CONTACTS 

SUBJECTS
Reengineering, Virtual Corporation
Empower Replaces Delegate in Reengineering
CPM Avenue to Apply SDS
Schedule Cost Control Enhanced by SDS
Reengineer Command to Influence, Talking,
Cost Schedule Communications - Enterprise
Empower Truth with Technology & Management
Organizational Change Where People Work is
Action Items, Schedule, To Do
Facilitating Meeting Begins with SDS Record
Entropy Information Solved by Communication
Empowerment Difuses Authority, Needs
Empowerment Slippery Slope to Entropy
Productivity Reduced by Empowerment
Empowerment Do Something Even If Wrong Empowerment Slippery Slope to
Reengineer Enterprise Management KM AI Project Management Use Tech to
Organization Flat Reengineer Reduce Bureauracy Empowers Collaboration

2919 -
2919 -    ..
2920 - Summary/Objective
2921 -
292101 - Follow up ref SDS 26 0000, ref SDS 1 0000.
292102 -
292103 - This article explains efforts to implement a new business process at
292104 - Intel, beginning in 1993, for scheduling projects, and how it was
292105 - reduced in scope to accommodate autonomy afforded functional groups
292106 - and project teams under empowerment practices at Intel.  It reveals
292107 - tensions between empowerment and sound management practice.  The
292108 - article raises fundamental questions about improving business
292109 - processes where management devolves under entropic effects described
292110 - in U.S. Air Force Institute of Technology paper on entropy in
292111 - management, ref SDS 24 0611.
292112 -
292113 -     [See follow up contacting Lou on current status of his program,
292114 -     ref SDS 28 0000; and at ref SDS 29 0000.]
292115 -
292117 -  ..
2922 -
2923 -
2924 - Progress
2925 -
292501 - Empowerment is at War with Sound Management Practice
292502 -
292503 - The author explains competing goals, advantages and tensions between
292504 - "empowering" multifunctional teams, as a means to improve innovation
292505 - and focus individual energy and creativity on organizational projects,
292506 - while, also. maintaining minimum standards of work practice necessary
292507 - to provide key "management information" needed to coordinate among
292508 - people, teams and organizations.  The paper discusses this challenge
292509 - in relation to effective scheduling and planning methods, ref OF 9
292510 - line 23, ref OF 9 line 59.
292512 -  ..
292513 - On 970603, Dave Vannier cited need for consistent use of good
292514 - practices. ref SDS 20 5803
292516 -  ..
292517 - On 931130 Drucker explains theory x and y on tension between control
292518 - and creativity. ref SDS 6 9677
292520 -  ..
292521 - On 960501 Fluor Daniel trying empowerment. ref SDS 14 0002
292522 -
292523 -      [On 971222 Andy Grove cited challenge of melding creativity and
292524 -      discipline needed for good management. ref SDS 34 6695]
292525 -
292526 -      [On 980307 Grove explains discipline to analyse daily working
292527 -      inforamtion reduces mistakes caused by ambiguity of mental maps.
292528 -      ref SDS 35 3668  He says it is not fun nor easy. ref SDS 35 3101
292530 -       ..
292531 -      [On 980722 information shows Intel has good management practices
292532 -      and consistency in application is helpful. ref SDS 36 2937]
292534 -       ..
292535 -      [On 990624 executives prefer empowerment to avoid wasting time
292536 -      using good management practice, because it takes too much
292537 -      discipline, it's not fun. ref SDS 37 7344
292539 -       ..
292540 -      [On 991028 Kaiser gives doctors "freedom" to practice medicine as
292541 -      it should be practiced. ref SDS 38 2555]
292543 -       ..
292544 -      [On 000125 report that most large IT projects fail. ref SDS 39
292545 -      8960]
292547 -       ..
292548 -      [On 000822 Intel dropped ball due to poor management, causing
292549 -      delays and losses. ref SDS 40 019R
292551 -       ..
292552 -      [On 001004 SDS makes adding intelligence to information easier
292553 -      and fun. ref SDS 41 6N9G
292555 -       ..
292556 -      [On 001012 open source engineer take action they want, even if in
292557 -      the wrong direction, and hopes synergy will self-correct.
292558 -      ref SDS 42 B4P2
292560 -       ..
292561 -      [On 001017 SRI project with NIH requires audits. ref SDS 43 0784
292563 -       ..
292564 -      [On 010608 government cuttting management levels and
292565 -      consolidating facilities to empower management. ref SDS 44 RW4L
292566 -
292567 -
292569 -  ..
