THE PREMIERE OF THE SHOW!

In 2006, shortly after completing my master's degree in Production Engineering, at COPPE – UFRJ, and starting the doctorate that I never finished (but that's another story), I wrote a book with the title The Organizational Theater - Building and Implementing Business Processes, edited by e-Papers, Rio de Janeiro.

In this book, my late friend and advisor Rogerio Valle, Ph.D., now deceased, wrote the presentation that is at the end of the article.

In the book The Organizational Theater I drew a parallel between the essential theater and the organizational theater. The essential theater is the one where directors like Grotowski; Stanislavski; Brecht; Artaud; Brook; Meyerhold; Piscator; and the Brazilians Antunes Filho, Gerald Thomas, Zé Celso Martinez, Bia Lessa, among others, present us with their shows, their works. The organizational theater, on the other hand, is the one where many, thousands, millions produce the products, goods or services that we acquire.From this book I extracted, for this article, a summary of chapter 7 - The Premiere of the Show.

In January 1966, Grotowski closed a 10-day seminar in Skara, Sweden, with the following words:"You can't teach prefabricated methods. One should not try to figure out how to play a particular role, how to emit one's voice, how to speak or walk. These are all clichés, and we shouldn't waste time on them. Do not look for prefabricated methods for every occasion, because this will only lead to stereotypes. Learn for yourself your personal limitations, your obstacles, and how to overcome them, moreover, whatever you do, do it wholeheartedly."

As we are treating business processes as organizational plays, which is exactly what they are, it is necessary to treat the implementation and execution of each process as if we were staging a play in the essential theater, but, in this case, it is a play of the organizational theater. Of course, we will not be able to practice any of the exercises proposed by Grotowski (although, in my opinion, there would be no harm in doing them). However, there are a number of other exercises, specific to organizational theater, that need to be known, discussed and carried out for each new or recreated process to be implemented.

By treating business processes as organizational plays, I argue that their implementation should be careful and adapted to each process and each context. Many projects fail because they neglect the implementation phase of the recreated process, especially in relation to the preparation of the professionals involved in its operationalization.

It is common to pay more attention to automated processes (background processes) than to those with intense human interaction (foreground processes), which for me is a gross mistake.

There are four basic ways to implement business processes, which can be used in isolation, combined or applied differently to different processes:

1. Total discontinuity – The old process is completely terminated at the time of the implementation of the new one.

2. Partial discontinuity – The new process replaces the old one in parts, usually with subdivision into subprocesses.

3. Overlap – The new process operates alongside the old one for a while, common in small improvements.

4. Parallel execution – Both processes work simultaneously, requiring duplicate effort from those involved, common in IT for the purposes of operational certification.

The choice of the appropriate type depends on the analysis of the process and the context of execution.

Types of Process Operationalization:

1. Automated – Executed by technologies that control events and micro-events, such as PLCs - Programmable Logic Controllers, Workflow Systems, BPMS, RPAs - Robotic Process Automation, etc., etc.

2. Semi-automated/Semi-manual – Interaction between people and technology in the execution of parts of the process.3. Manual – Performed entirely by people, without the support of intelligent technologies.

Process Implementation

Every process is implemented through another process – the Implementation Process – which must be carefully planned to avoid losses and organizational stress.

Implementation Stages:

1. Receipt of Documentation – Delivery of the process documents to the group responsible for operationalizing it.

2. Distribution of Roles – Reading and understanding of the process by those involved in the implementation.

3. General Rehearsal – Practical simulation with all the actors of the process that will be implemented.

Roadmap for Implementation

Before the "Premiere"

• Deliver and review documentation with all those involved.

• Hold meetings by hierarchical levels and then together with all levels.

• Ensure that the equipment is ready and the teams informed about the development of the meeting.

  
  

During the "Premiere"

• Constant monitoring of the actors during the implementation and use of the process.

• Holding short meetings in the first weeks for adjustments.

After the "Premiere"

• Beginning of process management with a focus on continuous improvement, using methods such as TQM, Kaizen, Six Sigma, etc., etc.

  
  

The Importance of Constant Vigilance

Keeping the process under observation avoids relapses into old practices, especially in the face of resistance to change, caused by the "DOC syndrome", Obsessive Compulsive Disorganization.

Conclusion

The implementation of any process is a great challenge, it involves culture, passive and active resistance, resilience, sabotage, etc. It involves respect for the improvement work carried out, active listening and appreciation of those involved. The success of the project and, obviously, of the process implemented depends on the ability to learn from those mutually involved and the willingness to adapt to the improvements that have been and will need to be made throughout the useful life of the process.

Presentation

The Organizational Theater: Building and Implementing Business Processes is not just another book, in the jungle of management books that dominate bookstores today. First, because the author is simultaneously an experienced professional, a successful consultant and a notable speaker. Second, because the book deviates from the conventional. It is easy to read, but without falling into the superficiality so common in similar works. Superficiality that facilitates reading, but silences the professional when it comes to acting. Tadeu proves that one can write something well-founded, using colloquial language. But let the reader have no doubts: his original concept of eventogram was discussed in detail by a demanding panel of professors from Rio and São Paulo, when the author's master's dissertation was resented. It was considered innovative and powerful, when used within the methodology described by the author, the DOMP Methodology. 

This book presents several examples, taken from everyday managerial life, which make this abundantly clear. Because processes are in all human endeavors, outside or inside the company. They describe the cooperation of people within the division of labor that, since time immemorial, has made mankind achieve great advances in various sectors. When well organized, these processes can obtain better results, with fewer resources and less fatigue. Good for everyone who, every day, gives a lot of their lives for the production of goods and services for society. In fact, the analogy between this daily life of companies and theatrical representations, the starting point of this book, is a masterful insight. Managers and actors, both interested, in their own way, in performance, end up finding themselves in the need to have a script and, contradictorily, also in the need to escape from it, when they feel they need to. Learning this is a long journey, which this book can shorten a little.

Rogerio Valle

Laboratório de Sistemas Avançados

de Gestão da Produção

COPPE/UFRJ