Towards a knowledge rich Western Australia.

Our treasure lies in the beehive of our knowledge. We are perpetually on the way thither, being by nature winged insects and honey gatherers of the mind. (Friedrich Nietzsche, The Genealogy of morals, preface, 1887 bans 1956)

Imagine ....

Alice asked the Cheshire Cat,

`Would you tell me, please, which way I ought

to go from here?'

`That depends a good deal on where you want

to go,' said the Cat.

`I don't much care where ...' said Alice.

`Then it doesn't matter which way you go,' said

the Cat.

`-so long as I get somewhere,' Alice added as an

explanation.

`Oh, you're sure to do that,' said the Cat, `if

only you walk long enough.' (Carroll p88)

Unlike Alice, when we plan it is better to start with the end in mind. So often we focus on the problems to be rectified rather than the opportunity to move far beyond our current paradigms. Imagine from your own perspective how the employee, client and community of the future might approach their information seeking activities in relation to an organisation like the Library and Information Service of WA (Liswa).

The fulfilled staff member

First, let us take a look at this organisation from the staff member's point of view.

Imagine an organisation full of people who

come to work enthusiastically, knowing that

they will grow and flourish, and intent on

fulfilling the vision and goals of the

organisation. There's an ease, grace and

effortlessness about the way they get things

done. Work flows seamlessly among teams

and functions. People take pleasure and pride

in every aspect of the enterprise--for example,

in the way they can talk openly, reflect on

each other's opinions, and have genuine

influence on the structures around them.

That's a lot of energy walking in each day,

accomplishing an ever increasing amount of

work and having fun along the way.[1]

The delighted client

Secondly, let us consider the recipient of this staff member's efforts, the client.

Information services are technologically and personally time intensive. In the ideal scenario, the client would be comfortable in entering the information environment of libraries, archives or the internet, confident in his or her own ability to find the information whether through self help or asking a librarian for assistance. Technology would hold no fears--in any case, should a problem arise, the client knows there is always the friendly expert waiting to assist. Information from around the world can be found and retrieved for personal use. Of course, nothing breaks down since only the state of the art technology is available and there is little delay in needs being met. Each experience not only satisfies an information query but leaves a delighted client who becomes a perennial salesperson for the organisation and so spreads the word and returns time and time again to experience this wonderful service.

The client can choose to access many of the services from home or office so the concept of a physical library has changed. Online services and assistance are available at times that suit the client.

The information rich community

The community is well informed about the available information resources it owns and can access. Its citizens have excellent telecommunications and computing technologies with a comfortable ability to use the equipment. They feel they understand the equity, ethical and economic imperatives which drive the availability of information and participate actively in community discussions on these issues. The more disadvantaged people are able to access through local libraries the same level of service and resources that the more well off can do from homes and office. There is no sense of information rich or information poor in this community.

Structure of this paper

Is this how your organisation operates currently or wishes to operate? Far fetched? Well, maybe, but there is no point in even attempting to plan if you do not have dreams--and in the public sector that dream has to have something to do with enriching people's lives. A simple vision is essential. We have managed to achieve this, but I will leave the description of the vision until the end.

I do not wish to present a `how we do change management good at Liswa'. Rather, I want to leave you with a set of tools or questions applicable to your own environment. Neither do I want to suggest that we have got it right--it just feels that way at this time but next week could be different. The world is too complex and it is a fool who thinks planning means controlling events.

I will share with you the methodologies used, the challenges we faced in implementing change and the future projects we will undertake to achieve our vision. The paper will describe the situation in 1989-1993 when the need for radical change was identified and why; follow that with a description of our current and potential environment and then explain the process we used to develop both a program of fundamental change and a new five year plan. In conclusion some of the services and projects that will be the result of all this effort are described--so that we can get closer to the scenario of delighted customers and the fulfilled staff members.

Liswa--what is it?

The Library and Information Service of Western Australia (Liswa) is the operating name of the organisation covered by The Library Board of Western Australia Act 1951-1983. While the Act is now quite old, the organisation is not constrained in responding to changing circumstances. There are several main functions.

Public library services

Liswa provides books and other materials, services and products to local government and other participating bodies which deliver public library services to the people of Western Australia. The partnership between The Board and local government authorities and other participating bodies works through consultation, joint decision making and agreed standards.

Reference services

The State Reference Library provides a general reference information service utilising its own collections as well as the nation's and the world's libraries and databases. Collections and services are designed to complement the school, government, private, university and public library systems. Specialist areas include music, film and business information services.

