behavioral change agents a case study

13

In late 1962, a motivation research project was completed in Texas Instruments involving scientists, engineers, line managers, hourly male technicians, and female assemblers. Pat- terned after Herzbergs’ research, it confirmed his two-factor theory that job factors which dissatisfy, when remedied, do not necessarily motivate; and that other factors have more p e t e n d for motivation than for dissatisfaction.*

Maintenance needs, those needs which must be met in order to avoid dissatisfactions, include economic, security, orientation, status, social, and physical factors. The work-oriented needs crucial to employee motivation are achievement, growth, responsibility, and rec- ognition.

These research results, translated to the motivation-maintenance concept, were presented to company officers. They saw it as a meaningful frame of reference for managers and urged the, development of a supervisory training program based on this theory. The following is an account of the success of that program. A pilot version of a “motivation seminar” was presented to a grou of personnel administrators. They rejectecfthe basic premise of the seminar, that people could be as strongly interested in motivation factors (achievement, etc.) as they were with pay and other maintenance factors. In effect, they said, “We accept this theory, but you will never sell it to line managers.”

In spite of this ap arent set-back, a second trial was Iaunched an B the manufacturing supervisors involved enthusiasticall accepted it and saw opportunities for its imp r ementation. Sub equently, the motivation seminar was refined to serve as a foundation and springboard for behavioral changes. A fast-moving, hard- hitting experience, it stressed a simple, yet comprehensive theory presented in six two- hour class sessions. Asadeveloped by the au- thors in conjunction with the corporate development director the six sessions covered:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Introductory description and interpretation of TI research. Development of motivation-maintenance theory including definitions and character- istics of its two classes of needs. Examination to measure understandin of

tion of motivation-maintenance theory to a filmed problem. Integration of motivation-maintenance theory with TI management philosophy. Prac- tical application take-home assignment. Participants’ own job situations used to in- vestigate application of the motivation- maintenance theory. Continuation of previous working session (5) concluding with film and quiz on ap-

ication of motivation-maintenance theory f! or purposes of both review and self-evaluation.

theory followed by discussion of app f ica-

After several more applications to line and staff groups, insights were gained which explained the divergent results. It became ap- parent that the persons initially opposin the seminar were primarily “maintenance &=tor administrators.” Their functional orientation was such that they perceived maintenance factors as the main source of employee conCern.

ically, these employees administer such pro ”g lem areas as pay, supplementary benefits, grievances, air conditioning, plant layout, s 6 cia1 activities and eating facilities.

The kickoff

When the motivation seminar was formally initiated, special care was taken to assure that optimal results would occur. The began with appreciation sessions for t e president and other senior officers of the company. One week later vice presidents in charge of operating divisions were similarly exposed. This was a significant factor of the program. Not only did the president and executive vice president ask to be the first to participate in

rgam

Management of Personnel QUmterry, Fall, I967

Exhibit I Chronology of Change in Division Z 1963 I 1964 I 1965

I Performance Review (1946) Ic .................. .. ........................ ... ............... ;\% +;.;,.<,, .. ! . ~ : ~ ~ . ; . ~ ; . ~ , ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ :::.:l:::::::::::::::::::::::::::~~~~~:~-~~~:~~~~~~l:.~~~~;f’i;:~; :::?x:.::::::::::r-- .:.. . . Emeraina .lll.r..I ..... ”... ................... gi;;ggggf Motivation Seminar

Concept

of Problem-Solving

and

Gool- Setting

Keys to .

