for of j experiments in work system design: economic and...

UNIVSHELF

INSTITUTE OFINDUSTRIAL RELATIONS( -

CENTER FOR QUALITY OF WORKING LIFE J

Experiments in Work SystemDesign: Economic and HumanResults)

by

James C. Taylor,

t CQWL-WP-75-1 )

INIVERSITY. OFLALIFORNIA.LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA 90024

1977

I'ISTITUTE OF INDUSTRIAL.EL.TIONS LIBRARY

JUL 3 1978UNIVESITY' OF CALIFORNIA

BERKELEY

From Prsonnel Review, Vol. 6, No. 3) )177.Copyri1977by the Gower Press, Ltd.Used with permission of the Institute of Personnel Management

Experiments in Work SystemDesign: Economic and HumanResu tsPart IJames C TaylorResearch Fellow, Center for Quality ofWorking Life, Institute ofIndustrialRelations, University of California, Los Angeles

This two part paper represents an attempt to enumerate andanalyse recent instances of work system design experiments interms of the outcome measures sought or reported in thosestudies. 'Work system design experiments' is intended toinclude only experiments dealing with sets of interrelatedjobs, as opposed to those experiments solely manipulatingeither jobs which are dealt with individually, or changes insuch thing as work environment, or management climate.The literature comprising experiments in work system designcontains a wide range of general end results variables, but,however, suffers from the associated fact that these numerousoutcome measures are frequently poorly conceived or

operationalized, and are not easily compared with oneanother from study to study.

Issues

There are several issues involved in such a review. 'Worksystem' design or restructuring is, in itself, a broad topic andthe notion of 'recent' history is at best ambiguous; also, theterm 'experiment' has been variously defined. In spite of theseirregularities, the time seems right to assess the 'experimental'studies currently available in order to identify commonalitiesas well as the discrepancies among them. A review of lit-erature in the general area of quality of working life through1972' reported that the sheer number of published referenceshad doubled for the period 1962-67 over the period 1957-62, and that it has doubled again during 1968-72. Within thisexpansion of the general literature was the much smaller sub-set of 'experimentar studies of work restructuring whichincreased apace during that period. This trend led us to expectthat the number of experimental studies increased furtherbetween 1972 to 1976. This expectation has been confirmed.

DefitionsIn order to proceed, several definitions are required. First,what is meant by work system design or restructuring is thatan actual physical or structural change in the human jobs or

tasks is undertaken, or a new process is introduced whichrepresents a departure from conventional or predictable pro-cesses. Work system structuring is in part the design (or rede-sign) of a set or series of human tasks which, taken together,form some meaningful technical whole. Although work sys-tems do of course contain jobs, work system structuring does

not usually start with jobs as the basic target of change, and itdoes not result in job changes as much as it results in rolechanges. Roles in this case contain not only the actual set oftasks a person does, but also include the network of workrelated interactions with others in the system. 'Work systemstructuring' usually results in some sort of task process orwork group arrangement around some meaningful, or whole,technical aspect. 'Job enrichment,' on the other hand, startswith an individual job and proceeds to redesign that job fromthat point.

Included in'experiments' is any case of actual change of man-ipulation in the work activities. Actually, this definitionmainly includes'natural' experiments of a sort where at leastsome minimal control of extraneous variables is obtained. Asa rule these natural experiments involve a unit or subsystemwithin a larger plant or organizational site. Their performanceis frequently compared with other similar units in the samelocation, and frequently with earlier (pre change) data fromthe same unit. By definition the cases included in the presentreview contain actual manipulation of the work system,although descriptions of the actual changes involved, (as wellas evaluative data) are frequently poorly reported, or areabsent. Descriptions of carefully designed and controlledexperiments are virtually nonexistent in the literature.

Another aspect which must be noted as characteristic of thisset of experiments is that successful outcomes are frequently(but by no means always) reported, while failures are hardlyever reported. This results in an overall effect which mustappear more optimistic than the actual state of the world. Onthe other hand some experimentation (eg that reputed to bedone in Proctor and Gamble over the past six to eight years) isbelieved to be very successful, but is hardly reported at all.

Job Enrichment 0Another (and related) set of 'experiments' which will not bereviewed in the present paper is the set of 'job enrichment'studies which have been reported quite widely in the lit-erature.2 As stated above, job enrichment/enlargementstudies can be distinguished conceptually from work systemdesign/restructuring (WSD) in that job enrichment beginswith individual jobs; already defined, while WSD begins witha technical whole from which human work assignments aremade.

22 Personnel Review Vol 6 Number 3 Summer 1977

Ress

Major SummaryThere are over 120 cases of work system restructuring abs-tracted in the appendices provided in this and Part II of thepapetr Tese cases were chosen from a variety of publishedand wlfmblished sources, because they resulted in groupmethods of work and job design. However it is not alwaysdear whether these designs grew out of design proceduresintended to look at whole work process, or whether they werethe result of individual job design activities. Identifying someof the organizations involved will help to determine this: forexample, the reports prepared by Philips Electric Company ofexperiments in their plants worldwide state the distinctionclearly; while American Telephone and Telegraph (AT andT), because they have only recently discoverd the advantagesof designing for a total work flow, have only distinguishedbetween the two only in their latest (14,40) reports of exper-iments.

Also as noted above nearly all the cases found report successeither in productivity dimensions, or quality of working life(QWL) dimensions or both. Unfortunately, much of the latterare expressed in terms of general 'morale', attitude, or jobsatisfaction.

There are a few studies included in the present set which havestood the test of time and several which are so new that no

output data are yet available. The remainder report experi-ence over several years.

There are also in the present set of cases some which deal withissues of work system design less directly than they deal withisues of worker control in its broader aspects. These casesvariously refer to processes such as 'industrial democracy,''QC circles,' or 'work planning groups' and have beenincluded only if they have made some mention of control overwork process or job and work design, and therefore meet thecriteria above. These cases will frequently be found, however,to emphasize company policy-making over work place controland discretion. Both can be considered important and bothcan be manifest in the same organizational design.

County of OriginAlthough most reported cases of work restructuring are fromthe USA, and are covered in Part I of this paper, Sweden, theNetherlands and the UK, as well as elsewhere in Europe andScandinavia also provide many interesting and importantcases. These will be discussed in Part II of this paper. We candistinguish among cases reported for each country in terms oftheir general importance, which is defined by the joint satis-faction of several criteria, viz:

1 How much is known from available reports.2 The degree and length of experience.3 The centrality of the experimental manipulation to the

work system or process.

