Self Directed Work Team (SDWT) Advantages and Disadvantages

Self say Work squad (SDWT) Advantages and DisadvantagesA Briefing on Self enjoin Work team (SDWT) by conference 5Self Directed Work Team is a magnateful concept since the ancient Roman legion and today near 68% of fortune 1000 companies action SDWT concept including Ford, GM, PG, FedEx, etc. (Lawler, Mohrman, Ledford ,1995). explanationVecchio (2003, p.107) defined Self Directed Work Teams (SDWT) as a exceedingly trained group of six to eighteen employees that is fully responsible for creating a specific product. And according to an article in Entrepreneur bring together ( unidentified 1995) self - enjoin teams are sm solely groups of employees who seduce responsibility for managing themselves and their range.winner in todays challenging agonistical environment is based on employee dominance and team take to the woods (Boyett Boyett, 1998). This could be closely related to Herzbergs motivating grammatical constituent which was later simply defined by Barbara (n.d.) a s what posits you work swell up.M every(prenominal) companies are attracted to this innovation because of the prospect of flattening the governing bodyal structure in these periods when downsizing, flattening and work process reengineering are so crucial (Coates and Miller, 1995). SDWT leads to change magnitude organizational effectiveness and employee satisfaction (Forsyth, 1999) which in todays business is being the competitive advantage (Ron Williams, n.d).Advantages of SDWTGeneral Motors, Proctor Gamble Xerox by implementing SDWT resulted in approximately 30-40% improvement in productivity (Bruce,n.d.). In Kodak customer helper centre SDWT resulted in 100% increase in profits (Anon, n.d.).FedEx modify their service by reducing the handout of packages and incorrect billing by 13%. Rubbermaid increased sales by 50% above projections lineament improvement.Increased productivity and reduced cost.Highly flexible.Simpler job classification and distributively member know eve ry process through job whirling which will reduce dependency one person.Better innovation and creativity.Team members are motivated by job satisfaction, empowerment, trust, feel of ownership private growth which in turn benefit the company as a whole.SDWT is being a vehicle for bringing in the Total feeling focal point concept in an organization (Vecchio,2006,p.112)Following statistics based on a review of organization that transferred to SDWT (John Cotter, n.d.) well prove the positive impact.93% describe improve productivity 86% reported decreased operational cost 86% reported improved quality 70% reported better employee attitudesGiven the above advantages and ensueer stories there are consequences and problems in challenging the success of SDWT and even driving to the opposite direction to chastening.Consequences of SDWT ejection of supervisory position. The deal for shift from holding the decision do power to delegation and allowing autonomy. In other words supervi sor should act as a facilitator and provide guidance to teams especially outside the teams areas of expertise. Supervisors should manage colloquy and monitor the effectiveness. Leaders promote team work and corporation (Brillhart, 1983). The distinguish in supervisory role is to motivate Self-Direction. In an consultation with Sterling Health USA, employees often quoted that Before, the group leader made all the decisions. You didnt know why the decisions were madenow we do (Peter, 1999). But is the team leader name to accept the transition from holding the power to delegation? Is S/He ready to improve the skills to qualify as a facilitator?Requirement for healthy investment in preparation. Training needed for both supervisors and team members in building various skills. Cloke and Goldsmith ( 2002, pp 205-214 ) identified ten skills those are substantial for members of the work teams to develop self concern, communication, leadershiphip, responsibility, supporting diversity , feedback and evaluation, strategic planning, shaping thriving meeting, resolving conflicts and enjoyment. Williams (n.d.) mentioned It is non uncommon for self-directed work teams to spend 20% of their time in ongoing pedagogy. Organization willing to implement SDWT should soak up a clear training strategy including cross training opportunity and resources. Top management should design the training policy and budget for it.Need for more flatter and flexible organizational structure. The decision making authority is transformed to the team members to eliminate waste of time relying on approvals from managers. Self-direction, autonomy, empowerment are the key players in success of SDWT which is facilitated only on flat structures. Responsibilities assigned to workers in GM clearly indicate the need for flat structure.