Discussion: View Thread

Dear List,

Coming from the Manufacturing perspective....

We have identified that most failures in our processes occur where
the functions of several departments are misaligned. These area's
or voids (which we refer to as handoffs) are where the ball drops,
information is distorted or lost, or someone does not come through
to deliver product (information) or service as required to keep
the process moving.

When departments operate within their own confines and do not see
how they impact, affect or support other departments, we refer to
this behavior as Smoke Stacking. What good is it for us to have
the best Human Resource Department if it does not understand the
needs of Manufacturing and therefore cannot support them? What
use is an Engineering department that is the best in the industry
if it cannot support the Quality department in their effort to
ship excellent product?

The trend in our facility has increasingly become to work together
as Cross-Functional teams to design systems that support
processes..we refer to this as Seamless Manufacturing (not to be
confused with SEEMless manufacturing).

It is becoming a high priority for us to hire managers (as well as
production hourly) that have excellent team skills. Our meeting
processes have become Cross-functional.

The very issues that you are discussing in this thread, i.e. Team
support, Interpersonal Communication skills, Shared work load,
Listening skills, Coordination of Activities and Common Goals are
the EXACT skills that are becoming more often than not what we
need in order to operate our business. WE are quickly moving from
point A to point B. If you were to read a newspaper want ad for
us when we were at point A it might have read:

WANTED: Self Starter with good writing skills, Highly organized
manager who requires little supervision, with a 'take charge'
attitude.

Today @ point B, that same ad for the same position would probably
read:

WANTED: Manager with Leadership skills, able to work within
Cross-functional teams, motivator with good listening skills, able
to cooperate and support other functions.

I think the very reason most of you have a difficult time with
students working within teams ARE the very issues that need to be
addressed and resolved, because Team work is no longer (at least
in our industry) an outside activity that is conducted
periodically, say to organized the company picnic. It is how we
conduct day-to-day business. Working on your own with complete
control and in charge of an entire project is now seldom and far
between.

Thanks for the ears (eyes),
Rick Corcoran
Manager of Continuous Improvement / Employee Empowerment
Excel Industries
Mark I
INTERNET:"corcoranre@excelinc.com"

Since I routinely deal with communication, I believe that group
assignments are for learning how to identify a problem (often the weakest
part of a presentation) derive a solution and present the solution.

As identified earlier, most of these students come together with the
ill-conceived notion that the best groups will save them personal time.
I generally remind them of two of my favorite sayings. From _The Empire
Strikes Back_ "Do or do not Do. There is no try." And, "There is never
enough time to do it right the first time, yet there is always enough time
to do it over."

I see them scrimp on defining the problem because they are conflict
avoidant. They do not like to delve into details instead they dwell on
generalities. For some reason, students hesitate to clearly examine and
define the problem, instead they rush to a solution. I am clearly in the
camp of looking for a "why" before suggesting a "what." I plan on
changing my use of the word "problem" to "mystery" in an effort to get
students to act as detectives ferreting out signs of evidence surrounding
the mystery. I trust that this will activate a different frame of mind
when they are beginning a project.

I am also of the mind to use double-loop learning. Typical group
assignments follow the research-report research format. This precludes
three significant steps in problem-solving steps--design, implement and
feedback. Seldom were we asked to demonstrate the ability of our solution
to successfully address the problem, so the pattern was to research and
report research, but I never got to see if applying what we were asked to
learn would work.

I think a large part of this is due to the timing of the group
project/presentation since they most often occur at the end of the
semester when there are other papers and groups that make demands on
student's time. Perhaps requiring progress reports would encourage
students to begin the process earlier.

______________________
Great Optimism,

Dutch Driver
Dept. of Communication
McMurry University
Abilene, TX
ddriver@cs1.mcm.edu

97.5.23
Rick Corcoran
wrote (INTERNET:"corcoranre@excelinc.com" )

about what we* call an integral solution / an integral organization.
Behaviors, elements of knowhow, knowlegde, methods, products, processes,
do not form an integral organization / product / service. It is how
these elements interact, check each other for errors, support each other
for the benefit of the *whole* which makes an integral organization.
An integral organization is more efficient than the best run dictatorship.