Using these three criteria together, some of the cases can besorted into a major category of those continuing cases of worksystem design (WSD) with reasonable experience noted andwith adequate information. Such cases can be distinguished

from those which are either too new, or so old that littlerelevance can be derived, and from those where too little isreported to be convincing, or from those in which work sys-tem restructuring seems a minor part of the total.

North America (USA and Canada)49 cases of WSD are reported for North America; 15 fully

'Throughout the paper bracketed numbers refer to the numbered caseStus in Appendix I.

satisfy the three criteria noted above. Most of these 49 casesare in manufacturing, although the technological mix is con-siderable. These cases do not vary considerably in the size ofthe facility studied. Nearly all involve total departments ofabout 100 people in fairly small plants (100-300 employees).The best (based on the above criteria) of the manufaetaringcases are Harman International, and American Telelphtlne, Inassembly operations (2,14); papermaking, oil refining, andfood manufacturing (General Foods) in process technology(5,26,30); Donnelly Mirrors, R G Barry, and a corrugatedbox plant in machine operation and fabrication (4,10,17); andKaiser Aluminum and an oil refinery in three cases of serviceand maintenance operations, both skilled and unskilled(20,27,28). One recent white collar case (1) reports WSD inseveral Social Security Offices, and innovations in miningoperations are reported in Pennsylvania (3). Since these casesare among the best of the current US cases, we might expectthem to set some fairly high standards with regard to outcomemeasures. In fact, only the cases of Donnelly Mirrors (17),Rushton Mining (3), and Social Security Administration (1)currently report both output measures and measures of organ-izational behaviour and employee attitude. Of the remainder,the four oil refinery cases and R G Barry have reported sub-stantial social system and attitudinal measures (10,27,28,30),while the rest emphasize productivity or cost measures, and asubstantial number report absence and/or turnover data.

12 of the 49 cases reported too little information to beincluded among the 15 sufficiently documented examplesabove. These cases include among others those from Proctorand Gamble (24), IBM (9), Corning Glass (13,33), and Gen-eral Motors (6,7,8,12). Some of these cases are also quite oldas well as lightly reported.

Several reasonably well written cases in the North Americanset are either old and assumed to have been discontinued(21,22) or are known to have been stopped (7,8,37,48). Thatdoes not mean that these are not valuable cases, or that someof the manipulations should not be studied (42). Some studiesreflect management succession and changes in companypriorities (23,25,39), while others (34,48) report cir-cumstances unrelated to the success of the project altogether.

Several of the North American cases (2,3,41,42,43,44) rep-resent the result of active cooperation between union andmanagement. These cases all have a year or more experiehce,although detailed reports have not yet bees made availablefor all of them.

The Survey Research Center of the University of Michigan'sInstitute for Social Research is engaged in studying work sys-tem design in hospitals, in conjunction with the NationalQuality of Work Center. The Center for Quality of WorkingLife at UCLA has been engaged in the redesign of white-collar systems in the insurance industry in both manual andcomputerized offices (eg case 45). These excursions intohealth care and other service industries have not yet been welldocumented - expecially with regard to evaluative materialon the success of redesigns. The Organizational DevelopmentResearch Program, at the Michigan Institute for SocialResearch has recently completed and made available a care-fully documented and evaluated study of redesign exper-iments in several Social Security District Offices (1).

Louis E Davis, of the UCLA Center for Quality of WorkingLife is, and has been, also engaged in the design of new plants,as has Richard E Walton of Harvard University's BusinessSchool. Little of the new plant design these men have aided inhas been reported yet (5,26), but others are expected withinthe next year.

Type of WorkMost of the cases of work restructuring including the non UScases deal with assembly operations (40%). Semi-skilledmachine tending is the next most frequent (20%), whilewhite-collar work accounts for 20%. Process operationsaccount for the fourth largest category (15%), and mainte-nance tasks are a poor fifth accounting for only 3% of thetotal number of cases. It is important to note an increasingproporton of white-collar cases reported in the past year.

Assembly OperationNumerically the USA and Canada have the most cases ofwork system design (WSD) involving assembly operations.

Of the assembly cases in the USA with enough experience toreport results, only five do so with any precision(6,10,12,13,14). American Telephone Company reports pro-ductivity improvement of 20-30% above standards (14). Thiscase also reports considerable increase in quality, as doesGeneral Motors (12), R G Barry Company (10), and a case inCorning Glass (13). Absenteeism or attendance was men-tioned as improved in most of these cases as well as in others(35). Of the remaining US cases four report some improve-ment in quality (6,9,15,39) or productivity (38) as a con-sequence of installing semi-autonomous assembly teams. Thetwo other US cases are both reported failures. Nonlinear Sys-tems (35) experimented nearly ten years with unconventionalassembly procedures before returning to an assembly line in1970. Reports of the other case (aGM Motor Home Factory)suggest an unsuccessful outcome (8).

Machine OperationExperiments involving changes in work system design (WSD)in machine operation have little in common with the possibleexception that a greater proportion of those cases reportimprovement in quantity of output, or productivity, and alower proportion report quality or decrease in rejects as areslt of the manipulation.

In the USA only two cases involving machine operations areincluded although several additional cases (2,16,41) could bementioned as working both with fabrication and assembly.These latter have been already included above with assemblyoperations. Three of the North American cases report WSDinnovations in clothing manufacture (10,35,36); also reportedin the present section is the well documented case of DonnellyMirrors (17). The very specific changes in this case involvedproblem-solving production teams set up around meaningfultechnical processes; and the outcome involved productionincreases of48%, and some improvement in decision-makingactivity and satisfaction. Two other American cases drawfrom paper box manufacturing (4), and metal machining (39).Three additional cases involving machine operations arereported from the Labor-Management Cooperation Projectin Jamestown, NY (42,43,44).

Coninuous Process17 cases overall are classified as involving experiments inwork system design in process operations. Of these, nine casesare North American, the rest being European.

Seven of the nine North American cases are fairly recent,ksown to be continuing, and in most cases reasonably welldoaamented.

I The best known example is the Topeka Pet Foods Plantof General Foods (GF) Corporation (26). Begun in1971, the plant continues to the present. Designed withautonomous groups who are responsible for an entireproduction process, the workers make most plant deci-

Experiments in Work Systems Design: Part I 23sions and are paid on the number of jobs they can per-form. The results of this case reveal improvements incosts, reject rates, manpower requirements, safety,absenteeism and turnover compared with other plants inthe GF system. Attitudes of team members are positive.

