INTRODUCTION:
Teamwork is a work style that not everyone is willing to accept. Job uncertainty, fear of opening up too much to the other and revealing key information for the individual are initial barriers that a consultant must face when starting to analyze a company that questions its work philosophy.
Traditional Chilean companies, accustomed for many years to a closed economy, were accustomed to a mechanistic style of work. As Adam Smith (1) pointed out, the worker was limited to the division of his functions, within his scope only; he did not look beyond his workplace. The work spirit was individualistic, almost at all levels of the company, so the selfishness of the functions was an important barrier to overcome in order to insert teamwork.
Successful companies have had to rethink their work style in order to continue operating in current markets, which are dynamic and therefore require dynamic capabilities (2), for which a high degree of flexibility is also required. "Even more flexible forms of organization" (3). Many have looked to Reengineering for a solution to face this problem; Reengineering that postulates, among others, a business model that certainly involves changes in organizations and one of them is the teamwork of polyfunctional processes (4).
In today's world, teamwork is a style of work that is more than consecrated. In fact, it is part of the work style in post-modern, organic and hypertext companies.
Thus, for example, Cleg Stewart points out that “the postmodern organization is flexible” and “The Japanese work organization is based on self-determined teams”; (5). Morgan Gareth, for her part, points out “…, prepare multifunctional groups that collectively (teamwork) possess the required qualities and skills …….”; (6). Nonaka I, in turn, consecrates one of its “hypertext” levels or layers as “project team”; (7).
This paper aims to carry out an analysis of the situation or specific experience of a Chilean company that was, for many years, a monopoly and that was faced, in a decade, with changes in the market due to the arrival of new actors. And, from this analysis, extrapolate to the rest of the Chilean companies similar or that have been faced with organizational change for market reasons and / or for internal reasons.
The objective of this essay is to try to find some relevant elements that allow establishing what type of parameters should be analyzed to enhance the strengths and to eliminate or mitigate the weaknesses that may exist within the Organization. It is then about finding simple elements that lead to visualizing a future change, if applicable, to be carried out in a new scenario.
This work will be developed in three stages. In the first (1st) stage, the approach of a Hypothesis, the starting point, will be carried out. In the second (2nd) stage, there will be a Development, in which the existing antecedents will be analyzed, contrasting it with what the literature raises in this regard. Finally, in the third (3rd) stage, a Proposal and / or Conclusion of the analysis will be made.
(1): Morgan Gareth; Images of Organization, Sage Publication, UK; 1997, p. 14.
(2): Teece, Pisano and Shuen (1991); in Book of Nonaka I; The Creative Organization of Knowledge, Granica, Argentona, Ch.2; p. 56.
(3): Morgan Gareth; Images of Organization, Sage Publication, UK; 1997, p. 70.
(4): University of Concepción, Postmodern Administration; www.udec.cl/- Cbaqueda / adminpos2.htm.
(5): Clegg Stewart Modernist and Postmodernist Organization in Human Resource Strategies, Sage Publication, 1993; p. 4 and 11.
(6): Morgan Gareth Images of Organization, Sage Publication, UK, 1997, Chap. 9, p. 89.
(7): Nonaka I; The Creative Organization of Knowledge, Granica, Argentona, Ch.6,; p. 186.
HYPOTHESIS:
The question posed by the title of the document (Why have organizations been faced with teamwork?) Is at first glance simple, easy to answer. However, it hides a series of explicit and implicit reasons that we will try to find; of course, applied to the Chilean reality and in particular to the company that has been taken as the basis for this study.
A simple and quick answer could be due to the globalization of the markets and "because the large market economies are pointing towards it." Large Organizations and Institutions from developed countries (such as: USA and Japan, among others), in their work styles, include, as one of their components, this style (4-5-6). And Globalization requires structural and substantive changes in organizations to survive and continue in the market.
My hypothesis is that this is not the answer to the statement question. Yes, it is part of the answer, but there are other motivations that influence the growing incorporation of this style of teamwork in organizations.
