High Performance Work Systems LIR 827 – Fall 2003

Professor: Office: Phone: Office Hours E-mail:

Michael Moore 424 South Kedzie Hall 432-2801 Wednesdays 1:30-3:30pm [email protected]

Secretary: Sec Office: Sec. Phone: Class Time: Class Room:

Deb Bittner 400 SKH 355-4767 Monday 3:00-5:50 PM 133 North Kedzie Hall

Syllabus The high performance work systems (HPWS’s) literature and practice has evolved rapidly since the 1970’s. While no one agrees exactly with any single definition, it is safe to say that most scholars and practitioners would say the purpose of a HPWS is to help an organization achieve some type of optimal “fit” between people, technology, work, and information. Practitioners would demand that high performance work systems contribute to organizational efficiency, effectiveness, and health. Accordingly, they should care about productivity, quality, safety, absenteeism, costs, workplace organization, suggestions, explicit and tacit learning, and attracting retaining, and motivating a firstrate workforce. To most behavioral scientists, HPWS’s are really a unique way of thinking about organizations. More specifically, these HPWS's try to optimize the fit between social and technical subsystems rather than “force fitting” people into the technological system. The research record is rather clear that these systems do indeed produce valued performance outcomes. Today, despite 20 years of reporting successes, only about 15% of all U.S. organizations attempt to use the full HPWS technology (Lawler, 1998). Up to 70% of firms do incorporate some HPWS practices in their approach to work and job design. We have a long way to go. An important part of this course will be to study the diffusion process to better understand why innovations diffuse slowly across and within organizations. The course’s domain includes the four main approaches to work organization, craft production, mass production, sociotechnical (STS), and lean production. Other elements of the course include teambased work systems, labor-management models, Hoshin Kanri, People Systems Development Processes, TQM, Kaizen, Process Reengineering, Scanlon Plans, Teian Suggestion Systems, Gainsharing, Work/ Family, Training Systems, and Organizational Learning, and Change Management. The most unique aspect of the course is the challenges it poses on how to rethink the roles of human resources management and labor relations under differing work organization paradigms.

Course Objectives 1. To learn and understand the systems and subsystems associated with workplace innovations related to high performance work systems. 2. To conduct and in-depth scholarly study of a single workplace innovation and to become more proficient at preparing a competent research paper and a companion PowerPoint  summary. 3. To better understand the principles of organization change and the diffusion of innovation. 4. To have a positive educational experience focused on individual learning and intense amounts of analysis to produce creative yet defensible findings. 5. To encourage students to explore and assess their own values, assumptions, and the lenses they bring to the study of organization change processes

A Note on Our Course Design This course requires substantive learning around several concepts and principles. Most of this learning will involve individual assignments, reading, and class discussions. The course will contain one or more tours of innovative settings but will focus on academic learning rather than a field project. My focus is on enhancing each student’s skills as a learner and as a potential consultant, practitioner, trainer, or teacher. While there may be group projects in class such as simulations or debates, there is no activity where a “group grade” is issued. Each student can control his/her destiny. Plan to attend every class and tour! The course topics are organized in three parts. For the first third of the course, we shall study the main organization designs for production systems, craft, mass, lean (Toyota Production System) and Sociotechnical Systems (STS). The middle of the course studies the elements of HPWs’s in an intensive manner. Thus, we shall study Hoshin Kanri management systems, aligned human resources systems, labor relations systems, total quality management, kaizen, and teian suggestion systems. The final weeks of the course are devoted to “big picture” issues such as gainsharing, work/family, diffusion, change models, learning organizations, and Scanlon Plan approaches. By the end of the course, students should have an excellent grasp of the major topics of high performance work systems and to be able to discern systemic interrelationships.

Course Texts The first text, The Machine That Changed The World, reports the results of the International Motor Vehicle Program (IMVP) at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Written in 1990, this book lays out the logic of lean production systems and provides data on their effectiveness. The book is a decade old. Think about what we have learned about lean manufacturing thirteen years later. What insights does this book provide into the human resource and labor relations system necessary to support lean manufacturing? Read this book as soon as possible. You should definitely complete your reading of this text by September 22, 2003.

