Pressures of Co-evolution

Dynamism & Systems

The whole situation is dynamic and change is ever-present. An organization co-evolves with its environment. Staff co-evolve with their roles and departments. A determinedly active approach to management is required: i.e. management dynamism.

Change anywhere may ramify widely and initiatives are usually resisted. Changing ideas is easy, so issues are far clearer at the lower levels where managers constantly struggle to master practicalities. Managers here are commonly preoccupied with a variety of initiatives amidst a continuing series of disruptions. Naturally they are sceptical of grand visions and disinclined to heed HQ policy that seems to make no sense.

To win staff over, additional attention and unambiguous authority are required, and this is provided by a Triadic grouping.

Driving improvement should have as its goal the maintenance of stability during the changes. To produce effective alteration of a given activity (g1), the setting of new goals and standards (g3) must be mediated by the development of programs (g2). In other words, co-evolution has three components. All three components engage with specific duties and so correspond to three levels of work.

As shown, the organization can be remodelled by staff at WL7-WL5, its operations are reformed by staff at WL6-WL4, specific developments are produced by staff at WL5-WL3, any new change is maintained by staff at WL4-WL2, and operations are kept stable by staff at WL3-WL1. The details of each Triad are specified below.

Aside from CEOs at WL7 who mastermind change, and WL1 staff who are at the receiving end and frequently reject it, the majority of managers expect to handle a plurality of responsibilities in relation to improvement. At the work-levels directly responsible for operations—WL5, WL4, WL3—managers experience stresses because they must simultaneously accommodate three different approaches: 

  • championing ideas that drive change,
  • mediating higher demands by developing feasible specifications, &
  • putting improvements into practice without causing excessive turmoil.

ClosedDetails for each Level

WL6: working out appropriate implementation of radical re-modelling (G352) and systematically driving through reforms to existing operations (G343).

WL5: implementing radical re-modelling as prescribed (G351) handling reforms by developing an appropriate strategy (G342), and driving through development of existing operations systematically (G333).

WL4: implementing reforms as prescribed (G341), pursuing operational development by appropriate adjustments to plans and budgets (G342), and systematically ensuring maintenance of all change initiatives (G343).

WL3: implementing developments within operations as prescribed (G331), maintaining agreed changes appropriately despite pressures (G322), and systematically stabilizing ongoing operations (G313).

WL2: maintaining existing developments as prescribed (G321) ensuring stability by making assessments appropriately (G312).

Manifestations

The internal structure of the Triads reveals:

  • g3: the top Level drives co-evolution by sanctioning some mandatory brief and systematically developing the relevant context (e.g. resourcing, priorities).
  • g2: a middle Level mediates the co-evolution by producing more detailed specifications appropriate to the situation, and programming implementation.
  • g1: the bottom Level implements co-evolution as prescribed within given programs.

Re-modelling Operations: G35

Co-evolution here is about determinedly expanding potential and inventing the future in the light of social forces. Re-modelling all or any operations in some basic way to handle such change usually involves the creation of new subsidiaries or the wholesale restructuring of services or re-engineering of systems in accord with some new idea, principle or paradigm.

ClosedStructure

g3: WL7 work is about systematically championing something radically new e.g. a new need to be viewed as valid, a new type of product, how finance should or should not be raised, or what global expansion is desirable.

g2: Those at WL6 must work out radical but appropriate and feasible programs implied by the new ideas.

g1: WL5 work involves developing a strategy for the actual situation that can successfully implement the changes prescribed.

Note: That if a company exits its current business (e.g. mining)Closed and starts a new business (e.g. gaming), then this does not count as improving operations, and this framework is not relevant.

Reforming Given Operations: G34

Co-evolution here is about pushing through substantial improvements to operations while staying within the currently existing overall conceptions, philosophies and vision for the future. This is a reforming (i.e. re-forming) of the operations.

ClosedStructure

g3: WL6 work involves systematically producing frameworks via better policy, new standards or more effective regulation that are to guide those within operations.

g2: WL5 staff must work out appropriate and feasible strategies for introducing these policies, standards or regulations within operations.

g1: WL4 work involves costing and programming the implementation of that change as prescribed.

Developing Operations: G33

Outside cosy monopolies or sleepy government agencies, development is the primary focus of those who manage operations. Such development, whether growth or retrenchment, occurs within a given vision and given frameworks. Services and products may be altered, introduced or discontinued in the light of foreseeable needs or emerging opportunities. There may be new policies for running operations and handling resources generally.

ClosedStructure

g3: WL5 work involves systematically producing some improvement throughout an actual operation (e.g. product innovation, better treatment of employees).

g2:  WL4 staff must specify appropriate (i.e. planned, costed, implementable) programs implied by the development.

g1: WL3 work involves working out the fine details of the prescribed program given the actual situation.

Maintaining Agreed Improvements: G32

Specific efforts must go into maintaining any development beyond the initial push to install it. Improvements never automatically stick, due to the force of habit and the presence of existing unadjusted systems. Time, money, energy and other resources allocated for new developments are being constantly chipped away to benefit existing services or deal with unexpected contingencies. This has to be explicitly resisted by management at these levels.

ClosedStructure

g3: WL4 work involves the determination to resist the entropic forces by systematically incorporating changes in plans and budgets recurrently and monitoring closely what actually happens in practice.

g2: WL3 staff must ensure systems appropriately support all relevant given developments, and monitor their use, reporting any instances of change failing to stick.

g1: WL2 work involves handling specific situations in whatever new way has been prescribed.

Stabilizing Operations: G31

The goal here is stability so that work-flow remains efficient and satisfactory at all times. (In THEE, stability is L4 within Change-PH3.) Systems, procedures and methods necessary to keep existing operations functioning smoothly must be in place and properly used. Inevitable fluctuations in demand, alterations in resource availability, staff difficulties, equipment breakdowns, environmental intrusions and similar issues must be immediately and directly handled.

ClosedStructure

g3: WL3 work involves systematically and actively confronting current disruptions and threats to an efficient effective workflow and determining necessary adjustments.

g2: WL2 staff must use given systems and emergency adjustments appropriately in specific cases.

g1: WL1 work involves producing the outputs prescribed in the actual situation; and so there is minimal scope for taking initiative without consulting.

Failure to deliver improvement is common, especially in the public sector. The cause may be traced to any Triad, or an internal Level. Detailed investigation and analysis of the particular organization is necessary to diagnose what precisely is going wrong. Errors can be usually traced back to G1: poor specification of duties, or G2: poor line-management, as well as dysfunction in higher groupings (G4-G7).

Change can occur seemingly outside this system e.g. WL4 and WL3 managers commonly innovate and introduce improvements quasi-unofficially. Their scope is necessarily restricted to where the manager exerts influence. Although such improvement is not mandatory through the whole organization, if successful it may be adopted by higher levels. On the other hand, if the change turns out to run counter to higher-level goals, it will get dismantled or be abandoned, however seemingly successful. See more in the dynamics of participation.

Next Step

Duties-G1, oversight-G2 and improvement-G3: they all depend on specialist roles that not only comprehensively cover all change duties, but all work-to-be-done generally. These Groupings take competence for granted.

However, a common finding in any major change is that new roles are required or even that the specialist skills and knowledge required are not present in the organization.

Originally posted: 19-Mar-2014