2 A small California plant manufacturing plastic packagingmaterial has been in operation with modification since1969 (25). Workers acquire a wide range of processskills, work semi-autonomously and actually work withmaintenance people under the same supervisor. This caseis known to have involved sociotechnical design pro-cedures for modifying the work structure. Results in costsand output are favourable, with increases in production,run time capacity, reductions in supervision (up to 50%),and reductions in production personnel (18%). Becauseof the lack of any reliable attitude survey data, con-clusions with regard to employee satisfaction must besomewhat tentative. There are reports of indirect evi-dence that employees reacted positively to the new jobs.

Experience with another, similiar, plant in a different com-pany has been reported recently (46).

3 A case of process operation in a large oil refinery wasbegun in 1969, and has continued and expanded to sev-eral other processes within the refinery. All functionsinvolved in the operation of the process at the secondlevel of management and below were brought together orfused under single operational administrations (30). Themajor result was to bring maintenance and operationsinto a closer understanding working more closelytogether. The results for the first two years included a67% reduction in maintenance costs, productivityincreases of from 10% to 30%, and increases in par-ticipative problem-solving behaviour and in employeesatisfaction.

4 A case reported for Procter and Gamble in Lima, Ohio(24) is assumed representative of the many cases knownto be undertaken by that company, but not publiclyreported. The consumer product plant reported here hasbeen in operation for at least five years; it is structured onthe basis of work groups controlling plant matters of con-cern to their production operations. Results are sketchy,but reports indicate a reduction in overhead as well as inoperating costs.

5 A new corrugated box plant in Georgia was designed onsociotechnical principles and was opened in 1973 (4).The plant operates on two shifts with three autonomouswork teams on each shift. Within each shift, each team isresponsible for a particular operation, function, or pro-cess machine. With two and one half years experience,absenteeism is lower than in other plants in the system,production is higher, and costs are lower. Interviews withemployees indicate a favourable response to the newplant.

6 Florida plant producing tyre yarn was set up in 1968 toinclude groups of chemical workers whose boundariesextended across shifts (32). Jobs were restructured andsome jobs were eliminated by automation. Results aremeagre, but reports of zero waste and improvedemployee use of the company suggestion system implypositive effects.

7 A large integrated papermill, newly built and designedon sociotechnical principles, was started-up in the Ten-nessee Valley in March, 1975. Semi-autonomous groupsare responsible not only for production operations, butfor maintenance and major aspects of quality assuranceand pollution control activities as well (5). In spite oftechnical problems in start-up, initial performance is bet-

24 Persoimel Review Vol 6 N_uber 3 Suumer 1977

ter than expected, and turnover has been lower than trad-itional labour market conditions would predict.

8 One of the oldest continuous process experiments in theUSA involves a plastics facility in the American midwest.Although it is reported as very successful, some changeshave occurred in the succession of four plant managersfollowing the one responsible for the original design (23).This fhcility was opened in 1961 and was designed with-out foremen, with employees participating in most worksystem decisions with the plant manager. Workers weresalaried, with differences among them based on degree ofresponsibility. Between 1961 and 1967 productivity wasreported to have increased by 11 times, while personnelincreased by a factor of three. The plant is said to havedoubled its work force again since 1967, and it is stillusing many of the structural features of the originaldesign.

The other North American case in continuous processtechnology has been discontinued because of circumstancesapart from their success as design experiments.

This discontinued experiment is a case in aluminum castingand smelting (48). This systematic design of work process andorganization resulted in a one year experiment (1970-71)with semi-autonomous groups of workers interchanging oftasks. The outcomes of this case suggest high employee satis-faction with the plan, good ability to meet emergencies, aswell as improvement in productivity and reduction in costs.At the end of the experimental period, management andlabour attempted to work out a plan for continuance, butwere unable to do so. The company reportedly remainsinterested in the new design of work systems.

White-coUarWhite-collar work is involved in 21 cases of the 120 dealingwith work systems collected and reported here and in Part II.The number of reported cases has been increasing recently inthis category, although it is very broad and can include avariety of different types of work (eg supervisory, adminis-trative, professional, clerical, sales, etc).

Seven of the cases are from the USA. Two of those describeexperiments with foreman jobs. One of these (34) is welldocumented, although more than ten years old, and reportsthe effects on subordinate group behaviour of changed super-visory responsibilities. Perceptions of supervisory concernand relations with other groups are reported as evidence ofimprovement in those areas. Already low levels of absence,turnover, and grievances were unchanged. The other twoAmerican white-collar cases report work modifications basedon consideration of factors beyond individual jobs for pro-fessionais in an R and D department (36), and for salesmen(18). In the former case, wide-spread subsequent companysupport is identified as an indication of the experiment's suc-cess. In the latter case sales volume increased considerablyover control groups. One well known experiment in aut-

onomy vs hierarchical control for clerical workers resulted inimproved morale for the former treatment and in improvedproductivity for both treatments (19). One very recentAmerican case reports the redesign of a telephone companycentral office engineering division (40). The description ofresults available are unfortunately meagre so far. Anotherrecent white-collar case (1) on the other hand has been exten-sively described and very carefully evaluated. The Organ-izational Development Research Program at the University ofMichigan's Institute for Social Research has prepared a veryuseful and candid report of a 1975 work system design ofseveral claims processing units in The Social SecurityAdministration. The results are generally favourable. Finally,a case of redesign of a small claims processing unit in a privateinsurance company has been released recently (45). The casereports some successes in design process, together with somefailures in implementation. The case itself is too recent toreport either economic or human results.

One US construction crew experiment produced good moralebut failed to affect productivity (22). The other also reportssignificant changes in worker attitudes as well as reportedchanges in organizational behaviour (29).

In the area of maintenance and repair work, one 1972 case(27) reports combining of two separate crews for loading andunloading oil tankers. Attitudes in this case showed someimprovement. The other case reports autonomous mainte-nance work crews in an aluminium plant. Morale has beenreported improved, tardiness eliminated and maintenancecosts lowered (20). A very recent Canadian case reportsalmost two years experience with multiple overlapping skillsand group work in a small unit of airline overhaul mechanics(49).In the case of a motor pool, setting up mission oriented teamsreduced personnel costs 70% while improving satisfaction(28). Janitorial teams of 19 members in another case con-tributed to planning, problem-solving, goal-setting, andscheduling (21). The results included cost savings over twoyears, quality improvement, and reduction in turnover.

A discussion of the age of the cases involved, the care in theexperimental control, and the type of results reported will beprovided in Part II of this paper. Part II will also considerwhat general conclusions may be drawn from the survey over-all.

