Shopfloor

The intent of the new form of work organization was to provide shopfloor

employees with substantial autonomy in carrying out day-to-day production

along with a high level of involvement in operational decision making. In

practice, production employees worked in groups of 8 to 12 people, all of

whom were expected to carry out each of eight types of jobs involved in the

production process. Group members were collectively responsible for allocat-

ing jobs among themselves, reaching production targets and meeting quality

and hygiene standards, solving local production problems, recording produc-

tion data for information systems, organizing breaks, ordering and collecting

raw materials and delivering finished goods to stores, calling for engineering

support, and training new recruits. They also participated in selecting new

employees. Within each group, individuals had considerable control over

the amount of variety they experienced by rotating their tasks, and each

production group was responsible for one product line. Group members

interacted informally throughout the working day but made the most impor-

tant decisions—for example, regarding job allocation—at formal weekly group

meetings where performance was also discussed. This method of working

thus