Some recent studies highlighted that humans are more
creative in solving problems and coming up with new ideas when they are allowed
to work on their own, without any management control or guidelines. Though the
concept sounds new and radical for technology professional like me, where
management has major say on individual’s work, this isn’t new to the world of
scientists and research professionals.
As technological revolution started after industrialisation most
of the technology firms have an organisation structure similar to manufacturing
companies which is a hierarchical structure where every person has a boss and he/she
works according to what the boss decides. This caused innovation to stall and
most of the innovations came from new start-ups or individuals who had the
freedom of working on their own terms.
In todays’ world of patent wars technology companies can
survive and outpace their rivals only if they can come up with futuristic
technologies before their rivals does, or they should be bidding for new
start-ups who has a better technology. This huge reliance on innovation has led
to the above mentioned studies, whose results make us think ‘Isn’t it obvious’.
So the outcome of all the competition and these studies has
resulted in some major organisation implementing ‘Autonomous Working’ as a
pilot project. So, the employees who are part of autonomous working group can
do whatever they want and in fact work whenever they want to. So, in essence they are their own boss, except that
they don’t get all the money their work is going to generate, if it does
generate anyway.
This new concept is slowly but surely gaining ground and
today such autonomous groups are present in all the major companies who strive
on innovations. But can this new concept ever be implemented across the board?
I doubt that it would, at least I can’t see it happening in my lifetime. The
main reason for my scepticism is that even though the new structure brings
innovations it doesn’t work well in majority of other situations. For example
if the new innovations have to take shape they need to be developed by a group
of people and this group of developers have to work according to specifications
of the new innovation. So, though autonomous work groups are a great idea it still
needs the help of classic hierarchical organisation structure to get the innovation
to market.
I might be wrong and some day there might be another
research which makes me think ‘How did I miss that’. But for now I can’t see
the death of management in the world of technology where innovation is the cog
for survival.
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