Nigel Andrews and General Electric Plastics (A)

Issues

The steering committee is refusing to have a meeting for Workout IV because it is scheduled on Wednesday September 6^th; a day the steering committee decided would be “meeting-free.”  Larry Bossidy (Bossidy) has this date locked into his calendar in order to observe the Workout session. Rescheduling the meeting could take up to three months.

Issue Analysis

Approaching Large-Scale Change

In order to achieve the “lasting and positive large scale change” spoken of by Peggy Holman (Holman), General Electric (GE) had to completely move away from past organizational anchors toward an operation “characterized by ‘speed, simplicity, and self-confidence.’” This organizational change would not simply become an event that was constructed of months of preparation and anticipation only to produce excitement and increased productivity in the short-term. Instead, GE sought for a long-term impact that would, as Holman advocates, become a process of endless dedication and consistency to the revolutionary and systematic operational change.

Systemic, High-Involvement Change

Holman says that achieving large-scale change involves “a wide array of people” who are committed to an approach of systemic change. Nigel Andrews’ (Andrews) staff and the “steering committee” of employees represented roughly 50 to 75 of many of the most dedicated employees within GE to help streamline their most important operational issues. Gathering employees with the greatest conviction to the vision of GE complements Holman’s view on the importance of establishing what, who, and how, through systemic, high-involvement change. Having these preliminary systems in place, with employees from across all functions, ensures the approach to change is likely to be accepted and implemented as the organization renovates operations.

Shared Vision through Asch Conditions

Upon congregating around the issues with Workout, employees immediately began collectively defining their purpose and categorizing the people that would participate in affecting the changes, the steering committee being the most involved. Despite criticism and busy schedules, members of this group met often to understand what they aspired to; doing so organically—without manuals to guide their approach.  This commitment to meet often exemplifies Asch’s conditions to uncovering the conditions for trust within the Workout program. The effectiveness of developing shared vision is demonstrated at the end of Workout I, when a recommendation to make Wednesday free of meetings is supported by virtually all participants. It was noted that the proposal was “greeted with thunderous applause.” This is the type of united energy and shared vision was described by Holman as a bi-product of companies applying Asch conditions when executing a large-scale change.

Informal Caucus

The chair of the steering committee mentioned that the need to reschedule the September session was a matter of principle. He then said that violating the work-free day would “kill Workout.” It would be wise for Andrews to consider how significant the decision to proceed with the workshop is for the committee. This has become a matter of integrity for Andrews. If he moves forward with the meeting, then his commitment will not have as much value to those who support him. This could be a devastating decision for his career—especially when Bossidy has not shown much interest in the program.

Recommendations

Re-scheduling Workout IV

Currently, schedules for both Bossidy and Andrews appear non-negotiable. Therefore, Andrews should arrange to have Bossidy observe a Workout session as soon as his schedule allows. Bossidy should be informed that if a specific date is not available to evaluate the workshops that he is welcome to drop in on a Workout at his leisure. A debriefing e-mail should be sent to Bossidy with details of how the meeting was structured, recommendations that were mentioned, how the recommendations were received, information on how the group is moving forward, as well as details for the upcoming Workout V meeting.

In the meantime, Workout IV should be scheduled for Tuesday September 5^th and not Wednesday September 6^th.  This will maintain the incredible momentum established with the previous Workout meetings. Andrews should contact the steering committee chair immediately to ensure this plan of action sounds reasonable. An outline should then be developed for the Workout.