292570 - Flatter "Virtual" Organizations Empower Teamwork, Causes Entropy
292571 -
292572 - The author says "empowerment" has been fundamental to Intel culture
292573 - for many years, ref OF 9 line 125, per article reviewed at ref SDS 27
292574 - line 227.
292575 -
292576 - On 931130 Drucker reviewed theory x and theory y that reflect control
292577 - and empowerment conflicts. ref SDS 6 9677
292578 -
292579 - "Empowerment" has greatly influenced American management as a means to
292580 - compete abroad.  American businesses are shifting management
292581 - responsibility onto the people who actually do the work. What's "in"
292582 - are groups and organizations that pursue objectives with virtual
292583 - autonomy.  What's "out" are multi-tiered management structures with
292584 - hierarchical control systems, ref OF 9 line 33.
292585 -
292586 -       [On 971011 cost savings from Communication Metrics that
292587 -       increases span of attention makes possible expanding span of
292588 -       management control that permits "flatter" organizations.
292589 -       ref SDS 32 4003]
292591 -        ..
292592 -       [On 010608 government cuttting management levels and
292593 -       consolidating facilities to empower management. ref SDS 44 RW4L
292595 -     ..
292596 -    Entropy Replaces Command and Control
292597 -
292598 -    Entropy results as control dissipates over time because command
292599 -    authority is diffused under Deming's TQM, egalitarian, "power to
292600 -    the people," idea, per analysis at ref SDS 7 line 35, ref SDS 11
292601 -    line 118, and ref SDS 11 line 156, and "stiff" competition relates
292602 -    to the Japanese success, which now is less pronounced due to
292603 -    difficult economic times in Japan. Some might argue Japan's fall
292604 -    from grace reflects the success of American firms in using
292605 -    Japanese methods, including TQM.  Others note that Japan has
292606 -    simply encountered the law of diminishing returns of any expanding
292607 -    economy, where the natural evolution of growing demands of an
292608 -    "empowered" nation, caused them to overreach leading to entropy.
292609 -    The next thing we will hear about is the Chinese model of
292610 -    management since they are now competing with a low-wage, limitless
292611 -    population hungry for their place in the sun, as Japan was 30 years
292612 -    ago.
292614 -     ..
292615 -    The flat "earth" organization theory reflects Morris' ideas about
292616 -    eliminating Project Managers ref SDS 10 line 186, and other middle
292617 -    managers to empower team leaders for multifunctional reengineering
292618 -    paradigm, etc., etc., per his Asilomar presentation, ref SDS 13 line
292619 -    423.
292621 -     ..
292622 -    Wired magazine reported in its August 1995 issue that TQM and
292623 -    reengineering have not proven effective, ref SDS 11 line 244.
292625 -     ..
292626 -    Flat organizational ideas are applied by LTC Thompson in the
292627 -    proposed Operations Plan for San Francisco District Corps of
292628 -    Engineers, ref SDS 19 line 331.
292629 -
292630 -
292632 -  ..
292633 - Empowerment Degrades Work Standards through Independence
292634 -
292635 - The author says use of good management standards across functional
292636 - groups are rare in "empowered" teams.  More often, each group defines
292637 - its own methods.  In the worst cases, where the discipline of regular
292638 - updates has declined, schedules are updated only when there is a
292639 - compelling reason (such as an operations review) to do so, ref OF 9
292640 - line 116.
292642 -         ..
292643 -        [On 970725 developed idea to use automated integration to
292644 -        synthesize discipline and innovation so that good management
292645 -        practice can enhance creativity. ref SDS 31 6804]
292647 -         ..
292648 -        [On 971222 Andy Grove said in a televised interview that it is
292649 -        difficult to balance discipline adhering to good management
292650 -        practice and also encourage innovation. ref SDS 33 6695]
292652 -      ..
292653 -     Entropy, Conflict, Failure Flow from Empowerment to Avoid Metrics
292654 -
292655 -     This reflects "entropic cost model" due to entropy in information
292656 -     base postulated by article in Air Force Institute of Technology
292657 -     paper reviewed on 970707. ref SDS 24 0108  It reflects Dave
292658 -     Vannier's explanation on 970603 that progress reviews at Intel
292659 -     reveal significant divergence among team members, ref SDS 20 5803
292660 -     Actually, "empowered teams" don't develop or adopt any procedures.
292661 -     They simply show up each day and take the actions that seem
292662 -     appropriate at the moment based on LIFO, and "Feel Good Management
292663 -     practice, while avoiding feedback metrics that might reveal error
292664 -     and conflict needing corrective action, ref SDS 8 line 225.  An
292665 -     example is the situation at the Corps of Engineers, ref SDS 16
292666 -     line 196.
