The New Self-Directed Work Teams: Mastering the Challenge

by Jack Orsburn, John H. Zenger

Forward-thinking corporations around the globe--from long-established leaders to fast-growing newcomers--have made it Committed, self-directed work teams are today's new paradigm for success. And as customers demand ever-shorter cycle times and ever-higher satisfaction levels, the positive effects numbers such as these have become increasingly difficult to ignore. THE NEW SELF-DIRECTED WORK TEAMS, SECOND EDITION, outlines a step-by-step process for implementing self-directed work teams, transforming your workplace into one that naturally breeds worker responsibility as it increases productivity and quality. Productivity experts Jack Orsburn and Linda Moran--whose methods have helped companies including TRW, General Electric, and Cummins Engine to implement self-directed work teams--have updated their classic work team bible to Fully updated case histories and examples of self-directed work team success outlined in several new chapters; 19 critical tools and techniques for seamlessly integrating work teams into your office or factory environment; Guidelines for integrating new information technologies into a coordinated team effort; Programs to combine flexible compensation systems with greater stakeholder empowerment; Checklists to help you gauge current levels of employee involvement, and the potential benefits of work teams; A framework for working with teams to select team leaders--and ensuring those leaders can fulfill their roles. THE NEW SELF-DIRECTED WORK TEAMS updates the authors' original benchmark reference work to explore latest work team implementation guidelines, update case studies of the dramatic impact of self-directed work teams, and discuss the surprising trends and market realities that will redefine the employer/employee relationship in the 21st century. Let this remarkable guidebook lead you and your organization into a new era of improved customer satisfaction, management effectiveness, and--most important--employee performance.

416 pages, Hardcover

First published September 3, 1999