Organizational Redesign Research Articles

Building the Responsive Campus: Creating High Performance Colleges and Universities

Introduction Organizational Redesign The New Face of Leadership Organizational Attention Deficit Disorder Evaluating High Performance Faculty Productivity and Organizational Culture The Chiaroscuro of Reform The 21st Century Organization Frequently Asked Questions

Organizational culture and work redesign: experiences in three organizations.

Lack of attention to the organization's culture can mean failure for its strategic initiatives. The authors present the results of three case studies of work redesign initiatives in which organizational culture, as measured by the Competing Values Framework, was assessed before and after project implementation. The organization with a balanced culture at baseline and higher "adhocracy" (developmental) values after implementation was more successful than the two organizations with dominant baseline market and hierarchy cultures. Recommendations for increasing desired values and decreasing undesired ones are provided.

A framework for evaluating organizational choice and process redesign issues

This paper presents a new framework for the evaluation of organizational choice primarily within the context of process redesign issues and the information technology support of those ideas. Through a process of scenario generation, the framework is designed to identify and evaluate choices in work organization and to make more explicit the implications that such choices might have for people and work roles. A central aim is to encourage the participation of different organizational stakeholders in the evaluation process. Process redesign has hitherto tended to be explored predominantly through software engineering and functionally driven approaches. The framework presented here offers a counterbalance to those works by offering an organizational perspective. It is based on a broad, scenario-generating technique which is firmly rooted in the organizational vision of a broad range of interest groups. Some work has already been undertaken in this field. Previous research has demonstrated the value of taking a broader organizational approach to workplace technology redesign and shown that the involvement of a wide range of stakeholders during evaluation can result in some very creative, practical and productive solutions. Nevertheless, this paper identifies some potential weaknesses in that previous body of research and proposes a new approach. The author draws upon earlier work in order to develop a framework which will provide more guidance to stakeholders during the scenario-generating process and which will make even more explicit the values and assumptions underlying alternative choices. The framework enables an evaluation of those technological choices at a fairly deep level, whilst remaining relatively simple to apply. The new approach presented in this paper is currently being adopted by an EPSRC-funded research team exploring issues of the relationship between business processes and legacy systems (for details of the project, please see web site: www.dur.ac.uk/CSM/SABA). Future work will concentrate on producing further, industry-based case studies of its application and assessing its value when applied alongside traditional and technically focused software engineering methods of technological evaluation and development.

A Framework for Evaluating Organizational Choice and Process Redesign Issues

This paper presents a new framework for the evaluation of organizational choice primarily within the context of process redesign issues and the information technology support of those ideas. Through a process of scenario generation, the framework is designed to identify and evaluate choices in work organization and to make more explicit the implications that such choices might have for people and work roles. A central aim is to encourage the participation of different organizational stakeholders in the evaluation process. Process redesign has hitherto tended to be explored predominantly through software engineering and functionally driven approaches. The framework presented here offers a counterbalance to those works by offering an organizational perspective. It is based on a broad, scenario-generating technique which is firmly rooted in the organizational vision of a broad range of interest groups. Some work has already been undertaken in this field. Previous research has demonstrated the value of taking a broader organizational approach to workplace technology redesign and shown that the involvement of a wide range of stakeholders during evaluation can result in some very creative, practical and productive solutions. Nevertheless, this paper identifies some potential weaknesses in that previous body of research and proposes a new approach. The author draws upon earlier work in order to develop a framework which will provide more guidance to stakeholders during the scenario-generating process and which will make even more explicit the values and assumptions underlying alternative choices. The framework enables an evaluation of those technological choices at a fairly deep level, whilst remaining relatively simple to apply. The new approach presented in this paper is currently being adopted by an EPSRC-funded research team exploring issues of the relationship between business processes and legacy systems (for details of the project, please see web site: www.dur.ac.uk/CSM/SABA ). Future work will concentrate on producing further, industry-based case studies of its application and assessing its value when applied alongside traditional and technically focused software engineering methods of technological evaluation and development.

