Creating an Open Book Organization

Creating an "Open Book" Organization presents an integrated approach that applies multiple human resources initiatives in a coordinated manner to create a partnership among all employees. Addressing the interest that managers and human resources professionals have long held in the concept of open-book management, McCoy defines and provides step-by-step guidelines for establishing an effective open-book organization. His original models-the E4-R4 Partnership Checklist, the Education Onion, the Line-of-Sight Linkage Tree™, and the Reward System Selector™-are extremely innovative tools for guiding managers and employees in breaking out of the "us versus them" mentality with which most organizations are plagued. Companies that wish to create a sustainable competitive advantage in the current economy recognize the value of their human resources. For more than 10 years, they have initiated involvement efforts in order to more fully engage their employees in the business process. Yet, their efforts always seem to fall short of expectations. The problem, says McCoy, is that taken by themselves, each technique addresses a specific set of circumstances and performance issues. What is needed is an approach that incorporates key employer involvement and participation technologies in a holistic system that addresses the cause rather than the symptoms. Creating an "Open Book Organization presents a truly unique perspective. Most management "how-tos" never reallyacknowledge that an "us versus them" mentality exists within organizations. Although some do hint at the problem, most deal with the issue as it manifests itself within or between industries, or between businesses and their customers. McCoy faces it full on, pointing to it as the "elephant" in the drawing room that everyone is pretending not to see, but which is ruining the party. Moreover, he addresses management change initiatives from the employee’s point-of-view. McCoy’s premise is that all the change processes in the world are useless unless specific employee expectations and reactions are taken into consideration up front.