Changing the Way We Work

Citation

Keane, F. (1998), "Changing the Way We Work", Journal of Managerial Psychology, Vol. 13 No. 1/2, pp. 119-121. https://doi.org/10.1108/jmp.1998.13.1_2.119.4

This latest piece of work by Dr Belbin, as always, places an emphasis on developing teamwork to increase the productivity of the individual, the team and the organisation. The rationale behind this publication arises from the question, “How many problems at work arise from the way in which jobs are set up?”

Dr Belbin describes people as:

uncertain about their responsibilities; they spend undue time and energy trying to sort out their personal duties and disentangling them from those of co‐workers; they are overworked and underworked because the workload can’t be more equitably distributed; they strive to cope with the failure of others while struggling to avoid charges of intrusion. Or the very opposite condition prevails: jobs are marked out like territories on a housing estate, where neighbours never mix, except for an exchange of conventional greetings, and boundaries, established by legal contract, are immunable. For the captains of industry the bleak choice often lies between dynamic chaos and lifeless bureaucracy.

An alternative system is needed, where jobs can grow and develop and where communication about the work can flow up as easily as down. Dr Belbin’s approach incorporates colour coding and information technology. The system, Workset, is designed to involve the manager and other jobholders equally in creating more efficient work systems.

Workset defines seven sets of work:

1. 1.

   Blue:Structured task work. Tasks that need to be carried out in a prescribed way to an approved standard.

2. 2.

   Yellow:Decision work. An assigned responsibility for which an individual is held accountable. Exactly how the work is tackled does not matter too much as long as the goal is achieved.

3. 3.

   Green:Reactive work. Assigned tasks varying in their execution according to local circumstances and relationships.

4. 4.

   Orange:Collaborative work. Shared responsibility. Also covers instances where members of a team decide how the work should be distributed among themselves.

5. 5.

   Grey:Peripheral work. Unassigned work related to core work but deviating from it. Often arises as a response to contingencies.

6. 6.

   White:Spontaneously creative work. Unassigned work initiated by the jobholder.

7. 7.

   Pink:Unproductive work. Work which demands the presence of the jobholder but yields no useful results. Time is considered by the jobholder to be largely wasted.

The use of colours within this publication takes some getting used to, although once mastered provides a quick method of establishing team development. This use of colours allows distinctions to be established and maintained easily. A well‐written book with a useful glossary of terms. This would be of particular interest to anyone who is involved in the development of teams, has worked in a team or who would like to change the way we work.