Managing the organizational aspects of electronic commerce

Electronic commerce should be viewed less as a phenomenon of business on-line and more as a challenge of organization redesign. Five general leading approaches to organization design are examined from the perspective of electronic commerce. A quasi-general organization design approach is proposed specifically for electronic commerce projects. The proposed approach emphasizes the organizational support for the electronic commerce strategy identification, network organization design, task design, and reward system design in the electronic commerce age.

An ethnography of midwifery work patterns during organisational redesign.

Despite a substantial increase in midwifery research since the early 1990's, there remains a lack of available research into the everyday practice of midwives. In general, hospitals are striving to reduce costs and increase efficiencies, so many hospital-based midwives are being exposed to hospital restructuring processes. The primary purpose of my research was to learn about the work patterns of hospital midwives during organisational redesign. A large Brisbane hospital, as part of its hospital-wide organisational redesign plan, merged two postnatal wards to create a new, larger unit. With this amalgamation, the ward midwives were exposed to several service delivery changes. Midwifery work patterns during this organisational change revealed a milieu characterised by a culture of business. The impact of change introduced ritual and personal elements that influenced midwifery work patterns.

Corporate Restructuring and Entrepreneurship: What Can Large Organizations Learn from Small?

The focus of this article is upon the relationship of smallness to entrepreneurial behaviour and in particular the development of entrepreneurial behaviour and culture in large organizations. The context is the substantial restructuring and in many cases downsizing that has taken place over the past decade in large organizations world-wide. The paper firstly, briefly, reviews how this restructuring has been explained within different academic and pragmatic frameworks. It then considers more closely what the concept of 'smallness' might mean in a business and organizational context. It explores how this relates to necessary and sufficient conditions for entrepreneurial behaviour to take place. A model is then developed based upon the cultural essences, the task structure and the learning mode of small business which, it is argued, provides the basic organizational climate for entrepreneurial behaviour to be successfully pursued. It then explores the implications of this for the process of large firm downsizing and decentralization. Firstly the implications for large-small firm relationship management are examined. Then the implications for large company organization redesign and the stakeholder/shareholder management are explored. Finally attention is called to a number of key areas for future exploration and research.

Central Agencies in the Diffusion and Design of Technology: A Comparison of the UK and Sweden

This paper compares the adoption and design of Computer-Aided Production Management (CAPM) technologies in Sweden and the UK and examines the influence of technology suppliers and Professional Associations (PAs) as central agencies in shaping this diffusion process. Members of professional operations management associations in each country were surveyed and interviews were carried out with key stakeholders. These revealed differences in diffusion patterns with earlier adoption of standardized packaged solutions in the UK and a stronger reliance on in-house customized systems in Sweden. An explanation for this is that highly codified and portable notions of `best practice' have been promoted more strongly both by technology suppliers and PAs in the UK than in Sweden. The paper suggests that objectified forms of knowledge communication and fashion setting have dominated diffusion and design processes more heavily in the UK than in Sweden. This may be problematic because objectified notions of `best practice' under-emphasize the context-sensitivity of the technology and the need for organizational redesign. It is argued that the observed differences in the patterns of diffusion require an explanation at the level of societal effects.

Organization redesign: the current state and projected trends

Redesign activity is taking place within organizations faced with rapidly changing business environments. In this article, the current state of organization redesign, the role of information systems, and the effect of redesign activities on job satisfaction and motivation are reviewed. The current state and projected trends are then related to a field study conducted at the Zeeland, Michigan, machine processing plant (ZMP) of Herman Miller. Interviews with both hourly and managerial personnel were conducted. The results of the interviews suggest that effective redesign efforts focus on the human or intangible aspects, as well as structural changes.

Intermediate Performance Impacts of Advanced Manufacturing Technology Systems: An Empirical Investigation*

A large‐scale random sample is used to empirically examine the relationships between implementation of Advanced Manufacturing Technology (AMT) and three organization‐level measures that have historically been attributed to AMT, but not fully tested along the AMT spectrum: market‐oriented flexibility of the production process, organizational integration of production processes, and administrative intensity of the organization. Results indicate that as an organization moves along the technology scale from stand‐alone AMT (e.g., CNC machines) through functionally oriented AMT (FMS and CAM) toward CIM, not only do its production processes become more integrated with each other, but those processes become more integrated with other functional systems of the organization, and the quality and timeliness of production information increase. Furthermore, this relationship becomes stronger as companies increase their level of implementation for the latter two technologies. Conversely, market‐oriented flexibility decreases and administrative intensity is not observed to change as companies move along the technology spectrum. Future research should examine how organizational redesign and implementation strategies that accompany AMT implementation can concomitantly enhance organizational integration of the production process and market‐oriented flexibility.

