The Impact of Instability on Complex Social and Technical Systems

Instability is a pervasive phenomenon that has deep implications for virtually all complex social and technical systems. In engineering, the identification and mitigation of various types of technical instabilities is a well developed practice. This is a key focus, for example, of engineers concerned about the prevention of potentially destabilizing vibration in the frame of an aircraft or the mitigation of sources of technical instability in the operation of a nuclear reactor. However, the nature of instability in complex social and technical systems is relatively unstudied and not well understood. This is unfortunate because instability can have profound effects on the performance of those systems as well as their ability to improve their performance over time. In this paper, we present a conceptual framework for understanding instability in sociotechnical systems. To illustrate what we mean by instability in the context of complex engineering systems, we will draw on data from the aerospace industry. In particular, we use two data sets, to trace the impacts of various sources of instability. One data set centers on instability and its impact on aerospace programs, while the other centers on instability and its impact on aerospace production and design facilities

CASE STUDY: Boeing Commercial Airplane Group Wichita Division (Boeing Co.)

Activity Based Costing and Management (ABCM) is one of many new financial and accounting tools aimed at providing more complete, better-aligned data on economic performance. It is important to explore early experiences with this concept since it represents a new set of “rules” that can have implications for all stakeholders in an aerospace enterprise. ABCM is of particular interest with respect to lean practices and principles since it links the cost of production or services to the relevant support activities, which is helpful in targeting continuous improvement efforts. Companies who are focusing resources on organizational learning initiatives will also find that ABCM processes add value to these efforts. This case study hopes to deepen understanding of ABCM principles by looking beyond the survey data and tracing early experience in an aerospace setting. Note that these are just pilot demonstration initiatives and do not represent full-scale implementation. In presenting this study, we are not advocating for or against this particular approach to financial accounting – just seeking to better understand its implications

Customer and Supplier Integration Across the Supply Chain

Lean Aircraft Initiative Implementation Workshop repor

CASE STUDY: Textron Systems

For over five decades, Textron Systems has been an important contributor to the U.S. defense aerospace business. Its breakthroughs in thermal protection materials enabled NASA Apollo command modules and Air Force intercontinental missiles to successfully re-enter the earth’s atmosphere. High strength, lightweight boron composites from Textron Systems help carry the primary structural load in the Space Shuttle orbiter and today’s aircraft carriers rely on Textron’s automated landing systems. Textron highlights smart systems, including smart air and ground munitions, as its unique value add in the 21st Century global marketplace -- products that can rapidly acquire, analyze and act on real-time data inputs. The constant adaptation of its product line and business strategy is a defining feature of Textron Systems as a business. This is a significant accomplishment for the business, but a constant challenge when it comes to work organization and skill development. Textron Systems is based in Wilmington, Massachusetts, with additional facilities in three other locations. This case study is focused on the Wilmington operations

Fostering Continuous Improvement in a Changing Business Context

Case studyFor over five decades, Textron Systems has been an important contributor to the U.S. defense aerospace business. Its breakthroughs in thermal protection materials enabled NASA Apollo command modules and Air Force intercontinental missiles to successfully re-enter the earth's atmosphere. High strength, lightweight boron composites from Textron Systems help carry the primary structural load in the Space Shuttle orbiter and today's aircraft carriers rely on Textron's automated landing systems. Textron highlights smart systems, including smart air and ground munitions, as its unique value add in the 21st Century global marketplace -- products that can rapidly acquire, analyze and act on real-time data inputs. For most of its products, such as the smart munitions, Textron Systems is a prime contractor with the U.S. government, while it also serves as a first-tier supplier for other technologies, such as boron composite components. The uncertainties associated with each role -- contractor and supplier -- are different and both are part of the Textron story. The constant adaptation of its product line and business strategy is a defining feature of Textron Systems as a business. This is a significant accomplishment for the business, but a constant challenge when it comes to work organization and skill development. Beginning with quality principles in the 1980s and extending into lean principles in the 1990s, workplace change initiatives have been seen by Textron Systems as key to business success. The current initiative, which is entitled "10X" targets not just incremental gains, but performance gains of an order of magnitude or gains that are ten times current performance. Concurrently, Textron has long invested in employee training and development, another significant part of this case. Textron Systems is part of the larger Textron Corporation, which includes the Textron Automotive Corporation, Cessna, Bell Helicopters and other businesses -- all of which have a high degree of autonomy. Textron Systems is based in Wilmington, Massachusetts, with additional facilities in three other locations. This case study is focused on the Wilmington operations, which are non-union. As a 1,400-person facility, the spirit of the operation is reflected in an internal presentation slide that features a picture of a huge gorilla and the statement, "We're competing with meg

