Teams, Socio-Technical Systems, & Organizational Values

High performance and self-organizing teams have become an important part of organizational design to maintain a competitive edge. One of the most progressive team designs was developed in the 1950’s by social scientists Trist and Emery. The theory of socio-technical systems (STS) is a process-based, team oriented approach to work that evolved as a way to extend democratic and humane values into the workplace. The organization is viewed as an open system structured to integrate two independent but linked systems; the technical subsystem and the social subsystem. The technical subsystem, following the rules of physics, chemistry, and engineering, includes equipment and transformation processes which are technologically and economically driven so the most desirable method is the most productive at the least cost. The social subsystem, following the rules of psychology, sociology, and politics, incorporates interpersonal relationships that develop among people and build a mutual trust. The system recognizes that commitment to work is conditional on the work experience and assumes technology can be adapted to fit people. The best match of solutions is explored through joint optimization and discovery (see All Teams Are Not Created Equal by Lyman D. Ketchum and Eric Trist, 1992).

STS requires those who work to get a great deal more authority, control, skills, and information than what was customary with scientific management. Socio-technical designers seek to broaden each individual’s knowledge of social and economic consequences, and encourage each worker to develop a range of skills to get results. The work group becomes the focus of change. Organizations using STS should structure the task, authority, and reporting relationships around the work group by delegating decisions regarding job assignments, training, inspection, rewards, and punishment to the group. The aim is to optimize both technical and social subsystems for the benefit of the larger system. Management is responsible for coordinating the groups according to the demands of the work and task environment. Their role is to monitor the environmental factors that effect internal operations and coordinate the two subsystems.

One STS design goal is to produce a system that is capable of adapting to change and making the best use of an individual’s creative abilities. Turning to socio-technical values, objectives, and principles can simplify overly complex production systems and may provide answers for current problems, such as the challenge of reinforcing corporate values. Values are something of worth and importance where learning and experience are the two greatest forces shaping them. Organizational values involve individuals working together to achieve a common goal and help us create our standards of conduct that drive business decisions. As Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple Computer put it, “The only thing that works is management by values. Find people who are competent and really bright, but more importantly, find people who care exactly about the same things you care about.”

Organizations need to establish a shared set of values and beliefs that align with the social and technical aspects of project management to achieve the organizations business objectives. These values provide the linkages between the organization’s members, structure, systems, and processes used in the adoption of management project methods. There are several principles leaders can follow to design a socio-technical system based on organizational values:

1. Express the needs and hopes of workers in design criteria and values to insure greater worker investment in organizational purposes. Participants share expectations while working to achieve agreement on the goals and objectives of a design team. The outcome is a set of shared values and assumptions that reflect the process.
2. Express values in the language of the organization and refer to the experiences of its members.
3. Clarify Values. Value clarification is a process of making explicit the premises that inform design choices.
4. Guide and test design decisions against explicit values.
5. Fit the workgroup to the technology. Technology should not determine work organization or design.

A supportive climate must exist between employees and leaders to strengthen organizational values. Management has a social responsibility to employees to ensure technology-based changes are introduced properly. Here are a few recommendations:

1. Let everyone know about the new technology changes through “selling and telling”.
2. Introduce the system to management first (to gain support), then to employees.
3. Make sure the technology works as promised.
4. Get rid of the old system once the new system is working.
5. Provide hands-on training.