MANAGEMENT UPDATESVENSON &WALLACE, INC.Volume 2, No.1 SPRING 1988

LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT

Dear Clients and Friends:

As you can see, we've changed our name to reflect the partnership thatexists between Karen Wallace and myself. The name is different, butwe're the same.

Having said that, I have to reflect on changes in our business.

Like most other fields, ours seems to be becoming more -complicatedevery day. Our business used to consist mainly of front end analysisand the design of strategic training plans and performance-basedcurricula . .While this-remains a.core.of our business-the projects ----we've worked on recently have become increasingly varied and morechallenging.

I believe that one of the biggest challenges we PerformanceTechnologists will face in the next five to ten years is how to apply our

technology to the design of "sociotechnical systems." The first article in this issue of our newsletteraddresses this concern.

Another challenge we face is how to make training more interesting and effective, given constraints on timer>. and budget. The second article is about non-traditional approaches to training that don't involve high-tech or

expensive media. The article gives an example of how stories can be used to improve trainee recall and makelearning more enjoyable.

As always we are interested in your reactions to our Management Update newsletter. Through yourcomments and questions, we can keep in touch with what many of you are doing, which is very gratifying.

~-~- THE HUMAN-5-IBE-H-F- ~~- A-CRQSS-FUNGl;'IONAL-AE.PROAGH

AUTOMATION

According to a recent article inthe Wall Street Journal, Ford hassurpassed GM in earnings, unitcosts, and product quality,making it the industry leader forthe first time since the 1920's.How did they do it? Fordinvested in their people, whereas

r>. GM invested in high techequipment. Many companieshave fallen prey to "hardware

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Design of the Sociotechnical System is best accomplished by using across-functional approach. A team should be formed consisting of:

.Engineering or Systems people ( representing hardware andsoftware technology)

Performance Technologists (representing the human systems)

Management and Workers (representing the work and theorgamzation).

Working together, the teams design the technology and human systemssimultaneously, using the process outlined in the chart on the next page.

It used to be that no thought was given to the people side of a newtechnology project until the system was ready to be installed. Now,

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THE HUMAN SIDE OFAUTOMATION(Continued from page 1)

hype," believing that they cansolve all their problems bybuying the best and thenewest hardware.

Dollar for dollar, companiesoften get more return for theirmoney by investing in theirpeople rather than in high techequipment. However, simplyinvesting money in the peopleside of a business is noguarantee of success. Aninstinctive reaction by mostcompanies is to do moretraining of employees so theyare better able to deal with thenew technology.

However, the solution goesfar beyond training.Implementation of newtechnology usually requires aradical re-design of theHuman Performance System,or what more recently hasbeen called the"Sociotechnical System".

The idea of a SociotechnicalSystem has been around sincethe 1920's. However, theneed for such systems hasnever been greater than it istoday, with every type oforganization undergoingmassive technological change.

Performance technologyprovides a systematicmethodology for the design ofSociotechnical Systems thatallows companies to realizethe benefits of new equipmentand technology.

A CROSS-FUNCTIONAL APPROACH(Continuedfrom page 1)

Sociotechnical System Design Project

Conceptualization

Macro Design

Development

Implementation

Establish systemboundaries

Define performancerequirements

•System macro

design

Subsystemspecifications

I• •Hardware/software Humansystemperformance

Development or systems

procurement development

I I•Training

Testing

Debugging

most companies invite input from human resource people earlier in theproject. The problem we've observed is that these individuals are almostnever Performance Technologists. Their viewpoint and job responsibil-ities are usually too narrow. They only design one aspect of the humanperformance system - the one they know about. Usually it's technicaltraining. Sometimes it's quality circles or job evaluation, but rarely is itPerformance Technology, which addresses all components of theSociotechnical System.

Since the pace of technological change is not likely to slow down,Performance Technology should become one of the core technologies ofthe next twenty-five years. Those of us who practice the technology havea responsibility to "market" our services to management and to hardwareand software technologists.

For additional reading:

Hoerr, J., Pollock, M., and Whiteside, D. "Management Discoveries--The Human Side of Automation." Business Week, September 29, 1986.

Svenson, R. A. "Getting the Benefits of Technological Change: TheRole of Performance Technology in Sociotechnical Systems Design."Performance and Instruction, July, 1987.

Walton, R. E., and Susman, G. 1. "People Policies for the NewMachines." Harvard Business Review, March-April, 1987.

Zemke, R. "Sociotechnical Systems: Bringing People andTechnology Together." Training, February, 1987.

Please write us if you would like an expanded version of this article.

r>. PRODUCT MANAGEMENT CURRICULUM

Recently we completed the development of several modules in anextensive performance-based training curriculum designed for peoplenewly hired as Product Managers in a large corporation. Thecurriculum is designed to bring new hires "up to speed" more quicklythrough a process of acquiring basic skills necessary for productmanagement, learning about other people and divisions within thecompany with whom the Product Manager must interact, and learningthe specifics about their own jobs and local organizations.

