Applying Technology of Participation ToP in an Authoritarian Culture

1
Applying Technology of Participation (ToP) in an
Authoritarian Culture

• Wenjun Du, M.S.
• Jason Jixuan Hu, Ph.D.
• Wintop Consulting Group
• Washington, DC, USA
• Shanghai, China
• www.wintopgroup.com

2
Facilitation Practice in China

• Culture Differences
• 18 Practical Tools
• ToP - Technology of Participation
• Wintop Facilitation Roundtable Leadership
• Wintop Practices and Cases
• Overall Observation
• Conclusion

3
Culture Differences

• Why Facilitation?
• Western Society general consensus, group
  leadership, and cross-functional teamwork are all
  widely accepted concepts and practices
• China long time personal charisma leadership,
  hierarchical leadership dominated culture, i.e.,
  an authoritarian culture
• When get started?
• Attention since 1986(LENS)
• Introducing into China in 2003 through Wintop

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18 Major Practical Facilitative Tools in
Organizational Change

• Search Conference (1960)
• Future Search (1982)
• Technology of Participation (1984)
• Strategic Forum (1987)
• Participative Design Workshop (1971)
• Gemba Kaizen (1986)
• Fast-Cycle Full-Participation (1992)
• Whole System ApproachTM (1994)
• Preferred Futuring (1969)

• SimuReal (1975)
• Organization Workshop (1978)
• Whole-Scale Change (1982)
• Dialogue (1985)
• Open Space Techonology (1985)
• Appreciative Inquiry (1987)
• PCIR Conference Model (1991)
• Think Like a Genius (1993)
• Real Time Strategic ChangeTM (1993)

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ToP - Technology of Participation

• Group Facilitation Methods
• Focused Conversation
• To help the group to have a comprehensive
  conversation within limited time
• Consensus Workshop
• To focus collective wisdom on reaching consensus
  within the group, thus to have implementation
  support from everyone in the group
• Action Planning
• Action schedule and individual accountability
  based on the commitment from the group

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ToP - Technology of Participation

• Participatory Strategic Planning
• Vision
• Underlying Contradiction
• Direction
• Implementation

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ToP Technology of Participation
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Common Activities in Organizations
5 Yrs Planning Annual Planning Quarterly
Planning Change Management
Guidance
Quality Improvement Process Improvement QC/TQM/KAI
ZEN ISO/BPR/6SIGMA
Implementation
Problem Solving Team Building Corporate
Cultrue Corporate Regulation
Synergy
Coordination
All Management Fields
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Wintop Facilitation Roundtable Leadership
Training Course
PAP action plan
III-1
Action to solve issue
Action to solve issue
Communication Skills
I
PQI quality improve
III-2
Prevent Problem
Prevent Problem
Consensus Workshop
II
PSP Strategic plan
IV
New system, new direction
Basic
Advanced
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Wintop Facilitation Roundtable Leadership
Training Course

• Based on the core skills of ToP
• Redeveloped for the China market
• Clear explanation of why this method in
  training
• More practices in training
• More skills added
• Enhanced Communication Module
• Sets of communication tools including listening,
  questioning, conflict resolution and more group
  discussion templates
• Participatory Quality Improvement
• So that people can get process improved on site
  in the participative way rather than waiting for
  experts

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4DST - Wintop Facilitation Training Course Design
Path
Culture
4-D System Thinking
Operation Process
Structure
System Optimization(Structure Culture
Process )Time
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Wintop Practices and Cases
13
Case I Private Sector

• An animal food manufacture company with over
  RMB100 million revenue per year
• Has 10 sub-companies in several provinces in
  northern China area
• Training all top-managers in sub-companies
• Attendees ages from early 30s to late 50s, with
  strong driver personality
• Results
• some people started to copy manuals and spread
  methods in their own sub companies
• Quote from vice chairman of board treat
  facilitation as a necessary pathway, not just a
  method, to help the business develop stronger

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Case II State-Owned Company

• History over 100 years, cosmetic industry
• Attendees most people from the same department,
  ages from early 20s to late 50s
• Results
• Young people like it very much, older people feel
  it is too late to learn. The methods should be
  available in Universities.
• Quote from VP, an MBA graduates from CEIBS It is
  a good, practical methods that I couldnt learn
  from CEIBS MBA program.
• By product training not only teaches the methods
  but also creates closer relationship among team
  members.
• Follow Up
• Small talks after training, people talking about
  how constructive inquiry they learned during
  the training helps the conversation in their
  families.
• Official interview a year later some trainees
  told us it is hard to use in the work place
  because the boss does not support.

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Case III Public Listing Company

• Company background
• Rapidly growing sportswear companies with over
  600 employees and many OEMs
• Average age is 28,leaders are all result
  oriented, not really pay attention to training,
  but like to make things happen through process
• Facilitation service
• Cross departments project a simple tool to help
  clients buyers
• Short time for the result within a month
• Designed and facilitated total 3 days event
  during which we mainly used focused conversation
  method and consensus workshop
• Result a comprehensive work-flow with step by
  step explanation and an easy use excel tool as
  their training product
• Observation
• People feels happy and very relaxed when first
  time the boss was not in the meeting
• The meeting atmosphere got a little intense when
  second time the boss attended

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Overall Observations

• Authoritarian culture is still dominant in many
  Chinese companies
• More leaders, most of them are young generation
  of the founders of business, have realized that
  the business growing needs more team inputs.
• Many young managers, leaders went to MBA/EMBA
  programs to learn new stuff, however, they found
  those content in the curriculum are still
  distance to their daily working life.
• Companies under more competition pressure in the
  market are trying hard to find new ways of
  promoting innovation, creativity, and collective
  wisdom.

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Conclusion

• Time is ripe in China to promote a participatory
  working environment and a facilitative leadership
  style.
• ToP/Wintop FacilitationTM methods are practical
  tools to enable groups to have a greater capacity
  for sharing the knowledge and wisdom of every
  member and to foster team wisdom.
• It is just the beginning.

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ToP/Wintop FacilitationTMTop Secret of Winning
for TeamsThe Methods to Build Learning
Organizations The Foundation for Organizational
Change and Creativity
Any questions, pls contact Wenjun Du, M.S. Jason
Jixuan Hu, Ph.D. Wintop Consulting
Group wenjun_at_wintopgroup.com jjh_at_wintopgroup.com H
ttp//www.wintopgroup.com
Thanks!