The Process-Based Organization: A Natural Organization Strategy

Go behind the scenes as a revolutionary approach to productivity unfolds

The Process-Based Organization
A Natural Organization Strategy
Gustavo Crosetto & Jorge Macazaga

This book uses a fascinating, story-telling approach to provide a clear overview of a process-based organization and the many benefits it can bring manufacturers.

If you want to have a more productive company and happier people working in it, read this compelling book from cover to cover.

It provides an innovative solution to company leaders who want to avoid a drastic downsizing and the consequential loss of talent… only to find out that the expected efficiency increase doesn’t materialize…and that they have to hire again more people…again reorganize…and limp along long periods of poor performance.

The Process Based Organization is insightful, informational, and life-changing—and sure to get you started down the path to productivity increases, cycle time reduction, and improvements in customer service and people motivation.

Transform your routine transaction work model to one based on business relationships, innovation, interplay, and exploration.

You’ll meet Martin—the president of a manufacturing company—and his friend John, who agrees to come on board to introduce revolutionary production and efficiency techniques. Together they walk employees through the creation of a process-based organization.

You’ll go behind the scenes to "sit in" on company meetings where employees voice concerns and top strategy decisions are made as the company moves to a new process-based model. You’ll learn:

• How creating a process-based organization is something quite different from re-engineering—a traditional change process where integrated systems are implemented or departments are re-structured.
• What’s involved in forming cells or teams based on processes—such as selling, producing, distributing, billing and collection—rather than functions.
• Why team emotion—a term that is rarely addressed in organization charts and operating manuals—is critical if you’re to achieve real results and real change.

Along the way, you’ll get answers to many of the questions you should consider before transforming your organization:

• How can you know if managers will sincerely support the change?
• How is a cell different from a business unit?
• Why should your factory, administration, human resources, and finances be aligned with your clients?
• Why do most teaming efforts fail?
• How should the change effort be started to gain employee commitment early on?
• How can short production series efficiency be improved?
• How can you develop a good communication plan that lights up the torch and your employees?

This book is for you if your organization has ever experienced any of these challenges:

• Keeping up income margins is getting more costly even though costs have been reduced
• Market share has decreased
• Your competitors aren’t just providing differential price strategies, they are improving their capacity to produce and deliver cheaper and effectively
• You sometimes incur delays in delivering orders, allowing shortage of stock (in quantity and variety) required to satisfy orders for spare parts
• Your staff lacks motivation
• There is a shortage of human resources when and where they are needed most
• Despite having a sophisticated production programming system, lead times have not improved substantially
• Cost accounting is causing a strong distortion in actual production costs

Gus Crosetto is director of Learning and Development for Freddie Mac, the second-largest home mortgage company in the United States. He previously served as a director of Clever Output International, where he was actively engaged in research and con- sulting in the areas of organizational effectiveness, corporate learning, and leadership. Dr. Crosetto has also held executive positions at organizations including Fannie Mae, Sun Microsystems, Xerox, and the Argentine Air Force. He has been the director of numerous HRD programs, including programs on cultural and leadership transformation, management, and employee development. He holds an M.S. degree in Management Information Systems and a Bachelor's degree in Computer Systems Applications from American University, and has completed his doctoral studies in Education and Human Development (Ed.D.) at George Washington University. He lives with his wife and children in Potomac, Maryland.