J C Taylor, 'Concepts and Problems in Studies of the Quality ofWorking ife', monograph prepared for the Manpower Administ-raton, US Department of Labor, 1973.

2 See, for example, R Ford, Motvodaon Through the Work Itself,American Management Association, New York, 1969.

Experiments in Work Systems Design: Part I 25

1 Establishment(s) or employeegroups

2 Year initiated3 Number ofemployees affected

4 Problen., or initial condition

5 Technique used

6 kuman results

7 Economic results

8 Reference(s)



4 Problem, or initial condition

5 Technique used

6 Human results

7 Economic results

(1)Social Security Administration1 8 district offices, (4 experimental, 4

control) claims processing units, 30-60employees per site

2 19753 150 employees total affected by the

change4 The greater satisfaction and productivity

of smaller offices in SSA were hopedfor outcomes of redesign of largeroffices in autonomous work groups

S Experimental offices planning teamshelped decide on the number of workgroups, distribution of work load,physical layout and the areas of groupautonomy. 6 weeks after the structuralchanges were implanted a surveyfeedback group development activitybegan

6 Of the 4 experimental offices, 3 showedmore favourable perceptions and atti-tudes than did the controls. One experi-mental office (with severe staffingshortages) showed a greater declinethan its matched control

7 Increases in several productivity mea-sures for experimental offices wereshown to be related to perceptions oforganizational changes. In generalbetter results. No significant changes ineither absenteeism or turnover werenoted

8 Bowers, Hausser, and Spencer. DistrictOffice Organizational Development Ex-periment, Organizational DevelopmentResearch Program, ISR, Universityof Michigan, June 1976

(3)Rushton Mining Co

1 Small coal mine, Pennsylvania. Union-ized

2 19733 27 cutters - volunteers from regular

work force4 Interested in examining new ways of

working

S Autonomous work group organized9 cutters per shift. All miners put ontop pay and were trained to rotate toany job on the team. Miners haveresponsibility for production. Shiftforemen have responsibility for safety,and also act as planning officer, andtraining liaison

6 Lower absenteeism, lower turnover.Cooperative spirit among members

7 Lower supply costs, higher productionrates, low accident rate, and lowestnumber of safety violations in themine's history

(2)

23

4

Harman International Industries, IncManufacturing of auto mirrors.Machine and assembly operators. Bol-ivar, Tennessee. Unionized (UAW).19731000 hourly, 120 salaried/management

Interest in examining new wvays ofworking

5 Worker designed effort to work inteams, rotate jobs, supervise themselves,and make other changes in work areas.Heavy emphasis on in-plant training,and individual development activities.Currently going into cost saving-sharing programmes, and child careprogrammes

6 Most (over 600) people earn 'idletime' and leave work I to 5 hours early.Communication has improved and whatdissatisfactions' there are, are discussedwith more candour

7 Productivity per hourly employee hasincreased from $132 when project began,to $155 in April, 1975, to $165 inApril, 1976. Costs of manufacturingand supplies have increased also in theexperimental departments

8 Business Week, May 19, 1975. Testi-mony of Dr Sidney Harman beforeSenate Subcommittee on Employment,Poverty and Migrating Labor, April8, 1976. David Suskind TelevisionProgramme, June, 1976

(4)Container Manufacturing

I Paper box plant, Covington, GA.Nonunion. Machine operator

2 19733 50 employees

4 New experimental plant for examiningnew ways of working. 4 autonomousgroups without jobs or job titles oneach of 2 shifts

5 A 6 man corrogator group, a 4 man'Flexo' group, a 2 man maintenanceteam, and one 'process manager' oneach of 2 shifts, comprise the plant.Employees are paid for the number ofskills they develop

6 1975 survey results reveal attitudelevels above national norms. Higherturnover figures during 1975-76 sug-gest maladjustment to increased pro-ductivity on the part ofsome employees.Absenteeism 1 5% compared withdivision average 4 S°5%

7 1975, individual productivity 20%higher thin 1974, and higher than otherplants in the system. 1975 labour costs25% lower than 1974

26 Personnel Review Vol 6 Number 3 Summer 19778 Reference(s) 8 Ohio Quality of Work Project News-

letter, Issue 3, Summer 1974Champaign-Urbana News Gazette, 9/24/75, p 21Psychology Today, October 1975Trist, Sussman, and Brown, 'An Ex-periment in Autonomous Working inan American Underground Coal Mine',Human Relations (in press, February,1977)

8 Personal communication, L E Davis,Graduate School of Management,UCLA, July, 1976

Establishment(s) or employeegroups

Year initiatedNumber ofemployees affected

Problem, or initial condition

5 Technique used

6 Human results

7 Economic results

8 Reference(s)

I Establishment(s) or employeegroups

2 Year initiated

3 Number ofemployees affected4 Problem, or initial condition

5 Technique used

6 Human results

7 Economic results

8 Reference(s)

(5)Integrated Paper Mill

I New installation, Stevenson, Ala. Non-union. Process-maintenance operators

2 March, 19753 250 employees

4 Company chose to apply sociotechdesign principles in planning new mill

5 Semi-autonomous work groups re-sponsible for process and main-tenance, as well as for major aspects ofquality control and pollution control

6 Low turnover, high promotion ratesto supervision jobs. Some frustrationwith the problems of starting the newplant

7 In spite of technical problems instarting up, the initial performance wasbetter than expected

8 Personal communication, L E Davis,Quality of Working Life Center,Institute for Industrial Relations, UCLAJuly 1976

(7)General Motors

I Detroit plant #23. assembly of truckchassis for custom camper application.Unionized

2 1973-1974: open only 18 months,because of low demand for 'recvehicles'

3 200 workers4 Opening this new low volume plant

provided an opportunity to furthertest the stall-build concept of smallteam assembly

5 Assembly line combined with con-ventional stall building, where an entirechassis is built by one small 5-10 mangroup

6 Union members favoured the newproduction procedures rather thanassembly techniques because they havehad experience with both techniques

7 'Very successful'

8 Personal communications, D Ephlin,United Auto Workers, Los Angeles,September 1974

(6)General Motors

I Tarrytown, NY assembly plant. 4,000employees 'Glass Room'. Unionized

2 19753 36 rear window installers (18 women,

18 men)4 Many grievances, strike votes, and

disciplinary problems. Much scrap andsalvage

5 Employees taught problem-solving tech-niques, and began meeting with fore-man and technical staff 1/2 hoursweekly

6 Grievances reduced

7 Absenteeism reduced from 12% to 3%,$26,000 savings in scrap reduction,$60,000 savings in reduced water leakdamage

8 Speech delivered to Academy of Manag-ment Meetings, Kansas City, August1976. William T Horner, United AutoWorkers, Detroit

