FMC Aberdeen

1. FMC Aberdeen Team Working Technology Teams

2. Introduction • History of the Case • Applicable Theory • Trust – Control Dilemma • Role Theory • Motivation Calculus • Power and Influence • Others!! • Bob’s Vision • FMC Aberdeen • Successful operation of Self Directed Teams • Metaphors • Threats to the system at FMC Aberdeen • Will it work at the Green River Plant? • Alternatives.

3. The Trust – Control Dilemma • Trust + X=Control – X, Trust – X=Control + X • X is by how much a manager wishes to increase (decrease) the Trust / Control. • Control costs Money, Trust is free!! • Certain Conditions required. • Must be confidence in “subordinate” to do the job. • Trust must be given if it is to be received • Trust is a Fragile commodity. • Trust must be reciprocal.

4. Role Theory • Role Definition • Influenced by the expectations of that role by others. • Role Ambiguity • Uncertainty of either the focal person, or the affected Role Set as to the role requirements. • Not necessarily bad!! • Role Incompatibility • When there is not a meeting of minds as to the Role definition and expectation. • Role Stress • Affects Morale

5. Motivation Calculus • Needs x Expectation = Result • The Expectation is the “reward” for achieving the goal. • If the Expectation does not fulfil the sum, there will be “Dissonance” • “Dissonance” is the mismatch between actual result and the required result.

6. Power and Influence • Power “Rules” • Power is Relative • Balance of Power • Domain of Power • Types of Power • Physical Power • Resource Power • Position Power • Expert Power • Personal Power • Negative Power.

7. Influence • Types of Influence • Force • Exchange • Persuasion • Ecology • Magnetism

8. FMC Aberdeen “Innovation is the defeat of habit by Originality” Arthur Koestler.

9. FMC Aberdeen Overview • NSD (Naval Support Division) won a new and diverse contract. • Did not fit current facilities portfolio. • Decision taken to build a new facility to accommodate the new business. • Facility needed to be flexible due to customer modifications, type of business. • NSD’s Director Ron Weaver decided to appoint a “maverick” with a proven record for Innovation to create and run the facility.

10. Bob’s Vision for FMC Aberdeen • Participative Management. • Built on Trust • Self Directed Work Teams • No Fear!! • Technology kept simple. • This was an “Experiment”. • Bob Lancaster negotiated his Psychological contract with his superior prior to beginning the task. • Formed the foundation of what was to follow. • Needed to have a “Special Team” which he recruited carefully.

11. Thompson’s Classification of Interdependence and Management Implications

12. Interaction Pattern Quickest to reach a solution But can be unstable tending towards a Web Most likely to reach the best Solution in Complex Open Ended Problem areas. Lowest level of satisfaction Wheel Circle Web Understanding Organizations, 4th Edition, Charles Handy

13. Control Trust Trust Control FMC and Trust Management Workers The Group sets the objectives Commensurate Rewards Feedback and Knowledge of the results Tuesday / Thursday Meetings and Performance Boards Staff agree and administer the Reward Structure Group Feedback / Communication Process Technology can be an effective control mechanism!!

14. FMC and Motivation Calculus Needs Owned by the teams = Initiated by the Management + Modified by the Work Teams Expectation Individuals assess the “Expectation”, but heavily influenced by the “Work Team” Ownership of the Needs. Result Consistently achieved the desired results as the team has by implication defined the Result by definition of the Needs and the Expectation.

15. Expectations are set by the Team and ambiguities resolved “real time” Roles Decided and explicitly Stated to each Member Team Management Process Team dynamically manages the workload And Team Member activities FMC and Roles Role Incompatibility Role Ambiguity Role Overload / Under load

16. FMC, Power and Influence • Power is equally distributed between the “Work Teams” and management. • The Power of each “Work Team” is equal as the system needs all groups to succeed if the whole system is to work. • Each “team” is supremely powerful within its own Power Domain, its work area.

17. FMC, Power and Influence (2) There is NO FEAR!! • The “Work Teams” wield Resource Power over both the organisation (in balance) and the “Work Team” members. • This is implemented “democratically”. • Each “Work Team” wields Expert Power over the organisation.

18. FMC, Power and Influence (3) • Management “Influence” the “Work Teams” to achieve the goals. • Compliance • Identification • Internalisation

19. The FMC Hologram The “whole” into all “Parts”. Adapted from “Images of Organization, 2nd Edition, Gareth Morgan.

20. The Brain Metaphor • Build the Whole into all of the parts. • Redundancy • Requisite Variety • Minimum Specs • Learning to Learn Gareth Morgan, Images of Organization.