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The second text, Knowledge-Driven Work: Unexpected Lessons from Japanese and U.S. Work Practices (1998), describes the journey of a Michigan State University School of Labor & Industrial Relations class that began in 1992 and continues through the present day. Along the way, this class changed from being “Field Research Methods in LIR” to “ the Japan Project” to the “Work Practices Diffusion Team”. Over the last seven years, the team has traveled to Japan, Taiwan, New York, California, Kentucky, Ohio, and Indiana conducting research and making presentations. Spin-off research projects from this core group now include research in Europe at Opel Belgium, Taipei, Taiwan, MIT, and Cornell Universities. Many of the ideas in the book were discussed in this course, LIR 827, between 1992 and 1995. Most of the book’s authors are students. Faculty leadership was provided by professors Cutcher-Gershenfeld, Nitta, Moore, and Ishino but students also assumed leadership roles from the start. Some writers such as Bill Mothersell, Mark Strolle, and Shobha Ramanand may appear in this class to contribute to their favorite topics. The sooner you read this book, the better. It provides many “big picture” insights. For those desiring more structure, this book can be read to prepare students for class sessions as follows: September 8 September 15 September 22 September 29 October 6 October 13 November 3 November 17

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 4 Chapters 5 and 8 Chapter 7 Chapter 6 Chapter 3 Chapter 9

Enjoy this book. It offers a unique set of lenses for viewing important phenomena. Students in prior sessions of LIR 827 stress the reading of this book early. They also suggest rereading it in April to bring course elements together. The third text, The Leader’s Handbook (1998) by Peter Scholtes is a guide to business practice rather than a scholarly treatise. It provides an historical context for high performance work systems and is deeply grounded in systems thinking and the impact of total quality management systems. The Scholtes text clearly acknowledges contributions from Japanese management such as Genba, Hoshin Kanri, and Kaizen. The back chapters cover “breakthrough” projects and change management. This book is highly critical of performance appraisal. The final chapter on leadership adds an important dimension to our course. Our class will find this book to be refreshingly practical, well written, and helpful in understanding many of our technical topics. My reading recommendations are as follows: By October 6 - Read Chapter 1-3 *Take a break* After October 20 – Read Chapters 4 –7 After November 17 – Read Chapters 8 – 10

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The fourth text, The New Shop Floor Management, (1993) by Kiyoshi Suzaki is the seminal text for understanding the organization from the “genba” (real place/shopfloor) point of view. It provides immediate insights for assessing the organizations we visit in class plant ours. It offers practical models for employee learning and empowerment. Suzaki’s model of “Glasswall management” is a worldwide model for shopfloor human resources management. The recommended reading sequence is as follows: Try to skim the whole book before the end of September. Do in-depth reading at the rate of 3-4 chapters per month. Read chapters 7, 8 and 9 before December: since they deal with continuous improvement and kaizen. Read chapter 1 and 2 in September to prepare for plant tours. Keep this book for on-job review! The fifth text, The Human Equation (1998) by Jeffrey Pfeffer is our most comprehensive text on high performance work systems. Each of its ten chapters refutes conventional management and “Wall Street” thinking and provides both a model of HPWS and research justification and recent findings to support the diffusion of high performance work systems. All dimensions of our MLRHR degree at MSU are linked to HPWS models. Human resources strategies, alignment, and tactics are at the fore. The book also closely examines labor market options of contingent and virtual work forces. It also challenges conventional views of the roles played by labor unions and public policy in creating exceptional performance, customer satisfaction, employee development, and economic growth. Read these chapters early and often! Chapter 1 Chapter 2-3 Chapters 4 Chapter 5-8 Chapters 9-10

September 22 October 6 (Hoshin Kanri lecture) November 10 November 24

Reread this text as you prepare your research paper in April! The sixth text, Good to Great (2002) by Jim Collins is the most successful “business/professional” book in recent years. Its author is a former professor who now heads a research center on elite companies. The book makes some counter-intuitive points about the types of companies and types of leaders who succeed at the level of greatness. The book has deep themes in human resource management as a discipline that can make the difference between “good” and “great” companies. Read this book in October so it can inform your research. The seventh text, Learning from Saturn (2001) by Saul Rubinstein was chosen because the Saturn story speaks to many topics covered in our class. High performance work systems, sociotechnical systems work, positive roles for union leadership, partnership roles for managers, learning, diffusion, total quality management, and governance are topics that excite many of our students. This book provides a detailed case history of one of U.S. industry’s boldest experiments in work design and workplace governance. Begin reading this text in the second month of the course (October) and try to finish it by midNovember. It will deeply enrich your understanding of many course topics. It is listed as “recommended” but has proven popular with previous students.

