Decentralize the Implementation Process

unning into organizational resistance to top-down initiatives has victimized managers since the beginning of time. In neutralizing such resistance, the management team in this case showed great sensitivity, using two-way communication, identifying concerns of stakeholders, building consensus and selecting a team leader from among the stake-holders.

Implementation is another story. A centralized approach does not fit well in a decentralized operation. Every implementation has a different environment and requires a different approach. Local managers understand these environments and can develop effective approaches.

In this case, local service requirements were collected, and many of them were relevant to all operational units. On the basis of this commonality of requirements, the procurement was allowed to proceed. But as it turned out, each operating unit had additional, if not conflicting, needs. Clearly, addressing all of these needs would be impossible in a single procurement.

So how could the apparently excessive demands of the local operational units in this case be minimized, or even avoided? Accompanying the common procurement should be an implementation plan that includes individual provisions for addressing service levels way beyond those already in place.

The operating budget is a good place to start. The central organization can afford to pay for the common features of the procurement. This financial relief will provide an incentive for the operational unit to participate in the common outsourcing solution. If there are differences among operational units in levels of service required, the increases can be paid for out of local operating budgets.

Use of services, either part of common services or locally required services, should be linked to performance. Performance gains can be linked to operating budget levels. Operating units can work together with central management, where mission objectives are addressed, to determine appropriate returns on investment. This is the approach the federal government appears to be taking in the wake of the 1993 Government Performance and Results Act.

Central managers could also implement outsourcing in stages, by using one typical operational unit as a prototype. As improvements in performance and satisfactory return on investment are demonstrated, the approach can be introduced to other operational units, with adjustments for local differences.

As managers, we do the best we can in an environment of incomplete knowledge. We must allow enough flexibility to accommodate differences, without yielding control of management's ability to attain overall mission objectives.

Robert Deller, Ph.D., is president of Market*Access International Inc. He is a 30-year veteran of the federal government information technology marketplace. His company provides research analysis, sales, and marketing support to vendors and agencies in U.S. and international government markets.