Frontiers
and
Boundaries
Ownership Associates Tools for
Managing Ownership Expectations
© 2003 Ownership Associates
www.ownershipassociates.com
Is there confusion
about who does what
at your company?
Frontiers and Boundaries helps you:
• Clarify
• Communicate
• Build Trust
• Engage Participation
© 2003 Ownership Associates
www.ownershipassociates.com
Here are the tools.
1. Decision Zone Charts (“zone charts”)
2. Training
• General or customized for your company
• Training for managers, for the work force
3. Frontiers and Boundaries:
Advanced Tools
4. Toolkit:
Templates and Sample Documents
© 2003 Ownership Associates
www.ownershipassociates.com
1.
Decision Zone
Charts
© 2003 Ownership Associates
www.ownershipassociates.com
The Decision Zone Chart
Decision Zone Charts (“zone charts”) provide a
one-page overview of a company’s decision
making system.
They focus on a clear description of who has
primary responsibility for which decisions.
Zone charts help companies plan, clarify and
communicate who is responsible for what.
© 2003 Ownership Associates
www.ownershipassociates.com
Sample Zone Chart
Decision Zone Chart
CORPORATE
POLICY
MANAGERIAL
OPERATIONS
DEPARTMENT /
WORKGROUP
LEVEL
22. Fate of the Company: merger, sale,
major location change
21. Selection of Board of Directors
20. Constitutionalism: Setting & Moving
Decision-Making Boundaries
19. Corporate Strategy
18. Distribution of Profits (dividends,
reinvestment, debt reduction, etc.)
17. Selection and Compensation of
Senior Management
16. Lay-off Policy, Employment Levels
15. Product, Technology, and
Investment Strategy
14. Raising Capital, Relationships with
Banks and Investment Groups
13. Marketing & Advertising Strategy
12. Firing
11. Employee Compensation & Benefits
10. Asset Purchases
9. Equipment Layout
8. Promotions, Job Evaluations
7. Hiring
6. Quality Standards and Measurement
5. Safety Rules and Practices
4. Job Assignments
3. Speed of Production
2. Election of Employees’ Committee
1. Physical Working Conditions
Shareholder Voting
Board of Directors
Management
Employee
Participation
Work
Teams
2003 Ownership Associates, Inc., Cambridge, MA.
This Decision Zone Chart is the protected intellectual property of Ownership Associates, Inc. It may not be modified, included
in any derivative work, transferred to third parties, or published without the prior written permission of Ownership Associates.
The Decision Zone Chart is part of Frontiers and Boundaries: Managing Ownership
Expectations, a set of tools and resources to support employee involvement in employeeownership companies, available exclusively from Ownership Associates.
© 2003 Ownership Associates
www.ownershipassociates.com
www.ownershipassociates.com
Building Your Own Zone Charts
Frontiers and Boundaries Handbook:
Mapping Decision-Making Responsibility
The Frontiers and Boundaries
Handbook provides:
• A step-by-step process to customize
Decision Zone Charts for your company
• Maximize buy-in
A step-by-step guide to clarifying who does what
at employee-ownership companies
• Sample meeting agendas
• Highlights of relevant research
Inspection copy, printed October 15, 2003.
The Handbook is available for
$200.00, exclusively from
Ownership Associates.
OA
INC.
INC.
www.ownershipassociates.com
www.ownershipassociates.com
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© 2003 Ownership Associates
Learn more on the OA website
by visiting the home page for
the Handbook.
www.ownershipassociates.com
1 Fate of the Company: merger, sale, etc.
Shareholders
2 Selection of Board of Directors
Board of Directors
3 Appointment and Compensation of President
4 Distribution of Profits
President
5 Selecting and Monitoring Senior Management
6 Senior Management Compensation
7 Capital Improvement (Investment Strategy)
8 Manufacturing Technology
9 Selection of Management
Senior Management
10 Acquisitions / Start Ups
11 Product Development
Sample
Decision
Chart
12 Raising Capital, Rel.'s with Banks, Investors
13 Marketing & Advertising Strategy
14 Employee Compensation
15 Management (Exempt) Hiring
16 Quality of Worklife Issues
17 Communications / Training
18 Allocation of Employee Benefits (Mgt. Budget)
19 Product Pricing
20 Lay-off Policy, Employment Levels
21 Firing
22 Equipment Purchases
23 Wage Changes, Raises
24 Setting Production Standards
25 Equipment Layout
Dept. Managers
26 Setting Safety Rules and Practices
27 Setting Quality Standards and Measurement
28 Performance Evaluation
29 Promotions
30 Disciplinary Action
31 Hourly (Non-Exempt) Hiring
Supervisors
32 Enforcing Safety Rules and Practices
33 Enforcing Quality Standards and Measurement
34 Determining Work Assignments
35 Formation of Committees
Employees
36 Local Work Environment
© 2003 Ownership Associates
www.ownershipassociates.com
2.
Training
© 2003 Ownership Associates
www.ownershipassociates.com
Training Options
Frontiers and Boundaries training includes:
• An introduction to the ideas of boundaries and clarity,
using zone charts.
• Training for supervisors and middle managers.
• Coaching for senior managers.
• Training to support the adoption of company-specific
zone charts.
Most training can be delivered by OA or by the
company’s internal trainers.
© 2003 Ownership Associates
www.ownershipassociates.com
Sample
facilitator
manual
Facilitator’s script
Easy-to-follow
directions
Presentation slides
Notes
Recommendations
Customizable
© 2003 Ownership Associates
www.ownershipassociates.com
3.
Advanced
Tools
© 2003 Ownership Associates
www.ownershipassociates.com
3A. Decision Grid
Decision Grids communicate the steps and roles
involved in making a particular type of decision.
While the Decision Zone Charts show the “big
picture,” Decision Grids focus on a single type of
decision. They show
•
•
•
•
who is accountable for the decision,
who should be consulted,
who should be informed,
etc.
The Decision Grids are based on a flexible decisionmaking model that encourages clarity, information
flow, and accountability.
© 2003 Ownership Associates
www.ownershipassociates.com
3B. Decision Reports
Decision Reports
summarize all the
relevant information
about a decision on one
sheet of paper
Use to communicate
To Recipients of
Information,
Consulted Parties, etc.
Use for accountability
© 2003 Ownership Associates
www.ownershipassociates.com
5.
Toolkit: Templates
and Sample
Documents
© 2003 Ownership Associates
www.ownershipassociates.com
Templates and Samples
Ownership Associates can provide ready-touse templates to make zone charts, decision
grids and decision reports look professional.
Samples from other clients can help
companies determine how to set up their own
zone charts and decision grids.
© 2003 Ownership Associates
www.ownershipassociates.com
Quotes from Clients
“Everyone appreciates
feeling involved and
included. And now we
have a way to deal
systematically with
people’s questions and
concerns. It’s made a
huge difference.”
—Dale Clary,
Plant Manager,
Carris / North Carolina
© 2003 Ownership Associates
“[Clarifying decision
making] puts people
more at ease, and
we are now getting
more input and
participation from
employees.”
— Cynthia Amador,
Director of HR,
Caltrol
www.ownershipassociates.com
For more information
OA
INC.
Ownership Associates, Inc.
122 Mt. Auburn Street  Harvard Square
Cambridge, MA 02138
Tel: (617) 868-4600
Fax: (617) 868-7969
[email protected]
Click here for Frontiers and Boundaries on OA’s website
or go to www.ownershipassociates.com and choose
“Frontiers and Boundaries” from QuickLinks.
© 2003 Ownership Associates
www.ownershipassociates.com