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Prior Textbooks used in LIR 827 The following books were used as texts in this course from 1998-2002. They remain valuable and relevant and may prove helpful in your research paper development efforts. The text, Tomorrow’s Organization: Crafting Winning Capabilities in a Dynamic World, (1998) by Susan Mohrman, Jay Galbraith, and Edward E. Lawler III, illustrates the world of high performance work systems from the orientations of psychological, sociological, and management scholars. Its first six chapters are essentially an updated look at organization theory combined with excellent current examples. These chapters would be especially valuable to OB and HRM-focused students. Chapter seven anchors the book to the more standard HPWS literature. This book lays out in-depth treatments of employee involvement, TQM, and reengineering as change strategies. Chapters 8-11 discuss important human resources technologies to support HPWSs. Chapters 12-14 focus on organization learning and change and offer a modern approach to combining subsystems into a high performance work system. The text, Strategies for High Performance Organizations: The CEO Report, (1998) by Edward E. Lawler III, Susan Mohrman, and Gerald Ledford reports four research studies between 1987 and 1996. This book provides valuable data for anyone studying employee involvement, knowledge development, power, rewards, total quality management, process reengineering, the employment contract, continuous improvement strategies, downsizing, and performance improvement processes. This text is recommended but is not required. The text, The New American Workplace (1994), by Eileen Applebaum and Rosemary Batt provides a look at high performing work systems from the viewpoint of labor union-oriented labor economists and scholars. This book is especially useful for its comparisons of mass, sociotechnical, and lean production systems. It also provides rich case histories of labor – management Quality of Work Life (QWL) programs plus an extensive literature review of many published HPWS case studies. The book also summarizes the research literature of how HPWSs relate to performance outcomes. Tours One unique feature of LIR 827 is its emphasis on field trips to High Performance work settings. I shall try to obtain entry to three or four companies in Fall 2003. Each tour typically takes about three (3) hours including driving time. Corporations and unions take our visits very seriously and typically have both a presentation and a tour plus additional time for questions and answers. Data collected from tours is used for your final exam. Try to attend as many tours as possible! Student feedback has been that these tours are exciting and stimulating learning opportunities. Value Analysis Paper Your first assignment is a short paper (2-3 pages, double-spaced) in which you identify your own core personal values or assumptions that will prove helpful to you in the years to come as you become involved in organizational change initiatives. Note any values and/or assumptions that you believe are likely to become barriers to your effectiveness in dealing with organizational change. Your grade will be based on the quality of your analysis. It will not be based on whatever assumptions or values you list. This paper is due September 8, 2003. It counts as 10% of your final grade. 5

High Performance Work Systems: Your Research Paper Your research paper is the major intellectual challenge presented in this course. It is worthy of sustained effort for the next several months. Each student must choose one of the listed “Research Paper Topics” and prepare a highly current and tightly reasoned paper. Your paper must include material from scholarly “research” journals to be accepted. Either footnotes or endnotes are acceptable. Your scholarship must be heavily documented and defensible. You will be the only person writing on your topic. For each topic, the following aspects of the paper need to be covered: •

Definition of your topic

•

Topic’s linkage to the HPWS literature

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A detailed literature review

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How does your topic relate to scholarly models of mass, STS, and lean production?

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Related topics or allied strategies

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Detailed description of the practice (or set of practices) contained in your topic

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Best practices example

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An explanation of why your topic is a HPWS

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Advantages

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Disadvantages

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Case Studies

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Contingency factors supporting use of your topic

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Factors contradicting its use

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Research findings on its effectiveness

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The three best articles on this topic summarized

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Performance measures affected by this practice

To accomplish such an in-depth analytical research and writing project will require your best work. Papers can be expected to run between 35 and 50 pages (or longer). You are expected to meet with Dr. Moore throughout the semester to discuss your sources, ideas, graphics, outline, and contents of this research paper. I shall try to help you do your best work. This research paper is worth 50% of your LIR 827 course grade. I would like to retain a copy of all research papers. Accordingly, please submit two copies and I shall return one paper containing my comments and your grade.

Your Research Paper is due on December 1, 2003 at class time.

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Your PowerPoint Graphics I would like each student to prepare a class handout summarizing the key aspects of his/her topic. These handouts should be about 15-20 slides in length. Handouts will be copied and shared with all class members by Dr. Moore. Please confer with Dr. Moore in designing this handout. He will help you design your handout for maximum learning effectiveness. This class handout is worth 20% of your course grade. Please hand-in a diskette containing your PowerPoint slides and your research paper file. I shall copy it and use it to improve future editions of LIR 827. I shall return your diskette at the time of the final examination if you wish. Presentations: Each student will be required to make a 30-minute PowerPoint presentation to the instructor. Presentation dates will be scheduled from November 10 – 25, 2003.