(8)GM Truck and Coach Division

I Team assembly of motor homes. 300workers at Pontiac, 100 employees atGemini operation. Unionized

5 6 member teams for body fitting andtrim work, 3 member teams assembledchassis

7 Abandoned. (Perhaps low demand forrec vehicles) Author concludes unsuc-cessful, but reasons not given

8 Business Week, May 12 1973, p 144

1

23

4


2 Year initiated3 Number ofemployees affected5 Technique used

6 Human results

7 Economic results

8 Reference(s)

(9)IBM

1 Assembly operator

5 3-5 mian teams buisupply unit

6 Attitudes good

7 Quality and quantityiconsidered more adapt

8 Sirota and Wolfson,June, July-August 197:

'Expeimnnts In Work Systems Design: Part I 27

(10)R G Barry Corporation

I Columbus, Ohio slipper manufacturingplant, assembly


Id entire power 5 Small teams - assemble and package.Goal-setting and problem-solving. Timeclocks removed, salary replaced piecerate. Maintenance

6 Attendance improved (now less thananticipated)

mproved. System 7 12 months results no cost reduction,:ive significant quality improvement, return

on investment lower than expectedPe.rsonnel, May- 8 Taylor, et al, Quality of Working Life:2 Annotated Bibliography, Center of Or-

ganizational Studies, Graduate Schoolof Management, UCLA, 1972, #8012

Frohman, 'Small Team ProductionSystem (STPS)', April 1972, unpub-lished. Available from Mark Frohman,R G Barry Corporation, 78 EastChestnut Street, Columbus, Ohio 43215

7 Economic results

8 Reference(s)

Establishment(s) or employeegroupsYear initiatedNumber ofemployees affectedProblem, or initial condition

5 Technique used

(11)TRW

I Manufacturing plant. Assembly opera-tor

2 1972

5 Created semi-autonomous workteam,assembled product as a team

7 Productivity up 15%

8 Glaser, Improving the Quality of Work-ing Life, Human Interaction ResearchInstitute, 10889 Wilshire Boulevard,Los Angeles, August 1974

(13)Corning Glass

I Medfield, Mass. Instrument assembly

5 6 workers assemble entire electricalhot plates with freedom to schedulework as a group so as to meet weeklyobjectives

(12)General Motors

1 Lakewood, assembly plant. Unionized

2 December 19693 250 employees in 'Cushion Room'4 Generally unfavourable conditions5 Management uses employee partici-

pation in defining the tasks and jobsrequired for modification in processand model changes. Semi-autonomousoperators located in separate buildings.Management team included generalforeman, QC and staff people fromvarious disciplines. Foremen met withsubordinates for feedback of perfor-mance, and for input to managementteam for planning

6 Surveys of satisfaction, organizationalclimate and leadership showed improve-ment in first year. Grievances reducedfrom 56 per month to less than 5

7 Scrap cost reduced from 4°% to lessthan 1% within the first year

8 Dowling, 'System 4 Builds Performance& Profits', Organizational Dynamics,Winter 1975, pp 23-38

(14)ATT

I Assembly of 'N2 carrier', Mass. Fac-tory assembly. 3 components

2 19733 10 people4 Continuation of 'Work itself' pro-

gramme application produced unsatis-factory results with individual jobdesign

5 Have own section chief, communicateamong selves, formed interactive teamsfor total assembly of one component

1

2345

Establishment(s) or employeegroupsYear initiatedNumber ofenployees affectedProblem, or initial conditionTechnique used

6 Human results

1

234

28 Personel Review Vol 6 Number 3 Summer 1977

6 Human results 6 Absenteeism dropped from 8% to I %

7 Economic results 7 Rejects dropped from 23% to 1%

8 Reference(s) 8 'cited in Work in America, Report of aspecial Task Force to the Secretary ofHealth, Education and Welfare (US),December 1972, as: #24'

6 'Morale improved, absence no longerproblem'

7 Production improvement range 119%to 130%, workers receive 19% to 30%more dollars

8 Personal communication M Gillette,AT and T UCLA, September 1974

Establishment(s) or employeegroupsYear initiatedNumber ofemployees affectedTechnique used

7 Economic results8 Reference(s)


2 Year initiated3 Number ofemployees affected4 Problem, or initial condition

5 Technique used

6 Human results7 Economic results

8 Reference(s)

Establishment(s) or employeegroupsYear initiatedNumber ofemy,l6yees affected

Technique used

6 Human results

7 Economic results

8 Reference(s)

(15)Cummins Engine

I Charleston, SC. Automated blockline assembly

3 7 workers man whole lineS Hold same job grade, man any station,

2 shift teams, do own testing

7 Good safety and quality8 Work in America, op cit.

(17)Donnelly Corporation

I Holland, Michigan. Automotive mirrormanufacturing. Nonunion. Machineoperator

2 19663 460 employees4 Interest in carrying Scanlon plan

participation further with new manage-ment ideas

S Semi-autonomous work teams partici-pate in department problem-solvingmeetings. Production teams show in-crease in decision-making, coordination,and influence

6 Satisfaction is mixed7 Productivity in key division increased

by 48%, salaries increased by 20%8 Iman, 'The Development of Participa-

tion by Semiautonomous Work Teams:The Case of Donnelly Mirrors', InDavis, and Cherns, (Eds), Quality ofWorking Life, Vol. II, Free Press,New York, 1975

(19)Insurance Company

I Nonunion. One department


5 1 department structurally changed forgreater worker autonomy and anotherdepartment changed for greater hier-archical control. Job content remainedsame

6 Satisfaction with company increased(sig) for autonomous programme anddeceased (sig) for hierarchical pro-gramme. Job satisfaction decreased(sig) for hierarchical and did notincrease for autonomous programme

7 Productivity increased(sig) for both pro-grammes during the experimental year

8 Morse and Reimer, Journal ofAbnormalSocial Psychology, Vol 52, 1956, pp120-9

(16)Medical Appliance Manufacturing Co

I Manufacturing and assembling

2 19733 60 workers5 Divided into groups of from 5-20

persons with technology to match thisteam concept

8 Glaser, op cit

(18)Syntex Corporation

I Palo Alto sales office

2 1966

5 Salesmen formed work teams whereown standards and quotas were set

7

8

Volumes sales increased by 116% to20% over controlWork in America op cit, #8.Rush, Behavioral Science, Concepts andManagement Application, 1970, p 130

