Abstract
This paper describes an innovative and successful 1-year organization change process. It captures a design-based inquiry that simultaneously applies creative, purposeful, and systemic thinking to a complex set of issues. Three significant findings result from this research. First, this paper discusses how the change process created the necessary and sufficient conditions allowing for the creation of an innovative organizational design that embeds both optimization and innovation. Second, Design Thinking was used to develop a 2-day participative design process we have called IDEA, an acronym for integrating innovation, design, engagement, and action. We believe that the IDEA organizational design process is replicable. Third, it describes an emergent and co-created change process. This paper concludes by raising questions for future transformative organizational design efforts.
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Notes
A global network of business leaders, researchers, trade unionists, academics, managers, and consultants who share the principles and practices of Socio-technical Systems theory and a common interest in developing more humane and effective organizations. For more information: www.stsroundtable.com.
The first modern arts and crafts school.
No loss of job, status, pay or benefits; no design can be imposed; does not violate the collective agreement; maintains or improves service quality. Note that what OST may call minimum critical specifications is like a design briefing.
This was done in order to ensure that existing silos could not re-emerge and that service area teams would not be seen as departments.
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Acknowledgments
We would like to thank all of the SEL staff and management for their willingness to engage, to learn, and to change. We learned about Design Thinking and AI from many sources, but we would especially like to acknowledge the contribution of Innovation Partners International staff, particularly Bernard Mohr and Bob LaLiberte; Socio-technical System Discovery team members, particularly Doug Austrom, Helen Maupin, and Carolyn Ordowich; and our colleagues at Concordia University who were part of our early learning, particularly Nathalie Fauteux, Susan Newman, and Andrew Trull. Concordia University and The School of Extended Learning supported part of this research.
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de Guerre, D.W., Séguin, D., Pace, A. et al. IDEA: A Collaborative Organizational Design Process Integrating Innovation, Design, Engagement, and Action. Syst Pract Action Res 26, 257–279 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11213-012-9250-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11213-012-9250-z