Final Examination The final examination requires you to write a critical analysis of the tours you took during the semester. The examination paper may be turned in anytime after December 1, 2003 but is actually due on Monday, December 8, 2003 at 1:00 PM in the classroom.

Course Critique Session We will meet at 3:00 in the classroom on Monday, December 8, 2003 to discuss ways of improving the course. Your comments are extremely important. Dr. Moore shall provide pizza and soft drinks for this class session.

Course Grades All grading is on a 4.0 = A scale. The grading structure is as follows: Values Paper PowerPoint Presentation Research Paper Final Examination

10% 20% 50% 20% 100%

Conversion Table for This Course Cumulative grades of 3.7 or higher receive a 4.0 Cumulative grades of 3.45 – 3.69 receive a 3.5 Cumulative grades of 3.0 – 3.44 receive a 3.0 *Lower grades are possible

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Research Paper Topics 1.

Selection and Staffing High Performance Work Systems

2.

Employment Security

3.

Leadership Behaviors and Leadership Theory

4.

Orientation and Core Training

5.

Hoshin Kanri and Business Plan Deployment Concepts

6.

Implementation of Six Sigma Programs

7.

Multi-Skilling and Flexibility

8.

Critical Review of the STS Literature

9.

Labor-Management Roles and Concepts in Lean and STS

10.

Network Analysis and HPWS models

11.

Suggestion Programs: Teian vs. Engineering-Based

12.

Productivity Sharing

13.

Ergonomics

14.

Case Histories and Analysis of “Famous” Auto Plants such as Uddevala, NUMMI, CAMI, Takaoka, etc.

15.

Egalitarian cultures

16.

Total Quality Management

17.

Converting a Plant to Lean Production

18.

Critical Analysis of the Lean Production literature 1995-2003

19.

Abolishing the Performance Review as a HPWS Practice

20.

Aligned Human Resources Management

21.

Strategic Human Resources Management

22.

Kaizen

23.

Business Process Reengineering

24.

Work/Family Issues

25.

Diffusion of Work Practices

26.

Learning Organizations

27.

Knowledge-Driven Lean Production

28.

Employee Involvement

29.

Values Supporting HPWS

30.

“Silicon Valley” High Performance Work Systems

31.

Designing Work and Jobs: Enrichment or Enlargement

Students may meet me in my office to reserve their choice of research topic Each topic can be reserved by only one student! 8

LIR 827 High Performance Work Systems Course Topics and Schedule

1.

August 25, 2003

Introduction to High Performance Work Systems (HPWS) HPWS in the Modern Economy The Craft Model of Production Learning Organizations

2.

September 8, 2003

Introduction to Manufacturing Systems Mass Production Lean Production and the Toyota Production System (TPS) “Value Paper” due

3.

September 15, 2003 Lean Production Systems

4.

September 22, 2003 Sociotechnical Systems Nine Key Elements

5.

September 29, 2003 Sociotechnical Systems Intellectual Critiques

6.

October 6, 2003

Current Research in Job Design Implications for Team-Based Work Systems

7.

October 13, 2003

Hoshin-Kanri Systems Introduction to Aligned Human Resource Systems

8.

October 20, 2003

Hoshin Kanri People Systems

9.

October 27, 2003

Labor Management Roles and Systems Committee Structures of QWL Modern Joint Structures Negotiations Models Parallel Organizations Employee Involvement (EI) Mr. Mark Strolle, Guest Lecturer

10.

November 3, 2003

Introduction to Labor-Management Cooperation Approaches Total Quality Management (TQM) Theory and Tools

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11.

November 10, 2003 TQM Tools Six Sigma PowerPoint Presentations Begin

12.

November 17, 2003 Kaizen Teian Suggestion Systems Work-Life Issues Business Process Reengineering

13.

November 24, 2003

Scanlon Plans and Gainsharing Scanlon Associates Mr. Paul Davis, Guest Lecturer

November 27, 2003

Happy Thanksgiving/Holiday Weekend

14.

December 1, 2003

Diffusion Models Leadership and Change Learning Organizations Research Papers Due

15.

December 8, 2003

Take Home Final Examination is due by 3:00 PM, in the classrooml Course Critique Session: 3:00pm in the classroom

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