Evolution of Organization models through manufacturing eras

The evolution of organization structures intrigued me when I started reading “The Future Arrived Yesterday” by Michael Malone. The shrinking lifecycle of a product, mass customization, and concept of disposable factories that I wrote about is taking place at an alarming speed that is going to change the dynamics of the industries. The pace of how organizations have evolved – Joint Ventures, Outsourcing, Offshoring, and Captive centers over the last 20 years has been faster than the previous 200 years. I am not an expert in the field of Organization Behavior, but I believe the evolution of Organization Structures due to rapid deployment of technologies, and infinite bandwidth will have implications that are far-reaching in Designing Operating Models (Business Processes, People, and Ownership & Metrics). Michael Malone talks about “The Protean Corporation” structure & concept of “Shape-Shifters” as the evolution of Organization Model. In my opinion, this concept is taking hold in some form at some levels of every company.

The history of “Six Epochs of Change” by Ramchandran Jaikumar, brings relevance to the argument whether the Organizations should continue evolving -

NATURE OF WORK

The Craft/Guild System [1780]

Standards for Work	Absolute product
Work Ethos	“Perfection”
Worker Skills Required	Mechanical craft
Control of Work	Inspection of work
Organizational Change	Break-up of guilds
Staff/Line Ratio	0:40
Line workers per machine	15

The English System [1800]

Standards for Work	Relative product
Work Ethos	“Satisfice”
Worker Skills Required	Repetitive
Control of Work	Tight supervision of work
Organizational Change	Staff-line separation
Staff/Line Ratio	20:130
Line Workers per Machine	3

The American System [1860]

Standards for Work	Work standards
Work Ethos	“Reproduce”
Worker Skills Required	Repetitive
Control of Work	Loose of work/ tight of contingencies
Organizational Change	Functional specialization
Staff/Line Ratio	60:240
Line Workers per Machine	1.6
Focus of Control	Process conformance
Instrument of Control	Stop watch
Rework (as fraction of total work)	.25

Scientific Management (The Taylor System)

1880-1890

Standards for Work	Process standards
Work Ethos	“Monitor”
Worker Skills Required	Diagnostic
Control of Work	Loose supervision of contingencies
Organizational Change	Problem-solving teams
Staff/Line Ratio	100:200
Line Workers per Machine	1.3

The Statistical Process Control Era (1930)

Standards for Work	Technology standards
Work Ethos	“Develop”
Worker Skills Required	Learn/ generalize/ abstract
Control of Work	No supervision of work
Organizational Change	Product-Process Program
Staff/Line Ratio	20:10
Line Workers per Machine	0.3