Achievement

of Work Simplification and Volue Engineering -( 1952, 1960)

T ~ D Macasement/ Rewrt to Dewrtment Monoaerd Dewrtment Manoaerd A

- Organizational

and Report to Attitude Surveys Report to

the seminar, but also two years later during the annual planning conference, the president urged sup ort of current management prac-

for increasing motivational opportunities €or all TIers. One of TI’S major product divisions, referred to hereafter as Division Z’, is the primary setting for this case study, and most of the changes described in this paper occurred after mid-1963. Exhibit I illustrates the motivation seminar’s several roles in effecting change by altering existing media and by creating new ones. Performance review, work simplification, and attitude measurement, all predating the motivation seminar, were altered by its impact, as described later. The motivation seminar itself found readier acceptance because these familiar management systems enabled the motivation principles to find pragmatic avenues of expression.

t ics and t L e discovery of additional prodkses

The seminar stimulated a desire for more information and led to a follow-up conference- for manufacturing people, structured around McGregor’s The Human Side of Enterprise. Managers became sensitized to the double- edged potential of work standards and other traditional controls. A “motivation task force”

was formed to critically review whether various personnel mana ement systems for moti-

ment of organizational goals. Exhibit I illustrates what appears to be an emerging concept of roblemsolving and goal-setting as the cen-

achieving organizational goals while provid- ing for individual self-actualization needs.

vating people actual P y aided in the achieve-

tra P roles of personnel management systems for

The seminar itself was seen as facilitating changes in Division Z as well as other Divi- sions because:

1. The motivation theory itself was accepted by most supervisors as one which “really worked” in stimulating high productivity and job satisfaction. Further, it served as a simple and comprehensive framework for assimilating other management theories. Supervisors having the most difficulty ac- cepting the theory were at the department head (upper-middle management) level, supervisors of staff support o erations, and supervisors strongly orientefin a “theory X”‘ philosophy of management by direction and control.

2. Filmed problems and actual problems brought to the seminar from the job situa-

Behavioral Change Agents

IS

tion served a vital role of bridging the gap between theory and application.

3. The examination, which was scored and discussed in class, served to clarify the theory and generally represented a success experience giving the partici ants credentials

4. The meetin s, particularly when com-

mosphere for catharsis, leve ing, and problem-solving .

5. The seminar served as a communication medium for familiarizing supervisors with TI management philosophy. The adminis- trative climate factors and formalized pro- grams, long accepted on faith, now took on new perspective as media for individuals to achieve personal goals through the achievement of organizational goals.

and confidence to apply tE e theory.

prised of sma P 1 peer groups, rovided an at- P

A new role for performance appraisal

One of the first consequences of the motivation seminar in Division 2 was a critical evaluation of the time-honored performance review system. It had long followed a traditional at-

the supervisor. On a trial basis, the performance review for salaried persons was revised. In its new form, emphasis was placed on gain- ing positive results through goalsetting and self-evaluation. Initially the revised performance review system evoked negative responses from many supervisors, particularly supervisors who had not completed the motivation seminar. As the seminar progressed, however, the goal setting concept was gradually em- braced.

tern of appraisal and criticism administere B by

When the program was initially developed for salaried exempt employees, managers became interested in extending the goal-settin aspects

recent successes in other applications of motivation theory encouraged mana ers to try this

positive step towards making work more

of performance review to hourly peop k e. Their

further step. They now reason t a at it will be a

meaningful for the hourly erson whose job

control. is traditionally circumscribe 1 by direction and

Work simplification reinforced

Work simplification, review,

the late ~O’S , it supports a philosophy that motion-time economy and the setting of standards are better achieved by job incumbents than by industrial engineers. Always well accepted at TI, work simplification took on a new perspective. More and more managers acquired an understandin of its motiva-

the creative processes of plannin and achieving job goals. As mechanization Lgan impos- in limitations on work simplification as an

instituted to employ the principles of work simplification on a task force basis. The task force approach typically began with a committee of managers who were concerned with re-

cific production costs. Rules of the ducing ame cal T ed for listing of bottlenecks without L g e r y g or directed criticism. This ini- tial tas force effort typically resulted in the listing of perhaps 50 problems which were us- ually grouped into about 4 or 5 categories.

tional potential because it invo H ves people in

in % ividually-oriented process, a program was

Subcommittees were then formed, each to deal with a category of problems. For example, one committee might deal with problems asso- ciated with procurement, another with inven- tory controls, another with quality assurance, another with fabrication, etc. Included were persons at lowest levels of responsibility who were closer to the actual problems. Ultimately, all or most of the members of a department became involved in the process. Invariably, cost reductions and roduct improvements re-

been applied prior to the motivation seminar, the dynamics of the roces were better under- stood and supporte! through insights gained

Management of Personnel Qumterly, Fall, 1967

sulted. Thus, thoug : work simplification had

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through participation in, and consequences of, the seminar.

