Whole Scale Change

What is Whole Scale Change?

Whole Scale Change consists of a series of small and/or large group interactions that enable the organisation to undergo a paradigm shift. It applies an action learning approach, using Whole Scale™ events as accelerators. Using microcosms, groups that represent the entire range of levels, functions, geography and ideas in the organisation, Whole Scale processes provide a powerful way of working with the whole system to create and sustain change.

Whole Scale also enables a 'çritical' mass of the organisation to create a new culture in the moment. The same critical mass then models what the organisation can look like and becomes the vehicle by which powerful change occurs in the whole system.

What is Whole-Scale Change?*

Whole-Scale Change has been used extensively in a variety of public organizations—city and national government, education systems, community organizations, and non-profits.

Developed by Dannemiller Tyson Associates, this highly participative approach provides a robust, highly effective and predictable set of processes to help organizations and communities identify and utilize their own internal abilities to grow, to better lead, and to create the organizations and communities of their own choosing. Typically, organizations and communities already know what kind of difference is needed: implementation of a new vision or strategic direction, new or redesigned work processes, restructured roles/jobs/teams, cooperation between labor and management. What they do not know—which Whole-Scale helps to provide—is (1) how to put the difference in place rapidly and effectively through whole-system solutions, and (2) how to continue the process.

The goals of Whole-Scale are simple. Through a series of small and/or large group interactive sessions that are purpose-driven:

• Organizations and communities work to build a shared understanding of their current reality, a vision of the future, and the action steps to get there.

• Individuals and groups seek to gain a broader ‘‘big picture’’ of and critical need for cooperation among all elements of a system.

• Whole system solutions are created real time and people work to implement them within days or months instead of years.

• Diverse people strive to become ‘‘one brain and one heart’’ which shapes how they go about their work—acting individually with the wisdom of the ‘‘whole.’’

• Personal connections are forged between stakeholders at the individual ‘‘max-mix’’ tables over the two to three days of an event, where each table is a cross-section of all the diversity in the room. Actually knowing people makes calling on them for assistance or information easier and is key to implementation.

• The organization develops skills for using Whole-Scale processes as a way of staying connected and working together, engaging microcosms to continue to refine roles, tasks, and actions. They design and facilitate their own reunions to continue learning and changing.

The paradigm shift

Whole-Scale Change seeks a paradigm shift—a new way of seeing the world. Once people see the world differently, they cannot be stopped from taking the actions that begin to transform their shared vision into their shared reality.

Core beliefs and Values

The core beliefs and values that underlie our approach are:

• Creating empowerment and participation
  We believe in engaging the entire organisation in ways that lead to ownership of and commitment to a shared purpose and future direction. Microcosms of the entire organisation are used in all aspects of our approach including event planning, organisation alignment and implementation
• Creating community
  We believe that when you foster an environment where employees can come together, they can create and believe in something larger than themselves. Our methods create processes where that can take place. The use of 'max-mix' tables at Whole Scale™ events, for instance, brings voices from across the organisation into conversation in a way that builds a sense of community.
• Using reality as a key driver
  We believe the change process must keep a continual focus on the simultaneous and sometimes conflicting realities that exist in the internal and external environments of the organisation. In Whole Scale meetings, the content is driven by the needs of participants in real work rather than by simulations.
• Building and maintaining a common database
  'We believe that 'a level playing field' of information and common understanding of the strategic issues informs the discretion of people at all levels so that they can make wise decisions, individually and collectively. By sharing perspectives, all people in the organisation gain a more complete and consistent perspective.
• Creating a shared preferred future
  We believe creating a collective 'image of potential' for the future forms the basis for action today: People will only support what they have been part of creating.
• Creating change in real time
  We believe in simultaneous planning and implementation of individual, group and organisational changes around strategy, culture and work processes.
• Practicing Action Research
  We believe that only through continuous re-examination throughout the process can we adjust our approach to ensure reaching our vision of success.
• Transferring learning
  We have a strong value for creating self-sufficiency and against creating dependency on us in our client systems. Our goal for the completion of each project is that participants will make our methods their own so they would be confident and capable of carrying on with or without us.

When to use it

Whole Scale works well to facilitate all kinds of change processes, including strategic planning, organisation design, mergers and acquisitions, quality management, reengineering, training, diversity and culture change.

It works well in both the public and private sectors, is amenable to groups ranging in size from ten to several thousand, and can engage people from the top of the hierarchy down through the front line staff. Organisations most likely to consider a Whole Scale™ intervention are those (1) that want to engage everyone or nearly everyone in creating their organisations processes and structures and (2) those with a sense of urgency brought on by a challenging and quickly changing environment. Whole Scale processes effectively facilitate rapid, system wide change under many different circumstances, and in a wide variety of countries, cultures and organisations.

