Participative Design Workshop is a process in which employees redesign the organizational structure to be much more self-managed, with those doing work coordinating their own work flow.
Fred Emery was an Australian psychologist and was one of the pioneers in the field of OD. He created this workshop to replace the method experts used in the 1960's which is the STS. The first PDW was conducted in Australia in 1971.
The purpose of PDW is to produce an organizational system that is participative and democratic. Also, to create changes in assumptions and evolving new behaviors.
There are 3 main steps in the process:
- ANALYZE - introduction and discussion of agenda
- Autonomy - make their own decisions and have control over their work
- Learning - feedback from the results to make necessary adjustments
- Variety - needed to avoid boredom and fatigue
- Mutual support and respect - collaboration is more important than competition
- Meaningfulness - knowing one's worth in the society
- Desirable future - opportunities to pursue aspirations and opportunities
2. REDESIGN - redesign own structures to produce the best possible design for everyone
3. IMPLEMENT - goals must be clear, specific, realistic and challenging
The number and type of participants need in the PDW are 15-200 people which consists of teams covering levels and as many functions and skills as possible. There is no hierarchy but there must be representatives from different departments. The preparation period usually takes weeks and months to prepare while the session itself lasts for only 1-3 days.
The PDW should be used when an organization wishes to increase productivity and innovation but shouldn't be used when above conditions are not in place. This process will only be successful if any existing command and control culture is replaced with a collaborative one where people control their own work.
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