks to a work group (Findlay et al, 2000 Barker 1999 Knights and McCabe 2000 pounder 1992 Sewell 1998) such autonomous work groups are then made responsible for producing entire product such a radio, an engine (Schein 1994).The idea was to group several workers -organised in multifunctional structure with flexible job rotation, in a spatially and organisationally limited production unit, share a common task that is divided into interdependent sub task, and assume share responsibility over the long term. Among its criteria can be notice verge maintenance (Moldaschl & Weber 1998360). What sociotechnology group tried to achieve through the implement of autonomous work group is a way of simultaneously satisfying psychological and task needs (Buchanan 200029) . In other words, a whole group is provided the opportunity to design and manage a total integrated task, thus permitting workers to fulfil their social and self actualising needs within the context of the work situation (Herbst 1962 in Schein 1994195). Nevertheless being the role of management present to some extents, it is more correct to speak about semi autonomous work groups.Among the variety of semi-autonomous work group, it is useful to adopt the three forms identified by Brown (2003). The mixed fully multi skilled -as in the Tavistock Institute Coal Mining studies where miners learnt and performed diverse task the matrix form -as in Fiorellis idea of quality circle where a group of people, having disparate specialised functions, overlapped competences (1998) and the cyberspace where individuals are far but frequently in contact to each other through learning technologies such as teleconferencing to exchange knowledge from which the ongoing knowledge management team (Bel l, Blackler and hunker in Fulop & Linstead 1999228).This tri-partition can be associated with changes in the second half of twentieth century in westbound society where scientific and organisational improvement led radical changes in economical sector (Ackroyd and Lawernson 1995, Piore & Sabel 1984, Zuboff 1998). Especially during the last three decades of the twenties century, after a climate of tension, a new international distension loose up new opportunities for businesses and ventures, new markets were found available to be explored and offered new competitive advantages to companies, (Hutton 2002). The re-design of the organisational structure bring in fact some effects within the socio-economical system where it is embedded. International markets got crowded pressure and arguing increased forcing companies to redesign their organisation. To face this turbulent environment Trist et al proposean alternative design based on the redundancies of functions for individual they create role rather mere jobs for the organisation they bring into being a variety-increasing system rather than the traditional control by variety reduction(through) continuing development of distinguish new values concerned with improving the quality of working life by keeping the technological determinants of worker behaviour to a minimum in order to satisfy social and psychological needs by the involvement of all. Autonomous working groups, collaboration instead competitions, and reduction of hierarchical emphasis, are some of the requirements for operating effectively in modern turbulence (in Pugh & Hickson 1996182 -emphasis added)As stated by Trist within this notional pattern, autonomous work group is an essential ingredient for the effective organising.Discussion and conclusionThe role of management seems to be an essential component to the achievement of the go around match within the system for both Blackler and Brown (1978), and Fox (1995), whilst strangely, STS approac h does not seems to explicitly address neither the problem of management, nor those of managerial control. Differently, Knights & McCabe (2000) exploring what team working means for employees lives within an automobile manufacture company, affirm that employees as well as managers are equal to(p) of exercise power interpreting and reinterpreting management strategies. Stressing the accent on autonomy, managerial role need to be redefined to support and favourite tasks of group members.Accordingly, to meet autonomous work group needs a manager should be a good diagnostician, trying to be flexible enough to understand and to vary their own behaviour in relation to the needs of their subordinates (Schein 1994). Nevertheless, it is useful remember that individuals needs are not just meet through groups, they have another set of necessity that are fulfilled outside the group, alone, as well as with a friend. What I am addressing here is what Costea and Crump called the standardisation of individual -or better how to make an individual as unique as its mate (2003). In other words to be effective in self managing groups members have to maintain their equilibrium that permits them to keep and evolve its personality members are not asked to follows rules, rather to make decisions. For this reasonOften, the practical one does not confirm what in faculty member setting appear feasible from a conceptual level. Even for the best social scientist it is quite hard, if not impossible, individuate a priori the huge amount of forces arising from the combination of interests and pressure groups in which his theory will become part. In practical conditions, sociotechnical projects sometimes failed because they subordinate human criteria to the dictates of efficiency or because they become victim of a political conflicts (Blackler, 1982 Kelly, 1978 Sydow, 1985 Pasmore, 1995 in Moldaschl & Weber 1998), making it often impossible to translate joint optimisation of human goals and e fficiency into reality. Although mainly consisting of psychologist of work and organisation, the classical Tavistock representatives of the STS approach does not regard its primary goal to be the far reaching consideration of human criteria in the