Whole Scale™ includes robust processes that quickly change client systems and prepare them for further substantive change by:

• Clarifying and connecting multiple current realities
• Uniting multiple yearnings around a common picture of the future
• Reaching agreement on the action plans that move them toward that future
• Building the processes, structures and relationships that keep the organisation moving forward
• Aligning the organisation leaders and employees so that they can implement the changes together
• Once the organisation experiences the paradigm shift, people see the world differently
• They are ready to take the actions that will begin to transform their shared vision into their shared reality

How it works

The Event Planning Team and consultants develop the design for a Whole Scale event using the formula for change. This formula, D x V x F > R, says that if an organisation wants to bring about system-wide change, they will need to work with a critical mass of the organisation to uncover and combine their Dissatisfaction (D) with things as they are. Then the next step will be to uncover and combine the yearnings for the organisation they truly want to be, their combined Vision of the future (V). If real change is going to happen, the third design element needs to be First steps (F); a combined picture of things people can do differently that all of them believe are the right ones to achieve their vision. Simple math suggests that if any of the left-hand elements in the formula are missing, the product will be zero, and the change effort will not be able overcome Resistance (R) People will resist change if they don't have Dissatisfaction, Vision and agreed upon First steps to reach that vision. The DVF formula describes what an organisation needs to do to enable a paradigm shift. If the organisation can uncover and combine all three elements, everyone will shift into a new 'world view'. At this point, neither individuals nor whole groups can comfortably keep doing what they were doing. Change has already begun.

Clients help decide which element to address first, but they need to address all three elements eventually if they want to achieve sustainable change. The resistance to change that is inevitably present is a resource. It tells consultants and leaders what they need to know and where the points of leverage exist that will enable them to facilitate real change.

Cost effectiveness

Whole Scale is cost effective because it enables an organisational paradigm shift to occur, and this shift produces fast results. When people fully understand the speed with which the world is shifting, they yearn to change their organisation with the same urgency. Rapid Whole Scale™ Change costs less than traditional top-down cascade methods.

Source: http://www.wholescalechange.com/methodology.html

http://aysps.gsu.edu/ghpc/760.html

Simu real

by Jon Pe

A Simu-Real can be complemented by the use of work-outs to get rid of unnecessary work from the system and increase employee responsibility for decision-making about their own work. This approach searches for symptoms and root causes, or embraces a cost-benefit analysis and value engineering.

Simu Real is a LGI developed by Don Klein. Simu-Real enables members of an organization to work together on a real organizational task so that they can see the whole organization in all its complexity, become aware of, and skilled in, dealing with organizational dynamics, and determine what, if anything, needs to be changed. The method is used to help organizations explore differences, solve complex problems, redesign work processes, agree goals and develop plans for realizing them. The Simu-Real event takes place in a large room which, when the participants arrive, becomes a microcosm of the organization in action. The departments or other organizational units are located in different parts of the room according to their place in the actual organization. This is the ‘Simu’ part of Simu-Real. The ‘Real’ part is the task or project that the organization will undertake. The task is conceived by a planning committee, whose members are drawn from the organizational units. The committee prepares all aspects of the Simu-Real event including the room layout and the decision making process.


Simu-Real is a method that uses simulation to help an organization become more visible to itself. It enables key members of organizations to work together on tasks and issues while at the same time helping them to become more aware of and skilled in dealing with organizational dynamics. Consisting of action periods followed by analysis sessions, the method is used to help clients systems explore differences, solve complex problems, work on redesign, determine goals and priorities, and engage in future planning.

Source:
http://www.faqs.org/abstracts/Social-sciences/Simu-Real-a-simulation-approach-to-organizational-change-Organizations-and-their-discontents-a-psych.html#ixzz0xD5iVmZn

http://alumnus.caltech.edu/~rouda/background.html

Organizational Transformation

By: Jon Pe

Organizations need to continually reinvent themselves in response to an ever changing and continuously more complex environment. This presentation offers insight on the dynamics of change through organizational transformation. There are two approaches to change management, namely, reactive and proactive. In addition to the structure, strategy and principles of the organizational change, the presentation also overviews the essential components of organizational transformation. Some of them are mission, strategic plan, organizational alignment, accountability etc.

Transformation is not something you do to an organization. It is a process that you go through yourself. Transform means to change form. Structure wins and that is the root of of the issue and the key to completing the journey successfully. Both you, and others, and the organization have to change together. This change will be punctuated evolution: long periods of linear change broken by moments of disruptive shifts that are death and rebirth experiences.