Taking sales success to new heights with six sigma

AbstractIn recent years, Six Sigma has emerged as a powerful method to drive continuous process and quality improvement in companies. Pioneered by such companies as Motorola, General Electric, and AlliedSignal as a way to improve the quality of manufacturing processes, it is being used increasingly today as an element of broad‐based organizational redesign and as a way to improve a wide variety of nonmanufacturing business processes. This article outlines how you can apply Six Sigma principles to the reengineering of sales and marketing operations. The payoff is an improvement in the ability to meet customer requirements on a consistent basis.

Designing the Best Team for the Task: A Method that Combines Algorithms, Heuristics, and Expert Judgment

This paper describes a systematic, formal, quantitative approach for designing teams. The method develops a quantitative hierarchical mission or goal structure that specifies the parallelism, sequence, and structure of the tasks that must be accomplished in order to complete the team's mission. Using that quantitative task structure, we apply a systems engineering approach that describes organizational performance criteria as a multi-variable objective function to be optimized. We work closely with subject matter experts to develop the task structure and to specify the criteria to be optimized for the team (e.g., the distribution of workload among team members or the time needed to complete the mission). This process is iterative, with team designs produced, reviewed by domain experts, and modified. The method is currently being applied to two organizational design problems for Navy teams, and shows promise as a tool for human factors practitioners dealing with team design and organizational redesign issues.

Task design, psycho-social work climate and upper extremity pain disorders – effects of an organisational redesign on manual repetitive assembly jobs

A company redesign was carried out to improve production efficiency and minimise the prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders and sick leave. The redesign was evaluated on the basis of studies of assembly workers before (17 workers) and after (12 workers) the redesign. The redesign resulted in more varied, less repetitive, and more autonomous assembly jobs. The psycho-social work climate was both improved and impaired. A medical examination showed that eight of 17 workers before and nine of 12 workers after the redesign suffered from upper extremity pain disorders. Neither the production goals nor the goals of the redesign were fulfilled. Our conclusion was that the increased task variation and impaired psycho-social work climate, combined with a lack of skill and competence, actually increased the physical stress, risk for disorders and difficulties in fulfilling the production goals.

Business Process Reengineering A review of recent literature

The purpose of this paper is to help demystify the confusion on Business Process Reengineering (BPR). This is achieved through a review of the literature covering the period from the late 1980s to 1998. Articles published in the leading business journals and the more popular business magazines were included in the review, as well as books published on the topic. The paper first discusses the need for reengineering and then reviews the literature under the following headings: definition of BPR, BPR tools and techniques, BPR and TQM co-existence, understanding organisational processes, the reengineering challenge, and organisational redesign using BPR. The review shows that considerable confusion exists as to exactly what constitutes BPR. Authors place different emphasis on the definition of BPR and the many outcomes possible with BPR. The paper concludes with suggestions for future research relating to BPR.

Implementing a councilor model: process and outcomes.

The councilor model of shared governance was implemented at the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System in January 1995. The goal was to reduce, eliminate, and consolidate nursing committees, enhance communication, and increase the decision-making abilities and opportunities of staff members. A study was conducted to determine the perceptions of the nursing staff relative to the culture of the organization after implementation of the model. The authors describe the process and outcomes of the resulting performance improvement processes, organizational redesign, and outcomes of this initiative.

Longitudinal evaluation of professional nursing practice redesign.

