Searching for ECCO on the web, I by chance found the PhD thesis
of a cybernetics colleague, Kevin Kreitman (a woman, in spite of the
name "Kevin"). She uses the same ECCO acronym for a
different phrase, but with many similar ideas. The thesis definitely
seems worth reading for those interested in applying ECCO ideas to
organizations, management and bureaucracy, especially as it gives an
overview of the cybernetics of regulation, while criticizing the
traditional bureaucratic organization. Ties in directly with our last
seminar by Julien...
http://www.well.com/user/kbk/dissertation/
The ECCO System*:
Foundations for Total Quality Management
* Cybernetic Principles for Effective Control in Complex Organizations.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Kevin B Kreitman
DISSERTATION
Submitted in partial
fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of
Philosophy in Advanced Technology in the Graduate School of the State
University of New York at Binghamton, 1992
Abstract
TQM (Total Quality Management) is a technology for achieving the transformation of organizations from their existing forms into a form which is capable of dealing with modern requirements. This modern form shall be referred to as an ECCO system: A system for Effective Control of Complex Organizations. In the U.S., industry is moving primarily from a bureaucratic Weber/Taylor form of organization to an ECCO form. The Weber/Taylor organizational structure and culture have trappings which are systematically hostile to ECCO system operations. Thus, when the tools and techniques associated with Total Quality are adopted without changing the fundamental infrastructure, Total Quality results will not be achieved.
The changes required to obtain a Total Quality organization, and to make effective associated techniques, practices and advanced manufacturing technology, are all based on certain cybernetic principles for the control of complex systems. The phenomenon of "control" in such systems is a combination of regulation and co-ordination. The role of a "controller" function is therefore twofold: Not only must it set the parameters of the target function to be regulated, it must also architect the interactions among system elements so that the system will tend to behave as desired, moving in a coordinated way toward the identified goal. The majority of management attention, and the bulk of TQM activities, often focus on the regulatory aspect of control, ignoring the critical role of co-ordination.
Nine ECCO system principles are identified as critical to successful Total Quality efforts. The first four are necessary to the regulatory activities of the organization, including: the closing and shortening of all feedback loops; maximization of the capacity of all first-line regulators; planning and problem-solving to be performed by a heterarchy of first-line regulators who, in effect, model the process under consideration; and the analysis and correction of process, not just inputs.
The next five principles are
seen as critical to management and co-ordination efforts of the
organization, including: the intrinsic alignment of incentives,
evaluation systems, and reward structures for employees; of
measurement systems; of company goals and all subsystem goals; of
communications systems via common language and shared evaluation
protocols; and finally, of oversight inspections or reviews which
ensure that common meta-structure and meta-processes are being used
and that goals are being achieved.
After providing the cybernetic foundations for the principles, a number of associated operational and management practices will be identified, as evidence for use of the principles. Finally, it will be shown that these practices are present in three independently recognized quality organizations, recipients of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.
--
Francis Heylighen
Evolution, Complexity and Cognition group
Free University of Brussels
http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/HEYL.html
Francis Heylighen
Evolution, Complexity and Cognition group
Free University of Brussels
http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/HEYL.html
