Willard Jule asked for help with his presentation on the job-free
workplace. My first exposure to the concept was about 10 years ago in the
work of Dr. Edward Lawler at the Center for Effective Organizations,
School of Business Administration, USC, LA, AC 90089-1421. He has written
extensively on this topic and its systems implications for organizations.
Another outstanding resource is William Bridges book "Job Shift" or his
article "The End of the Job" in the 9/19/94 issue of Fortune Magazine.
I find that the idea that the concept of "job" as a social artifact that
has outlived its usefullness is strongly resisted by managers, employees
and especially Human Resource professionals. Most human resource systems:
performance review, job evaluation, market pricing, compensation, staffing
and training are based on this abstract concept of a job as the basic
organizational unit of work. I am currently working with a couple of
companies that are making the transition from a traditional job hierarchy
to a boundryless system. I suggest that they focus on understanding and
documenting their basic work processes as a substitute for their habit of
documentingorganizational structure and jobs. Then we begin dismantling
the no longer relevant systems including throwing out job descriptions and
job titles.
This whole change process can be very painful for people who have spent a
life time climbing to get their present job and title of Manager or
Director, etc. Bridges does a wonderful job of explaining the
psychological impact of dejobbing.
Good luck Willard,
-- Roxanne "Roxanne S. Abbas" <75263.3305@compuserve.com>