Process of successful organizational Transformation from old to new system:

Transformation, a complex, revolutionary, and continuous process, demands fundamental changes in the organizational structures and systems through which products are developed and services are delivered. In this process, laws often must be modified; norms and values, reassessed; and systems of service delivery and finance, changed. In addition, those involved in carrying out the changes as well as those who will benefit from it must be reeducated to acquire and apply new knowledge needed for the transformation.

Definition of Transformation

Although a dictionary definition of transformation – an act, process, or instance of transforming or being transformed – may appear straightforward, modern theorists have spent decades conceptualizing and describing the complex and unpredictable processes involved in transformation. Transformation is meant to identify, leverage, and even create new underlying principles for the way things are done. It also seeks to identify and leverage new sources of power.

Transformative change is fundamentally different than other change processes:

• It results in a major structural and fundamental impact on the entire organization;
• It is complex and chaotic in nature or will constitute a radical departure from the current state, and is so complex that desired outcomes and approaches to achieve them may be unclear;
• The scale of desired change is large and will result in a significantly different enterprise;
• It requires years to complete, with multiple phases and stages of major changes;
• The rules of the game change, including the norms, guideposts, values, and guides to behavior.

Key Elements in the Organization Transition Process:

Vision

A clear and compelling vision is a key ingredient for successful transformation. Developing a vision requires defining a "perfect world" and clear principles to guide the transformation effort. It should constitute a shared image for a desired future state – not a strategic plan, but the inspiration that will motivate people to create such a plan and willingly make the special effort to achieve it

Leadership

Transformation efforts require exceptional leadership abilities. Leaders must have both the capability to formulate a compelling vision and the skills to organize and manage the change processes. These skills may reside in more than one person. In addition to developing and communicating the vision, the leadership's responsibilities involve developing a coherent transformation plan, maintaining a focus on key transformation goals, and managing external changes to complement internal ones.

Alignment

A system's structures and processes must be aligned with the idealized vision in order for relevant persons, organizations, and systems to participate in the transformation process. Discouraged and disempowered employees never make enterprises winners in a globalizing economic environment. But with the right structure, training, systems, and supervisors to build on a well-communicated vision, increasing numbers of firms are finding that they can tap an enormous source of power to improve organizational performance.

Defense Transformation for the 21st Century

Within the United States military, transformation required changing the form or structure of the military forces, the nature of the military culture and doctrine supporting those forces. It also involved streamlining fighting functions to more effectively meet the complexities of the new threats challenging the Nation in the new millennium. It consists of:

• Developing a top-down approach by having transformation an integral element of the DoD corporate strategy (beginning with the President) in order to foster effective management (efficiencies, cutting waste, recapitalization, and modernization);
• Targeting and creating cultural change by use of bottom-up tools such as experimentation; prototyping of a new idea for a process, organization, or technology; and education as life changing experiences in the field where people are lauded for experimenting and using innovation;
• Creating a new underlying theory, such as harnessing the power of the information age, to instill network behavior;
• Aligning metrics and seeing that they are adopted via performance measures, outcome measures, and so forth; and
• Creating new capabilities.

In this process, transformation can occur through both exploratory jumps that "push out the boundaries and big jumps to change the fundamentals of what one is trying to do."

Reflection:

Organizations cannot just remain stagnant, it should from time to time be able to have at least a minimal amount of development and change. An organization should be ready for anything.

Source:

http://www.indianmba.com/Faculty_Column/FC596/fc596.html

http://www.organizationaltransformation.com

Gemba Kaizen

• Gemba (現場) in Japanese means “the actual place” or “the real place”
• Kaizen (改善) in Japanese means “improvement”

In business, Gemba refers to the place where value is created and the general notion is that the best improvement ideas will come simply from going to the Gemba (‘bottom-up’ vs. ‘top-down’)

The ‘Gemba Walk’ is an activity that takes management to the front lines to look for waste and opportunities a.k.a. to practice Gemba Kaizen which is similar to the “western” concept of MBWA (Management by Walking Around)

The term Gemba Kaizen was then further promoted by another rivalry, that between Toyota and Nissan. Nissan has a history of attempting to avoid the use of any term for management concepts known to have been popularized by Toyota. For example, the term ‘Just in Time’ is linked to Toyota. Therefore if you ask a Nissan executive ‘do you use Just in Time’, the unwary might be surprised at the readiness of the negative answer. ‘No we do not’. What do you do in its place? ‘We have a concept called ‘stockless production’. Nissan call such teams 'gemba kaizen activities'. Simple, but true.

