44

JEREMY TEKELL, JON TURNER, CHERYL HARRIS, MICHAEL BEYERLEIN, AND SARAH BODNER

Collaborative Work Systems Design

Never tell people how to do things … they will surprise you with their ingenuity.

—General George S. Patton, Jr.

Creating New Forums for Dialogue

Although the automotive glass plant had made great strides in improving its culture to create an environment that fostered excitement about the work and pride in the company, management was struggling with taking their improvements to the “next level.” They discovered Collaborative Work Systems (CWS) Design and sent a group of managers and operators to a workshop to learn more about it.

In the workshop, they looked at their organization’s support of collaboration through the results of the accompanying assessment tool and were able to spend time together discussing what they thought the results meant. Having managers and operators working together brought more perspectives into the discussion and opened a dialogue between them that didn’t exist before. Together, they identified some major issues and created plans to address them.

A new change leadership team comprised of a cross-section of the organization was formed to lead the way in creating a long-term strategic plan. The goal was to move toward collaboration as a means of achieving business results while building on their healthy culture and integrating their LEAN manufacturing initiatives. This change leadership team took great strides to work with all levels of the organization to bring in their perspectives to the change plan.

CWS Design helped the plant create new forums for dialogue and a long-term plan for change that will lead the plant toward excellence for many years to come.

The Basics

WHAT IS CWS DESIGN? WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THE METHOD?

CWS Design guides those leading the change effort through a holistic design process that creates the framework for successfully changing the organization to support collaboration and improve business results. Figure 1 provides a visual overview of the method.

CWS Design helps change leaders take a systemic approach to change by applying a strategic change model and using assessment to help decide where they are and where to they want to be in their change effort.

People at all levels of the organization are enabled to work together to design and lead change. This allows all areas of the organization to have a voice in the process, which promotes a sense of ownership.

The method is grounded in sociotechnical systems theory as well as decades of comprehensive research on collaborative environments in the workplace combined with practical use and validation in the field.

Figure 1. Collaborative Work Systems Design

WHEN AND WHERE IS CWS DESIGN USED?

This method is appropriate for organizations looking for greater flexibility around their work, those that are looking to incorporate a mixture of individuals and teams, and those currently using teams. It may be used in conjunction with existing initiatives as well as a starting point for change. The focus is on using collaboration to achieve results.

WHAT ARE THE OUTCOMES FROM USING CWS DESIGN?

Groups come away with an understanding of the broad elements of the organization involved in supporting collaboration, a shared awareness of the strengths and concerns in their organization, and real plans to implement change. The accompanying assessment tool provides a baseline measure of support of collaboration and can be repeated to determine progress. Participants build on their organization’s previous successful change work and create a long-term framework for future change.

HOW DOES CWS DESIGN WORK?

CWS Design is organized around 13 critical success factors of collaboration (see figure 1). These factors are divided into two major categories:

1. Create a Foundation for Change. The bricks at the bottom of the model examine the “process” of organizational change. The process of change is just as or more important than the content of change. Any change effort must have a strong foundation for success. Each of the critical success factors acts as a brick in the foundation. If any brick is weak, the foundation will crumble and sacrifice the integrity of the entire structure.

2. Align the Organization to Collaboration. The house and sun represent the “content” of the organizational change necessary to support collaboration. Redesigning the framework of the organization to support collaboration should improve both business and people results.

The work is in the center of the model because business reasons should be the “anchor” of any change effort. The pieces of the organization that create the framework of the building are culture, structure, employee empowerment, leader roles, and systems. The building framework must be constructed to meet the needs of the work being done inside it, and be able to adjust to the changing demands of the weather (the environment).

WHAT IS THE FLOW OR PROCESS?

Organizational change is not a linear process, so there is no prescribed order or one right way to develop and support collaboration. CWS Design allows change work to begin or continue building on previous efforts where it is most appropriate for each organization.

Table of Uses

About the Authors

The Collaborative Work System Design Group (CWSDG, [email protected]) consists of Dr. Michael Beyerlein (Center for Collaborative Organizations), Dr. Sarah Bodner, Dr. Cheryl Harris, Jeremy Tekell, Jon Turner, and Sydney Weinman-Barcus. The group, located in Dallas–Fort Worth, Texas, strives to unleash the power of collaboration through research and consultation with client companies. Members of the group approach collaboration as practitioners, consultants, researchers, and scholars.

Where to Go for More Information

REFERENCES

Beyerlein, M., D. Johnson, and S. Beyerlein, eds. Advances in Interdisciplinary Studies of Work Teams. Vol. 9, Team-Based Organizing. Oxford: Elsevier/JAI Imprint, 2003.

Beyerlein, M., C. McGee, G. Klein, J. Nemiro, and L. Broedling, eds. The Collaborative Work Systems Fieldbook: Strategies, Tools, and Techniques. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer, 2003.

Beyerlein, M. M., and C. L. Harris. Guiding the Journey to Collaborative Work Systems: A Strategic Design Workbook. San Francisco: Pfeiffer, 2004.

Nemiro, J., G. Klein, C. McGee, and M. Beyerlein. The Collaborative Work System Casebook. Denton, TX: Center for Collaborative Organizations, 2006.

ORGANIZATION

Center for Collaborative Organizations (University of North Texas)—www.workteams.unt.edu