MBA Dissertation

SUFFOLK COLLEGE an Accredited,College of the UNIVERSITY OF EAST ANGLIA School of Business, Management & Technology COVER PAGE TO ASSESS THE IMPACT OF LEARNING LABS ON ORGANISATIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN SUFFOLK SOCIAL CARE SERVICES, SUFFOLK COUNTY COUNCIL CHAPTER 1 Course: Module: Tutor: Name: Date: Master of Business Administration Dissertation Graham Fox Debra Lawrence DMS May 2001 SUFFOLK COLLEGE an Accredited,College of the UNIVERSITY OF EAST ANGLIA School of Business, Management & Technology TITLE PAGE TO ASSESS THE IMPACT OF LEARNING LABS ON ORGANISATIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN SUFFOLK SOCIAL CARE SERVICES, SUFFOLK COUNTY COUNCIL CHAPTER 1 Name: Debra Lawrence DMS Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration ABSTRACT Suffolk Social Care Services, Suffolk County Council were invited to participate in a national „Learning Lab‟ pilot, which was the main issue from the Government‟s White Paper, March 1999 on “Modernising” Agenda, which refers to the importance of empowering staff and the need to change the “risk averse” culture that is prevalent in central and local government. Learning Labs comprise of groups of front line staff who meet to look at issues/problems where assumptions are suspended, thinking together to enable the group to achieve what cannot be done individually, looking at the wider picture, looking „outside the box‟, being creative and sharing ideas and visions with no leader and everyone on an equal footing. The pilot consisted of three Learning Labs being set up through a Steering Group, which was independently evaluated for participants‟ thoughts, views and perceptions before and after each Lab. This was done through a series of interview questions providing in depth qualitative data. A questionnaire was also sent out to randomly selected front line staff and managers to provide quantitative data to establish the importance and effectiveness of the Learning Labs. These Learning Labs looked at topics decided by senior management to look at issues of concern within the department and were independently facilitated. Page 3 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration Secondary data was gathered to look at other models including problem solving, 360-degree appraisals, culture change and others to provide a comparison between the primary and secondary data. Departmental documents were used to establish the department‟s proposals and objectives and to record the Steering Group‟s work throughout the pilot. The aim of the Learning Labs is a „bottom up‟ approach with front line staff discussing areas of concern they have, to make recommendations and for these where possible and appropriate to be implemented. The research from the pilot clearly showed the Labs were „top down‟ looking at issues senior managers felt should be discussed with participants „chosen‟ to take part in the pilot, in some cases with no prior knowledge of the Learning Lab process. The conclusions from the research showed Learning Labs‟ recommendations were delayed in being taken forward to a decision-making committee and/or no feedback given, resulting in no actual outcomes in terms of recommendations being implemented, which was felt to be the main success factor. Page 4 of 145 Debra Lawrence The main recommendations include:  Masters in Business Administration Key person to lead the Learning Labs to ensure outcomes ie recommendations being put into action     Future Labs discussing more local issues/less political Using participants to „spread the word‟ not publications Training participants to be Facilitators Ring fencing monies to provide Facilitators/training Facilitators and „paying‟ for cover for participants to attend Learning Labs   Learning Labs to be „bottom up‟ Learning Lab process to include „Change Champions‟ to facilitate „setting up‟ of Labs  Base model on Senge/Problem Solving theories and primary research gathered  Need clear definition of model, outcomes before roll-out over County Page 5 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to give my professional thanks to the following people who have provided substantive help with my research: Simon Weeks, County Manager Organisational Development: My mentor who gave a generous amount of time and support over the last year. The members of the Steering Group: David Smith, Howard Pugh, Paula Stott, Sandra Clennell, Chris Sharpe and Bridget Cousins for their support. Graham Fox, Dissertation Tutor: Provided constructive feedback and support. Steven Roberts: Created graphs, diagrams, tables and formatted the document. Learning Lab Participants: For sharing their experiences and views. Page 6 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration TABLE OF CONTENTS COVER PAGE.................................................................................................... 1 TITLE PAGE....................................................................................................... 2 ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................ 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS................................................................................... 6 TABLE OF CONTENTS ..................................................................................... 7 CHAPTER ONE ................................................................................................. 9 1.1 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................... 9 AIMS ........................................................................................................... 9 CONTEXT ................................................................................................... 9 THE BACKGROUND/CONTEXT OF THE RESEARCH ............................. 9 1.2 RATIONALE ........................................................................................... 14 PRELIMINARY STUDY/REVIEW .............................................................. 14 1.3 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES..................................................................... 18 OBJECTIVES ........................................................................................ 18 1.4 RESEARCH PROBLEM ......................................................................... 23 CONSTRAINTS ........................................................................................ 23 1.5 PLANNED OUTCOMES ......................................................................... 26 CHAPTER TWO ............................................................................................... 28 2.0 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ............................................................... 28 CHAPTER THREE ........................................................................................... 31 3.0 SECONDARY RESEARCH/LITERATURE REVIEW .............................. 31 CHAPTER FOUR ............................................................................................. 74 4.0 PRIMARY RESEARCH – EVALUATION TO ASSESS THE IMPACT OF LEARNING LABS IN SUFFOLK SOCIAL CARE SERVICES ....................... 74 CHAPTER FIVE ............................................................................................. 105 5.0 STEERING GROUP - TO SET UP PILOT LEARNING LABS FOR EMPOWERING FRONT LINE STAFF IN SUFFOLK SOCIAL CARE SERVICES AS A MEANS OF ENCOURAGING INNOVATION AND CULTURAL CHANGE................................................................................. 105 CHAPTER SIX ............................................................................................... 110 Page 7 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration 6.0 – BENCHMARKING – COMPARISON BETWEEN SECONDARY AND PRIMARY RESEARCH – LOOK AT SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES – TO IDENTIFY GAPS................................................................................... 110 CHAPTER SEVEN ......................................................................................... 119 7.0 - CONCLUSIONS ................................................................................. 119 CHAPTER 8 ................................................................................................... 127 8.0 RECOMMENDATIONS ......................................................................... 127 REFERENCES ............................................................................................... 138 BIBLIOGRAPHY............................................................................................. 141 APPENDIX VOLUME 2 Page 8 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration CHAPTER ONE 1.1 INTRODUCTION AIMS To determine whether Learning Labs should be developed in Suffolk Social Care Services, and if so how? CONTEXT THE BACKGROUND/CONTEXT OF THE RESEARCH The main issue is that of the Government‟s White Paper, March 1999, on “Modernising” Agenda, which refers to the importance of empowering staff and the need to change the “risk averse” culture that is prevalent in central and local government. The Government has taken the view that the involvement of front line staff is a central issue to the success of the Modernising Agenda for the following reasons:      Improves the quality of service to the customer Encourages innovation at all levels Enables best use of talent Improves morale and commitment to goals Improves communication Assists in achieving Best Value Page 9 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration The agenda is now moving on to embrace issues around cultural change and the involvement and empowerment of staff through the development of improved communications and Learning Lab pilots. Most organisations can identify with the fact that communication is a problem and that front line staff usually have a better understanding of what happens at the front end. So how can this information be acquired and used constructively? In the past organisations have used methods of involving and empowering front line staff have been used, such as:        Formal staff suggestion schemes Quality Control Circles Member/Staff Panels 360 degree Appraisal Cross sectional staff/management workshops “Graffiti Boards” – on the IT system Staff magazines As part of the Modernising Agenda local authorities have been encouraged to engage with front line staff using these methods. Page 10 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration The Cabinet Office, Modernising Public Services Group, is promoting Learning Labs. The central concept is that of empowering front line staff and assisting organisational learning that is necessary to develop a first class public service; The Modernising Government White Paper sets out the Government‟s vision of a revitalised public service and contains measures to meet this commitment as part of a ten-year programme – it is acknowledged that radical change is needed in the delivery of public services; Pilots of “Real Change Leaders” have taken place in other local authorities such as Watford; Birmingham; Manchester; Durham; Spelthorne. Real Change Leaders is a team-based change management programme that has been fieldtested in eight local authorities between 1998 and 1999; In Suffolk Social Care Services it also relates to part of the re-organisational and post re-organisational tasks and the need to promote and share in good practice, learning and innovation. Suffolk Social Care Services is a large department that has recently undergone a huge re-organisation whereby employees have taken on new or changed roles in some cases in new locations with different boundaries. This can cause potential chaos in terms of miss-communication, the breakdown of existing procedures and systems whilst still requiring the department to work together as a whole providing a good quality of service. Page 11 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration The problem is that presently employees do not feel involved and empowered, particularly front line members of staff and this has been worsened by the recent re-organisation. As part of the re-organisation a new County Manager role was set up for organisational development to look at ways of involving and empowering front line staff and to look at ways of changing the culture of the organisation in a positive way and to guide its employees through this change. The influence of present, proposed and future government changes are that: The Cabinet Office originally had three official pilots in central government. To begin with the only one in local government was Birmingham but they were interested in Suffolk as a contrasting rural shire county. Suffolk Social Care Services submitted a proposal for this pilot. This has the backing of Lin Homer, Chief Executive, William McLean, Director of Suffolk Social Care Services. There would be an analysis of how changes in such elements such as social trends, structures, legislation and government policy impact on the problem within the department and how the implementation of Learning Labs would affect the department as a whole and its employees. Consideration should be given to the level of motivation during the recent re-organisation and the timing of the implementation of Learning Labs. Page 12 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration In Suffolk Social Care Services alternative solutions were explored following the Learning Lab pilot through interviews with staff and the level of success and/or failure of the pilot. Learning Labs will undoubtedly influence the profile of the organisation. How much it will influence and what the success factors are will be determined through the implementation of the pilot and the feedback from staff within the department before during and after the pilot. Page 13 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration 1.2 RATIONALE PRELIMINARY STUDY/REVIEW Following the completion of the research objectives (in Chapter 1.3) and a SWOT and PEST analysis, (See Appendices I.1 and 1.2), a preliminary study was undertaken as a checklist for evaluating literature for relevance to the research area through generating key words. This checklist determined how recent the information was, whether it supported or contradicted the argument and to what extent the content was biased. A broad study was required to provide a balanced critical review, which was essential to understand any previous relevant research undertaken and included primary and secondary research. The following key words helped assess the relevance of the literature reviewed:        Problem solving Decision making Empowerment Delegation Quality Control Circles Learning organisations Organisational Culture Page 14 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration Research Methods for Business Students – M Saunders - was particularly useful in gaining an understanding of the various research methods that can be used. This book was used primarily in the methodology section to establish exactly how data should be gathered to achieve the research objectives. The Fifth Discipline – P Senge - books are the 1990‟s way of looking at leadership with strategies and tools for building a learning organisation which identifies five new „competent technologies‟ that provide the vital dimensions in building organisations aiming to learn personal mastery, mental models, shared vision and team learning. These methods are currently being used in the USA and have been undertaken by Birmingham County Council enabling the comparison of theory and practice to be made. As the art and practice of the learning organisation is a relatively new strategy other literature such as The Japanese Approach to Product Quality and the Impact on Quality Control Circles – N Sasaki - which was used many years ago can be used to provide a balanced view of literature that is up-to-date and not so recent and used in different parts of the world. Other literature to be used includes problem solving, decision-making, effective empowerment and delegation to look at other writer‟s strategies for each area and how they compare or differ. Exploring Corporate Strategy – G Johnson & K Scholes - used to investigate corporate issues at strategic levels using a strategic approach for organisational Page 15 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration development and organisational culture, in particular the culture web. This is particularly relevant as: “culture can only be properly understood if the takenfor-granted assumptions can be unearthed. The cultural web is a useful tool for this purpose.” (G Johnson, K Scholes 1999) The challenge is to move the organisation through a culture change by enabling front line staff to be involved and empowered, thus improving confidence and trust, reducing work pressures, improving working systems and communications with the department and partner agencies. Strategies for Cultural Change – P Bates – was essential reading in terms of looking at the framework for thinking about cultural change and making sense of a range of issues requiring consideration in the struggle for a change in culture, in particular for studying strategy, change management and organisational behaviour and represents a comprehensive approach to the design and implementation of a cultural change programme. Senge asks: “Does your organisation have a learning disability?” (P M Senge 1990). The finished research will help the department move from being an organisation with a „learning disability‟ to a learning organisation and will help in the breakdown of cross departmental and agency boundaries as well as assisting Page 16 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration the department through a cultural change to encourage, involve and empower front line staff as well as improving communications. Senge stated: “Organisations learn only through individuals who learn. Individual learning does not guarantee organisational learning” (Peter M Senge 1990) Page 17 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration 1.3 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES OBJECTIVES 1. TO DETERMINE HOW BEST TO INVOLVE AND EMPOWER FRONT LINE STAFF 1.1 To look at other models that have been used in relation to organisational development, empowerment of staff, behaviour and culture change on learning organisations by means of a literature search on staff involvement and staff empowerment generally 1.2 To look at the use of Learning Labs alongside other strategic theories, influences, techniques, tools and approaches as part of an ongoing corporate process for the continuous involvement of front line staff in the development and implementation of change in the interests of better services to the public 1.3 To identify the level of success and/or failure in previous Learning Lab models and how effectiveness was measured by means of literature searches and other local authorities to identify what success factors have been critical in the past including clarity of purpose, senior management ownership and Facilitators Page 18 of 145 Debra Lawrence 1.4 Masters in Business Administration To identify what the department‟s proposals and objectives are for involving and empowering front line staff 1.5 To identify what employees‟ thoughts are on the implementation of Learning Labs in Suffolk Social Care Services 2. TO SET UP PILOT LEARNING LABS FOR EMPOWERING FRONT LINE STAFF IN SUFFOLK SOCIAL CARE SERVICES AS A MEANS OF ENCOURAGING INNOVATION AND CULTURAL CHANGE 2.1 To help develop Learning Lab pilot schemes with a view to developing ways of engaging with and empowering front line staff within Suffolk Social Care Services and partner organisations 2.2 Labs To identify costs, timescales, deadlines and Facilitators for the Learning Page 19 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration 3. TO DETERMINE HOW SUCCESSFUL THE LEARNING LAB PILOTS IN SUFFOLK HAVE BEEN 3.1 To identify benchmarks against which success can be measured – including the stated aims of the pilots, their terms of reference, people‟s expectations and costs 3.2 To define criteria for judging success against the stated benchmarks – for example people‟s perceptions after the pilot, costs identified and attendance rates of participants 3.3 To use various research methods to obtain actual measurements 3.4 To determine what unintended benefits or problems there have been by way of interviews with participants, facilitators and key people inside and outside the pilots Page 20 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration 4. TO IDENTIFY WHY THE LEARNING LAB PILOTS IN SUFFOLK SOCIAL CARE SERVICES HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFUL/NOT SUCCESSFUL 4.1 To identify what factors have promoted and/or hindered the success of Learning Lab pilots elsewhere 4.2 To identify and measure which of these factors have been present/absent and/or strong/weak in the Learning Lab pilots in Suffolk Social Care Services 4.3 To develop a model relating the success factors to the outcomes of the Learning Lab pilots in Suffolk Social Care Services 5. TO IDENTIFY WHAT CONTRIBUTION LEARNING LAB PILOTS HAVE MADE TO ORGANISATIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN SUFFOLK SOCIAL CARE SERVICES 5.1 To identify level of achievement of organisational development objectives in the department in terms of the contribution of Learning Labs by way of relevant papers and interviews with relevant managers in the department Page 21 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration 6. TO MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS ABOUT THE FUTURE OF LEARNING LABS FOLLOWING THE PILOTS 6.1 To determine how Learning Labs could be improved based on the model developed for the pilot 6.2 To consider what other models of involving and empowering staff should be considered instead, or as well as Learning Labs Page 22 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration 1.4 RESEARCH PROBLEM CONSTRAINTS Constraints of Time: It is important to ensure there is a set timescale for the Learning Labs to commence and finish. It is therefore important to set up a time plan of events to enable the work to be kept within the timescale and deadline. This time plan should also include when and how the research should be gathered and divided into stages to give a clear idea of timescale, as the process can sometimes take longer than anticipated. Time needs to be set aside/allocated to read the recommended literature with which to base a Learning Lab model. The time allocated for the research proposal will have no bearing on the methods employed or the resources needed to achieve the outcome. Constraints of Resources/Money/Costs: There are constraints on resources, for example, the cost of the Facilitator(s) at a total cost of approximately £1,000, and to decide which cost centre this should come from. It ought be acknowledged resources need to be made available to cover this. It should be noted that there is also a cost element in removing staff from their normal place of work to attend the Learning Lab meetings and the replacement member of staff to cover. Page 23 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration There is a financial constraint in terms of data collection, paper, photocopying and internal distribution. In summary conducting research costs money and this should be acknowledged from the outset and resources made available to cover this. Constraints of Access to information: As the researcher is an employee of Suffolk County Council access to documents and members of staff will not be a problem. This research also has the added advantage of having the backing of the Director of Social Care Services. Contact has been identified with other local authorities through the national pilot to access relevant information and data. It is acknowledged that generally a 25 - 30% response is expected from questionnaires. Interviews will also be undertaken to ensure sufficient information is obtained. Information will also be gathered from other local authorities. Great care and time needs to be given in designing the questions in the questionnaire and how they are distributed and carried out to ensure a reasonable response is obtained. The questionnaire was „tested out‟ on the Steering Group to ensure it provided the information required. Great care should also be given in the potential recipients of the questionnaire, ie the same number of managers and front line staff to ensure an even spread Page 24 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration across the department. Also by carrying out a sample survey first would at least give a „flavour‟ of the response expected. The researcher should ensure that all relevant literature is made available when required, by way of the purchasing or borrowing of books from the library. Constraints of length: Constraints in terms of the length of the report should be acknowledged, as this will have an impact on how much information can be written and recorded. Page 25 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration 1.5 PLANNED OUTCOMES The outcome of the research will determine whether or not Learning Labs will be implemented in Suffolk Social Care Services and if so what model should be followed and developed from which theory or theories. Learning will be an inevitable part of the research, for the researcher, staff involved inside and outside of the pilot, senior managers and the department as a whole. A comparison can be drawn up between Suffolk Social Care Services and other authorities that are presently using Learning Labs to see what lessons can be learned. A culture change in Suffolk Social Care Services in terms of the involvement and empowerment of front line staff and the way Learning Labs can be set up to benefit all staff in the department as well as providing an improved level of service to the public. Results of the evaluation of the pilot will go to the Directorate where a decision will be made on the implementation of Learning Labs in Suffolk Social Care Services and potential roll out across Suffolk County Council. Page 26 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration An improved working relationship with partner agencies having reduced boundaries and barriers, whilst improving communication and standardising systems. Data will be produced in various forms to illustrate how information was gathered and used to formulate a Learning Lab model with which Suffolk Social Care Services can adopt. To develop a new style of practice from an existing Learning Lab model to be used in Suffolk Social Care Services. The finished research will help the department by trying to understand present behaviour and culture of the department, extracting feelings and perceptions from senior management and front line staff. It will identify staff‟s perceptions of Learning Labs and staff empowerment by enabling front line staff to put their views forward to help build a learning organisation. Gaps in communication will be identified helping senior managers understand the needs, requirements and perceptions of front line staff and vice versa. Page 27 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration CHAPTER TWO 2.0 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Having identified the area of interest and developed the title, aims and objectives, part of the research process was the formulation and clarification of the topic through a preliminary literature search to gain a better understanding of the background knowledge required. Various relevant concepts, methods, techniques and facts were identified enabling the study to be relevant in terms of the importance to the department. This was done by critically reviewing the relevant literature, looking at a wide range of theories enabling a model to be adopted with which to identify and build upon a theoretical framework using strategic approaches and methods. M Saunders, (1999) states that researching a subject is a learning, training process which helps to generate new concepts broadening ones perspective by following a system, thinking and working systematically, analysing the situation, not taking anything at face value which if done properly produces valid conclusions. An explanation on how the research was collected and supplied provides a valid argument for the results obtained through the information collected and in doing so explains their limitations. Each piece of research, quantitative and Page 28 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration qualitative, was linked to the goals set and helped decide how the data was collected to meet the objectives. A detailed explanation has been provided in Appendix 2.1, justifying why one method was used and another not and also shows the acquired knowledge on the various research methods, a summary of which is as follows: The research has been divided into two areas, both of which were used in the research: Research design linked to objectives: This research design section gives an overall view of the methods chosen and the reason for that choice against each objective. An explanation is provided against each objective on how the research was carried out using the appropriate methods and approaches and why that choice was made with an explanation of what answer is required. (See Appendix 2.1 - Table 2.1) for a breakdown of research methods, which are linked to objectives in chronological order. The choice of design was effective in aiming to produce the information required within the constraints that will influence subsequent research activities, for example, the data collection method. Secondary research gathering various theories including those on empowerment, culture change, problem solving, Learning Labs and other Local Authorities involved in Learning Lab initiatives, providing a comparison between Page 29 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration primary research and strategic theories. A collection of departmental documentation provided information of proposals and objectives, which identified initiatives to enable the involvement and empowerment of front line staff. Primary research provided a record of the meetings of the Learning Lab Steering Group members including Facilitators, which identified the setting up of agreements contracts and checklists for a suggested model for the Learning Lab pilot including identifying human and financial resources. Interview questions, (qualitative), both individual and group helped to gauge the perception of the Learning Lab participants before during and after each Learning Lab in the pilot. Primary research with staff comprised of a questionnaire (quantitative), to employees connected and not connected with the Learning Lab pilot to help identify success factors, unintended benefits, problems and benchmarking them against the theory and expectation of the Government initiative. Meetings also took place with staff from other local authorities in the Local Government initiative including the Cabinet. Results from primary and secondary method research, including research collated from various theories and models were brought together to form conclusions and recommendations. Page 30 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration CHAPTER THREE 3.0 SECONDARY RESEARCH/LITERATURE REVIEW The following section will look at various models used in relation to organisation development through secondary research in terms of staff involvement and staff empowerment. This research will be compared to primary research as a benchmark in Chapter 6. 3.1 FORMAL SUGGESTION SCHEMES These are used by way of a suggestion box encouraging staff and/or members of the public to put forward their suggestions/complaints /comments. organisations use this scheme to encourage their employees to make suggestions and if used receive a bonus or reward. Some This method will endeavour to bring forward individual ideas but does not encourage communication between sections, departments or employees; it is only one person‟s suggestion. Suffolk County Council are currently considering setting up such a scheme but recognise there would need to be a system in place to manage this, to keep the momentum going and decide on what suggestions can be taken forward etc. Page 31 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration The advantage of such a system is that it provides a route for employees and customers to put suggestions forward easily. Also can be anonymous so a good mechanism for „surfacing‟ difficult issues. 3.2 THE JAPANESE APPROACH TO PRODUCT QUALITY AND THE IMPACT ON QUALITY CONTROL CIRCLES This section provides a summary of the key issues as written by (N Sasaki and D Hutchins, 1984), full details can be found in Appendix 3.1. The definition of Quality Control in Japan is not just best quality of manufactured goods but is that which satisfies the customer. “QC means to design, to produce, and to sell goods which actually meet the needs of the user” (Sasaki and Hutchins, 1984) Sasaki and Hutchins, (1984) claim that Quality Control Circles are a quality campaign designed “to increase employees‟ awareness of the need to improve product quality in order to survive” and “to persuade Executive Management to support the Quality Circle concept and approve budgets and appointments for implementation”. Page 32 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration The Facilitator is a skilled senior member of staff who would volunteer for the task. The QC would be a small group of 5 – 10 workers who would perform quality control activities on a voluntary basis in the workshop. The basic ideas behind QC Circles are the contribution, improvement and development of an enterprise, respecting others, the realisation of others‟ capabilities and the drawing out of others‟ potential - a problem solving approach for day-to-day control and management, organisational development and individual development. QC‟s are fused activities of managers and workers combined whereas reasons for failure lie normally in the hands of managers in terms of intervention, negative attitudes and workers who are suspicious of management motives. Management commitment is called for at the final stage of the process to implement valid solutions and providing recognition, which is seen as a powerful motivator. In circumstances where solutions cannot be implemented reasons are fully explained to the members so as not to reduce enthusiasm. Sasaki and Hutchins, (1984) claim that QC‟s are normally applied companywide, and every employee is educated and trained to use their full capabilities – and suggests a weakness is that it takes too long to develop and disseminate the process fully. Page 33 of 145 Debra Lawrence 3.3 360-DEGREE APPRAISALS Masters in Business Administration This section provides a summary of the key issues of 360-degree appraisals written by (Ward P, 1977), a full description can be found in Appendix 3.2. “The aim of the 360-degree feedback is to obtain performance information on an individual from those with whom they interact most – such as boss, team members and staff”. (Ward P, 1977) This section also looks at what the 360-degree appraisal is: who participates in it; what it can be used for; what impact it can have on an organisation; what is in it for the individual; what the 360-degree feedback process is; how it can be measured and how long it takes. They have had many labels, the most common being all-round feedback, peer appraisal and upward feedback but actually all describe the same thing. Ward P, (1977) states that 360-degree feedback is defined as “the systematic collection and feedback of performance data on an individual or group derived from a number of the stakeholders in their performance”. This technique provides detailed measures of behaviour and competency of an individual or group in achieving their goals. It enables individuals to assess themselves, their boss, Page 34 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration their staff, team members, internal/external customers and suppliers, (see Appendix 3.2 - Figure 3.1 – Stakeholders). Ward P, (1997) states that most companies measure their success in terms of production, profits; departments measure their objectives or targets; whereas 360-degree feedback measures how the individual or group achieved results by measuring employees opinions on issues to achieve a corporate standard of behaviour or values. However this process takes time (see Figure 3.2 – Feedback Loop - in Appendix 3.2) 3.3.1 MANAGEMENT TOOLS Ward P (1997) also compares this to other management tools such as employee surveys, ability tests, personality inventories and performance appraisals – (a full description can be found in Appendix 3.2.1). 3.4 MODERNISING AGENDA – BEST VALUE Best Value is a framework for all that we do. In this part of the Policy and Performance Plan, (Suffolk County Council‟s annual planning process), actions are examined against the Best Value headings: Page 35 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration Challenge – purpose of the service, effectiveness, consideration of new approaches Consult – what do users tell us about services and what happens as a result Compare – cost information from comparisons internally and externally Compete – an approach to contracting and purchasing, which takes full account of other providers and market management considerations (Full details can be found in Appendix 3.3). 