One of the most noticeable effects of downsizing is the emergence of self-managing teams. According to Moravec et al. (1997), self-managed teams increase flexibility, speed up decision-making, reduce costs and cycle time, and especially, increase innovation. (Applebaum 11). These factors in today's corporate environment confirm the necessity (the must) for self-managed teams.
Once an organization determines that they must have teams to reach full potential, they need to ask themselves the "may" question. This is important, as it helps the organization decide if they can provide a setting that will allow self managed teams to be successful. To be specific, "may" pertains to organizational and work designs that facilitate local decision-making. The Organizational or work design for self-managed teams explore the organizational components deemed necessary to the development of heterogeneous self-managed work teams. It explains the interrelationship between organizational structure and strategies. Furthermore, it describes the organic structure, with emphasis on formalization, socialization, training and empowerment/ decentralization, as the cornerstone of the development of these teams. Lastly, it outlines strategies for effective use of communication, shared values and trust.
The facet of local autonomy is critical for self-management and is especially reflected in one of the principles of self-organization, namely, the principle of "minimal critical specification". This principle stipulates the following: define as little as possible how a team should perform tasks, but provide just enough directives to ensure that its members are able to perform the tasks properly while still allowing for their own contribution. The upper management defines only the critical factors, and the group members get as much autonomy as they can handle, according to their knowledge and experience. The principle has to do with the distribution of control within an organization and refers particularly to local autonomy and decentralized control.
