LLC: A Case Study of Org. Learning - General Lessons

LLC: A Case Study of Organizational Learning at EDS

Chapter Eleven, Analysis

General Lessons

Career Changes

One of the unexpected findings for us was the number of career changes that people attributed to LLC. We do not have statistics as to the average number of career changes one would expect in the course of a year from a group of thirty-two people, but we encountered seven people, or twenty-two percent, who felt they had a career change directly related to LLC. In this context a career change is moving to a position in a different discipline, (i.e. quality to human resources), within the same SU or moving to a new SU. Several of these career changes were situations where the individual now had a "skill set" that could be better utilized in a different position, within the organization, than the one they held at the time of LLC. Several other participants had job changes or career advancements while they were in the program or since the program's completion. However, career changes such as these are expected given the high potential of the employees involved in the pilot. There are, however, two situations that we feel are worthy of some discussion and analysis.

The first of these situations is described in Chapter Ten. Nancy, one of the LLC participants, changed her career path because she believed she no longer "fit" the organization. The process of not being accepted by the organization was a frustrating experience according to Nancy. Her "skill set" was significantly enhanced yet she said she was "... thwarted in being able to use these skills." One can look for reasons why this was so. One co-worker attributed it to the fact that Nancy had tried to break into a new peer group and the group resisted. The "bottom line" for EDS is that they had a skilled employee that was not permitted to use her skills. Yet, this situation apparently turned out well. Nancy is now productive in another unit of EDS and perhaps has found an appropriate position to use her skills and abilities. However, the change caused disruption in both work environments and according to Nancy, work was difficult before this job change took place. Three people, in addition to Nancy, indicated that people resisted Nancy. We suspect that there was a loss in productivity and perhaps some personal anguish for the people that resisted Nancy as well. Perhaps better preparation of the participants' work group would have eliminated or reduced this frustration, or an increased awareness by the participants' supervisor regarding re-entry problems might have resolved the problem. Strong support of Nancy's efforts would have sent a message to the organization. Perhaps the co-workers resisting Nancy should have received training that would have helped them open their mental models and be receptive of change in this person. This was only one example, but it may be representative of what many employees will encounter as they attempt to change and the rest of the organization does not keep pace with them.

The second situation focuses on Scott, another LLC participant referenced in Chapter Ten. Here was a reputed highly skilled technical manager that transferred into a facilitator position. Scott says he is "extremely satisfied" with his new job. Others most familiar with the situation say Scott "...lost interest in the mundane tasks of running the business. He had a new calling to help spread LLC." He refers to making the career shift as "...courage of conviction...".

Lastly, we note that the participants express strong feelings about "...the need to be able to live their lives in concert with the LLC concepts." They say they believe so strongly in the concepts and the improved environment that can be achieved in the organization, that for some, they would leave the company before returning to the old EDS environment. One participant estimated that approximately fifteen percent of the LLC members fell in this category. This feeling, by the participants, may account for the belief of the executive/champion group that the employees themselves will force the leadership to change. Unfortunately, it appeared the people were more willing to explore other options, even outside of EDS, as opposed to holding firm and insisting on change from their leadership. It is our opinion that while EDS may not have "arrived" as a learning organization, they are making progress and the individuals, so dedicated to the cause, are happy and eager to make a contribution towards the ultimate goal. As long as progress is being made all appears well. It is only if the effort stops that the risk of losing very talented people is large. One executive pointed out as we discussed this issue with him, "...that if the effort is stopped, the loss of a few people will be negligible, because ultimately the whole company will be lost."

The issue, as we see it, is one of potential disruption in the organization. Career movement, if planned, is beneficial to the organization and to the individuals involved. Career movement that results from too many variables is difficult for companies to manage. Given the size of EDS and the quantity of talent within the company, this may not be an unmanageable issue for them. However, if the company is small or spread out geographically it may be a different story. In these cases, moving employees to different positions to serve the needs of the company or the individual can be hard to accomplish. We call it out only as an issue that companies need to anticipate and plan for.

The Use of Language

The use of language is often an indicator of how pervasive an initiative has diffused throughout an organization. We paid particular attention to comments utilizing the terms and expressions of LLC. We spoke with executives, participants, peers of participants and subordinates of participants. We found a common use of terminology from the executive level of the corporation to that of the individual performer. There was a very consistent understanding of what EDS was attempting to accomplish across the various levels of the organization we came in contact with.

Participants described a change in language which allowed them to articulate things in a clear fashion when relating to organizational learning concepts and LLC. Clark made the following statement, "One of the keys to mass producing the impact is to get people to understand that this change comes from inside (the individual) and it can't be imposed on others, but by one person changing, the relationship will end up being different. It is important to be able to articulate these concepts to people. To that effect EDS created and communicated the Seven Leadership attributes and the Five Learning Values to utilize as communication mechanisms to all levels of the EDS organization." (Chapter Six details the attributes and values.)

Everyone we spoke with was consistently using words like; "advocacy", "inquiry", "honor", "mental model", "complaint", "request", "dialogue", "discussion, "empowerment" and "unconditional love". In addition they seemed to have a common understanding of the meanings and applications. We were surprised by the acceptance of the concept of "unconditional love" within the areas of EDS we visited. One individual described it this way, "The SBU has had a cultural change. We are different now. We are working hard to be open and to care and share."

Given the relatively short period of time that has transpired since LLC, the terminology and language has been communicated and has permeated the organizations we spoke with. There is also a thirst within the organization for this type of knowledge and that permits a type of pull phenomenon to aid in the dissemination of information. Participants described situations were several of their employees would ask them for informal instruction of the LLC material.

Customer Impact

LLC can and should have a very large impact on the customer. In the most basic of analysis, the customer is why EDS is interested in LLC. EDS is a service company and accordingly, their only product is the service they provide the customer. EDS leadership wants to maintain and grow its customer base. In order to achieve this goal their strategy is to use LLC to assist in transforming the company into a learning organization. One of the executives, we interviewed, explained that "... many of EDS' customers are going through dramatic change as a result of the rapidly changing global marketplace." EDS needs to be in a position, he said, "... to bring solutions or possibilities to the customer as they encounter competitive challenges." He felt strongly that the more educated and skilled EDS employees are in the concepts of organizational learning, the easier it will be for them to assimilate into the customers environment and be of benefit.

Another manager put a different angle on customer impact. He talked about "...it is only important if the customer thinks it is important...". He told a story of how one particular EDS office attempted to empower its' employees and as a result the organization looked very different from the old hierarchical system. Even though the team liked the concept of empowerment, it was far from a smooth transition. They finally realized that part of the problem was the customer. The customer was not part of the change process and resisted the change. The customer was apparently confused and did not want to deal with all these newly empowered people. The same manager told of another situation with a customer that thoroughly embraced the concept of empowerment and self-managed teams. For this customer there was no "disconnect" and the relations are very good. Several LLC participants told of their attempts to take LLC to the customer. There have been successes and failures. LLC can not work if the targeted recipient is not open to the learning. One individual commented, "... that those who need it the most, resist it the strongest."

We believe these stories indicate the significance of including the customer in the change process. If the customer is involved they should understand the value of the change and how it will impact them. Additionally, since EDS is a service company customer involvement should provide a superior result over one designed in their absence.

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Acknowledgements

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