3.5 PROBLEM SOLVING AND DECISION MAKING This section provides a summary of the key issues of problem solving and decision-making – (full details of which can be found in Appendix 3.4). Problem solving teams can often act as a catalyst by demonstrating the power of team working. It should be recognised that most day-to-day work involves tackling recurrent problems. A question often asked is why do teams perform better than individuals? Most people are familiar with Abraham Maslow‟s concept of the hierarchy of needs, which claims that fulfilling progressively to higher levels of need is what motivates people (see Appendix 3.4 - Figure 3.1 - Maslow‟s hierarchy of needs). Tuckman B W, (1965) claims there are four stages of group development (see Appendix 3.4 - Figure 3.2), which looks at the wider situation of responding to Page 36 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration change and the change in the relationship between the individuals in the group. This may be particularly relevant if introduced following a re-organisation such as Suffolk Social Care Services and the need to ensure that any changes introduced are timely. The other element, which needs to be considered, is the grieving process, which Tuckman B W, (1965) claims is concerned with people trying to understand how others feel when their organisation introduces teamwork – (see Appendix 3.4 - Figure 3.3 - The Grieving Process). Again here we see that introducing any form of change when employees are already „grieving‟ from the ripples of a re-organisation could be more harmful than good, showing the importance of introducing any new concept carefully and sensitively. Tuckman B W, (1965), felt that there could be potential problems with teams. Groups need to manage issues to be successful – most problem-solving teams who failed to deliver a result usually experienced problems that could have been managed if the group had known about them in advance – task v process – (see Appendix 3.4 - Figure 3.4). Here we can see there could be potential problems if teams are not set up properly with unachievable objectives, goalposts shifting, brief being too wide, which would inevitably be setting the team up to fail. Planning in advance before any form of teamwork is of the utmost importance to ensure success, which would include for example the correct selection of team members and balancing of team roles. Page 37 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration Wilson G, (1993), explains that a brief needs not be too ambitious or part of a larger problem. The team reviewing its brief with someone senior in the organisation could address this. Teams who also work to long time scales could discover the goalposts have shifted before reporting their findings. Here we can see the importance of team meetings being set up with a clear end dates to ensure the goalposts have not changed/moved. Wilson G, (1993) states it is imperative to have the right people in the team otherwise difficulties may arise, for example, someone with a vested interest could be disruptive. Team members could prepare a brief paragraph on their background, experience and what they are hoping to achieve by being a member of the group and finally another on what they feel may affect their ability to perform impartially. The composition of the group also needs to be considered when selecting people. If a group lacks the right person, someone could be called in to provide immediate input. Team leaders could be trained to recognise this and act upon it. “Teams need to have a balance of team roles” and “bring a range of abilities to the meeting other than technical expertise”. (Wilson G, 1993) Page 38 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration Schein E, (1988) claims that behavioural specialists have a way of describing the thinking process that occurs in meetings, repeating itself hundreds of times and has a huge effect on how the meeting proceeds, how individuals feel at the end of the meeting, and what people think of each other. This is called the ORJI Cycle (Observation; Reaction; Judgement; Intervention) - (See Appendix 3.4 for more detailed information). Non-verbal communication or body language is interpreting without evidence. To be effective as a user of non-verbal communication team members would need to build on their powers of observation, (see Appendix 3.4 -Table 3.5 R M Belbin (1981) – a simplified diagnostic table). This observation would be useful for a Facilitator to be aware of as clearly non-verbal communication and body language can be just as important as verbal communication. Belbin R M, (1981) identified that there can be a need to use specialists or external experts and this in itself can cause problems in terms of the type of skills that are being brought in. He describes one type of expert as the doctor/patient whereby the team is the patient and expert the doctor, and symptoms are diagnosed. The other the process manager, who need not have any experience of the problem, who helps the team members understand what is happening and how the team members can influence others in order to achieve their goals and allowing the team to make any diagnosis to solutions. Of course this begs the question as to whether external experts should be used, what type of expert and how these experts could and should be selected. Page 39 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration In terms of the teams persuading managers/others, the team may have been given a problem to tackle, but there lies the problem in terms of the intrusion of managers/others in the team, and the persuasion of managers/others, and people not involved in the team to agree to their recommendations. Therefore the involvement of others including customers in the implementation process is crucial and worth considering. Most problem-solving models begin with developing a variety of possible solutions before using rational techniques to identify the best solution before implementation and testing of the effectiveness. Wilson G, (1993) stated that: “The team members define what they are trying to tackle and determine some boundaries. They decide how to measure their success and find out as much as they can about the problem as they have defined it”. To pinpoint and tackle the problem it is important to move away from its symptoms, which can be seen as the problem by some people to be the underlying issue. Once the problem is defined clearly then information can be gathered to gain a better understanding relying solely on facts and not opinions or attitudes. The team may be required to report their findings and/or recommendations, this can be done in a number of ways; a presentation from one or more team Page 40 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration members; copies of notes from the meetings; and/or a report showing research, findings and recommendations. Either way the presentation/report is crucial, for example, if the presentation/report is poorly presented this could have an effect on how the recommendations are received by others. Time should therefore be spent on deciding how and to whom this information should be presented. The team may not solely be able to put its recommendations into practice but ways should be considered to involve them in terms of presenting their report and involving them to some extent in the implementation and review. The results should then be evaluated – no solution should be complete without a method of assessing the impact using key indicators to show the level of success. Wilson G, (1993) explains that if team members are creative and discuss information gathered, solutions could then be identified. The team may need to liaise with other groups/department/organisations to determine how they deal with the issue or problem. Using this benchmark method helps the team consider solutions more deeply. In summary it seems as we use teamwork in our day-to-day work that all aspects of this should be clear in terms of advantages and disadvantages, acknowledging any possible benefits to the individual and/or department/organisation. Clearly many theorists have their own views/opinions Page 41 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration but it is useful to look at these and tease out any common threads which run through to see what „stacks‟ and what does not, comparing this with the department‟s objectives as a whole, and where this fits in with the learning Lab pilot in terms of organisational development. 3.6 CULTURE CHANGE “Working with culture, one is constantly being reminded of the Chinese saying that the more you know the more confused you become.” (Bates P, 1994) “The question „why bother‟ is therefore never far from one‟s mind. No one can ever be sure that things will all come right in the end.” (Wheeler J, 1980) Page 42 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration It is common knowledge there are no shortage of frameworks on change and culture, but one needs to be objective to develop a conceptual framework for a department or organisation. “It is vital to recognise this „correlativity‟ of questions and answers…An answer assumes all that the question presupposes.” (Crick M, 1976) Bates P, (1994) claims that the scientists view culture as something an organisation has – a component of an organisation – with shared values, skill systems, strategies, styles, structures and staff. Bates P, (1994) refers to the well-known McKinsey‟s 7-S framework that shows the components in a „happy atom‟, which can be found in Appendix 3.5 - Figure 3.5. McKinsey 7-S framework should be thought of as a set of seven compasses. When the needles are aligned, the company is „organised‟. When they are not, the company is not really organised even if its structure looks right. If a 7-S analysis suggests that strategy implementation will be difficult, managers either can search for other strategic options, or go ahead but concentrate special attention on the problems of execution suggested by the framework. Page 43 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration “The culture perspective focuses on the human-ness of organisations, regarding them as social rather than physical entities made up of people talking, acting, interacting and transacting with each other”. Hence the idea that culture exists not so much „inside‟ or „outside‟ people as „between‟ people. (Bates P, 1994) Changing culture could be looked upon as a designing and building activity. For example if a television were broken then the physical activity would be to renew, replace or renovate the broken or damaged component. To change the culture of an organisation one would need to do „an overhaul‟ to improve the organisational performance. Anthropologists believe societies have cultures so why should organisations not have cultures too? Schein E, (1983) claims that: “Organisation culture is the pattern of basic assumptions which a given group has invented, discovered or developed in learning to cope with its problems of external adaptation and internal integration.” Page 44 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration Schein E (1983) also claims that there are three levels of culture in any organisation: Deepest Level: Middle Level: Surface Level: „Basic assumptions‟ „Values‟ „Artefacts and Creations‟ This framework covers every aspect of behaviour, physical and cognitive – this „all inclusive‟ definition of culture provides a benchmark for defining organisation culture. Therefore anyone involved in organisational development should also see themselves as being involved in cultural development especially if we are to think about organisations as being a culture rather than having a culture – and in so doing one should not think about culture but think culturally as the strategy for changing culture is a method rather than a tool. Bates P, (1994) claims that: “If a strategy for cultural change is to be based on the notion of „thinking culturally‟, one needs to be clear from the outset about what this involves. Broadly speaking, thinking culturally is thinking about organisations in a non-concrete, non-objective way – as social constructions rather than physical, „bricks-and-mortar‟ type constructions.” Page 45 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration Bates P, (1994) suggests that the following are some definitions of culture:           Directions of performance A set of means for achieving designated ends Shapes the way we organise our experiences and choose our actions A set of interpretations and propositions Signposts An historically emergent set of ideas A framework governing behaviour A framework giving order and coherence to our lives A way of thinking A way of proceeding From this list we can clearly see our cultural forms provide a strategic function that can be followed. The difficulty with initiating cultural change in an organisation is finding a way of evaluating its effectiveness. What is „effective cultural change‟ and how does one know when it has been achieved? The parameters may be to find a method for getting from A to B with maps showing various alternatives of getting there and discussing these against agreed benchmarks. However there cannot be any fixed benchmarks for assessing the effectiveness of any approach to cultural change, as these will vary between organisations and departments. Please see Appendix 3.5 -Table 3.7 in where Bates P, (1994) suggests there are five design parameters. It explains in further detail the design parameters Page 46 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration on Expressiveness; Commonality; Penetration; Adaptability; Durability, and the aspects of an organisation. 3.7 CHANGE CHAMPIONS Suffolk County Council commissioned a new initiative of employees being „recruited‟ as Change Champions through an open invitation asking for volunteers to become a part of this new proposal. Employees who showed an interest were asked to answer the following questions: If you could change one thing about the county council what would it be?:          Develop more trust More value and respect for staff Cut through paperwork/bureaucracy/red tape Better partnership working One organisation/breakdown departmentalism Better use of ICT Improved Customer Focus Improved Member development More creativity/risk taking Corporate Services used this method to „shortlist‟ people within the department whom they felt would make good Change Champions prior to attending a two- Page 47 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration day residential outward-bound course to look at various aspects of change, the causes and effects. The expectation is that Change Champions will continue in their normal place of work, doing the job they usually do on their existing salary but with time agreed away from that job to devote to special areas of work: They are expected to challenge the way things are done in their own departments, and identify better ways of doing things, and working with staff and managers and participating in the Best Value Review. They will keep their work colleagues informed and up to date with the change agenda for local government, Suffolk County Council and their own place of work. They will help to promote good practice and new ways of working across the County Council by taking part in workshops, seminars and other training. They will help to support projects and initiatives anywhere in the County Council. Being a Change Champion provides a unique opportunity to be at the forefront of change in the public sector, get a new insight into what goes on in other departments or other localities and to develop new skills. Page 48 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration Support is provided through regular contact and briefing with the Chief Executive, Director of Organisational Development and other members of the Corporate Management Team and Elected Members. Change Champions are invited to various meetings eg video conferencing, meetings/discussions with members of the Corporate Management Team, (Chief Officers) to look at ways to help employees and the organisation „manage‟ change in a more constructive way. 3.8 ORGANISATIONAL CHANGE AND DEVELOPMENT Senge P, (1999) states: Most people know that the change programmes that fail are those „rolled out‟ from senior management which result in generating cynicism – the „here we go again‟ and „this will never work‟ syndrome. This failure to sustain any significant change recurs again and again with so many organisations, even with the use of „expert advice‟ being brought in. Most innovative projects like this fail because they never generate sufficient benefits. He also claims we can learn a lot from biology: “No gardener tries to convince a plant to “want” to grow: If the seed does not have the potential to grow, there‟s nothing anyone can do to make a difference.” - “The biological world teaches that sustaining change requires understanding the reinforcing growth processes and what is needed to catalyse them, and addressing the limits that keep change from occurring.” Page 49 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration Once the initial growth process is underway, how far it progresses is up to water, soil nutrients, space for root expansion and warmth. As growth continues it encounters limits such as sunlight, space for branches and insects that could destroy. Growth would stop prematurely if constraints were encountered that could be avoided. This can be seen through focusing on the changes of senior managers trying to produce, and failing to recognise the importance of employees‟ learning capabilities – in biological terms it is rather like trying to make a plant grow, and not understanding and addressing the constraints preventing it from thriving, consequently initiatives are doomed before they begin, and therefore achieve less than their potential - until organisations build upon their learning capabilities which would become part of their change strategy. Senge P (1999) suggests that an organisation should concentrate more on the limiting processes rather than the growth processes – giving too little attention to these limiting processes has resulted in initiatives failing or sustaining momentum and claims the following:  Organisations are products of the ways that people in them think and interact, and that to change an organisation for the better one must give people the opportunity to change the way they think and interact. This cannot be done by training but by developing tangible activities, which would change the way people conduct their work. By taking part in Page 50 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration these new activities people will develop, which will in turn pay back the organisation with higher levels of commitment and innovation.  Most change initiatives come up against issues that are „too risky‟ and which attack the symptoms whilst ignoring the causes of the problems and “consequently, their initiatives are doomed from the start to achieve less than their potential – until building learning capabilities becomes part of the change strategy.”  To sustain change there has to be a “fundamental shift in thinking”, to understand the growth process and how to catalyse them, “the inevitable interplay between growth processes and limiting processes – The Dance of Change.”  The 360 feedbacks “tell management what is wrong. The feedback process thereby subtly reinforces the view that management is the source of problems and only management has the powe.r to fix them.”  The word „change‟ has different meanings to different people, external changes; internal changes, top-down change – re-organisation, making staff feel threatened or manipulated by senior managers, showing that people do not resist change but resist „being‟ changed. There is therefore a need to shift the thinking from senior managers driving change to thinking of the organisation as a „human community‟. Page 51 of 145 Debra Lawrence  Masters in Business Administration Change initiatives require the investment of time, energy and resources with a core pilot group who are committed to “new organisational purposes, methods and working environments.” It requires moving from „problem fixing‟ to what stops people doing anything about the symptoms.  One should learn from other pilot groups in other organisations and their successes or failures where they could offer valuable lessons. This is discussed further under the section on the workshop run by the Cabinet Office.  To ensure the success of organisational development, pilot group members should make an investment on learning or change initiatives to provide „time‟ to allow flexibility and control over time and priorities; „help‟ to supply the need for coherent consistent knowledgeable guidance and support and „walking the talk‟ – “lack of reflection engendered by a gap between espoused values and actions, especially those championing change.”  Using The Payoff Matrix – (see Appendix 3.6 -Table 3.8) - the level of impact and ability to accomplish and helps in the choice of priorities so everyone understands why certain projects were chosen. This could be used as part of the model for setting up Learning Labs.  Best Practice is providing incentives or rewarding people for sharing ideas and not keeping them to themselves. Page 52 of 145 Debra Lawrence  Masters in Business Administration Through the Learning Lab Change Accelerations Process Senge tried to demystify the subject of organisational change by providing a framework or model along with a series of tools that could be used to analyse an organisation. This recognises the importance of cultural change and the power of new ways of thinking and people being coached to become champions for change, developing a vision, which everyone can understand.  