Western Australian documentary heritage

The JS Battye Library of West Australian History identifies, collects, organises, preserves and provides access to WA's documentary heritage. Services based on information about Western Australia are provided to a wide range of clients regardless of location. Battye Library collects information about government and community organisations and provides services based on this information.

Records and archives management

The Public Records Office delivers records management and archival services to state and local government agencies. Its purpose is to assist agencies improve the quality of records management so that the right material is used and archived for current and future clients.

Liswa in 1989

I am not one to comment on my predecessors. As Erasmus said `It is an unscrupulous intellect that does not pay to antiquity its due reverence'. Pre 1989 is not quite antiquity but nevertheless I do accept that those who have gone before made decisions in the best interests of the organisation, given the times and priorities of government and the community.

However, I make some general comments for comparison. I was appointed in 1989 and the organisation, in common with many government agencies, had not implemented fully strategic planning, program management or performance measurement systems.

In 1989 the budget was $22.9 million and 270 staff. The organisational structure was fairly typical of government bureaucracies and similar to sister institutions.

Liswa had no formal corporate plan in 1989. Government was implementing a series of reforms that included program management, corporate planning and performance measurement. These reforms had been in progress for several years and it was essential that Liswa comply with these requirements. With a new CEO it was essential that clear directions were set for the organisation and a six month process of developing the basic elements of the necessary reforms was commenced.

As a result of this process, program budgeting was possible and minor restructuring was carried out to cater for the new program Collection Management. This is the textbook approach to program management whereby structural changes follow, not precede, the development of strategic objectives and many program foci. In architectural terms, form follows function.

In 1993, a date I used as a base for the initiative and processes described in this paper, the budget was $21.2 million and there were 267 full time staff equivalents--the resources available to us had reduced. We had by this stage produced and commenced implementing our first 1992 five year plan, full program management, received a commendatory note from the Office of the Auditor General on our performance indicators and won several prizes for excellence in annual reporting.

The organisational structure had been somewhat modified to match new program structures, but was fairly hierarchical and still had 25 management positions, an average of 1 for 10 ten staff.

The organisation, while having been part of different portfolios in its history, has been in the Arts portfolio for the duration of this period under consideration. The portfolio includes the WA Museum, Art Gallery of WA, Perth Theatre Trust and ArtsWA.

Our place in the world--the non negotiable and the optional

Our environmental issues were in in two separate categories. Many of these will be familiar since most in public service across the world seem to be facing them. The first set belongs to the change that Liswa was expected to experience regardless of whether we liked it or not--in other words these were non negotiable. The second set are the opportunities presented in our wider world to which we could choose to respond--the negotiable issues.

The non negotiable

The public sector is undergoing rapid and wide ranging change. This includes enterprise bargaining and workplace reform; participative management and flexible work arrangements; new legislation such as the Public Sector Management Act; structural reforms, including the questioning of the number of agencies; reviews of central agencies and reduction of controls; customer focus and a quality service focus; competitive tendering and contracting; sharing resources and rationalising corporate services; changes in financial management such as net appropriations and accrual accounting; an expectancy that some agencies will have a decreased dependency on consolidated revenue funds--and the most recent, output based management.

These issues are international in their scope. Four principles were outlined in the United States national performance review report to President Clinton. These are listed as `cutting red tape; putting customers first; empowering employees to get results; and getting back to basics, producing better government for less'.[2]

A senior New South Wales bureaucrat argues that reinventing government is impossible without employees changing their own behaviour and perceptions about their roles.

Our Minister had indicated that his portfolio agencies should explore opportunities for cooperation and initiatives in whole of government programs like services to seniors or persons with disabilities.

Government's customer focus program could not be argued with. An agency like Liswa, existed to serve the WA community. It is expected that the client in receipt of the service will be intimately involved in the development of that service. The agency needs to understand and anticipate clients' needs so that it is proactive, and government has implemented a number of process and consultative mechanisms. Our customers had been demanding better computer systems for some time, and the demand for new materials is never ending due to population increase and at least half of the population being registered members of the public library system. Many more are users without being registered.

The WA government established a range of investigative and advisory bodies arising from the McCarrey report, a report on the efficiencies of government agencies. One which had particular application to Liswa was the need to develop better ways of managing information, information technology and telecommunications within the public sector. There is evidence of converging professions within this sector so there is potential confusion and turmoil in agencies over how they handle their information. Systems are in place for whole of government projects in these areas and they affect Liswa's future in a close and direct way.

