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Below are the first 10 and last 10 pages of uncorrected machine-read text (when available) of this chapter, followed by the top 30 algorithmically extracted key phrases from the chapter as a whole.
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OCR for page 21
3 PLANT CULTURE
The culture of a plant is a pattern of beliefs about
what is right, important, or acceptable--also called
values--shared by the people who work there. It is
shaped by the plant's history, technology, and treatment
of personnel. A plant's culture significantly influences
managers' and employees' behavior. A plant with a
culture in which cooperation and trust are important, for
example, will have managers that share information with
employees. Similarly, a plans 'n values about product
quality will influence employees' views of what in
acceptable workmanship.
As described in the previous chapters, the effective
introduction of advanced manufacturing technology has a
pervasive effect on the organization. People are more
interdependent, and human resource considerations are
more likely to be an essential aspect of plans for
implementing AMT. Existing plant culture can facilitate
or impede that implementation.
DECIDING TO CHANGE TEE CULTURE
Before considering actions to change a plant'.
culture, managers may wish to assess the present culture
in a formal way--by interview or questionnaire. Asking
employees what they think of the company's current
values, assumptions, and practices--and what these
featured should be to achieve the company 'a obJectives--
can help menage rat judge the time and scope of effort
needed to change the culture. Further, by involving the
employees, the assessment process may increase their
receptiveness to efforts to change the culture.
21
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22
TABLE 4 Plant Cultural Change
of_ _ _
Organizational Traditional
Aspect Practice
Shift to Practice
Compatible With AMT
Authority Base on position
Decision making
Locate close to
the top
Base on knowledge
Locate close to
required action
Employee Limit knowledge Enhance knowledge
contributions and skill and skill
Information Closely control Share widely and
use a number of
media
Rewards Reward individual Reward teamwork
performance and collaboration
Status Highlight Mute such
differences in differences
attire, parking
eating facilities,
and so on
Supervision View supervisor View supervisor as
as ~watchdog. resource
OCR for page 23
23
Manager. at the plants visited varied in the degree to
which they tried to change the cultures of their plants,
or reinforce existing cultures, while implementing AMT.
Companies whose managers consciously communicated their
assumptions and values also had the most ambitious plans
for introducing AMT.
Table 4 shows the organizational aspects that managers
most often tried consciously to change. The traditional
practice is paired with the shift that plants undertook
when they introduced AMT. Both greenfield sited and
existing plants had adopted practices compatible with
AMT. Further, some existing plants had cultures that
encouraged innovative human resource practices
independently of the introduction of new technology.
CHANGE MECHANISMS
Manager. can influence the Culture of a plant by
communicating their assumptions and values to employees
not only directly but implicitly, in the design of plant
structure, operations, and decision-making procedures.
Direct communication mechanisms include group meetings,
films, video tapes, newspapers, bulletin boards, and
personal letters.
value Statement.
Several of the plants visited had written statements
about the values that were to guide the introduction of
new technology. Theme value statements were a formal
approach to direct communication of values.
· The basic philosophy of management was developed
while plant D was being planned. The philosophy was
included in the employee handbook.
· The original implementation team at plant C
developed a set of principles based on trusting people
and allowing them to use their full capabilities at
work. The team wan also involved in translating these
principles into hiring practices and work group
procedures.
· Plant L developed a statement of philosophy: alto
provide an environment for employac involvement, an
atmosphere of trust, of mutual respect and human dignity
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24
~. . , _
so that we may achieve our common goals of high quality t
mutual success, job security and effective community
relationships. ~ Managers cited many practices in the
plant that could be traced to the statement.
· The manager of plant N articulated a Manifesto
of values that was reinforced during training sessions
Support groups were introduced to ensure that these
principles could be practiced in the plant.
Conveying Values Through Human Resource Practices
Perhaps more important than the values communicated
explicitly are those implicit in management behavior.
All of the human resource practices described in this
report convey, in some sense, managers' values. Managers
can reinforce a new culture by redesigning the organiza-
tion, jobs, and the compensation and appraisal system.
Specific practices associated with redesign will be
discussed in Chapter. 4 to 6.
