Effectiveness of Self Directed Work Teams - Essay Example

Effectiveness of Self Directed Work Teams Success of an organization and success in the workplace today most often results from teamwork and employee empowerment. Many organizations are moving towards collaborative work to enhance success and productivity. In recent times self-directed work teams (SDWTs) are gaining prominence within organizations, due to environmental pressures such as deeper accountability and uncertain public fund.1 “A self-directed work team is a small group of people empowered to manage themselves and their daily work.”2 These teams are said to be formal, organizational units. Team members in addition to their existing job responsibilities plan and schedule their work, manage production, resolve problems and share leadership responsibilities. The team usually performs many traditional support functions accompanied by routine production or service. A self-directed work team can also be defined as, “A multi-skilled or cross-functional work team whose members are empowered to regulate their own affairs and are jointly accountable for delivering a defined value-adding product or service to the organization.”3 The members of a self-directed work team are highly trained and are responsible for the creation of a specific product or service or completion of a specific task within an organization. The group usually consists of anywhere between six and eighteen members. SDWTs differ from other kinds of teams as they have more resources at their disposal, a broader variety of cross-functional skills, greater decision making authority and much better access to required information. SDWTs symbolize a different way of working, where individuals behave and act as though their sphere of activity is their own business. Organizations using SDWTs aim to instill a sense of ownership and entrepreneurial spirit among the workforce. SDWTs are considered to be a practical application of vertical enrichment. They are also considered to be a genuine move away from conventional way of organizing work. Instead of performing meaningless job fragments that gives rise to the formation of distance between workers and the organization, members of the self-directed work team are an integral part of a process, i.e. an inclusionary structure where decisions are arrived at through the participation of and suggestions given by people who are directly affected by them.4 The primary goal of self-directed work teams is to empower employees to make decisions regarding their work and to help guide corporate vision. Self-directed work teams are said to be the most effective and successful strategy for creating an empowered work culture. Hundreds of organizations are using this strategy effectively with a significant amount of success. The conversion to teams is said to fortify organizational structure to withstand the levels of pressure that exists in the market today. SDWTs are also a valuable innovation that aids in the improvement of employees’ workplace participation, productivity and quality of life. Self-directed work teams bring about increased organizational effectiveness and personal satisfaction. They produce higher quality solutions, increase customer satisfaction, reduce operating costs, improve quality and productivity, ensure better alignment of workloads and attract and retain top employees. This reduction in costs and increase in productivity and quality enables organizations to significantly increase their profits. Furthermore, they also result in quick response to technological change and advancement, increase innovation and creativity, support risk taking, create organizational growth through effective learning, function as mechanisms for honoring the past and appreciate and utilize diversity.5 These aspects together contribute towards the strengthening of the organizational structure and effectiveness of the organization. According to a survey conducted by DDI, Industry Week and AQP, 68% of the organizations using self-directed work teams were found to be able to operate with fewer managers and 95% of the responsibilities found this change to be very beneficial.6 “It has been estimated that an organization utilizing these well functioning teams, with a third of the traditional work force and using one-quarter the usual workspace can produce twice the output.”7 As a result of using SDWTs, increased productivity at the rate of 19% was seen in K Shoe, 40% in Sterling Winrtrip and close to 100% increase in Kodak Customer Assistance Centre. The use of SDWTs has also resulted in cost savings in several organizations. RCAR Electronics saved over $10 million, Wilson Sporting Goods saved $5 million and Harris Corporation saved up to $4.5 million.8 In addition to being highly effective in strengthening organizational structure, SDWTs are also extremely effective in employee motivation and retention. SDWTs results in personal growth and job satisfaction among employees. Each member in the team performs many activities and opportunities for personal growth are enhanced through cross-training. Managers typically give freedom and autonomy to team members and leave them alone as long as the team’s output meets or exceeds given standards. Decisions that are usually taken by the supervisor are delegated to them and this autonomy results in increased motivation and job satisfaction. This increased empowerment results in higher levels of trust and fulfilling organizational relationships. SDWTs also bring about constructive conflict resolution, effective leadership development and attention to worker values. Lastly, an array of reward and recognition systems provides further motivation and desire to stay. All of the above factors together contribute to employee satisfaction, motivation and retention, and consequentially result in a more effective organization. However, the effectiveness and the success of self-directed work teams are highly dependent on various factors. The first most important aspect that will ensure the effectiveness of SDWTs is a change in the organizational philosophy and structure from hierarchical authoritarianism to self-direction. The senior management must prepare for self-direction teams by means of careful planning, and assess their ability to master and apply the hands-off leadership style. Senior management must provide the directive for the culture shift of the organization.9 This study also indicated that highly motivated workers are also crucial to the success of SDWTs. Workers need to be highly motivated and enthusiastic to be a part of the decision making process and must participate actively. Open communication is also another key to implementing an effective SDWT. Lines of communication must be open and honest amongst team members as well as among different teams. The main reasons for the importance of open communication lines include coordination of operating activities of