Managing organization uncertainties: dynamic evaluation and processes design

Presented by Stefania Sardo & Valentina Anzoise

@ 5th STS Italian Conference: "A matter of design"

Date: 12th June 2014

Transcript

1. Valentina Anzoise Stefania Sardo European Centre for Living Technology 5th STS Italian Conference 12th June 2014 *Managing organization uncertainties: dynamic evaluation and processes design
2. The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement n°284625 Emergence by Design project 2 5th STS Italian Conference | Anzoise - Sardo
3. Relational processes which happen in an interaction space among agents, and between agents and artifacts in time Innovation processes 3 5th STS Italian Conference | Anzoise - Sardo
4. Innovation theory in complex systems Innovation processes are complex and characterized by “ontological uncertainties” because of the continual and rapid changes that take place in agent and artifact space (Lane, 2005). Agents are not able to define a priori what could emerge from the transformation processes in which they are involved, nor the cascades of transformations produced by their actions and by those of the agents with whom they interact. 4 5th STS Italian Conference | Anzoise - Sardo
5. Generative relationships Can induce changes in the way in which agents see their world and act in it, bringing about innovations which are generally characterized as new entities (agents, artifacts, institutions). (Lane, Maxfield1997) 5 5th STS Italian Conference | Anzoise - Sardo
6. Assessing the generative potential 1.The relationship must combine differences between the agents in terms of expertise, attributions or access to particular agents or artifacts (heterogeneity). This can help to generate new expertise or attributions as a result of the relationship. 2.There should be permission structures, which determine what agents can communicate about, with whom, in which modalities; 3.Discussing matters of common interest can prove more incisive if agents have the chance to interact in at least one activity (opportunity for common action). 6 5th STS Italian Conference | Anzoise - Sardo
7. Assessing the generative potential 4.Agents must seek to develop a recurrent pattern of interactions from which a relationship can emerge (mutual directedness). Their willingness to do so depends on the attributions that each assigns to the identity of the other. 5.In order to transform some particular zone of the space, agents involved in the relationship must share, in their activities, a focus (aligned directedness). 7 5th STS Italian Conference | Anzoise - Sardo
8. How to design and structure organizations within complex and uncertain environments? Main issues 8 5th STS Italian Conference | Anzoise - Sardo
9. Which roles and processes can sustain working practices and organizations? Main issues 9 5th STS Italian Conference | Anzoise - Sardo
10. Which characteristics help organizations to better react to changes? Receptiveness: ability to monitor the space and the conditions that influence transformation processes. This is useful both to explore and exploit new opportunities, and to identify (and possibly anticipate) obstacles. Adaptability: ability to change with respect to the possible unexpected negative/ positive impacts, envisaging internal changes both at the organizational and at a process level. 10 5th STS Italian Conference | Anzoise - Sardo
11. Organizations “absorbing capacity” Usually organizations are able to adapt to small changes, but a regeneration is required whenever they are no longer able to absorb these micro variations. The risk of not being receptive and adaptive is to not being able to absorb the internal and external changes, therefore being more vulnerable. This could lead to a state of management crisis, characterized by misalignment of participants, lack of trust and willingness to cooperate. At this point often erroneous measures are implemented in an attempt to manage the crisis. 11 5th STS Italian Conference | Anzoise - Sardo
12. Dynamic Evaluation It supports and assists those who are carriers and developers of a project idea in coping with the complexity dynamics characterizing the environments in which they act. The final aim is to ensure that the organizational space and that in which the organization operates are as much generative as possible of positive transformations. It focuses on: monitoring the AA-space tracing the dynamics of transformations and the relationships, trying to grasp the interpretations that agents give to what happens, also through the collection and elicitation of narratives emerging from their behavior and thoughts. 12 5th STS Italian Conference | Anzoise - Sardo
13. Introducing the Dynamic Evaluation within an organization It is especially useful in the early gestation and implementation stages of a new idea, or in a phase of radical organizational change. 13 5th STS Italian Conference | Anzoise - Sardo