21. FMC Metaphor. • Organization as a Parallel Processor Computer. • “The Operating System”. • The plants “Philosophy and Policies” • “The Parallel Processors” • The individual “Work Teams”. • “The Program” • This is given at the weekly meetings and split down between the “processors” by the “processors”. • “The Memory and Hard Disk” • Staff Turnover is limited and experience is usually retained. This is a “Learning Organization”.

22. Customer Parallel Processors Work Teams Operating System. Core Management FMC Aberdeen Structure

23. “Top Level” Management Weekly Communication Meeting and Policies Management Style And Philosophy. Effective Communication. Plant Philosophy And Policies Work Teams Staff Selection Process Reward Policy Shared Values and Personality traits High Morale Common Goals And objectives The Operating System. Successful Operation of Self Directed Team Structure Successful Operation of SelfDirected Team Structure. Multiple cause Diagram for the “Successful Operation of Self Directed Team Structure”

24. Threats to FMC Aberdeen • A change in the “Operating System”. • Management or Philosophy change. • Inappropriate Upgrades. • Change in Recruitment Policy • “Program” breakdown. • An event to upset the Trust Control Equation.

25. What about “Green River”. • Consider the differences between the organizations “As Computers”. • The facilities have radically different “Operating Systems”. • Although Ken Dailey believes that there are some similarities • The similarities are with corporate identity, NOT the FMC Aberdeen system.

26. What about “Green River” (2) • The “Processors” are radically different. • In FMC there is a balance of power, roles, trust and influence that allows the system to work effectively. • At the existing “Green River” facilities the system is set up in a more “Control” centred approach. • Although Dailey states he is “relatively open” to pass out information and drive decision making down the organisation. • Dailey believes that his Computer Systems will allow information to flow more. Technology can equal Control! • This is not enough. The decision making IS the organisation (parallel processors).

27. What about “Green River” (3) • The “Memory and Hard Disk” already have many programs stored. • The “Green River” facility have many existing experiences and procedures for dealing with new situations. • A new “Operating System” will not be able to make use of this history and this will cause MAJOR conflict and even system breakdown.

28. What about “Green River” (4) • Outputs are Fundamentally different. • FMC Aberdeen builds a specialist, high technology product requiring modifications, flexibility and innovation. • Green River produces volume, standard, highly mechanised output.

29. Green River, Will it work? • Existing Facilities? • In the short term, no. • Too much history. • Too many existing processes, power and influence issues, incompatible control systems etc. • In the Long Term, possibly! • Questionable applicability.

30. The Seven S Diagram and Business Process Re-engineering. Strategy FMC Green River Cold Triangle Structure Systems Super ordinate Goals Staff Skills Warm Square FMC Aberdeen Style McKinsey's seven S diagram (Henley, 1991, p33)

31. Green River, Will it Work? (2) Low FMC Aberdeen Analysability High Green River Low High Variety Organization Theory and Design, 8th Edition, Richard L Daft

32. Green River, Will it Work? (3) • For the New Facilities? • Possibly. • Many factors will affect success. • The key is the core Philosophies and values, coupled with the Senior Management style and attitudes and recruitment/training process. • Dailey needs to go to FMC Aberdeen to work there for a good length of time to fully understand the system before attempting to implement.

33. To affect change, these restraining Factors must be reduced Green River Force Field Analysis Existing Culture Unionised Company Organisation Complexity Staffing Policy Technology systems Management Style Culture Change Selection Process Training Process +1 +0.5 0 –0.5 -1

34. Long Term for Green River. • The system may work depending on the implementation • The change for the existing facilities would need to be gradual, with the new facilities acting as a “Best Practice” to be emulated. • The Trust Control equation would need to be adjusted gradually. • The Change in Roles would need to be carefully planned to avoid the various forms of “Role Stress”. • They may find that Staff Turnover will increase dramatically.

35. Why? • There does not seem to be a solid reason for wanting to change to this system. • Is it a case of “The Grass is greener…”? • Bob Lancaster lived on in FMC Folklore. • The Aberdeen answer is not necessarily the only answer, or indeed the best!! • The cost of the change may out weigh the benefits!!

36. In Summary “The ideal for a well-functioning democratic state is like the ideal for a gentleman's well cut suit. It is not noticed.” Arthur Koestler, British Novelist and Communist.

37. Discussion