Old Thinking vs. New Thinking About Work
Let's learn about two different ways people think about how work should be done and managed.
Old Thinking:
- People are part of the process: In old thinking, workers were just seen as parts of a bigger process, like tiny pieces in a machine.
- Process requires external control: The work process was controlled from the outside, like managers telling everyone exactly what to do.
- Managers must control what people do: Managers believed their main job was to watch workers closely and make sure they followed rules.
New Thinking:
- People design and improve processes (employee involvement): Now, workers are involved in making and improving how work is done because their ideas matter.
- Workers who run the process control it (empowerment): The people actually doing the work are given control to make decisions about their work.
- Managers must obtain commitment of workers: Instead of just telling workers what to do, managers try to get workers’ support and help so everyone works together.
In short, old thinking sees workers as just following orders, but new thinking believes workers are important helpers who can suggest and make work better!