ABSTRACT
The adoption of high performance organizational design ideas was seen by management as conferring competitive advantage through the manufacturing benefits which it was expected to achieve. Management decided that the bid to attract production of Digital’s low end systems would be based on high performance work systems. The study team began to design the organizational concept in detail. The initial step was to expand the study team to twenty-five members who worked their way through the process design, and used the company’s Organizational Design executive and another member of Corporate Personnel who travelled back and forth to the Ayr plant every two or three months to offer ideas and advice. This approach involved changing the attitudes of management and workforce. Managers were encouraged to be more open in discussion with subordinates, and to involve them more fully in planning and decision making.
