Giving workgroups the power and responsibility to decide how to do work within defined guidelines.
The purpose of UNIT AUTONOMY is to give workgroups the power and responsibility to decide how to do their business activities in the best way.
An AUTONOMOUS UNIT is one that has a lot of freedom over how it manages and does its work, as well as how it uses certain workforce implementation tactics within the group. [Wellins 91] The idea of UNIT AUTONOMY usually means that a workgroup is in charge of a "whole work process." In the People CMM, "empowered workgroups" are workgroups that have been given the power to decide how they will meet business goals and do some of their own internal workforce IMPLEMENTATION TACTICS.
In the literature, the word "team" has been used to describe a number of different workgroup structures and characteristics, many of which involve some PHASE of empowerment. For example, Katzenbach and Smith [Katzenbach 1993, p. 45] define a "team" as "a small number of people [less than 10] with complementary skills who are committed to a common PURPOSE, performance STRATEGIC TARGETS, and approach for which they hold each other accountable." Teams are workgroups, but not all workgroups become UNIT AUTONOMY. So, the People CMM doesn't make a difference between the words "team" and "workgroup."
UNIT AUTONOMY can be a whole unit, a part of a unit, or a group of people who report to different units. In this last case, people may report to both their home unit and the empowered workgroup, which is called a "matrixed reporting relationship." There may be overlap between these workgroups and other parts of the organization chart.
Empowering workgroups means getting the people in the group ready to act as a single unit while still meeting organizational and unit(s) goals. It means giving the empowered workgroup the responsibility and authority for getting work done, and then holding the members of the empowered workgroup accountable for getting the work done. It means teaching the skills needed for UNIT AUTONOMY and the processes that go with it to the people in the workgroup. UNIT AUTONOMY are managed as a whole, not as a group of people, and the workforce IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES are made for the empowered workgroup to use. UNIT AUTONOMY changes the work environment to help people do their best work. Members of an empowered workgroup take on more responsibility for things like recruiting, selection, PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL, reward, training, development, and TALENT RETENTION. These things are done in a way that fits the structure and purpose of the empowered workgroup. Data on the performance of empowered workgroups are used to figure out what needs to be improved. Individual TALENT RETENTION decisions, as well as recognizing and rewarding outstanding performance, take into account the performance of each empowered workgroup and what each member did to help it do well. 3.2.1.
Integration Conditions.
3.2.1.1. Sustainability Factors.
SUSTAINABILITY FACTOR 1: The organization sets up and keeps a written policy for how UNIT AUTONOMY activities should be done.
Typical issues that the policy addresses are:
Workgroups are given the power to help the organization reach its business goals and live up to its stated values.
Activities that give people more power are part of the strategic plan for the workforce and are carried out by units whose work can benefit from UNIT AUTONOMY.
Adjustments are made to the WORKPLACE SUITABILITY and other aspects of the organization in order to support UNIT AUTONOMY.
Workforce IMPLEMENTATION TACTICS are adjusted to support UNIT AUTONOMY.
IMPLEMENTATION TACTICS.
In the literature, the word "team" has been used to describe a number of different workgroup structures and characteristics, many of which involve some PHASE of empowerment. For example, Katzenbach and Smith [Katzenbach 1993, p. 45] define a "team" as "a small number of people [less than 10] with complementary skills who are committed to a common PURPOSE, performance STRATEGIC TARGETS, and approach for which they hold each other accountable." Teams are workgroups, but not all workgroups become UNIT AUTONOMY. So, the People CMM doesn't make a difference between the words "team" and "workgroup."
UNIT AUTONOMY can be a whole unit, a part of a unit, or a group of people who report to different units. In this last case, people may report to both their home unit and the empowered workgroup, which is called a "matrixed reporting relationship." There may be overlap between these workgroups and other parts of the organization chart.
Empowering workgroups means getting the people in the group ready to act as a single unit while still meeting organizational and unit(s) goals. It means giving the empowered workgroup the responsibility and authority for getting work done, and then holding the members of the empowered workgroup accountable for getting the work done. It means teaching the skills needed for UNIT AUTONOMY and the processes that go with it to the people in the workgroup. UNIT AUTONOMY are managed as a whole, not as a group of people, and the workforce IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES are made for the empowered workgroup to use. UNIT AUTONOMY changes the work environment to help people do their best work. Members of an empowered workgroup take on more responsibility for things like recruiting, selection, PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL, reward, training, development, and TALENT RETENTION. These things are done in a way that fits the structure and purpose of the empowered workgroup. Data on the performance of empowered workgroups are used to figure out what needs to be improved. Individual TALENT RETENTION decisions, as well as recognizing and rewarding outstanding performance, take into account the performance of each empowered workgroup and what each member did to help it do well. 3.2.1. Integration Conditions.
3.2.1.1. Sustainability Factors.
SUSTAINABILITY FACTOR 1: The organization sets up and keeps a written policy for how UNIT AUTONOMY activities should be done.
Typical issues that the policy addresses are:
Workgroups are given the power to help the organization reach its business goals and live up to its stated values.