An organisation is a human organisation not a machine –a life form or living entity –transforming its inputs, transferring the entity. “Open systems: seeing the world through flows and constraints” identifying boundaries of the system, where they are, what inputs come from outside, what outputs the system generates and how the world responds to them. Taking the thinking further by expanding the system‟s boundaries can achieve this - does everyone have the same picture of the system? Usually only senior management looks at the entire picture – how outputs affect inputs but their “view is so far removed, a great deal of waste slips through the cracks, as different members of the system duplicate or undermine the cracks.” Using Open Systems identifies whether the organisation “focuses disproportionately on one type of input (finance) when another type of input (human knowledge) could yield more knowledge.” (Senge P, 1999) Page 53 of 145 Debra Lawrence  Masters in Business Administration Process Systems – seeing the world through information flow recognises “that information flow is fluid, and can easily be re-arranged”, “reprogramming the flow of activity in an organisation in the same way that you might re-programme a computer.” The Process Systems design would look at the purpose of the process and how it adds value, what would be the purpose of the re-design and what would the new results achieve. The new process should be simple for people in the organisation to understand.  Living Systems, Senge P (1999) writes is “seeing the world through the interaction of self-creating entities”, and assumes human group processes and activities are self organising - if people were to meet in diverse frequent interactions a beneficial „re-framing‟ would emerge. The work in practice looks at what aspects of the organisation stay constant, which people „belong‟ in the system, what needs to happen, whose vision is it, does it recognise the vision of customers and employees, how aware is everybody? Giving access to this information helps everyone adapt.  Change is constant but questions are asked such as why the change, who wants it to happen, what results will it produce, how will we change, who will be involved, where is our support, what does one need to do. Page 54 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration 3.9 THE FIFTH DISCIPLINE – PETER SENGE MODEL This section summarises the model written by Peter M Senge (1993) that includes Systems Thinking, Personal Mastery, Mental Models, Building Shared Vision and Team Learning providing strategies and tools for building a learning organisation – (a full description of which can be found in Appendix 3.7). Senge P, (1993) claims we are taught to break down problems into small manageable tasks but that the consequences of this is that one cannot see the bigger picture as the broken pieces are reassembled – “similar to trying to reassemble the fragments of a broken mirror to see a true reflection” - and in doing so may often result in people giving up trying to see the whole picture. The object is not to look at things separately but as a whole to enable a „learning organisation‟ to be built to encourage people to learn together and expand their learning capacity. Learning organisations are always possible because people are always learning and willing to learn with individual and common goals. Most people have at one stage or another been a part of a team or group of people who have functioned together, trusted one another and compensated each other‟s strengths and weaknesses. “What they experienced was a learning organisation. The team that became great didn‟t start off great – it learned how to produce extraordinary results. (Senge P, 1993) Page 55 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration Systems Thinking: Is the ability of understanding the system by contemplating the whole rather than its individual parts. Personal Mastery: Is the ability of continually clarifying ones personal vision, being objective and looking at the commitment between the individual and the organisation. Mental Models: Is the deeply ingrained assumptions and generalisations, which influences understanding, actions and behaviour. Building Shared Vision: Is the sharing of an idea or vision and creating a way forward with no leader and everyone on an equal footing, this prevents leaders visions or personal visions taking over. Team Learning: Is a means of suspending assumptions and thinking together enabling the group to achieve what cannot be done individually. Senge P, (1993) believes the five disciplines of the learning organisation can act as antidotes to these learning disabilities. Page 56 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration 3.9.1 Does your Organisation Have a Learning Disability? Senge P, (1993) asks: “Does your organisation have a learning disability?” Most organisations learn poorly because of the way they are designed, managed and the way people‟s jobs are defined, which in turn create “a learning disability” which means the harder they try to solve problems the worse the results. He suggests the first step is to identify the seven learning disabilities – (which can be found in Appendix 3.7.1). 3.9.2 The Core Disciplines: Building the Learning Organisation Senge P, (1993), states the core disciplines to help build a learning organisation are Personal Mastery, Mental Models, Shared Vision, Team Learning and Openness – (a full description of this can be found in Appendix 3.7.2). There is an opportunity for us to improve our understanding and the way we implement change. Understanding each other‟s views by thinking through major issues facing us at this time - not an attempt to make decisions but examining directions and assumptions underlying them. This will enable colleagues to work together leaving their roles and positions at the door. Through this dialogue everyone is considered equal who have substantive knowledge of issues considered. Page 57 of 145 Debra Lawrence 3.9.3 The Learning Disciplines Masters in Business Administration Each of the five learning disciplines can be thought of on three distinct levels:    Practices: what you do Principles: guiding ideas and insights Essences: the state of being of those with high levels of mastery in the discipline (Senge P, 1993) (A full illustration of the practices, principles and essences of the Learning Disciplines can be found in Appendix 3.7.3 -Table 3.9). 3.10 CULTURE WEB Johnson G and Scholes K, (1999) states: ”trying to understand the culture of an organisation is clearly important, but is not straightforward. A strategy and the values of an organisation may be written down, but the underlying assumptions which make up the paradigm are usually evident only in the day-to-day conversation or discussions of people, or may be so taken for granted that they can be observed only in what people actually do. The cultural web is a representation of the takenfor-granted assumptions, or paradigm, of an organisation and the physical manifestations of organisational culture.” Page 58 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration They go on to state that an organisation must develop consistency in their culture for them to be able to function – all parts must work together and not be the product of institutional forces. (Please see Appendix 3.8 - Diagram in Figure 3.10 – Cultural frames of reference – the assumptions that reflect the paradigm reflect the public perception). Johnson G and Scholes K, (1999) go on to state that: “the learning organisation is capable of benefiting from the variety of knowledge, experience and skills of individuals through a culture which encourages mutual questioning and challenge around a shared purpose or vision.” There are different explanations of how strategies develop in different ways in organisations. Some strategies may develop through managerial intent through planning systems where individuals are directed in a logical way. Others may develop as the outcome of cultural processes where strategy is informed by the taken-for-granted assumptions or routine of the organisation. The culture web of an organisation could possibly bring about legitimate influences on assumptions that comprise the paradigm that would make strategic change more difficult. Environments are becoming more unpredictable so the need for innovation would increase the reliance on managerial experience. In a more flexible learning organisation assumptions surfacing for debate should be encouraged. Page 59 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration 3.11 PILOTS OF “REAL CHANGE LEADERS” – LEARNING LABS – SPELTHORNE DISTRICT COUNCIL AND WATFORD COUNCIL: Real Change Leaders is a team-based change management programme that has produced rapid and sustainable improvements. This has been field tested in eight local authorities from September 1998 to April 1999 and has uniquely focused on the learning team rather than on the individual. Watford and Durham County Council have rolled out the Real Change Leaders process in their organisations using managers and staff to act as coaches for the teams. The Real Change Leaders programme work together in a „Team Learning Lab‟, which is a self-managed process where members take turns in acting as Facilitators using the workbook and video of Peter Senge. “We used the process to resolve a particularly complex issue, where we have been on the problem solving treadmill for some time. We found that the Real Change Leaders process has helped us to explore issues with more understanding for a wider process”. Sue Sturgeon, Assistant Chief Executive, Spelthorne District Council – Improvement and Development Journal 1999) The process of the Real Change Leaders is a team learning process, which combines some aspects of quality circles, and is made up of four to ten people Page 60 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration that can be cross functional, cross-organisational or inter-organisational. The team need to define and understand its purpose and should be committed to using the skill and techniques learned in the programme. “This was more fun than any training course that I have been on. The Real Change Leaders Learning Lab has really helped us to think through our problems and come up with lasting solutions.” (Graham Clair, Finance and Strategy Manager, Housing Department, Watford Council – Improvement and Development Journal 1999) 3.12 BIRMINGHAM CITY COUNCIL Birmingham City Council have been using Learning Labs to stimulate innovation and change throughout the Council and are an integral part of the Council‟s Best Value reviews. Their objectives are to improve the quality and responsiveness of the wide range of services delivered by the Council creating a culture that values team creativity and service innovation. They have developed a Learning Lab Workbook and team coaching methodology to support them. They have engaged in greater „joined-up‟ working with other local service providers. Page 61 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration Improvements include better, more responsive and „joined-up‟ services for customers, particularly in those areas where there is currently public concern, poor performance or little innovation and greater front-line involvement in the development of improved services. 3.13 HM Customs and Excise Learning Labs have been created to tackle the rapid rise in cigarette smuggling, primarily through utilising the experience of operational staff. All collections around the UK have been given greater freedom to deploy staff as best suits local circumstances, freedom to overspend on staff budgets (within certain limits), and to introduce new techniques to identify smuggling. Their objectives were to identify and develop procedures that maximised disruption to smugglers and increased detection of illicit cigarettes, engage and empower front line staff, identify good practice and disseminate it effectively and to develop an approach that will influence future Tobacco Strategy, broader departmental work and other Learning Labs. Improvements included maximising flexibility to front line staff to shape the best way of delivery, having better informed manpower planning strategies and increased intelligence from the public and trade. Page 62 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration This Learning Lab has already proved a success, and Customs and Excise are looking at ways in which it can be disseminated as a model to other areas of the Department‟s business and will undergo a formal evaluation. The lessons learnt will influence the shape and future of Customs work and the future of Learning Labs within the Department. 3.14 Prisoners’ Passport This Learning Lab explored ways of helping prisoners integrate more quickly into the community upon release, primarily through the provision of better information about public services, including their rights, entitlements and responsibilities. The Learning Lab brought together a number of public services, including the Prison Service, Benefits Agency, Employment Service and relevant local authority departments. Their objectives were to design and develop a programme and supporting documentation for a pre-release course to help prisoners access key public services on release, produce a refined and evaluated personalised „passport‟ to local public services for prisoners‟ use on release, evaluate the effectiveness of the programme and passport and identify barriers to closer working between public services in the resettlement of offenders and, where possible, make recommendations for improvement. Page 63 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration Their improvements included easier and quicker reintegration of prisoners into the community upon release, greater effectiveness in inter-agency working and the removal of unnecessary bureaucracy. 3.15 Better Services for Pensioners The Learning Labs comprised of a discrete, cross-organisational team, which brought together the Benefits Agency, the local authority and to some degree the voluntary sector staff, and was aimed at improving services to pensioners in the Torbay area. The project helped take forward some of the ideas identified by the staff involved in the Exeter Better Government for Older People pilot and elsewhere which were stopped by internal rules. Their objectives were to identify problems faced by pensioners maximising their benefit entitlements, removing duplication of effort between the Benefits Agency and the local authority, identifying changes and suggesting improvements to legislation or procedures. They improved service delivery and tailored the needs of pensioners, which included increased deployment of the “one stop” approach and provided better access to information by increasing the number and location of outlets at which Page 64 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration advice could be obtained, including the Internet, or by fast tracking applications for benefits. The Social Care Services Financial Assessment Team now provide advice and information on benefit entitlement when visiting pensioners in their own homes, having undergone thorough accredited training by Benefits Agency staff. 3.16 SUFFOLK COUNTY COUNCIL – ROADSHOWS These road shows were set up and organised over the County to inform all employees about a whole range of initiatives such as Learning Labs, as one way to help achieve a cultural change, being introduced across Suffolk County Council. There were stands for each department, for example the Fire Department providing leaflets giving information. Lin Homer, the Chief Executive attended some and gave a short presentation. Two members of the Corporate Services department, Suffolk County Council ran these workshops to disseminate information on how the department was working towards encouraging innovation from its front line staff and that they were open to ideas on how to move these forward. It is hoped the promotion of these initiatives through the road shows would help the council move through a culture change by listening and learning from front line staff. This programme is supported and developed by Corporate Services. Page 65 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration This has been followed up by running a series of „Out and About drop ins‟ to enable staff to have a „one to one‟ chat with a Chief Officers or Elected Members to discuss the way forward for the organisation and to see how services are being delivered. This has subsequently been followed up with Elected Members of the Corporate Management Team, comprising of Members and Chief Officers, being „on line‟ to answer any questions anyone may have. This is expected to create a more visible Corporate Management Team who will listen to staff‟s views. 3.18 DEPARTMENT’S DOCUMENTATION – PROPOSALS/OBJECTIVES FOR INVOLVING AND EMPOWERING FRONT LINE STAFF Please see extracts from departmental documentation, on proposals and objectives for involving and empowering front line staff in Appendix 3.9. 3.19 UK LEARNING LABS – THE WIDER PICTURE 3.19.1 LEARNING LABS CONTEXT Mo Mowlem formally launched the Learning Lab pilot in February 2000. There are still very new and pioneering ideas and developments, which are being created all the time. Several areas around the country are experimenting Page 66 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration Methods are now being with the ideas and testing them out in practice. devised to do some crosscutting evaluation of the effectiveness of the pilots. The use of innovative methods of working began to be actively promoted following the „Modernising Government‟ agenda, which seeks to change the way that public services are run. The Learning Labs are based upon the principle that front line staff, particularly if brought together across agencies, are best placed to remove the barriers to good public service delivery. As a result public services can:   Learn directly from practical experience Strengthen the culture which fosters innovation, risk taking and change and  Improve public service performance in valuing front line staff All of this can operate in the context of the learning organisation(s) by explicitly developing creativity and imagination in analysing problems and solutions. The INPUTS are: Facilitator; participants; some financial and administrative support, materials and information Page 67 of 145 Debra Lawrence The OUTPUTS are: Masters in Business Administration Individual learning; group and shared learning; specific actions based upon recommendations; cultural change in organisations; impact on the nature and quality of services; further involvement and empowerment of front line staff. Learning labs are:  Structured workshops where small groups of front line staff can explore specific issues in detail   Places where formal roles, rules and assumptions are abandoned A forum to give staff permission to reflect on their practical work, find out about others‟ approaches and learn from each other      Explicitly encourage, risk taking, creativity and imagination Independently facilitated Participative, with some structure Task as well as process centred A tool to use thinking, feeling and acting as essential ingredients Page 68 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration “Involving and Liberating Front Line Staff - Agenda for Action”   Key areas for action include: Addressing the cultural barriers that make it difficult for staff to get their concerns addressed or ideas implemented  Telling managers what is expected of them, and giving them the tools so they can achieve results  Encouraging and empowering front line staff so that they can act as agents for change  Making clear to staff that it is their right – duty even – to take an active part in policy development  Actively considering with staff, trade unions and other partners how the Modernising Government agenda can help them to do their job better (UK Learning Labs – Cabinet Office Paper, Modernising Government, Service First 2000 – Peter Tallantire, Cabinet Office – Reproduced by permission of the Public Management and Policy Association) Page 69 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration 3.19.2 SUMMARY OF MEETING ON 22ND MARCH 2000 A summary of this meeting can be found in Appendix 3.9.1 along with a diagram 3.11 which explains the vision of the Cabinet Office in relation to public and Learning Labs. 3.19.3 LETTER FROM CABINET OFFICE – MODERNISING PUBLIC SERVICES GROUP Please see Appendix 3.9.2 for the reply from Kate French on behalf of Mo Mowlam following an E Mail sent asking for some information from the Cabinet‟s perspective. 