design process of a work system. earlier they strive for an optimal compromise between technical, economic, and human work design objectives (Moldaschl & Weber 1998362).Changing our analysis from a classical to more contemporaneous perspective, a diverse slant come from the observation that self managing groups are still effective, but they loose their grip on organisation when have to deal with the no-routine office work of management and professional -being these set of practices developed for linear work systems (Fox 1995).Diverse from Pugh and Hickson (1986), Fox notes that not always the use of autonomous work group seems to be purloin, in fact the creation of recticular organisation (characterised by a fluid distribution of informa tion and authority that changes are required) may be appropriatein some non linear work systems (1995103). STS concepts have contributed to improve design and redesign of many work systems, however most of the successful experiences occurred in well-defined linear systems-characterised by a sequential process of input-output, rather in unclear defined non-linear system -where the absence of the in-out property makes it difficult to separate different conversion flows into well-bounded entities (Pava, 1986). Nevertheless, a major revolution is not required to broaden the applicability of STS principlesModifying the practices employed in STS design to include non-linear work systems is consistent with the essential precepts of STS design open system analysis, a best match of social and technical subsystems, redundant functions over redundant parts, systemic interrelatednessships between design factors, self-design, and searing specification (Pava 211).In this capacity to adapt itself in both changing organisational requirements and environment, I think should be recognised the bigger strength of STS. Becoming this adaptability without distort any principle, the approach seems to be relevant curiously nowadays, seeking organisations new means of empowerment to boost the productivity in increasingly turbulent environment.A final consideration is due to the work Manz who argue, the future of self-managing groups seems be oriented to lead workers to lead themselves (1992). During this movement toward a self-leading team type of work design, the latter identify some contingency factors relevant to this rebirth such as nature of workers work context new manufacturing techniques environment and organisational system. However, this model seems more likely applicable in such culture where both high trust to workers and decentralisation of power is given -i.e. UK as opposite to Japan and Germany.In fact, Movement toward self-leading team work likely to require prodigi ous involvement of the work force in determining the direction of the organisation as well as carrying out that direction, and the opportunity for the work teams to influence that direction, especially as it relates to their specific work performance (Manz 1992). within this framework, it possible imagine shift from traditional & participative leadership to a self management role of leader, in doing it, the new role will be to lead members group to lead themselves (Manz & Sims 1987). Being both the power shifting from managers to team members, and the latter able to distinguish true managerial aptitudes from artificial (Knights & McCabe 2000), a certain amount of resistance from the former could be assumed. It leads to pay attention on the way in which managers implement these set of practices.In conclusion, due to its adaptability to technological innovations, and its flexibility in linear and non linear systems autonomous work group could seems even more actual today than during the second half of the second century. Its republican principles and the democratic way in which tasks are thought and accomplished, seems to make this system the most appropriate within those political environment in which principles of democracy are used. This thesis seems reinforced from the growth of lean systems and consequently from practices as Just in Time, Business Process Re-engineering, or Total Quality Management in those organisational setting where work design diverse from human centred.On the base of both the literature proposed, and the assumption resting on this paper, an important feature seems emerge. For those organisations pursuing human relations and democratic policies, autonomous work group permits both individual and organisations to pursue their own interests. Not just offering the opportunity to decrease alienation filling their social needs to the former, and to reduce practice such as of absenteeism, sabotage, and achieve that commitment and loyalty, to the latter.Rather it seems the best compromise between capitalism and working class since the first industrial revolution to nowadays. An effective tool capable to improves and re-defines the boundaries of the psychological contract and consecutively boosts productivity and reduces costs. To create effective self-managing groups become central the role of top management in planning and develop a long-term program made of unbroken investment in work design research, and in staff and management programs (Pearson 1992). It will allow a deep understanding about the dynamics of members needs, a constant design, a re-negation of the task requirements, and to avoid both mismanagement, and the establishment of repetitive alienating tasks.Finally, to figure out this sophisticated topic, a broader research should analyse the interrelation and influences of related issue such as identifications role of control ideology of team, politico-economic and socio-cultural peculiarity of the society in which the organisation will decide to implement self management group working.Within this system, autonomous work group seems to be not a problem to be solved, rather a solution to deal today with the confluence of tensions resulting from yesterdays decisions.