Gemba Kaizen activities change not only the systems and processes, but also peoples’ mindsets about the organization and how they view their job. Transformation into a Lean Enterprise requires changes in the “way we do things”. The aim of Gemba Kaizen activities is to build a company culture of daily improvement. Kaizen does this through:

Ongoing organizational learning

Emphasis on action

Team-based activities

Focus, rapid improvement

Employee empowerment

Sources: http://sites.google.com/site/kaizenmcc/home/lean-concepts/gemba-kaizen

http://www.hutchins.co.uk/Ns_QCKai.aspx

World Cafe with a Thai touch

by: Kevin Kenneth de Leos

Sawatdee Krup! (hello)

With a reminder of a group mate and a cup of Starbucks coffee, I think that I will just be able to finish my last entry for this wiki project.

I am currently blogging here in Thailand because of a scholarship program that was offered to the school by the Faculty of Communication Arts of Chulalongkorn University of Thailand. This is my first time being here and my first impression of Thailand is that it is basically the same as the Philippines. Of course, this is such because both countries are South East Asian nations. But what I am fascinated about my first week of being here was that I discovered that Thais and Filipinos have a lot in common. Both have the same facial resemblances somehow and the same way of living. Thais do also have street foods like in the Philippines. The streets, the houses and the climate are also the same with the Philippines.

But what have these discoveries got to do with World Café**? The answer is simple (no, its not about my Starbucks coffee :D). Just like the Philippines and Thailand, ideas are interconnected somehow. Therefore planning processes, such as the world café process, help discover these interconnections. From ideas (Philippines), the world café is like your ticket in discovering new ideas (Thailand). And then, new and better ideas are created and discovered from there. These newly discovered ideas are much better because it is a product of it came from different experiences and views.

In addition, the World Café is indeed an organizational intervention that can help organizational members in their planning processes but I do believe that World Café can not only be used in this area. In fact, anyone can use this process in any fields that need fresh and better ideas. Groups such as theater groups, art groups, singers, teachers or even students can use the café world. This is such because Café World’s principle is simple: Just have diverse groups discuss and share things about a powerful question and then harness those ideas.

So the next time you need a great idea, think of Thailand and the Philippines or think of traveling. Think of the possibilities and learning you can get from traveling to countries. Then think of World Café as your ticket to traveling and the help it can do to you in discovering and generating new ideas. With doing this process, I am sure that the results that you will get are just like the feeling of traveling into a new country.

Kop Koon Krup!:D (thank you) for reading this blog.

**Please check this website for more ideas regarding the World Cafe: http://www.theworldcafe.com/

Open Space Technology

by Jennifer Yu

"Open Space conferences have no keynote speakers, no pre-announced schedules of workshops, no panel discussions, no organizational booths. Instead, sitting in a large circle, participants learn in the first hour how they are going to create their own conference. Almost before they realize it, they become each other's teachers and leaders." (Stewart, 2003-2008)

Four other key principles are:

1) Whoever comes is the right people.
2) Whatever happens is the only thing that could have.
3) Whenever it starts is the right time.
4) When it is over it is over.

This can be done in several days depending on the participation of the participants.

The Law of two feet: This means that when you think that you are not learning anything you can choose to go to another place and leave the conference.

Reflection:
Unlike the other types of planning, this one focuses on the passionate ones, the ones who really want to be involve in the event, the ones who want to help and share their thoughts. In here no one is in control.

Source:
Stewart, A. (2003-2008). Open Space Technology. Internet. Retrieved August 18, 2010 from, http://www.co-intelligence.org/P-Openspace.html

Fast Cycle Full Participation

by: Jon Pe

A method used to improve the effectiveness of an organization by using its output metrics as basis (i.e. revenue, cost, quality, and cycle time). It redesigns the work systems in order to improve and produce higher outcomes.

Process

Organizations are "Producing systems" which takes items from the environment and converts them into products and services that are desired by the environment. The transformation can be called the "Organization's Core Process" wherein the success of the organization will depend on this. The first step is to design the core process right then let every other design support the core process fully.

Meeting 1: Organizational Search
Meeting 2: External Expectations
Meeting 3: Technical Work System Analysis
Meeting 4: Work Life Analysis
Meeting 5: New Design


Participants

Consultants
In-house representatives
Most or all the people in the organization


Reflection:
It is much like the Participative design workshop but in this case the pacing is very quick, the organization has to come up with immediate results. It has a step by step process which allows the organization to be guided in what it should do, thus making a faster decision for redesigning.

Source:

http://www.opencirclecompany.com/IAF%20paper.htm

http://teamjamasia.com/