ABSTRACT
The introduction of high performance group working had led to a range of unintended consequences. Initially these included the reluctance of some production personnel to accept the new level of discretion and responsibility offered to them, and the dependence of the groups in some circumstances on older and more experienced builders. As far as the internal role of management was concerned it was felt that one of the unintended consequences was the retention of traditional styles of management within the group. The autonomous work groups in the Micro 11 business became high performance islands in a sea of traditional management thinking. Many of the unintended consequences and continuing problems stemmed from this position. The success of Digital management’s experiment with high performance at Ayr can thus be attributed in part to the management vision and effort within the plant. The problems of compromising the high performance concepts appeared to have resulted from the move from the planning to production stage.