14. Dynamic Evaluation: feedback cycle The evaluation should collect information and return analysis in the form of feedbacks aimed at supporting the generative potential of relationships: - aligning agents visions; - contributing to the enhancement of a broad and inclusive learning process, helping agents to make sense of the change processes and to make decisions in a more conscious way. The process of monitoring and feedback should be dynamic (regardless the stage of gestation and processing), and the evaluation could be done both by an internal or external figure. 14 5th STS Italian Conference | Anzoise - Sardo
15. ICTs and Evaluation Should serve to manage individual daily work organizational daily work But they can also be a source of information able to support the evaluation and monitoring of processes of transformation. For this reason, within the MD project, we have designed a set of dedicated ICT tools, that support the monitoring of relationships, the collection and elicitation of agents’ narratives, the feedback process. 15 5th STS Italian Conference | Anzoise - Sardo
16. Case studies: managing radical transformations and emergences Manufacturing SMEs located in Northern Italy Taylor-made products and short production runs 16 5th STS Italian Conference | Anzoise - Sardo
17. Processes of transformation in some manufacturing SMEs In recent years – affected also by the economic crisis - the SMEs we have observed have undertaken transformation processes, even radical: generational turnover, change in business concept (from an handicraft to a managerial firm), redefinition of a niche production, introduction of the project manager role, expansion/ diversification of relationships. 17 5th STS Italian Conference | Anzoise - Sardo
18. Even the introduction of Project Management techniques, which help in the management of daily activities, proved in some cases to be difficult to be fully integrated within firms practices, requiring a change in the way working procedures are conceived. We claim that the monitoring of relationships, as well as processes stimulating a reflection on past actions and cascades of consequences; an understanding of the effectiveness of interventions and how they are accepted and shared by employees; an identification of which adjustments are necessary should play a role in the readjustment of organization processes. 18 Processes of transformation in some manufacturing SMEs 5th STS Italian Conference | Anzoise - Sardo
19. Ex 1: change in the production process and vision The introduction of a new corporate vision must be sufficiently shared and discussed with the internal and external collaborators that mostly could be affected by such a decision. The A case shows how the difficulties in aligning the different components of the firm towards a new vision has led to cascades of consequences, clearly not painless. The entrepreneur separated the firm into two departments: one engaged in the production of traditional artifacts; the other - ruled by a new team - dealing with the innovative products Still some workers decided to quit. 19 5th STS Italian Conference | Anzoise - Sardo
20. Ex 2: different attributions about the creation of interaction spaces Introduction of coordination meetings useful for the organization of the work and the alignment of the stages of production. Just their creation isn’t enough to define them as action opportunities, i.e. discussion space which stimulates the creation and maintenance of generative relationships. Other preconditions should be present: a permission structure that allow agents to express themselves, willingness to mutually cooperate (i.e. mutual directedness), the sharing of a common path of action (i.e. aligned directedness). The M case shows how the creation of these common spaces has not produced - for the moment - a positive contribution to the organization: it instead created micro fractures within the firm, because the attributions on the functionality of those spaces are not shared. 20 5th STS Italian Conference | Anzoise - Sardo
21. Ex 3: changes in the internal organization For this kind of firms, relationships with clients and suppliers sediment in time, and are often based on a mutual willingness to collaborate. They strongly depend on the characters of individuals involved in the relationship and on their mutual attributions. Therefore, at the time of a change in roles or of the introduction of new employees, automatic handover cannot be taken for granted. As shown by the Z case, it is essential to constantly monitor the generative potential of relationships, as well as agents’ identities and their mutual attributions. It is necessary to create the adequate pre-conditions for the new relationship to be potentially generative. 21 5th STS Italian Conference | Anzoise - Sardo
22. Valentina.anzoise@unive.it Valentina Anzoise * thanks for your attention 22 Stefania.sardo@unive.it Stefania Sardo 5th STS Italian Conference | Anzoise - Sardo