(William,1999,p.11) responsibility for quality control.Responsibility for maintenance and small repairs.Responsibility for safety.Responsibility for capital budgeti ng and operational budgeting.Responsibility for staffing.SDWT to begin performing takes tenacious period. As per William (1999) SDWTs cannot be created instantly it can take 2 to 5 years to fully implement. Some companies might not have the time or resources to go through this processStages of forming SDWTStage one (Start-Up) remainder preparation, explanation of purpose, member selection and building trust (6-9months).Stage deuce (State of confusion) Technical assistance, feedback, implementing procedures to support self direction, and training. (6-9months).Stage three (Leader centered team) promote leadership activity among team members. (6-12months).Stage four (Tightly formed teams) resolve conflicts, start managing on own, communicating resource requirement and goals.(6-12months).Stage quintuplet (Self direction) Maintain self confidence and self esteem of others. Strong compact with internal and external customers.Consequently, if you look at the time and training compl icated in SDWTs it might not be suitable for an environment with a high employee turnover.Need for greater leadership development. As the organization would no longer function in a traditional manner the leaders or managers need to build their ability to allow and encourage much(prenominal) a high level of empowerment, which can be tackled with specially created programs (Coates and Miller, 1995).Problems of SDWTTeam members approached the saturation point of learning through job rotation and would have achieved the maximum level of earning i.e. plant rate where no more manner for psychological or financial boosts (Vecchio, 2006, p.113). Again while talking rough pay as a motivator does it really matter? thunder mug rewarding and recognition be the motivator to ensure continuing slaying of the employees (Vecchio, 2006, p.84). Also the performance measurement system should not create any competition within team members which will reduce co-operation and affect the success of SDW T.Another major challenge is getting people to remain committed to the improvement of the processes when they realize that they may be working themselves out of a job. The employees involved in self-directed work teams must have a great deal of trust so that employees are not concern about their job security (Anon, 1995).Conflict management would be some other critical and sensitive issue. Again each team member has contrasting personalities and perceptions. present comes the importance of required skills from facilitator. A culture of knowledge manduction has to be built in.Another question is that, are employees ready to be self directed? Whether they have capacity and skills? Of course proper training would be in place but still some employees favor managers direction on what to do rather than deciding on their own. Here comes the need for selecting appropriate team members which is again depending on the talent of facilitator.Is the organization policies and culture is su pportive in transferring power and authority to team members? otherwise problems would be signs of overconfidence which lead to members willing to take extra cut-and-dry risk, members ignoring the respectable consequences, collective rationalization and underestimating capabilities of other groups which may lead to failure and financial losses.(Craig, 2005, p.219)Given the fact empowerment is a key to succeed in SDWT will all the managers support this? Foegen (1999) stated on the loss of control If one individual makes all the decisions in a disposed department, for example, his or her control is all-encompassing. Focus is obvious and unequivocal. But when authority is delegated, that focus on becomes blurred, decision making is diffused, and responsibilitys locus is often less certain. He as well as stated delegation and empowerment can decrease the self examine of the managers. The other pitfalls of empowerment would be lack of clarity, managements view as divided up control / loss of control etc.Finally it would require legion(predicate) changes in processes and procedures and require a lot more time to make SDWTs successful in a unionized department.ConclusionBefore a company can decide to implement self directed work teams, Coates and Miller (1995) point out certain situations or job field in which this method may not work. These includeWhen there is a requirement for direction or supervision. This is often needed for jobs which may be unpleasant, arduous, fast paced or risky.When minimal team interaction is required. In jobs such as these employees may find it difficult to lead each other.When a lack of professional maturity exists among team members.An unwillingness to make the campaign exists.The inability to meet regularly as a team.Work groups with any of these five characteristics would find it difficult to function effectively and may have to resort to the traditional method of management. Statistics shows that empowerment has about a 50% success rate and it is found that major reason for this is lack of management commitment to the change process. One of the companies failed by using SDWT is The Airline peoples Express. (Fisher, 2000, p.26).ReferencesAnon. (1995) Taking the Mystery Out of Self -Directed Work Teams, Entrepreneur marry Online. gettable fromhttp//www.entrepreneur.com/tradejournals/article/17227174.html (Accessed 21 August 2009).Anon (n.d.) 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