We have developed a new viewpoint with methods of seeing investment projects of industrial corporations as a change process in which the organization moves itself from the current situation it lives to see into a new environment. This approach enables organizations to have influence on the probability of simple stupid investments and instead to get into better shape for a future oriented survival.
A someplace already heard statement after the completion of a project with investment into process equipment or implementation of new, different or additional technology. As an impression of the reflection onto the gains of that venture: "A simply stupid investment...".
Now, what might be so "stupid" on it? The result of the investment, or the observer that is seeing himself as to unintelligent to sort it in, or "too stupid" that it is now something different than we had in mind (at the beginning).
Or to completely rephrase it: "All the efforts, the pain, the money, the emotional energy and time of life.... ....for that?" with a critical look in the face of what has been started now. Thereafter organizational processes start to modify themselve towards something new as the new "Thing" does things differently as everyone was used to so far. And it does not "do" as it has been done in the past with the past. The result of such, from the realisation of such an expensive tool initiated, self-organizing process is undeterminable. Yet with one goal in mind, the reconstitution of the initial state.
Similar to the one that got his bicycle changed to a car and he who still continues to drive arround the corner for some groceries. Even though the new mobility is able to bring him further than that. And he even does not even dare to think about that, he "did it always that way".
Changes to the technological equipment of a organization inflict a sort of adaptation of the people towards the machines. Or resistance and we might record a increasing number of "complaints" of what is still wrong with the machines and needs to be "fixed". A simple effort to circumvent that adaptation. A cycle with the aim of self-conservation of a lived to see reality, also named as autopoietic behaviour of systems.
This suddenly leads to a differentiation between the ones that can live with the new investment and the ones that could without the difficulties. And what to do now with the "difficult" ones? Some additional training maybe, or as the simple solution to it.....
What you all might get while shopping for a single technology project is more than commonly thought of. What a deal! Aftereffects and side actions that might not be seen from the technical viewpoint and which even might hide from the organization itself. Or worse, a project with no innovation at all, as everyone at the start - living in autopoiesis - has already one common thing in mind: Conservation of what is. And anything new that might be helpfull or even might later decide for better or "same" is not even considered. No, it is put aside as "difficult", as too "new" to handle right now. Later on it might be convenient to have, but then... well the project is already over then, its gone.
By combination of Systems Theorie, viewing organizations as social structures and the technical expertise of Process Equipment Engineering, Automation and Information Technology PILLWAX Industrial Solutions Consulting suceeded a new approach for the steersmanship of such projects.
Some of the guidelines of this process are:
- Articulation of substantiated tokens on which can be recognized if and how far the goal of the investment has been reached.
- Examination of possible side effects and with it the clarification if these effects are worth the effort.
- Organization of ressources and establishment of a frame of access to these ressources to allow coordination between project tasks and the tasks of daily business.
- Identification of the parties involved and examination of the effects the project could have onto them.
Such external steersmanship of a project allows an continuous adaptation of the organization to the arriving technology, the creation of a intelligent technical project and the continuative learning experience beginning with the start. At the goal of it that someone may hear somehting like "Well it is as we would never done anything different" shortly after the startup. A happy arrival with something new.