The hypothesis that arises is:
“Today's organizations, in order to be successful in this increasingly globalized world, need to break down the barriers of knowledge (8), creating instances to share concerns, motivations, functional empathies and to know where the business is going (9). People need to be motivated by the importance of their being and their environment. Emotionally motivated people, within their work, are able to create value in their management and translate it into a quality product for the service they provide ”.
The above supposes giving a weight to the person, as a whole (with values, feelings, emotions, etc.) that was not previously considered due to the limitations of their functional role in bureaucratic organizations and due to their limited access to other areas of the business process line.
The complexity of man to relate and to communicate is more difficult than is believed, even living in a globalized society (10). However, it is this same complexity that can allow people to develop skills if the right channels are created to achieve it; for example, through bonds (11).
(8): Pope John Paul II; Encyclical Centesimum Annus; 32, 1991.
(9): Cool and Lenick-Hall; Second thoughts on the transferability of the Japanese management style, Organizational studies; 1985, 8-9.
(10): Andrés Blanke P.; What do successful organizations have in common ?, 2002-2003 MBA Essay, Organizational Design and Development Update, October 2002.
(11): Kenney and Florida; 1988: 132, 133, 135.
DEVELOPMENT:
The globalization of markets has allowed companies in the same industry to compete in markets located very far from each other. Efficiency in production processes has certainly had a relevant importance in the business and organizational strategies that companies have adopted as management systems within each one of them.
The concepts of Mechanicism, which although it is true have not totally disappeared, cannot be applied 100% in the organizations of the present, strongly influenced by currents of the Organic type (Organisms) and Self-organized Systems (12). The greater availability of information, the incorporation of new technologies and the greater access to knowledge have played a relevant role in influencing the change in organizational trends.
The individual and his function is not an isolated point within a chain or line of processes; this, in contrast to the mechanistic definitions, “It is not my job to take care of this”, “this is your responsibility, not mine”, “I only do what I have been told” (13).
Chilean companies have had to understand these trends and external influences, many of them by force, in order to survive in the market or business world. In the past, the lowest cost was decisive in competition, efficiency was a direct function of inputs (material cost, human resource cost and manufacturing processes), the value of the product was fixed in the form of a standardization of prices and the sale was a simple transaction in which the customer was indifferent (14). Nowadays, however, a product (good or service) differs from the other by the added value that it gives, the relationship between the supplier and the customer, among others.
It is no longer enough for the person to know only their work and dedicate themselves to their own business without seeing their influence on the rest of the business process chain. It is necessary that each of the members understand the importance of their role in the process line and the role of the rest of their co-workers. Internalize the message that cooperation is the first strategic solution to be chosen at all levels of the company, cooperation (teamwork) that must cross all departments, divisions, subsidiaries (14).
Workers can no longer, and should not, stop giving the importance they require to quality. Working groups routinely perform quality control (10). Quality circles have been considered a major achievement of the Japanese system (15).
The arrival of a new company or a new competitor, a product of globalization, which produces with cutting-edge technology, with optimized processes, with less use of personnel, with different ways of working, definitely produces a remittance that questions both the company. as to customers. Then, it requires “the capacity of an organization to learn, adapt, change and renew itself over time, it involves searching, discovering and solving problems (at the organizational level)”; (two). It is about achieving "collective learning (as a team) in the company, especially how to coordinate various production capacities (teamwork) and integrate multiple technological currents"; (16).
On the other hand, clients may feel the need to go to the other alternative provider, not to be tied to a single provider, to be able to choose or simply to leave the existing provider because they are tired of working with them (due to lack of deference, due to indifference to claims, price, failure to meet expectations, etc.). A good supplier & customer relationship together with the value attributes of the product, which are valued by the customer, can make a difference. Knowing the objective of the business and the client is very important; characteristics that occur more easily in companies of the new industrial order where integrated teamwork occurs naturally (14).
The company has the obligation to constantly verify its processes and implement continuous improvement policies so as not to be left behind in the face of the competition. The final product can be the same, without a big difference. But the cost of production can be ostensibly lower and that is another factor to be targeted; especially if the product is a commodity. Under variable circumstances it is important that the elements of the organization (refers to work teams) are able to question the convenience of what they are doing and modify their actions taking into account the new situation (13).
