By S. Hadi Abdullah                                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                                      
TWO weeks ago, we read about how self-directed teams, Procter                                                                                         
& Gamble at Augusta and the Charmin Paper Company, worked.                                                                                        
Today we will see how this was further developed in Procter &                                                                                     
Gamble, Nissan and Texas Instruments Malaysia.                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                                      
At the Procter & Gamble plant at Lima, Ohio, self-directed                                                                                        
technician teams were maturing and taking on new dimensions.                                                                                          
One of the conspicuous schemes that were implemented in the                                                                                           
Lima plant was the skilled-based pay system hinging on the                                                                                            
principle that people should be paid according to what they                                                                                           
know and accomplish.                                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                                      
There were five levels, each having a range within it. There                                                                                          
were no fixed numbers to any one of the grades meaning that,                                                                                          
theoretically, all the technicians could attain the top grade.                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                                      
At Lima, some 185 technicians (60 per cent) were in the top                                                                                           
grade. Technicians moved from one Qualification Block (Q                                                                                              
block) to another, reaching the top grade of General                                                                                                  
Technician. Each grade had its own qualification process, and                                                                                         
members were quizzed by fellow teammates before promotion.                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                                      
On-line means work that is directly related to the product                                                                                            
including its packaging, shipping and so on. Off-line means                                                                                           
jobs outside the above category.                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                                      
For example, one technician headed a small team, full-time, to                                                                                        
design and find the best ways to manage a diverse workforce.                                                                                          
Another person was made the training Coordinator, which                                                                                               
resulted in his introducing computer controls, laser scanning,                                                                                        
pneumatic controls and others.                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                                      
Off-line activity ensures that all effort and recommendations                                                                                         
were easily put into effect. For example, there was ownership                                                                                         
in the training Co-ordinators' proposal. It was based on the                                                                                          
experience of a person who knew the work and place.                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                                      
As a result, it gave confidence on the training activities                                                                                            
besides making them work. However, technicians could not make                                                                                         
a career out of off-line jobs. They had to go back to on-line                                                                                         
work.                                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                      
The plant at Lima in 1991 had progressed to such an extent                                                                                            
that a senior technician was put in charge of a project "Downy                                                                                   
rebuild" costing US$5 million (RM12.5 million).                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                                      
The project was to study the savings from packaging and                                                                                               
environmental concerns. The team was allowed to even pick its                                                                                         
own contractors.                                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                                      
Tim Bible and his people accomplished this task in a record 16                                                                                        
weeks. Their awareness of "time to market" was excellent.                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                                      
Team members were free to "challenge" recommendations from                                                                                  
headquarters. There was a hiring committee composed of                                                                                                
volunteers who had been trained in the field of recruiting.                                                                                           
Before the final appointment, the prospective candidate met                                                                                           
his/her team to get a feel of whether they could work                                                                                                 
together.                                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                      
Yutaka Kume was the president of Nissan in 1985. Things looked                                                                                        
bleak. The organisation had, as he put it, an "inward-looking                                                                                    
bureaucratic culture."                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                      
Nissan's domestic share dropped from 33.7 in 1972 to 25.6 per                                                                                         
cent in 1985. Toyota had moved up. The Stanza was a failure in                                                                                        
1981, not being able to attract the young.                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                                      
Kume modernised the facilities, emphasised research &                                                                                             
development, recruited top students including those from the                                                                                          
University of Tokyo.                                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                                      
He established a team called the Product/Market Strategy Group                                                                                        
which was in charge of the whole process from the designing to                                                                                        
the completion of the car.                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                                      
One of the products a team was working on was the Nissan                                                                                              
Silvia. The car was targeted for the young who were beginning                                                                                         
to form a large part of the new market. The Silvia team of                                                                                            
young people were full of enthusiasm, pouring their emotions                                                                                          
and feelings into the project.                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                                      
Unlike other members of Nissan, R&D groups need not come in                                                                                       
uniform; therefore, it was not surprising to see these people                                                                                         
in jeans. They did not have fixed hours of work. So long as                                                                                           
they clocked the necessary weekly hours, they could come and                                                                                          
go anytime they wanted.                                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                                      
This group of young people, whose average age was 28, were                                                                                            
making a car they themselves would want to buy. The company                                                                                           
even allowed them to drive the competitors' cars as an                                                                                                
exception, for them to learn from it.                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                      
When they invited Kume to see their clay model, he made no                                                                                            
comment or changes. The car rolled out; with great fanfare, a                                                                                         
10-car caravan left the Kyushu plant, taking 10 days to reach                                                                                         