The authors describe a 5-year study at a western university teaching hospital that evaluated the effect of organizational redesign on nurse job satisfaction, autonomy, and patient satisfaction. Change in institutional status from public to private authority stimulated this hospital to map a new direction for professional nursing practice, to strengthen autonomy and job satisfaction while improving quality care outcomes. Evaluating redesign changes systematically provided significant longitudinal trended data to guide nurse executive actions. Phase-I evaluation, from 1992 to 1995, was a quasi-experimental design comparing pre- and poststudy outcomes of facilitator-led activities on units receiving interventions compared with control units. Of 12 outcome variables measured, 3 were sustained longitudinally into Phase II: nursing job satisfaction using the McCloskey Mueller Satisfaction Scale (MMSS), autonomy using Schutzenhofer's Scale, and patient satisfaction using the Picker Institute survey. Data were trended across units and departments over a 5-year period. Phase-I results reported that control units held higher nursing documentation scores than the experimental units. There were no significant differences in aggregate nurse job satisfaction scores. Nurse autonomy scores significantly improved. Other results are reported descriptively. Phase II continued the evaluation, reporting no differences in nurse job satisfaction aggregate scores a decline in autonomy, and decreased patient satisfaction scores. There were significant differences by units and across departments. Longitudinal evaluation provides significant data to guide nurse executives in an uncertain healthcare environment. Of theoretical interest is the absence of congruence in nurse job satisfaction and autonomy scores, suggesting more independence between these variables than previously reported.

The effect of patient-focused redesign on midlevel nurse managers' role responsibilities and work environment.

The authors determine the effect of patient-focused redesign on midlevel nurse managers' role responsibilities and perceptions of work environment. Patient-focused redesign models have been initiated in a number of hospitals over the past 10 years. Few studies of the impact of these models on nurse leaders' roles and work responsibilities have been conducted. Nine midlevel nurse managers were interviewed about their redesigned leadership roles and the challenges they experienced in implementing patient-focused redesign. Several themes emerged from the data. These themes focused on role change, ambiguity, position power, and environmental uncertainty and turbulence. Each of the nurse managers described feelings of frustration, disconnectedness, and inadequacy and spoke of how difficult it was to be the central figure in the eye of the storm. They noted that previously successful administrative strategies were not producing the same effect as in the past. This study provides beginning information about the magnitude of the impact of organizational redesign on midlevel nurse managers. Midlevel managers in this study struggled to keep up with the demands of the change and their own recognition of the importance of remaining committed to the uncertain goals of the institution. They were frustrated by their perceived inability to fix the situation and to meet the multiple needs of the staff. Nonetheless, they supported senior executives and attempted reasonable solutions to the problem.

Innovating with integrity: how local heroes are transforming American government

Innovating with Integrity presents a comprehensive portrait of the local heroes - front-line public servants and middle managers - who are reinventing state and local government, and it offers practical recommendations for innovating successfully. Based on a study of more than 200 successful government innovations, this book is the first large-scale, systematic analysis of innovation in American government. Sandford Borins identifies the components of integrity that he finds in successful innovators, including the intellectual discipline to plan rigorously and to establish measurable goals; the ability to collaborate with others and accommodate criticism; and a willingness to mobilize both the private sector and the community. In addition to analyzing the common traits driving new initiatives, Borins shows the distinctive differences among six areas of innovation: information technology, organizational redesign, environmental and energy management, policing and community development, social services, and education. This trenchant analysis of what initiatives actually work and why contributes to both the practice and theory of public management. Its practical advice will be especially valuable for front-line government workers, public managers, union leaders, agency heads, politicians, and all concerned with reforming government.

Teacher Compensation and Teacher Teaming: Sketching the Terrain

Many recent educational reform and school improvement initiatives have asserted the importance of teachers working in groups. However, it is not clear what organizational redesign has occurred to support a shift to team- or group-based work. This article examines one such organizational shift, changes in teacher compensation, that might accompany organizational redesign arranged to support teacher work groups. The article describes a continuum of possible options for teacher compensation in teacher teaming arrangements. Three interrelated aspects of teaming and compensation are considered: the relationship of teaming to teachers' overall work, the investment a school or a district might make to accomplish the teaming in education, and the degree to which the team aims to increase employee self-management and self-governance (Hackman, 1986). Some implications of these options for personnel evaluation are also discussed.

El rediseño organizacional y la organización que aprende

From current trends assimilating change as a rule and stability as an exception, the authors review the models and organizational proposals in the search for new answers to an increasingly complex and uncertain environment, ie interconnected and diverse. a framework was first presented, then a conceptual count on organizational redesign, in which the learning process appears as a fundamental element of renewal and, finally, their particular point of view on the laterality, basic aspect for organizational change.