BUILDING AN INTEGRATED ENGINEERING ORGANIZATION

During the past 15 years, mature industries such as agricultural equip ment have cut R&D expenditures to levels essential only for survival. Companies that survived did so by the now-standard interventions that increase emphasis on meeting customer expectations, reduce product cyc le times, expand information technology, and eliminate non-value work. While these measures have made R&D within the system more efficient, they have not transformed the existing social system in a basic, funda mental way. If the resulting issues of an aging workforce and a lack o f vitality in product creation are to be addressed successfully beyond the 1990s, a transformation is required. Since 1987, the John Deere P roduct Engineering Center has pursued a strategy for transformation. T his strategy has three objectives: To shift responsibility out of the boss-subordinate dyad into teams; to encourage diversity and interacti on across the boundaries of the traditional organization through the c reation of communities; and to stimulate the flow of information and e xchange of ideas within the context of global networks. In effect, a n ew social system for the organization is being implemented, based on r elationships of integration rather than hierarchy.