inter-dependent work teams and effective feedback to improve performance. A study of self-directed work teams in Texas Instruments Defense Systems & Electronics Group identifies management support as a key success factor in that organization.10 Involvement of the top and middle level managers and CEOs provides the leadership that the organization needs to make the transformation and gives out a clear message that success of the teams and the organizations is of utmost importance. The management is also the key in providing assistance with ideas for improvement. The second most important factor, important for the effectiveness of SDWTs is training. The training of management and for staff and support department employees training is a crucial factor. For instance engineers, accountants, training professionals etc., may not be part of the self-directed work team, but they need to be trained in team and interpersonal skills similar to the team members. Training is best provided over time rather than at one go. Another study of SDWT in an insurance operation and a telecommunications company examines the relationship between the different dimensions of SDWT effectiveness and the key success factors for SDWT.11 The study revealed that while the various dimensions of SDWT effectiveness do not reinforce each other and are unrelated, the creation of an employee involvement context, work design and team characteristics were important to the success and increased effectiveness of SDWT. A study of the characteristics of the effectiveness of self-directed work teams in the gold mining industry proves the importance of factors such as team leader characteristics, communication, interpersonal relationships, teamness, incentives, skills and training.12 The study also proved the importance of the human factor when employing self-directed teams because critical factors of success are often unseen aspects such as relationships and team synergy. There are several challenges to effective self-directed work teams, out of which three are most prominent and must be dealt with effectively to ensure a successful self-directed work team. Cross-cultural issues are the foremost barrier to implementing an effective self-directed work team. SDWTs are much more difficult to implement in high power distance cultures. Power distance is concerned with a culture’s readiness to accept a difference in power over other members of a culture. In a power distance culture people are willing to accept an inequality in power as the norm. Employees belonging to a power distance culture are more comfortable with receiving direction and instructions from a supervisor, whereas low power distance employees are more willing to participate and add value to the decision making process. In an organization, where high power distance is accepted as norm and employees are used to receiving direction from their supervisors and team leaders it is difficult to establish and implement a self-directed work team. Here effective transformation from one organizational culture to the other with a considerable amount of assistance and involvement of the top and middle level managers and CEOs of the company is necessary. The second most common challenge to implementing an effective SWDT is management resistance. Several studies report that supervisors and higher level managers in an organization are most often the main cause for resistance to the creation of effective self-directed work teams.13 The primary reason for their resistance is the worry over losing their existing power to make decisions and delegate work, as in a self-directed work team employees gain the power to make decisions through empowered teams. Some others believe that their jobs will fail to have any value or that they will lose their job. Most supervisors have difficulty in changing from a hands-on controllers or leaders to hands-off mentors. For example this was one of the biggest barriers in switching to SDWTs in TRW auto parts plant. Many of the supervisors in this organization kept switching back to their original style of leadership, where they have directions and employees were expected to follow. Several researchers indicate that supervisors and high level mangers are more likely to accept SDWTs and when they have personal experience in working at high-involvement workplaces and if they receive effective training in their new role as facilitators and mentors as opposed to their pervious role as leaders and decision makers. Rather than merely approving an idea a manager or supervisor in an SDWT must listen and consider and make effective suggestions that improve the idea. Management commitment and involvement is one of the key success factors of a self-directed work team. The third most crucial challenge to be overcome when implementing SDWTs in organizations is Employee and Labour Union Resistance. Empirical research reveals that the resistance from employees may me due to several reasons including, violations of fairness, increased work-load, hesitant manager support, indistinct role definitions and lack of team member social support. Lack of trust, cultural values and low tolerance to change may also be attributed to employee resistance.14 The cross training that a very integral part of SDWTs requires employees to acquire new skills and this is a contributing factor to employee resistance. Many employees feel uncomfortable to accept new roles and responsibilities as they may worry that they lack the skills required to fit into the new roles and fulfill the responsibilities attached with them. The new roles are accompanied by more work, sometimes resulting in increased work load. Several organizations are understaffed in the developmental stages of the team and this leads to an increased workload on existing employees. Increase workload on employees is a de-motivating factor and results in resistance on their part. Inherent fear of change is a major contributor to employee resistance. Many people prefer a constant way of working and a change such as this that encourages active participation may cause fear and this may lead them to resist the implementation of such a team. Several labour unions also oppose such a change because firstly, improved productivity occurs as a result of higher stress levels among employees. Secondly, SDWTs focus on increased flexibility by reversing general wok rules and job categories and designations that labour unions have fought for and negotiated over the years. Labour unions and leaders are most often apprehensive about regaining these rights for which they have worked hard in gaining. However, despite the many significant barriers, self-directed work teams are continuing to increase organizational strength and effectiveness and increase productivity in organizations, in addition to motivation and retaining existing employees as well as attracting new ones. 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