3.19.4 LETTER FROM PETER TALLANTIRE HEAD OF BEST PRACTICE TEAM, CABINET OFFICE See Appendix 3.9.3 for letter from Peter Tallantire regarding Learning Lab evaluation and attached draft specification. Page 70 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration 3.19.5 LETTER FROM DAVID BIRD, DEPUTY HEAD OF BEST PRACTICE TEAM, CABINET OFFICE Please see Appendix 3.9.4 for the letter from David Bird regarding the Research into the lessons emerging from the Learning Labs initiative. 3.19.5 LEARNING LAB WORKSHOP – 6TH DECEMBER 2000 AT THE CABINET OFFICE, ADMIRALTY ARCH, THE MALL, LONDON A one-day workshop took place in December 2000 between the six local authorities involved in the national pilot for Learning Labs to establish contacts, share experiences and look at the purpose and methodology of the research to be undertaken. The first part of the day looked at the purpose and methodology of the research project being undertaken by the University College of Northampton on behalf of the Cabinet Office. This project will evaluate the Learning Labs nationally. The second part of the day was to discuss: What barriers we had come across and how did we deal with them? What results had we achieved? What would we have done differently? Page 71 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration There followed a session on what everyone had learnt and how the Learning Lab process could be improved including support requirements from the Cabinet Office and what is required from the cross cutting research. Attendees from Suffolk County Council Social Care Services were: Howard Pugh and David Smith, Assistant County Managers, Organisational Development Bridget Cousins and Chris Sharpe, Independent Facilitators Debra Lawrence, Independent Evaluator Please see Appendix 3.9.5 where a full description of the workshop and the objectives into the research into the lessons emerging from the Learning Labs initiative are explained in detail. 3.19.6 LEARNING LAB WORKSHOP – 19th AND 20TH MARCH 2001 Please see full details of the syndicate work carried out at the 2-day workshop in Appendix 3.9.6. Page 72 of 145 Debra Lawrence 3.20 MEMBER/STAFF PANELS Masters in Business Administration The staff panel has not as yet been set up but will be like a Citizens panel but internal to County Council employees. A couple of market research companies have been asked to give the County Council‟s proposals for a panel based on staff numbers. This is presently being led by Corporate Services, Suffolk County Council. Page 73 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration CHAPTER FOUR 4.0 PRIMARY RESEARCH – EVALUATION TO ASSESS THE IMPACT OF LEARNING LABS IN SUFFOLK SOCIAL CARE SERVICES 4.1 The primary and secondary research will be compared to look at differences and similarities of views/theories and can be found in the benchmark section in Chapter 6. Interview questions were sent to participants of the Customer First Learning Lab following its completion – (see Appendix 4.1 for interview questions). The questionnaire was in the form of a semi-structured „interview‟, which required detailed answers to obtain some in-depth knowledge views and information from the participants. These questions were sent to participants instead of interviewing each person on a one-to-one basis mainly to prevent utilising too much of their time and by completing it in their own time gave them the ability to reflect further on the questions given. The interview questions were sent initially to the Learning Lab Steering Group members, as a spot sample, to „test‟ them and to gain their views and comments prior to them being sent to participants. Page 74 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration The interview questions were sent to Learning Lab participants to gain first hand views and comments on the process and on their views and perceptions before and after participating in the Labs. The results from each questionnaire identified areas for improvement, some of which were rectified where possible. Following the completion of each Learning Lab a semi-structured group interview was held comprising of the participants and Facilitator, providing a group evaluation which helped gauge the group‟s views generally and were added to the views and comments from each individual‟s response to the interview questions identifying common themes, issues and problems. Detailed results of the interview questions, group evaluation, including lessons learned and taken forward to the next Learning Lab and the future for all three Learning Labs can be found in Appendices 4.2 - 4.11 - summaries of same are as follows: 4.2 The Customer First Learning Lab consisted of six two hour sessions, the Child Care Assessment Learning Lab was four half-day sessions and the Medium Term Financial Strategy Learning Lab consisted of two one day sessions but was run as two separate Learning Labs to accommodate all attendees. Page 75 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration 4.3 BACKGROUND OF CUSTOMER FIRST LEARNING LAB Customer First is a pilot „one stop shop‟ for customers. The Customer First Development Group asked for a small project team to convene to assist in planning for the „rollout‟ of Customer First across the whole County, by learning from existing practice inside and outside the Customer First pilot area. It was thought this project could form part of the Learning Lab initiative and have a particular focus on efficient use of resources. The Customer First Development Group suggested membership should consist of social care managers and practitioners from children‟s and adult services to ensure older people and physical disabilities were represented. 4.4 KEY POINTS FROM SUMMARY OF INTERVIEW QUESTIONS EVALUATION BOTH INDIVIDUAL AND GROUP ON THE CUSTOMER FIRST LEARNING LAB PARTICIPANTS Model Of Learning Labs       Facilitator Ground Rules – set up by participants Openness Clarification of Facilitator/Champion role Ability to discuss freely/openly/in confidence Participants feel „safe‟ Page 76 of 145 Debra Lawrence     Masters in Business Administration Opportunity to voice ideas and work with others Tool to empower staff Multi-agency Selection process must be clearly defined Expectation of Learning Labs        Outcomes will improve motivation Focus of improving quality/motivation Breakdown barriers Share and challenge good practice Work recognised and acted upon Publicise Learning Lab outcomes Want them to become the „norm‟ for decision-making Concerns       Outcomes of Learning Labs in hands of policy makers Involved and empowered „at the time of the Lab‟ only Cynical, sceptical – same as before Customer First not a good example Front line staff not recognised as a rich resource Recommendations not acted upon Page 77 of 145 Debra Lawrence Hopes    Masters in Business Administration Recommendations will be put into action Need reassurance/reinforcement from Directorate/County Councillors Evaluation will provide a true picture of usefulness/power of Learning Labs   Need managers‟ commitment Training for Facilitators and mentoring 4.5 KEY POINTS LEARNED FROM CUSTOMER FIRST LEARNING LAB TO TAKE FORWARD Participants had no prior knowledge of Learning Labs   Ideas came from top down, front line staff should suggest ideas Learning Labs not advertised sufficiently, front line staff could make a more informed choice, promotion would help the success of Learning Labs     Selection process important – no head-hunting, self selection only Managers should not be part of Learning Lab Attendance at all sessions important Participants informed before first session – information disseminated should be consistent    Mandate/brief needed to be clear and loose/not too big and complex Brief outline/introduction by Facilitator useful Ground rules can be flexible/changed if all agreed during sessions Page 78 of 145 Debra Lawrence   Masters in Business Administration Last session to draw up recommendations and include group evaluation Directorate/Members/managers need to reinforce their support and „backing‟ of Learning Labs  Clear brief required from Members/Directorate – clear understanding of Learning Labs  Need to ensure recommendations go to decision-making committee as soon as possible following completion of the Learning Lab  Learning Lab participants to present recommendations to decisionmaking committee    Recommendations acted upon will effect success of Learning Labs Advertise recommendations on public folders/E Mail/use participants Learning Lab participants need cover to enable them to attend sessions, extra work taken on needs to be acknowledged    Need for a clear Champion and Facilitator Independent Facilitator useful Role of Facilitator (objective) Role of Champion (promote) need for clarification – job description    Participants could be trained as Facilitators and mentoring system set up Administrative support required to assist Facilitator in some tasks Accreditation of Learning Labs in problem solving teamwork and personal development – funding would be needed     Venue important – warm comfortable surroundings Ability to network Time to be invested in Learning Labs Involve customers Page 79 of 145 Debra Lawrence  Masters in Business Administration „Credit‟ should be acknowledged and given to Learning Lab participants 4.6 RESULT OF THE CUSTOMER FIRST LEARNING LAB  The report was presented to the Customer First Group approximately one month following completion of the Learning Lab which was considered to have been successful both in terms of its task, process and function  The group responded positively to the report and sent a letter to participants thanking them for the work done  The report was not presented to Directorate directly following that meeting but delayed by three months resulting in participants becoming de-motivated 4.7 BACKGROUND OF CHILD CARE ASSESSMENT LEARNING LAB A proposal had been accepted and membership agreed to run a Learning Lab on Child Care Assessment focusing on a single school pyramid area with an inter-agency pyramid including Education and Health to be completed to fit in with training and implementation of legislation in April 2001. It was acknowledged that the subject matter did not quite fit with the classic Learning Lab model in that the proposal had not come from „bottom up‟, or Page 80 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration direct from the experience of ground level staff and their needs. It was an organisational need in that it was imperative the Policy and Procedures were in place before April 2001 giving the process an „urgency‟ also giving a feeling of a „top down‟, and that there needs to be a process whereby ideas should come direct from front line staff based on their real concrete needs and struggles. However there was an open agreement from the agencies to participate and not determine the outcomes before the Learning Lab commenced which they felt could bring out some useful material. An effort was made to ensure the group was not too large and to move away from the need to have „representative groups‟ and move towards staff who know about agency practices and could themselves network amongst other colleagues to obtain information to feed into the Learning Lab. 4.8 LESSONS LEARNED FROM CUSTOMER FIRST LEARNING LAB PUT INTO PRACTICE IN CHILD CARE ASSESSMENT LAB      No managers present Mandate/brief clear Ground rules flexible Evaluation and recommendations built into last session Participants to present recommendations to decision-making committee Page 81 of 145 Debra Lawrence  Masters in Business Administration No gap between completion of Learning Lab and reporting to decisionmaking committee 4.9 KEY POINTS FROM SUMMARY OF INTERVIEW QUESTIONS EVALUATION BOTH INDIVIDUAL AND GROUP ON THE CHILD CARE ASSESSMENT LEARNING LAB PARTICIPANTS Model of Learning Labs                 Information to be sent to participants prior to Learning Lab commencing „Roles‟ in jobs left „outside‟ room Need ideas/actions developed and implemented Multi-agency Participants present recommendation – no dilution Time focused Learning experience Front line staff only – keep motivation high Reflect on practice Have a voice/listened to Front line staff know more about precise customer needs – way forward Improve communication Pair visiting to share similar problems/experiences No managers – front line staff talk more openly/frankly Problem solving/goal setting Experienced Facilitator Page 82 of 145 Debra Lawrence                Clearly defined terms of reference Ground rules chosen by participants Clear selection process/volunteers Collective experience Ground level „expert‟ views/ideas Common bond of participants Masters in Business Administration Modify ideas that can work at ground level „Safe‟ in Learning Labs Bottom up – not top down Look „outside box‟ Inter-agency Inter-departmental Add value/Best Value Look at issues from all angles Need objectively facilitated Expectation of Learning Labs  Success dependent on implementation of actions and how effective they are       Participants could encourage other colleagues to be involved Feel involved and empowered Participation ownership Personally valued Going through process improves quality of service Facilitate good practice/increase agencies knowledge of each other Page 83 of 145 Debra Lawrence         Masters in Business Administration Use as constructive vehicle to voice opinions/improve ideas Small changes rather than big changes Need more „grass root‟ Learning Labs Views valued Alert senior managers of the real problems Act of front line issues/problems Stimulate and increase innovation The total is greater than the sum of the parts Concerns       Never heard of Learning Labs Apprehensive of Learning Labs beforehand If nothing constructive „is seen to be done‟ with outcomes How many recommendations will be taken on board „Black hole‟ syndrome Extent of change is dependent upon how recommendations are interpreted and who takes them to senior managers       Resource problems, managerial assumptions Front line staff overworked/heavy workloads/Learning Labs more work Learning Labs will only have small impact No present incentives for front line staff to come up with ideas Are recommendations going to be acted on? Financial resources will be an issue – needs to be financed Page 84 of 145 Debra Lawrence Hopes         Masters in Business Administration Need an ambassador to take Learning Labs forward Beneficial to customers Need dedicated front line staff Encourage other professionals to look beyond current practice Need work honoured and heard Management will use Learning Labs findings Change present culture Demonstrate clear directions 4.10 KEY POINTS LEARNED FROM CHILD CARE ASSESSMENT LEARNING LAB TO TAKE FORWARD  Handout/written literature for information prior to the first session would have been helpful  Success is dependent upon what management do with the recommendations   Ability to talk freely with no managers present A recall session with key managers providing the opportunity to check on the actions  Choosing participants: too fast for some; some left out/unable to be present  More time should be spent setting up the Learning Labs Page 85 of 145 Debra Lawrence  Masters in Business Administration More detailed information to prospective participants giving explanation of Learning Labs  Learning Lab demonstrated the ability to carry out multi-agency work successfully  A multi-agency Learning Lab helps participants gain a better understanding of each others‟ work   Customers (children and families) could be involved Participants to present recommendations and should know what to expect from decision-making committee    Room needs to be warm/right temperature Publicise Learning Labs and results/outcomes/recommendations Facilitator/Champion role needs clarification at the beginning of the Learning Lab 4.11 RESULT OF THE CHILD CARE ASSESSMENT LEARNING LAB Participants who presented recommendations to the decision-making committee did not directly receive feedback, although it was later acknowledged there was a positive response. This could have been due to a mismatch of expectations from the participants. It was acknowledged there would need to be a better feedback process built in to prevent this re-occurring. Some recommendations were put into practice to fit with new legislation coming into effect April 2001 Page 86 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration 4.12 BACKGROUND OF MEDIUM TERM FINANCIAL STRATEGY LEARNING LAB This Learning Lab consisted of Business Support staff, Social Care Services. 7 out of 8 from the first Learning Lab and 7 out of 14 from the second – (64%) responded to the questionnaire excluding the Facilitator. The County Council recently went through a budget setting process to address the over-commitment/under-funding situation and to ensure the department was operating efficiently. There was therefore a need to have a strategic look at medium to long-term efficiency gains/savings through rigorous analysis work to identify trends and comparisons to provide a comprehensive picture of the cost drivers and to look at efficiency strategies. There was also an acknowledgement of the hierarchy and problems with decisions being made „top down‟. The Director of Organisational Development along with a group of Social Care Services Managers worked together to look at ways of dealing with the difficult financial situation. They felt that front line staff in the various Business Support Services knew better than most how the systems in the department work and do not work, how they could be improved upon to save time and money, and were interested in ascertaining the perceptions from Business Support as a whole, looking outside the department and inter-agency. They suggested a Page 87 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration Learning Lab could be set up to enable front line staff to use their knowledge to help managers ensure the long term financial health of the department. First line managers were E Mailed asking for front line staff volunteers from business support, finance and information management to be a part of this initiative to make a real contribution to the future of Social Care in Suffolk. The brief was to generate and explore ways in which systems and processes could be changed and improved to be cost effective; what systems work and do not work; and what changes could be made to save time and money. The Learning Labs‟ contribution was fed into a workshop day within two weeks comprising of a „cross-slice‟ of staff from Business Support whose aim was to produce an action plan based on some or all of the ideas generated. 