In companies or organizations in the modern world, where people work as a team, workers are polyfunctional. This enables, for example, online process control, correcting deviations on the fly and in real time. You can do more with the same or even less resources. In post-modernist companies, work is clearly de-differentiated, de-delimited and polyvalent; we interpret the latter as polyfunctional (15). Workers systematically dominate the different tasks and grasp the interconnection between them… By breaking down communication barriers between work groups, rotation enhances the flow of information between workers and through functional units (11). The latter influences the improvement of people's motivation, the productivity of companies,in reducing production costs and in improving the overall efficiency of production processes and, in short, in improving business profitability.
The poly functionality also allows to carry out preventive maintenance work or processes, which are carried out by the same operators who use the machines; without having to resort to external personnel (11).
These last comments allow us to conclude that the company:
1) it could concentrate, to a greater degree, its efforts towards the business, 2) it frees up resources, 3) it channels resources elsewhere and 4) it could decrease staffing.
If the worker is aware that he is part of an optimized work team, he can conclude that his work is stable. “Long-term employment and extremely low levels of labor mobility ensure that knowledge remains internal to the organization…”; (fifteen).
Finally, Pope John Paul II recognizes the importance of knowledge, technique and knowledge ……..in them the wealth of nations is founded; which is the product of their organizations. Man's work with other men (teamwork and society) encompasses progressively wider circles (17). It is Pope John Paul II himself who recognizes the importance of teamwork.
(12): Federico Puga; Notes Powerpoint course “Organizational Design and Development, Class 27.09.2003.
(13): Morgan Gareth; Images of Organization, Sage Publication, UK, 1997, Chap. 2 & 4, p.26, p.47.
(14): Goldman SL, Nagel RN and Preiss Keneth; Agile Competitors and Virtual Organization Strategies for Enriching the Customer, Caps. 2 and 3, Vans Nostrand and Reinhold, 1995; p.47, p.116 and 117.
(15): Clegs Stewart; Modernist and Postmodernist Organization in Human Resource Strategies, G.Salaman Ed. Sage Publications, 1993; p.11, p.13, p.14, p.15.
(16): Prahalad and Hamel (1990); in Book of Nonaka I; The Creative Organization of Knowledge, Granica, Argentona, Ch.2; p. 56.
(17): John Paul II, Centesimus Annus, 32, 1991.
CONCLUSION:
According to the analyzed antecedents and the development of the proposed Hypothesis, we can reach the following conclusions:
1.- Companies are faced with the need for a change in their style of organizing either to improve their operational flexibility or to increase the personal fulfillment of their employees.
2.- Teamwork increases the personal motivation of individuals and job expectations within organizations, for the sole fact of increasing job stability.
3.- Teamwork has been incorporated into organizations because it allows to increase people's productivity.
4.- The increase in people's productivity, as a result of greater knowledge, achieved in part by teamwork, has a positive impact on the reduction of the costs of companies or organizations, facilitating their permanence and competitiveness in the market.
5.- Teamwork, finally, is assumed by companies out of necessity rather than desire.
7.- The person is then the most important resource that companies have to be able to adapt to the new trends of globalization. Being able to implement innovative policies is impossible without the collaboration of the basic tool, the human being.
8.-Teamwork is a matter of concern for the Catholic Church itself and its impact on the production of goods is recognized by Pope John Paul II himself (17).
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
-Andrés Blake Pavez; What do successful organizations have in common ?; Essay Course Update in Organizational Design and Development, MBA-2002-2003, October 2002.
-Clegg Stewart R.; Modernist and Postmodernist Organization in Human Resource Stratregies., G.Salaman Ed.Sage Publications 1993.
-Federico Puga; Notes Powerpoint course “Organizational Design and Development, Class 27.09.2003.
-Goldman SL Nagel and Preiss Keneth; Agile Competitors and Virtual Otganization; Strategies for Enriching the Customer, Caps. 2 and 3, Vans Nostran Reinhlod, 1995.
-John Paul II, Pope, Encyclical Centesimum Annus, 32, 1991.
-Morgan Gareth; Images of Organization, Sage Publication, UK, 1997, Chap. 2 & 4.
-Nonaka I, The Knowledge Creation Organization. Granica, Argentina. Caps 2 and 6.
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