Replying to LO26556
Warren wrote in part:
>I am looking for some empirical research in this [new staff in
>changing culture] area or writers who have proclaimed its value...
I'm not sure I understand your request, but I will take it as meaning 'the
role of staff and staff groups in a changing culture.' Joel Henning claims
that staff groups have a critical role to play, but that the must make
some fundamental changes in their outlook.
"Staff groups will have a decisive impact on the future success
or failure of a business. ...
Staff groups and their clients do not know how to successfully
talk and work with each other. ...
Both clients and staff groups must change if the full measure of
the staff's contribution to the business is to be realized. ... For
staff it means forsaking the fixation with its relationship to senior
management." (page ix)
His perspective is essentially that staff groups have to stop thinking of
themselves as part of some protected monopoly, and view themselves as a
'business at risk.' Staff groups have to make a business case that they
add genuine value ... and do it at a reasonable price. The staff group
has to be crystal clear about its 'offer.'
"This choice is not about working harder at what you have always been
doing. It is not about fixing a strained relationship with your clients
by being more therapeutic. This choice is about standing in a place you
have never stood before, looking at your organization in a way you never
looked at it before, and putting yourself on the line in a way you have
never been on the line before." (page 26)
Title: The Future of Staff Groups
Publication Year: 1997
Author(s): Henning, J.
Publisher: Berrett-Koehler
ISBN: 1-57675-025-6
Michael A
- Michael Ayers
Mailto: mbayers@mmm.com Voice (651) 733-5690) FAX (651) 737-7718
IT Prof.Dev. 3M Center 224-2NE-02 PO Box 33224 St. Paul MN 55133-3224
Sometimes the right question is, 'Are we asking the right question?'
Ideas contained in this note represent the author's opinions and
do not intentionally represent the positions of anyone else in this galaxy.
--[Host's Note: In assoc w/Amazon.com...
The Future of Staff Groups : Daring to Distribute Power and Capacity by Joel P. Henning http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1576750256/learningorg
..Rick]
Learning-org -- Hosted by Rick Karash <Richard@Karash.com> Public Dialog on Learning Organizations -- <http://www.learning-org.com>
"Learning-org" and the format of our message identifiers (LO1234, etc.) are trademarks of Richard Karash.