4.13 LESSONS LEARNED CHILD CARE ASSESSMENT LAB PUT INTO PRACTICE IN MEDIUM TERM FINANCIAL STRATEGY LAB   Cover for front line staff provided where possible Selection process – self selection increased through letter asking for volunteers/encouraged to attend   Improved venue No gap between completion of Learning Lab and reporting to decisionmaking committee Page 88 of 145 Debra Lawrence      Masters in Business Administration Decision-making committee a „cross-slice‟ of staff from Business Support No managers present Ground rules flexible Brief/mandate clear Detailed information regarding Learning Labs sent out with invitation to Learning Lab    Results of recommendation fed back to participants Learning Lab information updated on Intranet and Internet Introduction from „Champion‟ at the beginning of the Learning Lab 4.14 KEY POINTS FROM SUMMARY OF INTERVIEW QUESTIONS EVALUATION BOTH INDIVIDUAL AND GROUP ON THE MEDIUM TERM FINANCIAL STRATEGY LEARNING LAB PARTICIPANTS Model of Learning Labs          Participants to have a voice – heard equally Background information beforehand to put Learning Labs into context Facilitator- settled worries/concerns No ideas seen as silly/stupid No criticism Enables staff to think creatively Constructive input from front line staff Learning experience Working tool Page 89 of 145 Debra Lawrence                          Listened to Equal opportunity to speak Pooling ideas Clear where boundaries lay Improve quality Involve customers Learning and sharing Share good practice – good forum Multi-agency „Holistic view‟ Cross-section of staff Air views Open forum to discuss issues Comes under Best Value Masters in Business Administration Role of Facilitator to guide discussion Set basic culture for innovation and risk-taking „No silly/no bad‟ ideas encouraged Excellent „mode of change tool‟ Forum for system to pool ideas/knowledge Creative thinking Vehicle for involving empowering and valuing front line staff Bottom Up Wider view Working towards same aim Confidential Page 90 of 145 Debra Lawrence                 Offer solutions Masters in Business Administration Provide „permission‟ to challenge and forum to do it No fear of repercussions Re-think ways things can be done Look at task from different angles Not to „think small‟ Dynamic/energetic – good environment for creative problem solving Excellent communication tool „All working to the same ends/same side‟ Collective voice Ground rules discussed and agreed by group Facilitator to be good at steering the group Forum for constructive look at outstanding issues Opportunity to express worries or concerns, bad systems – good ideas Sufficient notice if invited Opportunity to network Expectation of Learning Labs        Process motivating – good experience People to be informed of good work/outcomes from Learning Labs Step towards breaking precedents Consultation Learning Labs will be „Commonplace‟ Word of mouth to spread learning experience Staff „ at the coalface‟ know what really goes on – must have a voice Page 91 of 145 Debra Lawrence                  Masters in Business Administration Front line staff must be able to attend Positive outcomes will help effectiveness Opinions need to be valued People encouraged to be involved Influence and initiate change Cover for attending – workload issues Solutions for internal/external customers New work practices must benefit all Points raised to go to internal audit Enables continuity Across county – not localised Changes to be publicised Senior managers listening to suggestions will have greater effect Ideas put into practice Accepted as part of organisations culture Cut down repetition Ideas taken upward through a recognised route and presented to senior managers     Reduce cynicism Broadens front line staff‟s thoughts/knowledge Part of training Front line staff raise ideas not immediately apparent to senior management   Incentive to challenge ideas Re-evaluation, „tried and tested‟ methods Page 92 of 145 Debra Lawrence    Get over barriers of preconceptions Masters in Business Administration Gain a broader understanding of issues within the department Must be open to all Concerns           Exercise to placate staff Nothing will be taken forward/acknowledged Work going into a „black hole‟ Forum for complaints Managers may construe as „telling tales‟ Sceptical as to likely effectiveness of suggestions being considered Suggestions being „swept under the carpet‟ Managers who „wield the power‟ accept recommendations Innovation stifled by size of organisation Success dependent upon proposals/suggestions being carried forward – „jury is still out‟    Senior managers only use front line staff when things reach crisis point „Powers that be‟ do not know how it really is Participants not heard of previous two Learning Labs – will the same happen to this one?      Motivation lasts during Learning Lab – what if momentum stops? If ideas are not seen to be actioned will have negative effect Effectiveness remains to be proved Only when effectiveness has been realised can they make a difference „Front line staff not accountable for actions outside job description‟ Page 93 of 145 Debra Lawrence       Masters in Business Administration Change of culture must happen at all levels „Lip service‟ „Just to appease front line staff following re-organisation‟ Being released to attend Learning Labs Current perceptions/assumptions Senior managers implementing ideas with little/no thought of impact on/to front line staff        No current incentives to challenge ideas New venture – no evidence as yet of effectiveness Learning Labs will be „moaning boxes‟ Senior managers having their „own agenda‟ Why will they listen to the Learning Labs – never listened before „Heard it all before‟ want to be proved wrong Learning Labs too rushed/insufficient notice Hopes       If points are taken forward people will feel it is not just an exercise If they continue to be used it will be a positive step forward Something big providing results will improve motivation Motivation will increase if results from feedback are received Need to see early results from initial Learning Labs Felt empowered and involved attending and completing interview questions   Concrete results come from front line staff Front line staff/Directorate to work together/in tandem Page 94 of 145 Debra Lawrence  Masters in Business Administration Involvement in decision-making can be seen to have a wide social effect – will help reputation and status of Local Authorities   Hope it is the first step in developing a change of culture System that encourages staff to think and share views must be viewed positively   Improve way ideas are communicated Management will see front line staff do have good ideas worth listening to     Start a „two way dialogue‟ Learning Labs will lift morale Revolutionary in providing an arena for progress Hope information will be thoroughly analysed and adequate feedback given     Cut down waste Save money Add value Hope senior managers are in support of Learning Labs and acknowledge issues raised and act on any that are reasonable/sensible    Senior managers must have „open minds‟ Will help the department Instrumental in „streamlining‟ the department in forming more effective service    Hope they will continue and produce results Hope Learning Labs are implemented - waste of resources if not Innovative – good for change Page 95 of 145 Debra Lawrence  Valuable if implemented correctly Masters in Business Administration 4.15 KEY POINTS LEARNED FROM MEDIUM TERM FINANCIAL STRATEGY LEARNING LAB TO TAKE FORWARD      Participants invited rather than selected Letter of invitation ambiguous Quotes from participants placed on the Intranet One day insufficient Timing of evaluation – future evaluation done at „recall‟ meeting or for Learning Labs owing the outcome of the recommendations – close the loop   Still top down Concerns that no-one had heard of the first two Learning Labs – and would it be the same for this one 4.16 KEY ISSUES FROM LEARNING LAB THREE LEARNING LABS     Concerns of outcome success Concerns of being a „forum for complaints‟ Facilitator needed to „control‟ the meeting Evidence was needed for thoughts/suggestions to be acted upon Page 96 of 145 Debra Lawrence  Masters in Business Administration „Word of mouth‟ was a better way to spread information on the Learning Labs         Front line staff want to be involved at all times, not at a time of crisis Want to be recognised as a rich resource Still a significant amount of cynicism Morale still very low amongst front line staff Need to see changes coming from results Difficulty in attending – cover/workloads Participants felt empowered because they were listened to Front line staff are on the „shop floor/coalface‟ deal directly with the customer – have a better understanding of customer needs  Front line staff and senior managers should work more closely together – very hierarchical      Learning Labs a great tool for pooling ideas – „pausing to take stock‟ No „lip service‟ – need evidence of recommendations being actioned Learning Labs would help change the culture of public services Involve customers in the Learning Labs if appropriate Permission of line manager required to attend Learning Lab – possible blocks     Need recognition for work achieved in the Learning Labs – advertise Facilitator needs to be trained and experienced Need „champion‟ to follow through – close the loop Changes in one area would motivate people to re-evaluate the way they do things  Consultation should be an active process Page 97 of 145 Debra Lawrence  Masters in Business Administration Front line staff have ownership of recommendations – more responsive to change   Senior manager giving an introduction helpful to put brief in context Learning Labs would be invaluable if implemented correctly followed through and open to all  Will help brief down hierarchical barriers between staff and managers at all levels  Suggestion that Learning Labs were put on team meeting agendas 4.17 SUMMARY OF ANALYSIS AND EVALUATION OF QUESTIONNAIRE TO FIND OUT WHAT FRONT LINE STAFF AND MANAGERS THOUGHT ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE AND EFFECTIVENESS OF LEARNING LABS IN SUFFOLK SOCIAL CARE SERVICES 4.17.1 TIMING AND BACKGROUND The timing of the questionnaires was chosen so that they were sent out directly following the third and last Learning Lab in the pilot, following some advertising in the staff newsletter and the Intranet being updated so that as many people as possible at that particular time could be informed. This would help demonstrate how people heard or not and where from and would therefore show which one was more effective. Page 98 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration The questionnaire was sent out with a covering letter to explain why the request was being made and to show it was an independent evaluation although mainly for the MBA it would be of help to the department in terms of the results, as would the whole evaluation – (see Appendix 4.12). The questionnaire was tested on the Steering Group for their responses and comments to test how the questionnaire would be received and ascertain how easy it was to complete and understand. Comments received were very positive and so the questionnaire was sent out. The target audience was carefully selected. The questionnaire would help determine the difference of opinions between senior managers and front line staff, but felt it would be important to include middle managers in this to provide a more detailed insight into what their perceptions were. 4.17.2 RESPONSE FROM QUESTIONNAIRE As there were 200 managers (senior and middle) in the department 200 front line staff were randomly selected to ensure an equal respresentative of staff were sent the questionnaire. This was done by selecting an even spread of staff from all establishments across the county by using the most up to date departmental telephone directory and choosing an equal number of people from each team. Page 99 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration 158 questionnaires were returned (40%) – 18% of these were senior managers, 38% middle managers and 41% front line staff. 4% were returned uncompleted as they were on sick leave, maternity leave or had recently left the department. Out of these returned 47% had not heard of Learning Labs – 53% had heard showing an equal spread between them, however following a further breakdown per management this was found not to be the case as this table shows: HEARD Senior Managers Middle Managers Front Line Staff 34% 49% 17% NOT HEARD Senior Managers Middle Managers Front Line Staff 01% 29% 70% We can clearly see from these figures that there are more front line staff that have not heard than any other level of management and yet most senior managers had heard and two thirds of middle managers. Some of those who had not heard of Learning Labs felt they could not fully complete the questionnaire particularly on effectiveness. Those who had heard about Learning Labs were asked to state how they heard about them - the following table illustrates this breakdown: Page 100 of 145 Debra Lawrence Colleague Publication Other 65% 06% 29% Masters in Business Administration In this case „other‟ represents the Internet, Intranet (COLIN = County Online Information Network). We can clearly see from these figures that nearly two thirds of people heard through colleagues despite a certain amount of information being published in Suffolk Matters (County Council magazine) and the Suffolk Social Care Services Update magazine (newsletter). (A breakdown of this information can be found in Appendix 4.13 – Tables 4.1 and 4.2). 4.17.3 ANALYSIS AND EVALUATION OF QUESTIONNAIRE The data from the questionnaires was fed into Tables, (see Appendix 4.13, Tables 4.3.1 to 4.3.6), which show a breakdown of the questionnaire results per levels of management who were involved/not involved in the Learning Labs. This was then fed into a Means Analysis - see Appendix 4.13, Table 4.4. Page 101 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration 4.18.1 ANALYSIS AND EVALUATION OF IMPORTANCE AND EFFECTIVENESS - GRAPHS A full analysis and evaluation can be found in (Appendix 4.14, Appendices 4.14.1 to 4.14.9, and detailed graphs in (Graphs 4.5 – 4.13), showing a breakdown between staff groups/levels, (senior managers, middle managers and front line staff), staff connected and not connected, (with or without direct experience), the levels and comparisons of importance and effectiveness, showing general agreements and disagreements. The definition from the Concise Oxford Dictionary for the meaning of effective and important is as follows: Effective: „Having an effect, powerful in effect, striking remarkable, coming into operation‟ Important: „Carrying with it great consequence (to person concerned or purpose etc), weighty, momentous (of person) having high rank‟ Page 102 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration 5.18.2 ANALYSIS AND EVALUATION OF IMPORTANCE AND EFFECTIVENESS - MATRICES Data was transferred into a matrix data sheet to measure the level of importance and effectiveness according to levels of staff/group who were involved and not involved in the Learning Labs. (Please see Appendix 4.15 Tables 4.14 – 4.21 and summary analysis in Appendix 4.16 -Tables 4.22 to 4.24). 4.19 SUMMARY OF COMMENTS FROM QUESTIONNAIRE The comments from the questionnaires have been summarised and can be found in Appendix 4.17. 4.20 ANALYSIS FOCUS The following summaries are lifted from the analysis focus framework designed to pull together information illustrating similarities and differences, identifying implications on the impact of Learning Labs in Suffolk Social Care Services in terms of suggested marketing/publicity for the future; management of the Labs; clarity about the definition/role of the Labs and choices of topics. This is filtered through the framework leading to conclusions and recommendations. Page 103 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration 4.20.1 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN STAFF GROUPS/LEVELS (Please see summary in Appendix 4.18.1 Tables 4.25a and 4.25b.) 4.20.2 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN STAFF GROUPS/LEVELS WITH AND WITHOUT DIRECT EXPERIENCE (Please see summary in Appendix 4.18.2 Tables 4.26a and 4.26b.) 4.20.3 DIRECT EXPERIENCE – HOPES AND CONCERNS FROM INTERVIEW QUESTIONS (Please see summary in Appendix 4.18.3 – Table 4.27.) 4.20.4 LEVEL OF STAFF/GROUP V IMPORTANCE/EFFECTIVENESS V DIRECT/NO DIRECT EXPERIENCE (Please see summary in Appendix 4.18.4 – Table 4.28a and 4.28b.) Page 104 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration CHAPTER FIVE 5.0 STEERING GROUP - TO SET UP PILOT LEARNING LABS FOR EMPOWERING FRONT LINE STAFF IN SUFFOLK SOCIAL CARE SERVICES AS A MEANS OF ENCOURAGING INNOVATION AND CULTURAL CHANGE 5.1 STEERING GROUP MINUTES The Steering Group minutes have been summarised and can be found in Appendix 5.1. It should be noted that there has been a steep learning curve for all the members of the Learning Lab Steering Group. The group consisted of: Simon Weeks – County Manager, Organisational Development David Smith and Howard Pugh, Assistant County Managers, Organisational Development Paula Stott and Sandra Clennell, Policy Unit, Corporate Services Bridget Cousins and Chris Sharpe, external/independent Facilitators Debra Lawrence, Independent Evaluator Page 105 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration 5.2 REMIT OF LEARNING LAB STEERING GROUP Suffolk County Council has used the Learning Lab pilot to encourage innovation and cultural change throughout the department. Key Objectives: Improve the quality and responsiveness of the services delivered by the department Engage and empower front line staff Intended Improvements include: Better, more responsive and „joined-up‟ services for customers, particularly in those areas where there is currently public concern, poor performance or little innovation Greater front line involvement in the development and implementation of change Resources: Resources were identified to cover the costs of staff training and „buying in‟ Facilitators Evaluation: - The pilot would be formally evaluated and results would be made widely available Page 106 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration 5.3 DRAFT LEARNING LAB AGREEMENT/CONTRACT A draft Learning Lab Agreement/Contract was set up to provide a framework to act as a checklist - this was used for each of the three Learning Labs. Please see Agreement/Contract in Appendix 5.2 Goals, actions, objectives need to have the following characteristics in order to work successfully: They must be SMART: S = Specific M = Measurable A = Agreed R = Realistic (achievable) T = Time - have a clear time frame 5.4 WHAT ARE LEARNING LABORATORIES? – DEPARTMENTAL DOCUMENT FOR THOSE CONSIDERING PUTTING FORWARD A PROPOSAL FOR A LEARNING LAB Please see Appendix 5.3 for a document answering questions on „What are Learning Laboratories?‟ Page 107 of 145 Debra Lawrence 5.5 FUNDING THE FACILITATORS Masters in Business Administration Money was secured from the Corporate Activities budget to fund the two external Facilitators. The intention is to continue to fund the Facilitators from this budget for the 2001/2002 financial year and to ensure money is ring fenced accordingly. Potential Advantages:  Steering Group can plan further Learning Labs according to monies available from budget  Ensures Learning Labs will take place whilst funds exist Potential Disadvantages:   Limits Learning Labs according to money available Will restrict amount of Learning Labs that could take place Potential Barriers:  Unclear at this stage if this money is to be solely spent on paying for the Facilitators or training more Facilitators Page 108 of 145 Debra Lawrence 5.6 ARTICLES ON LEARNING LABS Masters in Business Administration  Issue Four – February 2000 – Modernising Government News – Learning Labs – Liberating Front Line Staff  June – August 2000 Issue – Suffolk Matters – The Newspaper For Suffolk County Council People - New Way to Cut Red Tape  February 2001 Issue 17 Suffolk County Council Update Social Care Staff Newsletter – Learning Labs Please see Appendix 5.4 for the above articles. 5.7 INPUTS AND OUTPUTS Please see Appendix 5.5 - Diagram 5.5 for the Input / Output diagram designed by Debra Lawrence and David Smith as a basis for the Learning Lab model for Suffolk Social Care Services. 5.8 ROLE OF LEARNING LAB FACILITATORS Please see detailed „job description/person specification‟ drawn up by the Facilitators of the Steering Group in Appendix 5.6. Page 109 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration CHAPTER SIX 6.0 – BENCHMARKING – COMPARISON BETWEEN SECONDARY AND PRIMARY RESEARCH – LOOK AT SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES – TO IDENTIFY GAPS This section provides a summary on the theory of benchmarking - a full description of this and the key success factors can be seen in Appendix 6.0 along with the similarities and differences between the primary and secondary research. The Learning Labs are benchmarked against other models – secondary research and the primary research. 