19-10-2021

From Control to Commitment in the

Workplace
and
Amoeba Management System
Transformation in the light of organizational
change literature
SESSION 5

Approaches to work force management

Control Commitment

Division of work into Smallest Common Jobs are designed to be broader than before,
denominator combine planning and implementation

Top-down allocation of authority-Status symbols Reduced levels of hierarchy, flatter structure,

opening better career possibilities

Constrained employee concerns Relies on genuine commitment by employees

Open door policy, attitude surveys etc. for Performance expectations are high
employees’ concerns

Order, control, efficiency Broader job designs, shifting individual

responsibilities, greater job responsibility and
flexibility, improved job security

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Commitment Implications
1. Commitment policies promote the development of human skills and
individual self-esteem
2. Managers need to invest extra effort, develop new skills and relationships,
cope with higher levels of ambiguity and uncertainty, and experience the
pain and discomfort associated with changing habits and attitudes
3. Workers inherit more responsibilities and uncertainty, more open ended
possibility of failure
4. Employment assurance
5. Compensation

Transitional Stage
1. Limited set of changes referred to as transitional stage
2. Modify expectations, to make credible the leaders’ stated intentions for further
movement, and to support the initial changes in behavior
3. Voluntary participation of employees in problem solving groups like quality
circles
4. Managers must be open and transparent of the changes
5. “Equality of sacrifice” must apply to all
6. Avoid “Token Changes” and “Overreaching”

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A Simplified Feedback Control Model

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Management Control Systems

Formal routines, reports, and procedures
Formalized information based activities
Controls include:
◦ Budgets, financial reports
◦ Reward systems
◦ Quality control systems

Managers must define standards and measure performance

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Control Systems/Content Frequency

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©2013 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

The Level and Focus of Control Systems

Organizational Level: The Balanced Scorecard
◦ Measures financial, customer, employee, and market concerns
◦ Comprehensive management control system
◦ Strategy map – visualization of organization success drivers and how they are
linked

Departmental Level: Behavior versus Outcome Control

◦ How people do their jobs
◦ Outcomes people produce

©2013 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. 8

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©2013 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. 9

Amoeba Management System (AMS)

Amoebas as small discreet organizations are “self contained business
units”

Kyocera system is composed of small independently working, highly

entrepreneurial units called Amoebas

Independent-Look like separate business units

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Requirements for dividing an organization

into smaller managerial units
Identifiable and distinct revenues-fiscally independent business unit

Should not be subdivided to the point that leaders become unwilling or

unable to innovate and improve.

Must not hinder the objectives or policies of the company as a whole.

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Stay in the best possible position to respond to market changes and new
competitive forces.

Top management must constantly review the entire organization from the
operating efficiency perspective.

Selling prices to be set for inter-amoeba transactions.

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Determining Inter-Amoeba prices

Important concern as each unit is set to maximize their profit

Start with the price paid by the end customer and move back-ward

Hourly efficiency rate to make the product

Belief in top management-should be fair and impartial and have the

ability to persuade

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An obstinate leader with an abrasive attitude, one who is ready to trample
over the standpoints of others to maximize the profits of a single amoeba,
cannot safeguard the profits and morale of the company as a whole.

Leaders must acquire an elevated philosophy to help set higher minded

standards and avoid egocentric actions.

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Managing conflicts
1. Account for external changes

2. Egoism tendency

3. In-house personal relations may elevate conflicts

4. Guard against blame games

5. The desire to protect one’s organization becomes even stronger; this tends to
intensify interdepartmental strife, which could potentially throw harmony into
disarray throughout the company.
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Ethics in Organizations
1. Fearing that truthful reporting would put them at a disadvantage in many
companies, management makes no effort to maintain ethics.

2. Deceptive business practices are less likely to be committed by people who are
unsophisticated, but they find fertile ground in people who have business talent
without self-discipline.

3. Talent is essential for business; however, the greater the talent, the greater the
potential for disaster if an individual does not have the character necessary to
keep such talent within ethical bounds.
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Place highly capable leaders

Based on meritocracy

Company cannot grow beyond the management capabilities

Hire from outside if needed

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Incentive system
Little difference in individual incentives based on short term yields

Ability is duly assessed and reflected over longer term in wage increases,
employee bonuses, promotions, and so on

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Inimitable operations
Technical advantage is not permanent

Companies with patents and advanced technologies have an edge but not for long
unless..

Wisdom and effort applied unsparingly to the creation of new products that catch the
minds of customers will open the way to unlimited added value

Single-minded creative endeavors and determined efforts that cannot be beaten are
needed.
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Change Management
Lewin’s Three steps-Unfreezing, Moving, and Refreezing

Accounting system

Inner prices between teams

Organizational culture

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AMS Engagement
Close cooperation within small groups

Stimulated by clear financial figures-reflecting performance of small

teams

Confronted with real market

Strong organizational culture

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Challenges in implementing AMS

1. Requires profound changes in many areas

2. Needs top notch commitment from top management

3. Need a long time for culture change

4. Improved coordination and understanding is needed

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Discussion Questions
1. How does remote work impact creativity and productivity (individual/ team)? Discuss control
mechanisms that organisms should/can employ to improve effectiveness.

2. How can Amoeba Management System (AMS) improve work engagement?

3. Can AMS be applied to your previous place of work? Discuss AMS implementation in Indian
companies.

4. In a work environment that appreciates empowered behavior from employees, discuss how it
affects the relationships of employees with their colleagues.

5. Discuss pros and cons of Amoeba management system.

6. Why Holacracy was a failure at Zappos while AMS was successfully implemented at Kyocera?

7. Discuss how will you utilize Lewin’s three Change Management Steps to implement a control
system at your place of work. Can you highlight some challenges? 23

Wildfire Entertainment
1. Describe the early days when Wildfire was just a few dozen people and highlight how you see
the marketplace (technology field) will develop? What are the key competitive factors for
success?
2. Discuss the pros and cons of having a Functional structure citing examples from your own
experiences and the case
3. Discuss the pros and cons of having an Matrix structure citing examples from your own
experiences and the case
4. Discuss the pros and cons of having a Divisional structure citing examples from your own
experiences and the case
5. Discuss the effectiveness of Elizabeth Rankin’s strategies along with anything she could have
done differently?
6. Describe the context Wildfire faced in the early days of its development (why might a single
organizational structure not be effective?)
7. In a context of rapid growth, how can a tech-based start-up know when the organizational
structure should be changed?
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