Process Improvement: Linear Approach Meets Non-Linear Human Organizations

In a recent edition of Attractors, Glenda Eoyang reflected on some of the disciplines touched by Human Systems Dynamics (HSD) and its members. HSD Associates Brenda Fake and Larry Solow have focused their efforts in the area of business and process improvement in their recently released book, What Works for GE May Not Work for You: Using Human Systems Dynamics to Build a Culture of Process Improvement. This month's ATTRACTORS features their thinking.


Many business professionals in profit and nonprofit companies have been asked to help improve processes and overall outputs. It is difficult to argue the value of improving work processes. Most of us come up with ways to improve our work every day. Six Sigma and Lean are two approaches to process improvement that provide very clear and valuable tools and methods for increasing business productivity.

The linear, disciplined approaches of Six Sigma and Lean have been hailed as successful by companies like GE, Motorola, and Honeywell. The language and standardization of these approaches clearly communicate to shareholders and customers what the company is doing to improve output. These approaches depend on being driven from the top down and can be a good fit for a company’s budgets, skill levels, and culture.

As HSD Associates in the field of process improvement and organizational effectiveness, Larry and I both saw the need to address the “wicked issues” of process improvement implementation. The most prominent of issue is that process improvement approaches follow a linear, step-by-step path for implementation and practice, regardless of the size or specific needs of the system.

It would be easy to assume that what works for mammoth, global organizations should work for any company trying to improve their business processes. This faulty assumption provides the foundation for our book. Our goal in writing the book was to respond to business professionals who feel that process improvement initiatives are being implemented in ways that are detrimental to their organizations and the individuals who work there. We intend to help increase the adaptive capacity of individuals and organizations to enable them to address effective business improvement change.

The book shows the application of HSD principles to influence process improvement change at all levels of the organization. By introducing and translating the theory, models, methods, and tools of HSD as it applies to process improvement, we can teach business professionals to influence and set conditions for both initial implementation and adaptive change over time for a process improvement initiative.

Why HSD and Process Improvement?
Human systems dynamics connects to process improvement as complex systems—individuals, teams, and organizations—work together to bring about orchestrated change. The introduction of HSD into process improvement enables individuals who work in those systems to create new possibilities for action. HSD provides:

* new perspectives for choosing an approach to business improvement implementation,
* new tools to see the patterns for improvement, and
* a deeper understanding of the level of communication exchange needed to provide value within organizations.

What Works for GE May Not Work for You was published by Productivity Press in May 2010 with a warm welcome at the American Society for Quality (ASQ) Global Conference. Readers see the benefits of HSD as a complementary set of tools to help build capacity for teams as they influence process improvement in their organizations.

We look forward to introducing the application of human systems dynamics to business improvement. If you are interested in joining us for a deeper dive into solutions for your organization using HSD and process improvement, contact the HSD website or email us.


Brenda Fake
Principal/Founder
O-2 Optimizing Organizations
HSD Associate

Larry Solow
President
3-D Change, Inc.
HSD Associate