Similarly, employee selection, discussed in detail in
Chapter 7, not only shape. the desired culture , but can
be used to convey it. Some companies screen out many
people during hiring interviews by being as explicit as
possible about what would be expected of them. Some
companies ask prospective employees to fill out question-
naires to help determine how well they will mesh with the
plant's culture. These selection procedures also offer
employees an opportunity to make an informed choice as to
whether they want to work in a particular plant.
.
· Employees were selected for assignment to plant N
on the basis of their agreement with the manifesto of
values developed by the plant manager.
· m e application form for employment at plant C
contained essay questions deigned to assess general work
attitudes, behaviors, and capabilities.
Other examples of communication of values include the
following:
· In plants M, N. and Q. the leader responsible for
implementing ANT involved managers, workers, and, in
unionized plants, union officials in the planning
process. By asking the group to visit vendors and make
recommendations on equipment, for example, the leader
OCR for page 25
25
encouraged openness, rational decision making, partici-
pation, and recognition of the dignity of the individual.
· Managers at several plants (A, F. M, and Q) created
or expanded employee involvement programs (e.g., quality
circles or quality of working life programs).
· At plant Q. the physical working conditions were
improved and made more attractive as a prelude to the
introduction of new technology.
· Plants D, N. and Q promoted their new sense of
plant culture by designing and distributing T-shirts that
displayed the company's name.
Managers can reinforce the desired culture by their
responses to employee behavior. When managers observe a
good example of the attitudes or actions they want to
develop, for instance, they can focus attention on that
example through some form of reward, such as special
recognition or salary increases.
· When an engineer or line production manager at
plant Q discussed a problem with the plant manager, the
latter would respond, That do the operators way about
this?. or That do your maintenance craftsmen think?.
Engineers and managers soon learned to consult those
employees who had something to way about a decision and
whose cooperation was needed to implement it.
e In another company, a top manager sent personal
notes each week to employees who exemplified aspects of
the desired culture. Each note wan warm, personal, and
filled with praise. milt activity required about 1 hour
per week, but over time had an important impact on the
formation of the desired culture.
BENEFITS AND RISES OF CHANGING A CULTURE
Plants that consciously change their cultures to
complement new technology are more likely to have a
committed and multiskilled work force, lower turnover,
and higher return on their investment in AMT. Changing a
culture, however, can be a slow, difficult process. In
particular, the change from a traditional authoritarian
culture to a participative one can cause uncertainty and
unrealistic expectations.
Communication in a traditional plant culture is
usually in one direction--from managers to employees.
OCR for page 26
26
_
Changing to open two-way communications can be inhibited
by mistrust between managers and employees. Employees
will not accept a manager's explanations of proposed new
values and norms until the words are backed by deeds.
When the cultural change i. extreme, a considerable
period of demonstrated consistency between the manager's
espoused beliefs and actual behavior will be needed.
Even after explanations of the new values are
accepted, managers and employees will need to learn new
skills to make the transition from an authoritarian to a
participative culture. A participatory work culture
requires social skills related to leadership style,
goal netting, problem solving, conflict resolution,
decision making processes, conduct of meetings, and role
clarification. Such skills are not easily acquired,
especially by managers and employees with traditional
backgrounds. Training in this area is complex, and
classroom instruction by itself i. inadequate.
People do not change values, norms, and behaviors
overnight, so cultural-change objectives are reached
gradually. Indeed, some may never be realized to
everyone's satisfaction. Further, some employees may
find that the need to change social an well as technical
skills increases job pressure.
Some managers and employees who are successful in the
traditional work culture will not be able to adapt to the
new culture. Managers and employees who do not fit can
be very unhappy and disruptive. Such problems can be
avoided wore easily in greenfield plants than in existing
ones because potential employees can be told clearly what
will be expected of them. Those who think they would not
like to work in a participative system can opt not to do
so.
In existing plants, top managers who clearly communi-
cate their commitment to creating a participative system
may convince all employees to try to adapt. Patience and
education may eventually convert those who initially
reject the change. If not, many organizations can find a
useful niche for most managers and workers who are unable
to adapt to the new culture. Options for doing so should
be considered in the implementation plan.
Representative terms from entire chapter:
human resource