Lean Aircraft Initiative Implementation Workshop: Implementing Cross-Functional Teams in an IPPD Environment

There is an emerging consensus in the Aerospace sector around the importance of Integrated Product and Process Development (IPPD). Now nearly every new program is now established around a set of Integrated Product Teams (IPTs). In order to learn more about the experience to date, 14 teams from across the Lean Aerospace Consortium were brought together. Each team featured a mix of 3-5 organizational representatives. The broad goals of the session included: providing a constructive learning experience for the participants and generating insights that might be of value to the larger consortium.Lean Aerospace Initiativ

Implementation Workshop: High Performance Work Organizations

A report on findings from the first Lean Aircraft Initiative (LAI) Implementation Workshop held on February 5-6, 1997. The report is not a "cookbook" or a "how to" manual. Rather, it is a summary of the first phase in a learning process. It is designed to codify lessons learned, facilitate diffusion among people not at the session, and set the stage for further learning about implementation.Lean Aerospace Initiativ

Facilitating Conflict Resolution in Union-Management Relations: A Guide for Neutrals

Over fifty years ago George Taylor, one of the most highly respected labor-management neutrals of his time, called for third parties to take on what he termed a mantle of responsibility for labor-management relations. Today, wide ranges of practitioners are assuming this responsibility. They are playing a variety of internal and external roles, as labor arbitrators, mediators, consultants, facilitators, dispute system designers, leaders serving on joint committees, and countless others. These individuals strive to rise above the partisan pressures that are found in any union-management relationship by helping to resolve disputes, foster problem solving, and build new institutional relations. In doing so, they are helping the institution of collective bargaining adapt in ways necessary for it to continue to be a key societal element into the next century. As dispute resolution professionals, we need to understand the range of practices now found in different relationships, the types of roles neutrals might play, and the principles that should guide neutrals as they carry out these roles. The purpose of this report, therefore, is to outline principles for SPIDR members, other neutrals, and the parties who utilize the services of third party neutrals in contemporary labor-management relations. Specifically, we have three target audiences in mind: labor relations neutrals, steeped in the institutional nuances of industrial relations (primarily arbitrators and mediators), who are being challenged to help parties adapt to new circumstances; third-party neutrals experienced in settings outside of labor relations who are or will be working with parties in unionized settings; internal facilitator sand change agents (from labor or management) who are helping to solve problems and resolve disputes in the workplace. Some points in this report may be completely obvious to one part of the target audience but an essential caution to another. Some of the recommendations will be controversial since they reflect an activist view of third-party roles. Importantly, this is not an overall guide to best practice for labor-management relations; instead, it is a guide to the role of dispute resolution professionals in the labor-management context. We hope that it stimulates further constructive dialogue in the profession

What's age got to do with it? On the critical analysis of age and organisations

Age, as an embodied identity and as an organizing principle, has received scant attention in organization studies. There is a lack of critical appreciation of how age plays out in organizational settings, the material and discursive dynamics of age practices, how age discourses impact on the body, and how age and ageing intersect with other identity categories. This is curious since age works as a master signifier in contemporary society and is something that affects us all. In this introductory essay, we show how the papers in this special issue redress this lacuna by enhancing and challenging what we know about age and organizations. We also set out an agenda for stimulating research conversations to bring an age-sensitive lens to organizational analysis. We structure our analysis around two focal points: age as an embodied identity, and the symbolic meanings of age within organizing practices. In doing so, we aim to provide a catalyst not only for research on age in organizations but also about the aged nature of organizing