6.1 SUMMARY OF THEORY ON BENCHMARKING Sylvia Codling (1998) states that: “Benchmarking is simply about being proactively aware: understanding what we have to be best at, then comparing ourselves openly and honestly with others who excel in those areas, recognising the standards we have to achieve in whatever market we‟re in. And once we‟ve recognised them, setting out to meet – and exceed – them by managing that knowledge in order to achieve, or secure greater, competitive advantage.” Page 110 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration Benchmarking is not a passive exercise but a way of finding out what the best practice standards are and how they should and could be achieved enabling the gap to be closed between how an organisation is currently performing and identifying how much better it could perform. Changes made through closing the gap and the lessons learned have helped develop best practice in some organisations. The benefits of benchmarking the Learning Lab pilot and future Learning Labs in Social Care Services and Suffolk County Council can be found in Appendix 6 - Table 6.1. 6.2 FORMAL SUGGESTION SCHEMES Similarities  This may be a way for ideas to come from staff to a focal point using Learning Labs as the way forward, not giving rewards but encouraging direct involvement Differences   Prizes/ etc would be given/another system to be managed Only as a process of receiving ideas not putting ideas into practice Page 111 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration 6.3 THE JAPANESE APPROACH TO PRODUCT QUALITY AND THE IMPACT ON QUALITY CONTROL CIRCLES Similarities    Groups of people meeting together to discuss and solve a problem Staff recognised for their contribution Managers intervention – in Suffolk County Council there are concerns managers will still block ideas by front line staff  Uses a Facilitator Differences  Although staff would volunteer there appears to be an expectation to attend through training and education  The group consists of managers and front line staff, whereas Learning Labs approach is to use front line staff only to empower and encourage innovation.  The Facilitator is a full time senior member of staff Page 112 of 145 Debra Lawrence 6.4 360-DEGREE APPRAISALS Masters in Business Administration Similarities   Individuals not groups normally Top down, bottom up and across impact Differences  Measures success of individuals and groups 6.5 PROBLEM SOLVING Similarities    Task process Clear brief Use Facilitators that are objective/external Differences  No real significant differences Page 113 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration 6.6 UNINTENDED BENEFITS AND PROBLEMS 6.6.1 UNINTENDED BENEFITS           Networking Linked with Best Value Streamlining Improving communication – „word of mouth‟ Reducing bureaucracy Could involve customers Accrediting Learning Labs Beacon Employee Award for participants Links with Change Champions Links with Staff Suggestions Scheme 6.6.2 UNINTENDED PROBLEMS           Provision of cover Delay in recommendations going forward „Top down‟ not „bottom up‟ Too rushed Insufficient response from advertising Bad timing following re-organisation Unrealistic deadline of pilot Getting senior managers „on board‟ Delegation of decision-making „Actual‟ commitment Page 114 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration 6.6.3 WHY THE LEARNING LAB PILOTS IN SUFFOLK SOCIAL CARE SERVICES HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFUL/NOT SUCCESSFUL? Successful      Front line staff have lots of good ideas Front line staff are willing to participate Department is commitment National initiative Backed by Chief Executive/Director of Suffolk Social Care Services Not Successful   Have not been advertised sufficiently Have had no „real‟ outcomes in terms of recommendations being actioned  A need for clear leadership Page 115 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration 6.6.4 WHAT FACTORS HAVE PROMOTED AND/OR HINDERED THE SUCCESS OF LEARNING LAB PILOTS ELSEWHERE? Promoted     Word of mouth First line staff listened to Part of a larger/national pilot Senior manager‟s support Hindered     Lack of awareness Lack of understanding of what Learning Labs are No clear model No „real‟ outcomes Page 116 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration 6.6.5 WHAT FACTORS HAVE BEEN PRESENT/ABSENT AND/OR STRONG/WEAK IN THE LEARNING LAB PILOTS IN SUFFOLK SOCIAL CARE SERVICES? Present   A willingness of staff to participate A wealth of ideas from front line staff Absent   Provision of cover for participants to attend Insufficient advertising/promotion of Learning Labs Strong   Senior management commitment Local government commitment Weak   No outcomes No credit for Learning Lab participants Page 117 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration 6.6.5 WHAT CONTRIBUTION LEARNING LAB PILOTS HAVE MADE TO ORGANISATIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN SUFFOLK SOCIAL CARE SERVICES?  Possible accreditation for participants on problem solving, team working and personal development   Potential for front line staff to be involved in decision-making Front line staff encouraged to look at the wider picture Page 118 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration CHAPTER SEVEN 7.0 - CONCLUSIONS Quantitative research has shown the use of publications has not been particularly successful –use of language being part of the problem. The majority of staff appeared to have heard via another colleague and not through publications. The questionnaire generated some interest from staff requesting more information or to be involved in future Learning Labs. Assessing the impact of Learning Labs across the department was undoubtedly hindered as only half the people who returned the questionnaire had heard of Learning Labs showing the „message‟ is not getting across to all staff. This is particularly a problem in those establishments that are not networked. Despite requests from Learning Lab participants to „advertise/publicise‟ their recommendations onto „public folders‟, this was not carried out. Delays in recommendations going to the decision-making committee have resulted in „empowered‟ staff becoming „disempowered‟. The main success factor to the success of the Learning Labs is recommendations being actioned giving participants ownership, unless this is done Learning Labs will not be successful. Page 119 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration Quantitative research showed staff who were involved with the Learning Labs felt they were more important than those who had not, showing expectations seemed to match reality although importance still rated fairly low. Quantitative research showed that more emphasis was put on the effectiveness of Learning Labs than their importance (potential power). Most staff felt unable to comment on effectiveness as it was felt to be too early to judge, as only time would tell. The fact there had been no outcomes from the recommendations was felt to be a major hindrance in their potential effectiveness. Generally those staff with direct experience felt Learning Labs would be more effective than those who had no direct involvement, showing those who had been involved in the process had their expectations confirmed, whereas those not involved could only „guess‟ on their effectiveness with their limited knowledge of the process. Learning Lab participants believed Learning Labs were more effective than important compared to those with no direct experience who felt they would not be effective or important showing those with personal experience understood the process and their potential, those not involved had no evidence of what they may achieve. The selection process was changed in terms of invitations being sent to first line managers to pass to front line staff, rather than „selecting‟ staff, although it was Page 120 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration rushed, tight deadlines prevented attendance due to workload and cover for staff. The venue was unsatisfactory for one of the three Learning Labs and was felt to be very important in terms of facilities and comfort. There was a three-month delay in the recommendations of the first Learning Lab being presented to the decision-making committee. This was addressed, and recommendations from the following two were presented immediately following their completion. One of the decision-making committees comprised of a cross-slice of staff in what was felt to be a very interactive and constructive meeting. One Learning Lab had a manager present which on hindsight was not felt to be helpful or constructive as participants were less able to be open and honest. This was addressed and no managers were present for the following two Labs. Although in all cases the participants developed and agreed their own ground rules, the first Learning Lab agreed initially to keep a „closed shop‟. Feedback from interviews showed they would have liked the flexibility of sharing ideas/issues with others and on hindsight may have „changed‟ the ground rules accordingly with everyone‟s agreement. Most of the first Learning Lab participants did not know they had been asked to attend a Learning Lab having received no information beforehand. This was Page 121 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration addressed for the second Learning Lab where participants were provided with some information and improved further for the last Learning Labs where a letter of invitation was sent to potential participants explaining what they were. It was acknowledged that the „brief‟ supplied, in all cases by managers, was felt to be too broad/wide by two of the Learning Labs, however one had a very clear focus with a brief which was achievable. Cover for attendance was an issue for all the Learning Labs with front line staff having heavy workloads and insufficient staff. Feedback from all the Learning Labs was consistent in that if front line staff were expected to take on „extra work‟ in terms of being involved in Learning Labs and „taking time out‟ to attend would require cover during their time out of the office. All Learning Lab participants asked for feedback on their recommendations in terms of what was being actioned, and if not a reason why. They also wanted recognition for their work and for this to be publicised on Public Folders. They felt that although this would give them the recognition, others would see what the Labs had achieved. Managers have promised this will be done following the last Lab but as the „brief‟ was so big and many other working groups are currently involved this would be a long process. There appeared to no clear „Champion‟ for each Learning Lab, a person who had a „responsibility‟ to carry the work forward, providing feedback from the decision-making committees, ensuring recommendations were publicised etc. Page 122 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration There was some confusion, particularly in the second Lab where the role of Facilitator and Champion were unclear. There was the expectation the Facilitator could do the „Champion‟s role, was felt the Facilitator‟s role should be independent and objective. Subsequently a person specification has been drawn up for a Facilitator through the Steering Group. Feedback from the interview questions has enabled a model to be clearly defined from the participants‟ perspective (primary), whilst key areas from the secondary literary review in terms of Senge‟s theories and problem solving theories (secondary) gives a focused foundation of what works well from the theorists‟ and participants‟ points of views. It is no surprise that morale is still very low, particularly with front line staff following the re-organisation, and introducing another initiative may seem like „overkill‟. Understandably front line staff still feel very cynical and sceptical about a process being introduced to encourage them to be creative when they feel so disempowered and demotivated. Senior managers have made a commitment to be a part of this pilot, stating they are prepared to listen to recommendations. It has also been acknowledged the topics/choices of the first three Labs were decided by senior managers and not front line staff. There is some concern that any empowerment Learning Lab participants have felt during the Labs would be short-lived if recommendations are not put into action and no feedback is received, as this is seen to be the main success factor. This will inevitably lead them to feeling negative about the Lab process rather than positive. Some participants had concerns the Labs may become a Page 123 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration forum for complaints, „moaning boxes to tell tales going into yet another black hole‟, and that this is just another exercise just to placate staff following the reorganisation. As no outcomes as such, in terms of recommendations being actioned and publicised, will leave staff feeling the same will happen with their recommendations, the „here we go again syndrome/heard it all before‟. If recommendations are not actioned Learning Labs will have very little if any impact on organisational development within the department. Learning Labs help participants to suspend their assumptions, but front line staff still felt many managers still have assumptions of them in terms of not being recognised as a rich resource. Whilst front line staff understood the process was a pilot, it was felt the Labs were rushed with little prior notice and no feedback given afterwards. There has not been a mechanism of „closing the loop/following through‟ therefore disempowering the empowered changing the positive effect to a negative effect. With no current incentives to put forward ideas and suggestions, front line staff feel this process would be very worthwhile in terms of giving ownership and recognition to those that participated, but there needed to be reassurance, support and commitment from senior managers to show they supported the process. This can be done if outcomes are actioned but front line staff feel the Labs are in the hand of „those that wield the power‟. There were also concerns in terms of the financial implications; the cost of the Facilitators/training new Facilitators, which would have an impact on how many Learning Labs could take place and who decides which ones/how many. One of the other main issues has been about the provision of cover for front line staff to take part in these Labs - this would also have cost implications Page 124 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration Appropriate feedback given and recommendations being put into action would increase motivation and would prove to front line staff that the Directorate and County Councillors were committed and the pilot was not just an „exercise‟. Participants felt positive about the evaluation – they felt it would provide a true picture and provide evidence the Learning Labs were a worthwhile process to be implemented. They felt Learning Labs should be seen as a positive step forward and a tool for alerting managers of front line issues. They encouraged staff to think outside their area of work, specialism, „outside the box‟ which would be the first step in changing the culture of the department by demonstrating a clear direction which would be beneficial to internal and external customers. Clearly an ambassador dedicated to the Learning Labs would improve communication, increasing a two-way dialogue, lifting morale and encouraging the sharing of ideas, encouraging Directorate and front line staff to work „in tandem‟ with each other. The Learning Labs would be revolutionary in streamlining systems, adding value, saving money and helping the department generally in changing the culture. There has to be a greater understanding of what Learning Labs are, where this process sits in the arena for change and how it will affect people at all levels. Page 125 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration The Learning Labs although advertised to enable front line staff to come forward with ideas/issues were not a „bottom up‟ approach but a „top down‟. No-one agreed the Learning Labs were working well from the information gathered via the questionnaire in terms of importance and effectiveness. The main disagreements were between senior managers and front line staff, in that senior managers general felt the Learning Labs were more important and effective. This may be because they can see the broader picture in terms of the national initiative and the potential possibilities, and also because they are in the „driving seat‟. People involved/not involved have hopes and expectations, which are changed by direct experience and obviously a need for improvement. Evidence shows that hopes and concerns are changed by direct experience showing the Learning Lab model is not what it should be. There are clearly some areas that need to be improved upon to improve people‟s views on the level of importance and effectiveness for all levels of staff who are and are not involved in the process. Page 126 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration CHAPTER 8 8.0 RECOMMENDATIONS As few people appear to have heard about Learning Labs from publications the method of advertising should be done predominantly through participants who have been through the process passing this information on „first hand‟ by „word of mouth‟. If publications are used then the use of „language‟ could be examined – do those with no direct experience of Learning Labs understand what is being said? The draft could be „tested‟ by asking someone who has not been involved to read article first. This was also substantiated earlier where information sent out to staff was felt to be „non-descript‟, despite this being discussed and agreed at the Steering Group meeting first. More use should be made of the Suffolk County Council website but the site should be easy to find and follow, this information should be updated on a regular basis. Discussing Learning Labs at team meetings, training sessions, seminars, and adding „Learning Labs‟ onto job descriptions would help more people think „Learning Labs‟. Producing a booklet, available on the Suffolk County Council website and hard copy should be distributed to people showing an interest. As mentioned earlier Learning Lab recommendations have not been advertised/publicised and there have been delays in them going to the decisionmaking committee with no feedback given to the participants of the Learning Labs - and this is a critical success factor. The Learning Lab process needs a Page 127 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration key person „leading‟ them who can spend his/her time ensuring the „loop is closed‟, by having the responsibility of „championing‟ the process, reminding senior managers of their commitment, feeding back to front line staff, advertising etc. This person‟s role would be specifically on enabling the If this role is just part of someone‟s job, there Learning Labs to be a success. is a danger of Learning Labs not being given a high enough profile within organisational development the department or Suffolk Social Care Services. Importance rating low in the questionnaire may be a reflection of the absence of a clear model and definition of the Learning Labs with no clear outcome. This would enable staff to clearly see the importance of them. The production of a booklet on „How to Get Started‟ and „What Are Learning Labs?