We find a sense of fragmentation (and associated edginess) in most contemporary organizations. This fragmentation, for instance, is evident in the type of bolts being used in contemporary American automobiles. The engine block of many American cars in the 1990s, Peter Senge noted, required three different types of bolts, which in turn required three different types of wrenches and three different inventories of bolts. These three different types of bolts (which increase costs and decrease speed of assemble) were required because the design organizations in many large American automobile companies had three or more groups of engineers, each responsible for one specific component of the engine block. Complexity and specialization led to excessive isolation and inefficiency in these companies as well as in many other large American corporations. Have things changed much over the past three decades? While there is some movement toward generalization– as a result of increased use of robotics and other computer-mediated operations and decreases in workforces (pushed by economic declines), there is still extensive differentiation and specialization in the work being done in most nations.
We even find differentiation in fast growing computer companies—though these companies are providing products that potentially reduce the need for specialization. According to one engineer/manager these organizations tend to have “stretch marks” associated with their fast growth. These stretch marks are often manifest in frequent and counterproductive reorganizations. Our engineer/manager describes her own organization as a “hodge-podge of differing structures that always seem to have some fringe hanging out.” Many divisions in her company fail to coordinate their efforts with other divisions. Her rapidly growing organization like many others establish departmental “silos” that operate independently and in isolation from other departments in large part so that the inter-departmental chaos and confusion (the stretch marks) can be minimized. The isolation is further compounded by the lack of clearly established organization-wide priorities. A general sense of foreboding or panic (postmodern edginess) tends to pervade these fragmented stretch-mark organizations.