When “Zero Defects” became the shibboleth of Department of Defense contractors, Divi- sion 2 assembled a committee to determine the proper role of Zero Defects for TI. As a result of a greater so histication in principles of mo-

developed. When introduced into Division Z, its distractin “maintenance-centered” gim-

an integrated ackage along with Wor Sim- plification a d Value Engineering. Hence, work simplification has been expanded to em- brace a broad concept of work management which includes opportunities for goalsetting and standard-setting by groups as well as individuals.

tivation, a m $i ified Zero Defects program was

micks were e f iminated and it became art of F:

Work Management

In December 1964, production began in the Division on a contract to manufacture a new product, bid on the basis of engineering esti- mates of production requirements. In March 1965, after the female assemblers had acquired competence in the assembly of this equipment, a manufacturing supinntendent convened ten of these girls in a work simplification task force conference to analyze their production objectives and problems. In a process which was soon emulated by other groups in the department, the girls suggested many improvements in the operation, and set a goal of re- ducing assembly time from 138 to 86 hours. They met this new goal within two week, and actually reduced production time to 75 hours. In a subsequent task force meeting, they set a new target of 65 hours, and by Au- ust, had reached 57 hours. By December the

[ours were reduced to 4 1.

The most effective group achieved a 38% improvement over normal production expectations, and growth curves indicate that this standard can be achieved and excelled by

BehavioraZ Change Agents

other groups. Achievement of this unexpected goal dramatically validates theory Y by illus- tratin the latent creativity which can be har-

girls are working more from personal commitment than from direction and control. They are not “working harder,” as much as they are “working smarter,” in accordance with a work simplification slogan. This system of self- management by job incumbents is often referred to by the operating managers as a ‘‘problemsolving, goal-setting” process. The project, bid under a fixed price contract, became sig- nificantly more profitable as a consequence of the commitment of these assemblers and their supervisors.

nesse f under conditions of motivation. The

It would be an oversimplification to attrib Ute the change illustrated in the foregoing example exclusively to the motivation seminar. Work simplification, the attitude survey and performance review were already in existence. Also, a few months prior to the introduction of the motivation seminar, the manager of the Assembly and Test Department (700 hourly employees) had attended a two week off-site course in which he learned about theory X and theory Y concepts of supervision. Strongly im- pressed by this course, he began planning the reorganization of his department during his return flight to Dallas.

He immediately began involvin supervisors in the management process. SEortly there- after, his su ervisors attended the motivation seminar an[ upon its completion, the Mc- Gregor seminar noted earlier. Hence, supervisors in the Assembly and Test Department were being influenced by both line and staff managers to alter traditional management patterns.

Rigid production scheduling was changed to adaptive self-managed scheduling in early 1964. The task force a proach was instituted with supervisors in mil1964 and rapidly ex-

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panded to include nonsupervisors in the problemsolving, target-setting process. First attempts to involve hourly employees were not fully successful because of failure to involve all people, and the withholding of certain lanning data and performance feedback in-

Formation. Beginning in late 1964, unrestrict- ed involvement opportunities and sharing of information led to the personal commitment and hi h performance cited in the goalsetting

troduced, emphasis was placed on quality goalsetting rather than conformity with a new DOD expectation.

examp ’i e above. When Zero Defects was in-

At a later problemsolving, r l s e t t i n g meeting, the assemblers suggeste to their supervisor that he needn’t waste his time chairing these sessions - that they would convene when necessary to effect improvements, and would keep him informed of their progress. This improvement of employees in the design and management of their work adds new perspective to standardsetting and other similar controls aimed at improving performance. Though standards of excellence must always exist, traditional patterns of standardsetting are being reviewed with Industrial Engineer- ing to make them more naturally a responsibility of the job incumbent.