(20)Kaiser Aluminum Corporation

I Ravenswood, W.Va. Maintenance

2 19713 60 maintenance workers in reduction

plant5 Time clocks removed, supervision virt-

ually eliminated, workers decide whatto be done and in what priority,cooperated with operators, workeddays only

6 Morale and pride of workmanshipimproved, tardiness eliminated, nogrievances

7 Maintenance costs down 5.5%

8 Work in America, op cit, # 32

1

235

I

23

5



5 Technique used

6 Human results

7 Economic results

8 Reference(s)



4 Problem or initial condition

5 Techniqueused


8 Reference(s)


2 Year initiated3 Number ofemployees affected4 Problem, or Initial condition5 Technique used

6 Human results

(21)Texas Instruments

I Dallas. Unskilled mai

2 19673 120 maintenance worl

5 Organized into 19 rteams. Each member i

problem-solving, goalling

Experiments

ntenance workers

cers

nember cleaningmoice in planning,I-setting, schedu-

6 Turnover dropped from 100% to 10%.Personnel required dropped from 120to71

7 Cost savings $103,000 annually between1967-69. Cleanliness of buildings in-creased from 65% to 85%

8 Work in America op cit, #23

(23)Major Electrical Manufacturing Co

I Mount Vernon, Indiana. Plastics man-ufacturing facility. Nonunion. Processoperators

2 1961-673 300 employees in 1961, about 700

employees in 19764 New plant opening provided oppor-

tunity to 'experiment'5 All employees salaried, no foremen, 5

levels based on responsibility withmerit promotion, no plant security

6 'Highly participative'7 'Highly productive.' Between 1961-67

productivity increased 11 times, person-nel increased 3 times. The design hassurvived through a succession of Splant managers to 1976

8 Personnel communication with G EMcCullough, Omega ManagementConsultants, Ann Arbor, Michigan inNovember 1976

(25)Cryovac Division

I Plastic package manufacturing. 1969new design, 1972 expanded. Processoperator

3 Process operators4 New plantS Mechanized and continuous process,

workers acquire wide range of sophis-ticated process skills, work in semi-autonomous groups. Maintenance andoperators under single supervisor

in Work Systems Design: Part I 29

(22)Operations Division, Bureau of Traffic

I Ohio Department of Highways. 6field construction crews

4 Low productivity and poor quality ofperformance

5 3 experimental crews established, eachwith different degree of self-determina-tion of work schedules. Crews wereunaware that they were participating inan experiment

6 Data showed that as participationincreased, so did morale

7 No significant change in productivity

8 Powell and Schacter, Academy ofManagement Journal, 1971, pp 165-73

(24)Proctor and Gamble

I Lima, Ohio. Process operator

3 Process operators

5 Work groups virtually complete con-trol of the plant

7 10%-50% less over-head and oppor-tunity costs, (almost 10% Proctor andGamble employees now work in opensystem plants)

8 Jenkins, Job Power, Doubleday, NewYork, 1973

(26)General Foods

I Pet Food plant. Topeka, Kansas.Nonunion, Process operator

2 19713 70 process operators4 New plant5 Organized into autonomous groups

responsible for a production process,pay based on number of jobs nemberscan do

6 Absenteeism 1% (90% of that withmanagement approval, turnover 10%cf 15% GF average). 300% increase inoutside education. Positive assessmentby participants

30 Personnel Review Vol 6 Nmber 3 Summer 1977

7 Economic results 7 Productivity increased 11 %, anothersubprocess development obtained 40%increase, supervision reduced 50%,production rose 68 %, personnel re-duced 10%, 50% increase in run timecapacity

8 Refeece(s) 8 Davis and Cherns, (Eds), Quality ofWorking Life, Vol ll, Free Press, NewYork, 1975

7 Cost savings 20-40% better than otherGF plants, rejects 80% less than normalin the business, manpower requirementsreduced from 110 to 70, improvedyields, minimized waste and avoidanceof shutdown, safety improved (4.4% atTopeka, of 7.2% all GF)

8 Work in America, op cit



5 Technique used

6 Human results

7 Economic results

8 Reference(s)



5 Technique used

6 Human results

7 Economic results

8 Reference(s)


2 Year Initiated3 Number of employees affected5 Technique used

6 Human results

(27)Oil Refinery

1 Loading docks. Unionized

2 19683 About 5% of total refinery4 Interest in new management metho-

dology5 Maintenance and operators combined

below 2nd level supervisors6 Perception of organizational behaviour,

and attitudes slightly better

8 McCullough, 'The effects of Changes inOrganizational Structure: Demonstra-tion Projcts in an Oil Refinery', inDavis and Cherns, (Eds), Quality ofWorking Life Cases, Free Press, NewYork, 1975

(29)Oil Refinery

1 Construction. Unionized

2 1968-72. Disbanded3 About S% of total refinery

5 Two groups of 15 mixed craftsmen

6 Perception of organizational behaviourimproved

7 Cross craft activity increased

8 Ibid

(31)Monsanto

L Textile division, Pensacola, Fla. Pro-cess operator

2 19683 50 chemical operators5 Groups across shifts formed. Re-

structured some jobs and eliminatedsome, with automation

6 Employee suggestions increased 300%

(28)Oil Refinery

I Motor pool. Unionized

2 19683 350 people

5 Four service oriented groups formed byfunction

6 Satisfaction with supervisor improved

7 Personnel reduced by 10%. 12% costreduction

8 McCullough, ibid

(30)Oil Refinery

1 Refinery operators. Unionized

2 19683 Total mechanical division, 1,200 em-

ployees. 25% of employees in processdivision. Many salary workers, somehourly workers

5 8 'operation speciality teams' com-prised of maintenance, technical andoperating people to operate particularrefinery processes. These are fairly largeorganizational units under middle man-agement jurisdiction

6 Satisfaction increased

7 Maintenance costs decreased. Groupswith hourly employees increased pro-ductivity 20-30 %. Groups with salariedemployees only, increased productivity10%