The abilities to "center" the powerfocus of an org. can be learned -
human nature tends to take short cuts - so learning never ends. When the
power is not in balance, the org. rocks, like the unbalanced wheel.

Unfortunately daily practice shows little concern for a balanced approach
in today's organizations. Power games and blame culture are the rule.

To read more about it, go to my website, or ask for meore here.
Emil Zahner
*Morphological Institute Canada
Building innovation Power Houses.
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/canmor/index19.htm

<<
From: RICHARD CORCORAN <CORCORANRE@EXCELINC.COM>
Subject: Group / Team Presentations
To: MG-ED-DV@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU

Dear List,

Coming from the Manufacturing perspective....

We have identified that most failures in our processes occur where
the functions of several departments are misaligned. These area's
or voids (which we refer to as handoffs) are where the ball drops,
information is distorted or lost, or someone does not come through
to deliver product (information) or service as required to keep
the process moving.

When departments operate within their own confines and do not see
how they impact, affect or support other departments, we refer to
this behavior as Smoke Stacking. What good is it for us to have
the best Human Resource Department if it does not understand the
needs of Manufacturing and therefore cannot support them? What
use is an Engineering department that is the best in the industry
if it cannot support the Quality department in their effort to
ship excellent product?

The trend in our facility has increasingly become to work together
as Cross-Functional teams to design systems that support
processes..we refer to this as Seamless Manufacturing (not to be
confused with SEEMless manufacturing).

It is becoming a high priority for us to hire managers (as well as
production hourly) that have excellent team skills. Our meeting
processes have become Cross-functional.

The very issues that you are discussing in this thread, i.e. Team
support, Interpersonal Communication skills, Shared work load,
Listening skills, Coordination of Activities and Common Goals are
the EXACT skills that are becoming more often than not what we
need in order to operate our business. WE are quickly moving from
point A to point B. If you were to read a newspaper want ad for
us when we were at point A it might have read:

WANTED: Self Starter with good writing skills, Highly organized
manager who requires little supervision, with a 'take charge'
attitude.

Today @ point B, that same ad for the same position would probably
read:

WANTED: Manager with Leadership skills, able to work within
Cross-functional teams, motivator with good listening skills, able
to cooperate and support other functions.

I think the very reason most of you have a difficult time with
students working within teams ARE the very issues that need to be
addressed and resolved, because Team work is no longer (at least
in our industry) an outside activity that is conducted
periodically, say to organized the company picnic. It is how we
conduct day-to-day business. Working on your own with complete
control and in charge of an entire project is now seldom and far
between.
>>

In a culture of "who's to blame" you cannot expect analysis to run well
and deep enough. I believe the "mystery trick" to be a good one, if
followed later by reasoning why the trick was used.

As for the timing:
I would suggest that the whole period is being looked at as a project,
identifiying the needs together with the students, and how to learn what
they need. So the semester becomes a project, and the teacher becomes
a coach - starting out with analysing of the students requirement -
together with the student. An "integral class of self-motivated learners".
Comments?
Emil Zahner
Morphological Institute Canada
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/canmor/index19.htm

Dutch Driver wrote 97.5.23:
<<
From: Dutch Driver <ddriver@CS1.MCM.EDU>
Subject: Re: Group / Team Presentations
...cut...
I see them scrimp on defining the problem because they are conflict
avoidant. They do not like to delve into details instead they dwell on
generalities. For some reason, students hesitate to clearly examine and
define the problem, instead they rush to a solution. I am clearly in the
camp of looking for a "why" before suggesting a "what." I plan on
changing my use of the word "problem" to "mystery" in an effort to get
students to act as detectives ferreting out signs of evidence surrounding
the mystery. I trust that this will activate a different frame of mind
when they are beginning a project.
---cut...
I think a large part of this is due to the timing of the group
project/presentation since they most often occur at the end of the
semester when there are other papers and groups that make demands on
student's time. Perhaps requiring progress reports would encourage
students to begin the process earlier.
>>