Describes the process of team development, emphasizing the role of the team members. Notes the importance of “catalyst” team members and the need for pace in the development process and the meeting of objectives. Gives examples from the author’s experience and concludes that the process is...

Describes a range of contexts associated with the learning organization literature and the job of learning organization leader. Offers prescriptions about how classically administered productivity improvement might be implemented in organizations, on the one hand, and how self‐organizing,...

Shows the advantages of balancing and maximizing both the people and technical sides of management philosophy, approaches and skills. The current direction of organization into self‐directed or self‐managed work teams provides an excellent opportunity for integrating the thinking, methods...

Explores the rationale and process undertaken to establish self‐managed work teams at a new Walkers Smiths factory in Coventry. Covers the background to the venture; objectives for establishing self‐managed work teams; the actions undertaken to set up the factory; and the transferable...

Examines an alternative to downsizing in the restructuring of organizations. Suggests that the restructuring and downsizing of staff often result from economic inefficiency. They are used to make immediate financial savings and to keep floundering organizations solvent. Such practices seldom...

Purpose – To critically analyze why the implementation of self‐managed teams often leads to disappointment. Design/methodology/approach – The methodology used is qualitative. It is based on the theory of microstoria (Boje) and entails in‐depth interviews and dialogue to collect data....

Purpose – The purpose of this research paper is to study the governance of smart/intelligent community projects through an analysis of the level of team effectiveness of collaborative telecommunication networks. Design/methodology/approach – The research is based on a census of all Canadian...

Organizations are facing stiff competition in the ever‐changing global market‐place and are sure to face increasing battles in the future. To position themselves for success in the coming decade, many organizations are making the transition to an empowered workforce. In an empowering...

Provides theoretical background for examining the development of self‐managed work teams as a total quality management (TQM) intervention at the employee level. Briefly summarizes the current knowledge regarding self‐managed work teams within the context of sociotechnical system design....

Examines three market leaders, referred to as RST, XYZ and ABC, and shows their understanding of the quest for quality and the management of employee development. The evidence is that continuous improvement practices are a tribute to the “West” in the face of the Japanese challenge.