Hence, behaviotal change in Division 2 can- not be attributed solely, or perhaps even sub stantially, to the motivation seminar, but, rather, to the impact of a variety of influences which the seminar he1 d to inte ate and sustain. Had training e f r f orts stoppe with the motivation seminar, perhaps little change would have occurred.

A broadened role for attitude surveys

The compan -wide attitude survey adminis-

terms of its roles as a motivator and dissatisfier. Traditionally, survey results had been fed back in toptebottom sequence, beginning

tered annual P y since 1961 was evaluated in

with the president, through the vice presidents and de artment heads, to first line su- perkisors an! finally, nonsupervisors. This process was a dissatisfier for managers whose feet were put to the fire when attitude survey results were unfavorable. Much of the stin was removed from the process by feeding buc the survey results directly to department managers. Then, with the help of subordinate managers, they were able to take corrective actions. Progress reports upward to top man- agemen t specified both the results of the survey and actions taken. Further, interpretation of survey results was facilitated by regrouping the questionnaire items to fit the ten motivation-maintenance categories illustrated in Ex- hibit I, which were now part of the reper- toires of the managers. Though the revised program was an improvement at the higher organizational levels, it still offered little oppor- tuni for the involvement of non su ervisory

threatened by this system for “checking up” on them.

K

peop 7 e. so, supervisors continue{ to feel

The program was revised further in Division 2 to involve nonsupervisory people in the analysis of survey results. Upon receipt of the profiles, department heads now put them in the hands of task forces of nonsupervisory employees for analysis. Task force members us- ually number about six, and are authorized to meet as often as required, on company time, to analyze the results. T ically, a committee.

ing peers between sessions to gain information and insights in preparation for the next meeting. This task force finally prepares a written report for the department head, presentin

recornmen 3 ations for improvements. The department head shares these findings with middle and lower managers, and together they formulate corrective action. The department head later meets with the task force to discuss their recommendations and clarify points of misunderstanding. Finally, a meeting is held

Management of Personnel Quarterly, Fall, I967

will meet in four or five 2- YK our sessions, query-

their inte retation of the survey results an 2

18

with all members of the department to explain the results of the survey and actions to be taken.

This latter revision results in a more valid interpretation of survey results and provides opportunity for non supervisory people to be involved in the management process. Though initially threatening to some of the managers (particularly the theory X oriented), this application of the attitude survey is accepted as a problemsolving process, consistent with principles of motivation learned in the motivation seminar. It also lightens the manager’s load by making it unnecessary for him to I 1 armchair” an analysis of survey results.

Happenstance and timely events occasionally play important roles in change. For example, at a planning conference in the spring of 1965, a staff psychologist presented as a long- range corporate goal, “the application of the attitude measurement program throughout the company as it is now done in Division Z.” Though not a set-up situation, it appeared to be when the president raised the question, “How is it done in Division Z?” The manager of manufacturing for Division Z, being pres- ent, explained the feedback and committee action process to the president and other TI managers attending the conference. The vice president in charge of Division 2 confirmed this explanation and subsequently followed up by forwarding to the president reports pre- pared by the hourly committees. -The attitude measurement and interpretation process in Di- vision 2 has thus become a model for replica- tion throughout the corporation.

Supervision redefined

The study of motivation theory has brought the role of the supervisor under critical examination. The traditional father-authority image of a supervisor is now being rejected by many managers in favor of supervision as a maintenance process. That is, a supervisor rarely mo-

Behavioral Change Agents

tivates by exerting personal control on the sub ordinate. Rather, he motivates by setting up a challenging job situation which leads to achievement, responsibility, growth and recog- nition. He does this by sharing information about organizational goals, arranging for equipment, supplies, and budgets, sustaining opportunities for selfdevelopment and acting as a mediator for unresolved conflict. The ma- ture supervisor sees freedom as the consequence of responsible behavior and allows the employee to be dependent on him, not for direction and control, but for the symbiotically related opportunities for responsibility and freedom.