8 Ibid. Personal communication Decem-ber 1975

(32)Nonlinear Systems

1 Del Mar, California. Electronics plant.Digital -voltmeters. Assembly operator

2 1960-70

5 1961, grouped assembly workers ro-tated among reduced number of assem-bly stations; did own testing. 1971 -

return to assembly line system6 Evidently mixed results

Experiments in Work Systems Design: Part I 31

7 Waste dropped to zero

8 Work in America, op cit, # 15

(33)Corning

I Medfield, Mass. Glass works

2 1965

5 Several socio-technical innovations inR and D department of one plant

6 Human results

7 Economic results

8 Reference(s)

Establishment(s) or employeegroupsYear initiatedNumber ofemployees affected

Problem, or initial conditionTechnique used


8 Reference(s)



7 Company gave this project widespreadsupport and has implemented the ideasin other plants

8 Beer and Huse, Journal of AppliedBehavioral Science, January 1972

(35)Levi Strauss and Co

I Albuquerque, N.M. Garment factory

2 November 1974. Reinstated 19763 32 sewing machine operators in 'pants

department'4 Turnover 100 + % annually5 10 member Advisory Board (operators,

management, personnel department) de-signed new system: operators couldreject input from other departments.Control their own clock out procedure.Rotate among jobs/become multi-skilled. Do minor mechanical repairs.Operators paid higher base because oftheir additional skills/paid productionbonus by team

7 Over a 3 month period attendancebetter than the rest of the plant. Averagemonthly turnover 6.6% compared withplant 8.6%. Operators' earnings in-creased 15c per hour compared with8c in remainder of the plant

8 'Searching for a Better Way to Work,'Saddleman's Review, Vol 19, No 2,Summer 1975, pp 3-7

(37)

1 Assembly department producing smallplastic medical appliances

2 1954

7 1960-65, production up 30%, customercomplaints down 70%: owner claimedmanagement was preoccupied withtrying out participative techniques

8 Business Week, January 20, 1973, pp98-100

(34)Military Aircraft Installation

I West Coast, maintenance operator,foremen of instrumental test facilities

2 19653 150-200 workers, I I foremen5 2 modifications of foreman's job:

(a) responsibility for whole product;(b) responsibility for quality controlof the phase of work his group did

6 Change I resulted in perception ofgreater autonomy and skill for bothsupervisor and subordinatesChange 2 resulted in perception ofgreater concern for subordinates andbetter relations with staff groups

7 Neither change reduced already lowlevels of absence, grievances or injuries

8 Davis and Valfer, 'Supervisor JobDesign', Ergonomics, Vol 8, 1965

(36)Weldon Manufacturing Co

I Pyjama factory


4 Management succession5 Change to shorter assembly lines, and

use of problem-solving groups innormal operations. Responsibility andinfluence increased for workers

6 Satisfaction unchanged7 Absences down from 6% to 3 %.

Turnover decreased, manufacturing de-fects down by 39%; customer returnsdown 57%; performance up from 81 %to 119%

8 Marrow, Bowers and Seashore, Man-agement by Participation, Harper andRow, New York, 1967

(38)Harwood Manufacturing Co

I Pyjama factory. Marion, Virginia


7 Economic results

8 Reference(s)

1

235

Establishment(s) or employeegroupsYear initiatedNumber ofemployees affectedTechnique used

1

23

4S

32 Personnel Review Vol 6 Number 3 Summer 19775 Technique used 5 2 designs:

(a) conveyor belt eliminated, andemployees worked as a team rotatingamong 9 work stations;(b) industrial jobs combined all 9stations

6 H1lma,, results 6 Employees said they would not returnto assembly line conveyor

7 Economic results 7 Design I productivity fell from 100 to89%; quality improved some. Design2 productivity held at 100%, qualityimproved considerably

8 Reference(s) 8 Davis and Canter, 'Job Design Re-search', JournalofIndustrial Engineering,1956

5 2 experiments with packing work:(a) control group - no participation inwork changes. Experimental group -total participation in work change;(b) one group: first used no participa-tion, then total participation in workchanges (acted as own control)

7 Both experiments resulted in increasefor total participation to 70 units perhour compared with 50 units per hourfor control

8 Coch and French, 'Overcoming Re-sistance to Change', Human Relations,Vol 1, 1948

(39)General Electric

I Aircraft engine manufacturing. Lynn,Mass. Unionized

2 Begun 1968, discontinued 19733 Initially 21, later 63 operators4 Low efficiency in shop using numerically

controlled lathes. High number ofgrievances

5 A single unit of automatic latheoperators worked without direct super-vision. Shift one laps over were installedfor continuity. Flexible starting timeswere permitted. Workers assumed re-sponsibility for interface and supportfunctions. They began doing some oftheir own programming, scheduling,and fixture design. Received 10%bonus pay for the experiment

6 Within 6 months, attitudes and individ-ual involvement had improved

7 After 2 years, continued scrap andrework declines were reported, as wellas gains in product quality

8 Fadem, 'Fitting Computer-Aided Tech-nology to Workplace Requirements'.A paper presented to 13th meeting ofNumerical Control Society, March,1976, Cincinnati

(41)Rockwell International, Rockwell Stan-dard Division

I New installation. Battle Creek, Mich-igan. Manufacturing NC machines.Unionized

2 19753 Work force of 150. Machine operators

and assembly operators

5 Work teams assigned general task, candivide labour. Interchangeability ofjobs, participation for production stan-dards, resolve work problems at lowestlevel

6 Human results

(40)American Telephone

I Central office engineering departmentfor Main, NH and Vermont

2 April 19753 80 employees in line and staff4 Poor information flow, redundant func-

tions, large labour force, and work'fused' too high

5 Reduced 9 separate functions to 4.Provided feedback to the engineers andclerks, and provided direct relation-ships to client systems

7 Reduced 22% of 2nd level managementjobs. Reduced 50% 3rd level, and the4th level management jobs. Costsavings - $250,000 annually

8 Personal communication. Bruce Duf-fany, Human Resources Department,American Telephones.Also - ATT film on 'Work Design',narrated by Tom Clark

(42)Jamestown Labor Management Project

1 Maddox Table Co. Furniture manu-facturing. Unionized (United FurnitureWorkers of America). 125 employees

2 Early 1975 - ran 3 months.3 Group of 11 workers in Rough Mill

Department4 Union requested a project to improve

the work and productivity5 Operators, tailers and helpers on 3

key machines (ripsaws) plus the fore-man were trained in recognizing qualityof incoming wood, to made decisionson cutting wood, and were giventraining in layout and organization.Old job classes were retained

6 Cooperative team work did not result.The prior bonus system, based on jobclass, compounded problems in work-ing together

1

234

Establishment(s) or employeegroupsYear initiatedNumber ofemployees affectedProblem, or initial condition

