For More Information: Modern Times Workplace, www.moderntimesworkplace.com
Purpose:
To address virtually any participative work, puzzle, or problem.
Outcomes:
• Greater cooperation, energy, and motivation for the task at hand
• A democratic team structure that supports sustainability and continuing motivation
• For unique designs, the selected application of Open Systems Theory principles and tools ensures
productive participation and high levels of intrinsic motivation to perform the needed work
When to Use:
• When effective results are required in a complex environment of multiple perspectives, clashes of interests and values, and rapidly changing external and internal conditions
When Not to Use:
• Insufficient educative preparation
• Top leadership is averse to distributing responsibilities downward
Number of Participants:
• 4–100s
Types of Participants:
• May or may not be members of the system
Typical Duration:
• Preparation: 2 weeks–6 months
• Event: 1 hour to a series of meetings over months or longer
• Follow-up: Sustainable, if uses participative democratic structure and process
Brief Example:
Since 2000, Roadway Express has held close to 40 summits across the organization to engage the
workforce, improve margins, create service innovations, launch new strategies, and consolidate its merger with Yellow Corporation. The process has energized the workforce, produced millions of dollars of cost savings, and generated millions more in new revenues.
Historical Context:
Created in the early 1990s by Merrelyn Emery together with a cast of thousands. From a very good family— parents are Search Conference and Participative Design Workshop, grandmother was Social-Technical Systems. Lewin’s work on democracy, autocracy, and laissez-faire. Asch’s work on conditions for effective communication.
 Open Systems Theory |
