几年前,一家化工生产商的值班主管不需要把时间花在解决简单的紧急问题上,因为工人自己可以解决这些问题。相反,这些管理人员专注于更为复杂的长期改进:消除缺陷,找出运营问题的根本原因,以及辅导和指导操作员和技工。从表面上看,这些值班主管好像没有做出多大的贡献。因此,在一次成本削减行动中,该公司建立了自我管理式团队。虽然一开始的成本节约效益似乎不错,但随着时间的推移,纪律开始涣散,新员工的挑选和培训不那么严格了,长期问题再也得不到系统的解决,自我管理式团队变得不是那么可靠。结果,大约在撤消值班主管岗位五年后,该公司的各项能力急剧下滑:工厂的组织完整性和安全性下降,成本大幅上升,可靠性急跌。公司又花了五年时间才走出泥潭。一些业务彻底关闭,部分是因为全球经济形势不佳,但更大的原因是公司为恢复其效率和可靠性投入巨额成本,这削弱了公司的竞争力。 A few years ago, a supervisor of a chemical manufacturer did not need to spend time solving simple emergency problems because the workers themselves could solve the problems. Rather, these managers focus on more complex long-term improvements: eliminating shortcomings, identifying the root causes of operational problems, and mentoring and mentoring operators and mechanics. On the surface, these supervisors do not seem to make much contribution. So, in a cost-cutting move, the company built a self-managing team. Although cost-saving benefits seemed good from the beginning, as discipline broke down over time, the selection and training of new employees was less stringent, the long-term problems were never systematically resolved, and self-managing teams became not So reliable As a result, approximately five years after the shift in charge was resumed, the company’s capabilities declined dramatically: the organization’s integrity and safety declined, its costs soared, and its reliability slumped. It took another five years for the company to get out of the quagmire. Some businesses are shutting down completely, partly because of the global economic downturn, but the bigger reason is that companies are investing huge sums of money in restoring their efficiency and reliability, undermining the company’s competitiveness.