Implementing Self Directed Teams - Case Study

RL Wolfe: Implementing Self-Directed Teams Introduction John Amasi, director of Production and Engineering at RL Wolfe – a plastic pipe manufacturing company was visiting company’s one of the plant - Moon Plastics in Corpus Christi. He had a vision to increase the productivity of plant to 95% or more along with other opportunities through implementing self-directed teams (SDTs) at this new plant. Background In 2003, RL Wolfe had acquired Moon Plastics, a small, family owned plastic manufacturer in Corpus Christi. During a plant visit after 4 years, Amasi along with plant manager, Winslow reviews the entire SDT model which was implemented and its impact. Problem The plant was running with annual capacity around 80% which was more in comparison to other Wolfe plants but not enough to meet Amasi’s vision and expectation due to several issue encountered within SDT model. Opportunities As a part of implementation of SDT model, the management policies led to several key issues such as loss of work flexibility, rise in internal conflict between maintenance and production workers, vague job responsibility distribution and improper wage grades.

Recommendation 1. Today’s Worker demand greater participation, flexibility and autonomy; they want opportunities to work with their heads as well as their hands. (p. 24) 2. Company should also focus on designing team, selecting team players, proper training for success, initiating leadership transitions and rewarding team performances. 3. Involvement of employee leads to business performance. Conclusion If above recommendations are properly addressed then plant will definitely show improvement in Productivity as expected. Reference Garvin, A. D. & Collins, E. (2009) RL Wolfe: Implementing Self Directed Teams. Retrieved from Harvard Business School Wellins, R. S. (1992) Building a Self-Directed Work Team. Training & Development, 46(12), 24. Retrieved from EBSCO Host. Lawler III, E. E. (1999) Employee Involvement Makes a Difference. Journal For Quality & Participation, 22(5), 18. Retrieved from EBSCO Host.