292668 -      ..
292669 -     It also reflects entropy of information reported by the Air Force
292670 -     Institute of Technology that leads to cost growth and schedule
292671 -     slippage, reviewed on 970707. ref SDS 24 0108
292673 -      ..
292674 -     The purpose of a "project" is to empower a team to produce
292675 -     something.  If it is large enough, it becomes independent, and
292676 -     independence results in variance from standards, to the extent
292677 -     those standards are not seen to support the objective of the
292678 -     project by those on the ground, day to day and moment to moment.
292679 -     Over any short term, any particular standard will not be seen to
292680 -     support an immediate perceived need, since, by definition,
292681 -     standards are intended to apply the wisdom of the past, and people
292682 -     in the present can neither know the past, nor predict the future.
292683 -     Thus, empowerment presents a component of risk management relative
292684 -     to adherence to standards, including laws, regulations, policies,
292685 -     procedures.
292686 -
292688 -      ..
292689 -     Empowerment to Accomplish Sound Management Practices
292690 -
292691 -     SDS empowers people to accomplish the sound management practices
292692 -     of Communication Metrics, as set out in the review of Covey's book
292693 -     on habits of effective people, reviewed on 921205. ref SDS 3 6013
292694 -
292695 -            Plan communications - prepare to succeed
292696 -            Confirm understandings
292697 -            Obtain Feedback
292698 -            Follow Up - effective time management
292699 -            Prioritize
292700 -
292701 -       ...per Cal Tech seminar publication, ref SDS 8 3333
292702 -
292704 -  ..
292705 - Intel's Project to Develop Standard Schedule System/Tools
292706 -
292707 - There is an excellent explanation of efforts to apply teamwork in
292708 - gathering input from users across a wide spectrum of Intel functional
292709 - groups to assemble the best ideas and achieve buy-in for a new
292710 - business processes, ref OF 9 line 150.
292712 -  ..
292713 - Intel reports this was a stunning success, ref OF 9 line 171, but they
292714 - could not get anyone to use the new business process, ref OF 9 line
292715 - 174.  They "snatched failure from the jaws of success."  While it was
292716 - a project, and nobody had to do anything differently, everybody had
292717 - all sorts of ideas on how the business process should work.  But it
292718 - turned out they did not want to apply them consistently, which is the
292719 - essence of a "standard."
292720 -
292721 -     [On 970721 notified Tom Keesling at Corps of Engineers about this
292722 -     article, to support his work on implementing automated systems.
292723 -     ref SDS 30 7477]
292724 -
292726 -  ..
292727 - Business Processes that Require "Input" Fail
292728 -
292729 - Author reports difficulty getting managers to provide "input" for
292730 - business systems, here schedule data.  They failed because the input
292731 - is not recognized as useful or contributing to the work of the
292732 - project, as forecasted by the POIMS paper, ref OF 11 line 103.
292734 -  ..
292735 - Intel found that empowered teams are not accustomed to the level of
292736 - discipline required to sustain a business process. When faced with
292737 - regular, detailed updates, they chafe under the yoke of increased
292738 - regimentation, ref OF 9 line 217.
292739 -
292740 -      This supports the POIMS concept of technology that develops
292741 -      information as a by-product of information useful to managers,
292742 -      and it supports idea of Communication Metrics to provide
292743 -      Communication Manager to proactively dig-out-of-the-system
292744 -      information needed to manage the work.
292746 -       ..
292747 -      Communication Manager also reduces level of regimentation by
292748 -      staff required to accomplish useful business intelligence.
292749 -
292750 -
292752 -  ..
292753 - Intel's Schedule Updates Track "To Do" Lists
292754 -
292755 - Author explains the challenge for Intel's schedule engineers was to
292756 - get managers to provide updated action items, called "to do" lists,
292757 - ref OF 9 line 287.
292758 -
292759 -     One must wonder how these action items are captured and linked to
292760 -     actual work performed or commitments made in an atmosphere of
292761 -     entropy and acrimony that exists at Intel, described by Dave at
292762 -     ref SDS 20 line 346, and by Morris at ref SDS 17 line 102.
292764 -      ..
292765 -     [On 970715 called author, Lou Kemmurer, ref SDS 29 0000.]
292766 -
292767 -
292768 -
292769 -
292770 -
292771 -
292772 -
292773 -
292774 -
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292776 -
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2928 -