Conclusions

Changes described in this pa er are positive in

satisfaction. In one instance cited, it was seen that the integration of involvement and er- sonal commitment resulted in a 38% pro8uc- tivity increase. In all cases where production chan es were measurable, improvements were signi t cant. An estimated 30 per cent increase in division sales during 1965 is probably both a stimulus to, and consequence of, this higher productivity. This profitability improves the financial status of the division and its ability to bid successfully for future contracts. Em- ployees benefit immediately from more meaningful work. As profits are reflected in capital improvements and increased profit sharing funds, these benefits constitute additional re- inforcemenis of this behavior. Ultimately, the taxpayer and society gain through the rein- forcement of standards of excellence. Job satisfaction, in terms of more interest in work itself, achievemznt, and fewer personnel problems, was noted by operating managers as a direct consequence of employee involvement in the mana ement of their work. The union’s

constitutes a solid testimonial to the high de- gree of identification with management that is shared by a majority of employees.

terms of two criteria: pro B uctivity and job

repeated fai K ures to organize the work force

19

In addition to the application of behavioral theory credited in this pa er with stimulating change, two other con f itions must be ac- knowledged as essential ingredients. One of these conditions is the existence of sound management systems for channeling productive effort.

The corporate goalsetting system enables managers to support company goals through a hierarchy of objectives, strate 'es and tac-

implemente B , provide employees at every or- anizational level with a meaningful responsi-

Eility. Deliberately conceived as a system for managing innovation, this goal-setting system also offers a framework for orienting other management subsystems to the achievement of organizational goals. For example, performance review, attitude measurement, work simplification and the motivation seminar, as described herein (themselves innovations), serve as media for directing the efforts of individuals toward achievement of company goals. With- out these and other subsystems, positively m e tivated efforts would have less opportunity for productive expression.

tical action rograms which, w E l en properly

1Frederick Haberg, Bernard Mama and Barbara Bloch Snyderman, The Motivation w Work, John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York, 1959. *The TI research was subsequently published in the Hm- vmd Business Review, M. Scat Myers, "Who Are Your Motivated Workers?" Vol. 42, No. 1, January, February, 1965, pp. 73-88. * Division Z employs sevad thousand professional, techni-

The second condition favoring positive change is the application (through the language of action) of a theory Y management philosophy. It consists of respect for the individual, high performance expectations, opportunity to in- fluence and set goals, freedom to act (and to err without fear of reprisal), the encourage- ment of technical and managerial innovation, and a merit compensation system. However, even under these favorable conditions, resis- tance to change is always encountered, and is needed to serve the vital role of instilling rigor into the design and implementation of change.

In conclusion, it seems clear that the ingredients for behavioral change in any organization include a clear-cut, workable theory of motivation, a climate that encourages management innovation and theory Y behavior, managers willing and able to act agg-ressively and exper- imentally in testing the improvement possibili- ties defined by behavioralbtheory, and a Per- sonnel staff psychologically oriented to provide the direction, stimulation and buffer needed in the change process.

cal and skilled persons in the manufacture of military elec- tronic systems and instruments. Average a is under 40,

Division Z business represents about 20 per cent of total corn ny net sales, which in 1964 totaled nearly one-third of arillion dollan. * Douglas McCregor, T h e Humun Side of Enterprise, New York, McGraw-Hill, 1960.

and approximately threefourths of the emp H" oyees are male.

M. SCOTT MYERS is Manager of Management Research and Develop- ment with Texas Instruments. He is also a regular seminar leader for the Management of Managers courses at the Bureau of Industrial Relations, Uni- versity of Michigan. His Ph.D. in industria1 psy- chology was granted by Purdue University. Dr. Myers' publications have appeared in the Harvard Business Review.

EARL D. WEED, JR. is Manager of Corporate Training and Develop- ment for Texas Instruments in Dallas, Texas. He was Personnel Assistant for the E m Standard Oil Company and Training Specialist for the Temco Aircraft Corporation. Mr. Weed is a past president of the Dallas Psychological Association and a lec- turer for various management groups, including seminars at the Bureau of Industrial Relations, Uni- versity of Michigan.

Management of Personnel Quarterly, Full, 1967

behavioral change agents a case study

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