5 Technique used

6 Human results

7 Economkc results

8 Reference(s)




5 Technique used

Experlnents in Work Systems Design: Part I 33

7 Economic results8 Reference(s)

I Esftablishment(s) or employeegroups

2 Year initiated3 Number ofemployees affected4 Probkm, or initial condition

5 Technique used

6 Human results

7 Economic results

8 Reference(s)


2 Year initiated3 Number ofenmployees affected


5 Technique used

6 Human results

7 Economic results

8 Los Angeles Times, October 25 1974,Part VI, p 15Personal communication, D. Ephlin

(43)Jamestown Labor-Management Project

I Falconer Plate Glass Co. Unionized(Glass and Ceramic Workers Union).Glass processing. 250 employees

2 Late 1975 - six month experiment3 40 employees in tempering department4 Desire to reduce scrap and institute

gain sharing system

5 10 training sessions conducted foremployees in tempering and order-taking to improve information flowbetween them. Resulted in betterunderstanding of each group for theremnants of the other

6 Number of grievances reduced. Uniondemands gain sharing programme bespread wider

7

8

Scrap reductions result in gain sharingto employees of up to $6,000Personal communication with JamesSchmatz, Labor Management Co-ordinator, August 1976

(45)Insurance Company

1 Home Office. Nonunion.

2 19753 75 clerical and semi-professional white-

collar employees in 3 support depart-ments

4 Company interested in socio-technicaldesign to improve quality of workinglife and productivity

5 Semi-autonomous groups within the 3departments were formed, based on ananalysis of technical requirements.These groups contained a wide mix ofjobs with multi-skill capabilities

6 Team members prefer the new workingarrangements over the old ones. Theyfavour the new promotional oppor-tunities afforded by the multiple skillarrangements

7 Productivity increases range from 10%to 400% over 6-8 month period. Muchimprovement claimed in the use of themore flexible arrangements

7 Yield did not increase8 Personal communication with Jdiiie

Schmatz, Labor-Management Com-mittee Coordinator, Jamestown, NYAugust, 1976

(44)Jamestown Labor-Management Project

I AMSCO manufacturing. Stainless steelhospital equipment. Unionized (IAM).Job shop. 250 employees

2 Early 19763 13 workers in polishing department4 An experiment under the Jamestown

project to improve productivity andquality of working life

5 Voluntary changes in group and indi-vidual activities. Foreman became facili-tator/trainer, members decided to doown scheduling. (2 employees chose notto participate)

6 Labor Management Committee willcontinue with experiments in other areasof the plant. Although employees hadbeen given a $10 bonus for participatingthey claim willingness to continueirrespective. Management faced a prob-lem of exploiting the groups' willing-ness to take on extra work - this hasbeen resisted

7 Substantial increase in productivity(150%+)

8 Personal communication with JamesSchmatz, Labor Management Com-mittee Coordinator, August, 1976

(46)Sheet Plastics Factory

I Plant manufacturing packaging plasticsin Merced, CA. Opened July, 1973,Nonunion

2 Design implemented 19753 Total work force (44-50 employees)

involved

4 Production goals not met

5 Socio-technical analysis used to designself-managed teams. I team of 11employees operate on each of 3 shifts.Members participate in setting pro-duction goals. Responsible for ownmaintenance, housekeeping functions,and quality control. Pay based onskills attained in compound manufac-turing extruding machine operationand maintenance

6 Increased skills (and pay). Turnoverdecreased. Informally, employees moresatisfied. (No layoffs, despite marketdecline)

7 Productivity increases; decreased waste.Increased quality

34 Personnel Review vol 6 NumWer 3 Summer 19778 Reference(s) 8 Personal communication: B. Yost,

Organizational Development Depart-ment, Occidental Life Insurance Co,Los AngelesTaylor, 'Employee Participation inSocio Technical Work System Design:A White Collar Example,' Paperpresented to Annual Meeting Academyof Management, Kansas City, August1976

8 Speech delivered to Ceniter for Qualityof Working Life/Il R Short Course,UCLA. Jarry Persinger and Carl ABramlette, September 1976

CANADA

1 Establishment(s) or enmployeegroups


5 Technique used

6 Human results

7 Economic results

8 Reference(s)

(47)Northern Electric Co

I Advanced Devices Center (subsequentlyrenamed Micro Systems InternationalLtd) Ottawa

2 1964-1966

4 Move from Montreal to new site, anddoubling work force

5 Change in structure to open, teamorganization. Space, size and qualitywas an important aspect as it focusedon professional and managerial person-nel with variety of communicationpatterns

6 25% participants showed positive re-sponse

7

8

Early gains in performance

Gabarro, and Lorsch, 'Northern Elec-tric Company,' Intercollegiate CaseClearing House, Harvard BusinessSchool, 1968, 14 ppWalton, 'Innovative Restructuring ofWork' in Jerome Roscow (Ed), TheWorker and the Job, Prentice-Hall,Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1974

(48)Aluminum Co of Canada Ltd

I Aluminum Casting Arvida, Quebec.Unionized. Process operator.

2 October 1970 - November 19713 47 hourly workers4 Fluctuating production load made

supervision very difficult5 Semi-autonomous work crews; inter-

changeability of tasks; role enlargement.Foreman's role focused on planningand coordinating for the crews, union,and management. Suspended contractunder a sheltered experiment for 1 year

6 Interviews and survey questionnaire byboth union and management showedhigh satisfaction and ability to meetemergencies

7 Production increased 7-12%, cost re-duced 11 %

8 Taylor, et al, op cit, #8002Archer, 'AchievingJoint Organizational,Technical, and Personal Needs,' inDavis and Cherns (Eds), Quality ofWorking Life, Vol II, Free Press, NewYork, 1975


2 Year initiated3 Number of employees affected4 Problem, or initial condition

5 Technique used

6 Human results

7 Economic results

8 Reference(s)

(49)Air Canada

I Maintenance crew. Replacing windowson DC-8s. Unionized

2 March 19743 Work group of 8 mechanics4 Low productivity, high supervisory

costs5 Leadhand and 7 mechanics have

multiple skills. The group is ordinarilydivided into 2 teams - I removes andreplaces the windows, and the otherrepairs or overhauls them

6 After 12 months, improvement inemployee feelings about the work,about improved authority, aboutachievement and growth, relationswith supervisor, and the use of systemsand methods

7 Manhours expended per window, im-proved 100%; sypervisory time onthis work reduce?fprom 25% to 5%

8 Chartrand, 'The Impact of Organiza-tion on Labor Relations at AirCanada', The Caadian Personnel, Vol23, 1976, pp 22-6

for of j experiments in work system design: economic and...

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