| The purpose of this research study is to understand the elements of organizational change that were effective in the creation of Saturn, a new team-based organization created by General Motors Corporation and the United Automobile Workers union. The 20 engineers interviewed included 12 senior engineers and 8 engineers hired as college graduates. Two of the college graduates were women. Senior engineers who transferred from the traditional bureaucratic organization to a team-based organization of Saturn and newly hired engineering graduates hired by Saturn each identified unique aspects of transition.;The research is qualitative and uses semistructured interview methodology. The study utilizes three literatures as lenses to interpret the experiences of the engineers, that is nonhierarchical systems, sociotechnical systems theory, and culture. The nonhierarchical systems lens focus examines how engineers adapted to self-managed teams. The second lens, sociotechnical systems theory, focuses on how engineers adapted and performed in a team format with diverse membership that included union-represented technicians. The third lens, culture, focuses on how the newly created cultural values interacted with the existing traditional organization's culture.;Most engineers reported that a self-directed work environment provided a high performance and rewarding work experience. A few reported dissatisfaction working without a traditional "boss." Entry-level engineers reported that the team-based organization accelerated their personal and professional development. From a systems perspective, most participants reported that the teams provided an environment that encouraged interpersonal relations that were supportive, collaborative, and socially rewarding. Contributions to sociotechnical systems theory include the finding that a team's diverse membership of engineers and union technicians functioned effectively in selecting, implementing, and maintaining complex technical systems. Last, interacting organizations that were dependent on each other but had different cultural values, experienced significant conflict between the organizations' members. GM executives who were situated within Saturn but advocated different cultural values and interacted with Saturn's engineers established a shadow organization that created confusion.;Keywords. team-based engineering, personal transitions, team diversity, nonhierarchical organizations, sociotechnical systems theory, Saturn, cultural transition, organizational change. |
