Creating excellence out of crisis: organizational transformation at the Chicago Tribune

Article Abstract:

This article describes an organizational transformation effort involving one of the Chicago Tribune's printing facilities. In July 1985, a walkout strike affecting 1,000 workers occurred, which prompted management to seek to change the printing center to meet its vision of technological and managerial excellence. Consultants conducted a transformation effort that was conceptually similar to an organization development program, but differed in its focus on results and measures of attaining them. This effort produced statements of operating beliefs and key result areas (including implementing the operating beliefs, human resources development, and effective use of capital and resources) for performance measurement. The results include a 25% improvement in productivity in pages per hour and tens of millions of dollars in potential savings in annualized advertising revenues. The authors conclude that visions of organizations of the future must be grounded in clear, integrated action steps permitting measurable outcomes. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

Newspapers, Management, Case studies, Newspaper publishing, Organizational effectiveness, Organizational change, Newspaper buildings, Chicago Tribune Co.

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An interview with Eric Trist, father of the sociotechnical systems approach

Article Abstract:

William M. Fox interviews Eric Trist, eminent scholar and social scientist, who was a founder and chairman of Tavistock Institute in London. Trist recounts the foundation of the institute as an outpatient clinic and its evolution into a leading center of action research and applied behavioral science. He discusses his work in the British coal mining industry, from which he developed the concept of the sociotechnical system. Descriptions of his work and experiences with the British Army during World War II and of the various projects he undertook with multinational firms and smaller companies illustrate the resistance, suspicion, and other obstacles that he and his collegues often encountered while working to implement new systems. Finalyy, Trist describes his sociotechnical systems work in the ailing industrial town of Jamestown, New York, and on the Ten Cities Project, and concludes with key lessons and recommendations. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

Social aspects, Interview, Personalities, Social science research, Industry, Industries, Social scientists, Trist, Eric

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