Tokyo.                                                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                                      
Silvia was voted the car of the year. The group sent letters                                                                                          
of gratitude to the original buyers. It outsold its                                                                                                   
competitor, Honda's Prelude. There was no top-official role in                                                                                        
this project, the team was "self directed." Crisis had                                                                                      
motivated them.                                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                                      
In a paper presented at a MIM conference, Jerry W. Lee, the                                                                                           
former managing director of Texas Instruments of Malaysia                                                                                             
(TIM), spoke about self-managed teams in his company.                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                      
The idea had emerged when Mohd Azmi Abdullah began to discuss                                                                                         
Peter Drucker's concept of self-management: The teams at TIM                                                                                          
are composed of 10 to 15 people, each having a facilitator                                                                                            
assisted by a co-ordinator.                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                      
The position of co-ordinator is rotated among the group                                                                                               
members. These self-managed teams share responsibility and                                                                                            
often decide on quality and production matters. They are in                                                                                           
charge of the determination of their own breaks besides                                                                                               
deciding who should use which equipment.                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                      
They do not punch in time-cards as work accomplished could be                                                                                         
verified through an honour system. Since this method was                                                                                              
adopted, productivity has improved and factory net profit has                                                                                         
more than doubled.                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                      
The worker to supervisor ratio went from 60:1 to 200:1.                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                                      
Since Jerry Lee's time, TIM has been fine-tuning its                                                                                                  
self-managed teams. TIM has a peer appraisal system in which                                                                                          
workers appraise each other, and this is taken into account as                                                                                        
an input in their merit increases.                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                      
A large number of members of the team are experienced and                                                                                             
trained. Many of them are mothers some grandmothers. They are                                                                                         
therefore, rightly, treated as "independent adults," says a                                                                                 
senior member of the staff.                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                      
TIM is now embarking on a TPM (Total Production Maintenance)                                                                                          
programme. It works at "ownership" of the machines and place                                                                                
of work leading towards zero-defect zero-breakdown,                                                                                                   
zero-accident. As a starter, TIM is working on six model                                                                                              
machines.                                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                      
This company spends a minimum of 40 hours of training per                                                                                             
person. However, it is common for some to reach as many as 100                                                                                        
hours. Courses are designed by a special team that takes into                                                                                         
consideration suggestions from team members.                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                                      
Walking into this factory, one is often greeted by smiles and                                                                                         
nods from passing staff. Pictures with the names of successful                                                                                        
teams are hung all along the corridors.                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                                      
Progress of TPM implementation is for all to see and is                                                                                               
displayed on cards at worksites. Staff are rewarded for zero                                                                                          
absenteeism. Huge boards display team positions at the                                                                                                
canteens.                                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                      
The staff were celebrating in the canteen their achievement of                                                                                        
the production target when I visited them. The motto "we                                                                                         
commit, we make it" was colourfully displayed.                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                                      
There has been an overall reduction of payroll and benefits.                                                                                          
There was also a profile shift of professional staff which saw                                                                                        
a reduction in the number of manufacturing supervisory staff                                                                                          
from 79 to 12.                                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                                      
There was expanded job satisfaction and a considerable                                                                                                
reduction in employee turnover. TIM factories now run without                                                                                         
supervisors after six in the evening.                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                      
It is no surprise that Charles Monz and Henry Sims in their                                                                                           
book, Business Without Bosses, say this of Texas Instruments                                                                                          
Malaysia: "The plant is one of the best examples in the world                                                                                    
of the planned integration of self-managing work teams into a                                                                                         
TQM environment."                                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                                      
What the above teams did was "directed anatomy." As Waterman                                                                                
puts it: "Leaders need to define the game, the rules, the                                                                                        
playing field and the boundaries. Then leave it to a                                                                                                  
well-chosen and trained team to do things their own way."                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                                      
We notice that self-directed teams result from top management                                                                                         
commitment, which should work towards breaking down                                                                                                   
communication barriers, and hierarchies with managers and                                                                                             
supervisors becoming facilitators and coaches.                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                                      
The organisation, and especially the teams, will have to                                                                                              
evolve from autocratic to central control and then to                                                                                                 
partnership and highly empowered teams.                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                                      
There is a need to look at "subcultures," says Lisa Gundry of                                                                               
DePanel University of Chicago, to ascertain whether there is                                                                                          
is collabotion, competition, focus, vision loyalty and values                                                                                         
to build on in the or organisation.                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                                      
Organisations wanting to excel would build on the above                                                                                               
besides giving teams competitive benefits and lots of room to                                                                                         
self-actualise.