The enactment of high -performance work systems in a brownfield sit

Organizations face increasing complexity and global competition that require an increase in performance and responsiveness to changing conditions. Organizations need to increase capacity to respond effectively to change. An increase in performance and an ability to respond to change could be enhanced by enacting high performance work systems (HPWS) that utilize self-managed teams as a critical component.;For 30 years, organizations have been experimenting with HPWS to achieve increases in productivity, quality, and job satisfaction. Research has shown performance increases to be achievable. Despite impressive successes, few organizations have implemented HPWS. Researchers have studied drivers of acceptance and barriers to diffusion. Most note that the transformation to HPWS is massive and takes decades to complete. It involves changes to all internal systems, all operating procedures.;This dissertation explores how organizational principles are enacted in practical applications to achieve improved performance. This longitudinal ethnographic study of a Fortune 500 manufacturing unit details the transformation from a command-and-control environment to a more participative, involvement-based model from 1980--2000. The research, conducted in a brownfield site, is contextual, processual, and temporal.;The study examines change at two levels in the organization. The first level compares design engineering and operations over two decades. The second level examines the impact of an HPWS intervention and follow-up with five operations departments over a period of 18 months. Where transformation occurred, performance increased significantly.;The analysis of the case studies required a first-order and a second-order analysis on enactment of HPWS in the departmental groups. The first-order analysis confirmed existing literature. Several themes emerged across the cases. They were organizational structures; union support; contracts; metrics; compensation systems; training; management behavior; supervisor behavior; group dynamics; and trust. Although the first-order analysis provided important insights, it was insufficient to fully explain the differential success rates.;A second-order analysis became necessary. The second-order analysis focused on dynamics of sensemaking and creation of social agreements within the group. The differences in sensemaking and social agreements for each group provided the insights necessary to explain the differences in success rates of the groups. These insights suggest actions by management and Organizational Development practitioners to more successfully implement transformational changes such as HPWS. The research extends theory and provides a model to understand HPWS in context.