Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
over). This circumstance—dependence on both the repetitiousness of
mass production and the high skill of craft production—lends itself to
the deployment of lean production.
Critically, workers are given a large amount of responsibility for or-
ganizing and improving their own work practices. For instance, every
three months, workers in the MBPG are given a two-week “sabbatical”
to refl ect on their work and to come up with schemes for improving and
streamlining the processes and workfl ows in which they are involved.
Despite the repetitive nature of many tasks, managers realize that the
success of projects ultimately depends on the skill and the commitment
of individuals. One study of computer “fi nishers,” for example, recog-
nized the difference in interests between “workers” and “managers”:
The Center's senior management consisted primarily of academ-
ics and researchers, many of whom had pioneered modern gene
sequencing. Typically PhDs, these managers held long-term ca-
reer interests in the fi eld of genomics. Though they ran a pro-
duction facility, their ambitions also included publication, ten-
ure, and senior roles in industry. This background contrasted
sharply with that of the fi nishing personnel. Coordinators and
fi nishers were typically young, in possession of a bachelor's
degree, and at an early stage in their career. Some aspired to
long-term careers in genomics or medicine. For others, fi nishing
represented a temporary stopping point on the way to other
careers.
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Making fi nishing more effi cient meant rethinking incentives and reor-
ganizing teams to bring management and worker goals into accord. The
challenge was to maintain a sense of “pride and ownership” in the work
while fostering cooperation and teamwork. Scott Rosenberg, an analyst
from MIT's Leaders for Manufacturing Program, proposed new metrics
for measuring fi nisher performance that would foster employee growth,
encourage teamwork, and reward innovation as well as measuring indi-
vidual performance.
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Moreover, Rosenberg proposed new ways to organize fi nishing
teams in order to encourage collaboration and knowledge sharing. The
difference between the original “skills-based” teaming, which assigned
tasks to fi nishers on the basis of their experience, and the new “triage-
based” teaming, which allowed junior fi nishers to try their hand at more
diffi cult tasks, is illustrated in fi gure 3.6.
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By allowing junior fi nishers