In addition to a series of CBT modules on organizational interfaces, thetraining sequence includes:

• Two self-paced modules designed to orient the new productmanager to the local division's structure, products and interactionswith other people and departments at his/her location. Thesemodules include checklist job aids which guide the product managerand his or her supervisor through various exercises whichaccomplish the objectives of the learning experience.

• A "novel" which is a fictional account of the first year on the job fora new product manager. The book traces the professionalexperiences of a young engineer who has recently completed herMBA and taken a job with a large corporation which mirrors ourclient's organization. Her professional progress is charted incontrast to the others in her department including an individualwhose management style tends to keep him in difficult circum-stances at every turn.

The novel introduces the new product manager to many aspects ofthe hectic schedule which is the lot of those in her position, Shetravels frequently on short notice, has encounters with a widediversity of personality types, learns through positive and negativeexperiences what the complexities of the job entail, and grows intothe job during the year the novel traces.

The primary intent of the novel is that it serves as an overview of thejob and as an advanced organizer for the other training moduleswhich follow it.

• The final module in the new hire sequence is an instructor-led course/">. which is centered around a business simulation. The course

objectives are all aimed at introducing the newly hired productmanager to the way the client organization does business. There are

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SVENSON & WALLACEPROJECTS

The American Society forTraining and Development(ASTD) predicts that by 1999the investment by employers inemployee education and trainingwill increase by 25 to 30percent. Some of our recentclient projects certainly verifythis trend.

We have been involved in.thedevelopment of a number ofStrategic Plans for Training forsuch companies as:

• Illinois Bell• Salt River Project (Power

and Water, Phoenix)• Northern Trust Bank• Kodak• AT&T• General Motors.

Several clients have asked us todevelop Performance-basedcurriculum designs. These haveincluded:

• NASA - Engineering andResearch Managers

• Illinois Bell - Second LevelManagers

• AT&T - Product Managers(Manufacturing)

• Northern Trust Bank -Personal Financial ServicesMiddle Managers.

Some of our curriculum workhas led us into the developmentof custom designed courses forclients:

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RECENT PROJECTS(Continued from page 3)

• AT&T - Basic Skills inPToduct~anagenlent(Seearticle in this issue)

• Multigraphics (Division of~ International) - A self-paced sales training program.

We also see a trend towardincreased willingness to useperformance consulting for non-training projects. Examplesinclude:

• ARCa, Alaska - Performance-based Pay ProgressionProgram for techniciansworking in the Prudhoe Bayoil field.

• Nesbitt-Thomson (Toronto-based Stock Brokerage) - AQuality Improvement projectfor the Operations Depart-ment,

• Semblex, Inc. - A productivityimprovement project for amanufacturer of industrialfasteners.

Published by

SVENSON &.WALLACE, INC.2100 Manchester Road, Suite 103

Wheaton, IllinOIS601g,321/665-5765

This Management Update is preparedquarterly by the staff of Svenson &Wallace, Inc. Its purpose is to sharespecific applications of PerformanceTechnology to improve quality andproductivity in organizations.

©Copyright 1988. All rights reserved.

PRODUCT MANAGEMENT CURRICULUM(Continued from page 3)

explanations of numerous company business topics with anemphasis on product life cycles, interactions with multiple factionswithin the company and financial planning and evaluation.

The simulation built into this course centers on successful manage-ment of a family of high tech products. Each class participantplays numerous roles throughout the multiple phases of the simu-lation, but has ultimate product management responsibility for onlyone product in the product family,

The simulation is organized around the concept of extendedproduct teanl meetings in which various company roles (sales,product support, marketing, research and development, manu-facturing) are played by class participants. Each participantaSSUnleseach role as the simulation progresses through numerousrounds in each of the classic product life cycle phases (develop-ment, production, growth/maturity, decline). Within these productteam meetings, the participant playing the role of product managerhas the responsibility to gather information from the other teammembers regarding their functional areas. After gathering theinformation, product plans, including fmancial plans and forecasts,must be developed and presented.

While the simulation company and its products are fictitious, theplanning process, team meetings and fmancial decision-makingclosely resemble those of the client organization.

A number of lectures, exercises and job aids are included in theclass to support the business simulation,

Response to the class sessions from the target audience and theirsupervisors has been very enthusiastic.

NSPI's TWENTY -SIXTH ANNUAL CONFERENCE

The National Society for Performance and Instruction will hold its 26th

annual conference this year in Washington D.C. from Apri14-9, 1988.We know that many of our clients and friends will attend this importantconference. We would like to point out that we will be making twopresentations this year. Ray Svenson and Karen Wallace will present"Strategic Planning for Training" on Friday, April 8 at 9: 15 am, GuyWallace and Nick Bridges will present "Designing a MaintenanceCurriculum Using Behavior Analysis and Group Process" onWednesday, April 6 at 4:00 pm, \..J