‟ would help once the model is clearly defined. Employing someone to lead, co-ordinate and champion the Learning Labs would ensure there were outcomes by advertising the recommendations, achievements giving participants ownership and recognition. This would show other members of staff how they have been successful. If Learning Lab topics were small and more local they would be easier to take forward and implement, particularly if they were less political. The person „co-ordinating‟ the Learning Labs needs to ensure people do not have unrealistic expectations of them to avoid the expectation v reality gap. If the choice/topic of the Labs are „achievable‟ in terms of recommendations being actioned, and there are outcomes, then expectations should „match‟ reality. Page 128 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration This is an important issue as the research shows that the main success factor of the Labs are recommendations being actioned, feedback given as to why they cannot be implemented and most importantly recognition of the work undertaken. Those who had direct involvement felt the Labs were more effective than those not involved again highlights that those involved can see their potential showing again that participants should be the main route for promoting the work done, spreading the information „from the horses mouth‟ rather than by/from senior managers. A clear selection process should be part of the Learning Lab model. Once Learning Labs are more widely advertised and people more aware more staff will volunteer to attend or ask for a Lab to be set up. By using past participants to come forward with ideas for future Labs should partly solve this by encouraging them to put forward ideas for future Labs and suggesting ways of involving others, having a clearer picture of the issues. The selection process should always include asking the manager‟s permission, although this brings with it concerns from front line staff, as this could be potentially blocked. There needs to be a clear message disseminated from Directorate that Learning Labs are a part of organisational and personal development and all staff should be encouraged to participate. A list of suitable venues could be identified as potential meeting places for future Learning Labs ensuring comfort and appropriate facilities are available. Page 129 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration Using Suffolk County Council venues would ensure there were no further added costs. If the brief of the Learning Lab requires recommendations to go to a decisionmaking committee, then a „Champion/Co-ordinator‟ should ensure the Lab meetings take place shortly before the date in which the committee is due to meet ensuring the recommendations from the Lab are on the agenda for that meeting. It should also be made clear at the meeting there is an expectation for feedback to be provided direct to the participants including what recommendations can/cannot be actioned and reasons why if not. Participants should also be assisted in being made aware of the „set-up/protocol‟ of the meetings so they know what to expect. Learning Labs should consist of front line staff only unless there was a specific requirement for a manager or a cross slice of staff to attend for a specific brief. The brief for any Learning Lab should follow the „SMART‟ rules to ensure they are achievable. The „Champion‟ could help with this. Senior managers would also need to be aware what the expectations of the Learning Labs were in terms of what they were expected to achieve. The „Champion‟ could also ensure that any information required from senior managers/Members etc in connection with the brief is passed to participants before commencement of the Labs. Page 130 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration The person(s) with the responsibility of co-ordinating and supporting the Learning Labs should ensure the websites are updated and recommendations are publicised. This person would have a clear role not to be confused with the Facilitator. Using the primary and secondary research similarities to clearly define a model to be used by the department would help prevent the expectations v reality gap. Producing a booklet as mentioned earlier could be the basis for using the Learning Lab process as a tool rather than using the name only - as Learning Labs should describe the concept not prescribe a particular approach. The tool would be the guidance provided for both managers and front line staff to use to help change the culture of the organisation. The main success factor appears to be the outcomes; recommendations being put into practice/implemented and adequate/appropriate feedback being given. The person „leading‟ the Lab process would need to ensure there is an outcome on all occasions. To enable this to happen as mentioned earlier, a clear brief would need to be agreed along with whether the recommendations NEEDED to go to any decision-making committee. If the Labs in the short term are more locality focused where recommendations could easily be agreed and implemented by the participants and/or front line/middle managers there would be more successful, achievable outcomes. The financial implications in terms of the cost of Facilitators could be reduced if the suggestion of „training the Facilitators‟ was introduced, using participants Page 131 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration who were felt to be suitable and who were interested in becoming Facilitators. Although this would undoubtedly incur a cost in terms of cover for the person facilitating, it would be cheaper than paying for independent Facilitators. This in turn brings about the other problem of Facilitators currently being totally independent and objective – the „new‟ Facilitators would need to ensure they were not involved in any Labs, which were in their specialist area where there would be a conflict of interest. This is where the „Change Champions‟ could be involved and perhaps if appropriate be trained to become Facilitators. They are already trained and specialise in being „catalysts of change‟ as well as having links with Members; senior management networks, Corporate Management Team etc where they could ensure the „brief‟ supplied by the potential Lab is achievable in terms of what front line staff feel they would like to address and what is possible departmentally/across the county. The Change Champions, perhaps through the potential staff suggestion scheme, could also be contact points/people for anyone wishing to set up a Lab and could „champion‟ Labs to ensure the „loop is closed‟ by „chasing managers‟ to provide feedback, action recommendations etc. If Change Champions are seen to „champion‟ the Labs and the process is not seen „to be led by senior management‟, they would have more chance of being successful and having a greater impact on organisational development, both for the department and personally. By ensuring the Labs are „championed‟ with someone „overseeing them, trying to encourage front line staff to come forward and be involved in the process, ensuring recommendations actioned/implemented, seeing the process Page 132 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration through to the end, closing the loop would ensure the main success factor is achieved thus resulting in increasing motivation and morale and reducing cynicism and scepticism, although the process should be organic and flexible and not in any way bureaucratic. The evaluation has been extremely helpful in recording participants‟ thoughts and perceptions before and after their involvement in the Learning Labs as well as helping to find out in what way Learning Labs were important and effective. This evaluation could continue to be carried out, not in as much depth, but through a brief questionnaire/interview following each Learning Lab to ascertain their thoughts on the level of success following the „outcome of the recommendations. This was not possible during the pilot with no actual results, therefore it was not possible to measure the level of success in terms of recommendations being actioned/implemented and to monitor how this could/should be done. The recommended continued evaluation/monitoring would enable the „process‟ to be regularly reviewed and improved upon, whilst also linking in with other authorities in the pilot to exchange ideas to put into practice. The evaluation would also enable front line staff to be continually involved in the running of the Labs by using their feedback to its best advantage. This information would be invaluable and would help in the implementation of the Learning Labs, and would successfully benefit all concerned, which would also help in the inevitable roll-out across the County. Page 133 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration The Learning Labs could include our „external customers‟ to enable us to involve them more and to „listen‟ to what they are saying. The last Lab focused on ways of saving money - if only half the recommendations are implemented the savings could be phenomenal, showing by „investing‟ some money into the Learning Lab process the returns would more than make up for the initial investment, whilst also supporting organisational and personal development. Whilst it has been recognised the Labs have been top down because staff had not heard about the Labs and „one had to start somewhere‟, it is strongly recommended that future Labs must come from „bottom up‟ and be seen to be front line led if the Learning Labs are to be seen as being supported by senior managers. Clearly there is a need to re-evaluate the definition of the Learning Labs to ensure senior managers and front line staff who are involved or not involved with the Learning Labs have the same understanding. There needs to be a mechanism in place to provide evidence to front line staff that Learning Labs will be important and effective and this could be done through marketing and advertising outcomes and successes. Managers must ensure that people‟s expectations are not too high and that any expectations front line staff may have are reached in terms of ensuring Page 134 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration recommendations put into practice, and Labs are „bottom up‟ completing the „closing of the loop‟. Clearly hopes and concerns show the Learning Labs are not what they should be, does not stack, showing the model needs to be refined and clarified to ensure there are „real‟ outcomes that can be measured. The analysis focus framework could be used to clarify the future in terms of designing a specific model, which is understood by all levels of staff so as not to give people hopes and expectations that cannot be met. Following a model being clarified training/information could be provided to the Directorate to ensure they have a good understanding of what the Learning Labs are. Where possible administrative support should be provided to assist with the basic admin tasks. In the longer term Learning Labs could be accredited to provide participants with a „qualification/certificate‟ on problem solving; team working and personal development. Learning Labs should have a clear route for putting suggestions forward, could be linked to suggestions scheme if/when it gets started using Change Champions to get the Labs started. Page 135 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration Role of Champion/Learning Lab leader needs to be clarified and put in place to ensure there are appropriate links with the Labs, Change Champions and the Beacon Employee Award Scheme to recognise the work undertaken by. Add Learning Labs onto agendas at all meetings to encourage staff and to advertise the process. Regular attendance of participants at all the Learning Lab sessions would be advisable to ensure full participation and bonding of the group – protocols could be put in place for this. A clear model should be clarified based on the problem solving theories and Senge‟s model whilst also encompassing primary research undertaken. Money should be ring-fenced to ensure monies are available for Facilitators and training Facilitators. The Learning Lab model should be flexible, organic, development and decide whether its remit is solving problems or resolving issues. Once the model is clearly defined with evidence of outcomes roll-out across the County could be considered. These outcomes can only be measured by changes achieved over a period of time with regular evaluation. Key person leading the Labs should make every endeavour to link with the Cabinet Office and other local authorities in the national pilot to prevent duplication, learn from one another. Page 136 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration The concept of Learning Labs needs a definite person in an organisation to promote, nurture and oversee them, as they seem to cut through bureaucracy and deliver in terms of empowering and involving front line staff. The cost of such a post could easily be justified under Best Value as an expense to deliver savings and service improvements. To make them work across a large area someone is needed who can „authorise‟ or at least support the recommendations at a senior management level. Model, publications, advertising should be clear so the process is understood as there seemed to be some ambiguity on how Learning Labs have been presented to front line staff so they too understand the process – close the vision – reality gap. Page 137 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration REFERENCES Bates P, (1994), Strategies for Cultural Change, Butterworth Heinemann Bohm D, (1965), The Special Theory of Relativity, New York: W A Benjamin Codling S, (1998), Benchmarking, Gower Publishing Limited Crick M, (1976), Explorations in Language and Meaning. Anthropology, Mallaby Press, London Towards a Semantic Easterby-Smith, Thorpe and Lowe (1991), Management Research: an Introduction, London, Sage Johnson G, Scholes K, (1999), Exploring Corporate Strategy, Fifth Edition, Text and Cases, Prentice Hall, Europe Maslow A, (1954), Motivation and Personality, Harper, New York Maslow A H, (1968), The Farther Reaches of Human Nature, Esalen Books, Viking Press Mintzberg, H, (1973), The Nature of Managerial Work, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs Page 138 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration Morris D, (1977), Manwatching, Jonathan Cape, London Sasaki N, Hutchins D, (1984), The Japanese Approach to Product Quality, Pergamon Press Schein, E H (1988), Process Consulting, (two volumes), Addison-Wesley, Wokingham Schein, E (1992), Coming to a new Awareness of Organisational Culture – in Salaman, G Human Resource Strategies, London, Sage Senge P M (1999), The Fifth Discipline – The Art and Practice of the Learning Organisation, Random House Business Books Senge P, Kleiner A, Roberts C, Ross R, Roth G, Smith B, (1999), The Fifth Discipline Field book, Strategies and Tools for Building a Learning Organisation, Nicholas Brealey Publishing, London Senge P, Kleiner A, Roberts C, Ross R, Roth G, Smith B, (1999), A Fifth Discipline Resource, The Dance of Change, The Challenges of Sustaining Momentum in Learning Organisations, Nicholas Brealey Publishing, London Ward P, (1997), 360 – Degree Feedback, Institute of Personnel and Development Page 139 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration Wheeler J, (1980), First session. Thought and Brain. In Structure in Science and Art. Proceedings of the Third C. H. Boehringer Sohn Symposium held at Kronberg, Taunus, 2-5 May 1979, Excerpta Medica, Oxford 3-51. Wilson G, (1993), Problem Solving and Decision Making, Kogan Page London JOURNALS AND PAPERS Hester M & Taylor P, (2000), Research into the Impact of the Prisoners‟ Passport Learning Lab on Participants and the Organisations They Represent Modernising Government White Paper, March 1999 Tuckman, B W, (1965), Development Sequence in Small Groups, Psychological Bulletin, 63: 384-99 Tallantire P, (Service First 2000), Cabinet Office UK Learning Labs – Cabinet Office Paper, Modernising Government - (Reproduced by permission of the Public Management and Policy Association) Page 140 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration BIBLIOGRAPHY Atkinson P, (1990), Creating Culture Change: The Key to Successful Total Quality Management, IFS Publications Bates P, (1994), Strategies for Cultural Change, Butterworth Heinemann Belbin, R M, (1981), Management Teams: Why They Succeed or Fail, Heinemann, Oxford Bohm D, (1965), The Special Theory of Relativity, New York: W A Benjamin Bowman C, Faulkner D, (1997), Competitive and Corporate Strategy, Richard D Irwin Books Burnes B, (1996), Managing Change, Second Edition, A Strategic Approach to Organisational Dynamics, Pitman Publishing Codling S, (1998), Benchmarking, Gower Publishing Limited Cole G, (1993), Management Theory and Practice, Fourth Edition, D P Publications Ltd London Page 141 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration Towards a Semantic Crick M, (1976), Explorations in Language and Meaning. Anthropology, Mallaby Press, London Easterby-Smith, Thorpe and Lowe (1991), Management Research: an Introduction, London, Sage Guest R H, Hersey P and Blanchard K H, (1986), Organisational Change Through Effective Leadership, Prentice-Hall, London Hersey P and Blanchard K H (1988), Management of Organisation Behaviour, Prentice-Hall, London Jankowicz, (1995), Business Research Projects, Second Edition, Chapman & Hall Johnson G, Scholes K, (1999), Exploring Corporate Strategy, Fifth Edition, Text and Cases, Prentice Hall, Europe Mabey c, Mayon-White B, (1993), Managing Change, Paul Chapman Publishing Ltd Maslow A, (1954), Motivation and Personality, Harper, New York Maslow A H, (1968), The Farther Reaches of Human Nature, Esalen Books, Viking Press Page 142 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration Mintzberg, H, (1973), The Nature of Managerial Work, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs Morris D, (1977), Manwatching, Jonathan Cape, London Mintzberg, H, (1973), The Nature of Managerial Work, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs Peters T, (1989), Thriving on Chaos, Pan Books London Sasaki N, Hutchins D, (1984), The Japanese Approach to Product Quality, Pergamon Press Saunders M, Lewis P, Thornhill A (1999), Research Methods for Business Students, Second Edition, Financial Times Prentice Hall Schein E, Beckhard R, Bennis W, (1969), Organisation Development: Strategies and Models Schein E, Organisation Culture and Leadership, (1985), Jossey Bass Schein, E (1992), Coming to a new Awareness of Organisational Culture – in Salaman, G Human Resource Strategies, London, Sage Page 143 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration Schein, E H (1988), Process Consulting, (two volumes), Addison-Wesley, Wokingham Senge P M (1999), The Fifth Discipline – The Art and Practice of the Learning Organisation, Random House Business Books Senge P, Kleiner A, Roberts C, Ross R, Roth G, Smith B, (1999), The Fifth Discipline Field book, Strategies and Tools for Building a Learning Organisation, Nicholas Brealey Publishing, London Senge P, Kleiner A, Roberts C, Ross R, Roth G, Smith B, (1999), A Fifth Discipline Resource, The Dance of Change, The Challenges of Sustaining Momentum in Learning Organisations, Nicholas Brealey Publishing, London Ward P, (1997), 360 – Degree Feedback, Institute of Personnel and Development Wheeler J, (1980), First session. Thought and Brain. In Structure in Science and Art. Proceedings of the Third C. H. Boehringer Sohn Symposium held at Kronberg, Taunus, 2-5 May 1979, Excerpta Medica, Oxford 3-51. Whetten D, Cameron K, Woods M, Developing Managing Skills – Effective Empowerment and Delegation, (1996), Harper Collins Publishers Wilson G, (1993), Problem Solving and Decision Making, Kogan Page London Page 144 of 145 Debra Lawrence Masters in Business Administration Wilson G B, (1993), Making Change Happen, The Financial Times/Pitman, London Worthington I, Britton C, (1994), The Business Environment, Pitman Publishing London JOURNALS AND PAPERS Hester M & Taylor P, (2000), Research into the Impact of the Prisoners‟ Passport Learning Lab on Participants and the Organisations They Represent Modernising Government White Paper, March 1999 Tuckman, B W, (1965), Development Sequence in Small Groups, Psychological Bulletin, 63: 384-99 Tallantire P, (Service First 2000), Cabinet Office UK Learning Labs – Cabinet Office Paper, Modernising Government - (Reproduced by permission of the Public Management and Policy Association) Page 145 of 145