The negotiable

There are many opportunities that present themselves to an agency and the staff have choices as to whether or not they rise to the occasion. The research in both information service delivery and the public sector was suggesting widespread and challenging change. We have considered them in some detail and refocused many of our attitudes as a result, and in the light of advice from the literature of management and the public sector.

Leaner management structures are seen as necessary This leads to pressure on information systems, the need for clear job descriptions, negotiated accountability and clean delegations. McCarrey referred specifically to this issue. He pointed out that there were

many examples of top heavy

administrative structures which the private

sector is unable to afford. Substantial

overall savings would be generated over

time by giving greater responsibility to

those directly responsible for service

delivery and adopting flatter management

structures by reducing excessive middle

level management.[3] Flatter structures are recommended Less management and fewer reporting lines means greater delegation and less bureaucracy. This needs a better trained work force in areas such as project management and team work skills. This needs serious rethinking at the highest level. As one writer commented

It is axiomatic that the culture of an

organisation begins with those at the top, and

any change is only possible if it is lived, not

simply learned, by those with power.

Autocratic senior managers entrench autocratic

behaviour at every level.[4]

Cleaner accountability

This means management by exception. Better planning is needed so strategic, three year and operational plans are in place. Everybody knows what is expected of them and possible failures or adjustments become the issues for the next level of management to deal with rather than day to day management of all processes and decisions.

Hierarchical structures 

These are seen as unwieldy, untrusting and constraining for innovative and imaginative staff. They prevent flexibility, dynamic or responsive change. Team based structures are becoming the trend in many industries, particularly in knowledge or information based industries.

Information is seen as a powerful resource It is equivalent at least to people, money and assets. Information dissemination to employees who add value to that information is a characteristic of a modern learning organisation.

Quality trends These require a commitment to continuous work improvement with real and committed involvement of the teams that manage that work. Whether we are considering project based groups, workplace group or cross organisational groups, the organisation needs to be flexible enough for its work force to make decisions at the most appropriate level.

Reengineering is a must Experts suggest that the analysis of processes enable us to perform things better and so `reengineer' systems. This is dependent on people being able to define systems and thus analyse and thence improve them. For many public sector agencies it is doubtful whether they have the systems clearly defined or the measurements to be able to determine whether the resultant revamping has achieved improvement.

Technology is everywhere and leads to efficiencies For Liswa, technology was knocking on the doorstep. Existing systems were failing and the internet was looming. Clients were having access to more sophisticated computers in their homes. National and international bodies with whom Liswa cooperates were changing their systems. Liswa was rapidly falling behind with consequential inability to deliver services. CDRoms, interactive multimedia and other technological wizardry was attractive and there were dangers that the organisation could be marginalised. These pressures were forcing serious consideration of Liswa's role, the place in the world and where traditional services fitted. As Gunther Grass has commented

Information networks straddle the world.

Nothing remains concealed. But the sheer

volume of information dissolves the

information. We are unable to take it all in.[5]

Liswa's need for change at an organisational level.

While the previous two sections outline externally driven demand and opportunities for change, they do not specify Liswa's agency specific reasons for change. We asked ourselves how we could change what we wanted to while meeting other agendas. Indeed, the challenge is to integrate these various opportunities for reform and growth. Textbook or cookbook solutions are doomed to failure. I prefer to agree with Shapiro's comments that leading change is the `pilot's art [which] must be exercised by those within the enterprise ... learning from their experience and making more choices'.[6]

There was a clear need for the Liswa executive to spend more time on organisation wide issues and responses to external public sector issues. There are too many of them (and they keep increasing) for the CEO to handle alone. Liswa had become even more a part of the public sector. It needed to be seen not only to participate in change but also to contribute to the development of the best application of these changes to agencies in the portfolio.

There was an urgent requirement for senior staff to take a strategic client, policy and research focus. The difficulties associated with agency responses to bodies like the WA Information Policy Council, government wide planning issues as well as developing detailed understandings of our clients were becoming critical.

Although Liswa was a service delivery organisation, it still could become more client centred. This needed a better definition of clients' needs, its relations with them, assessment of their current and anticipated expectations, and agreements on service evaluations and improvement. Managers had identified the need for better definition of client groups as a major issue.

Greater flexibility in staff management issues was needed, for example to appoint to levels rather than positions, to identify and develop appropriate skills and to multiskill large numbers of level one officers.

Program management, as it had been implemented up to 1993, was seen to encourage boundary defenses and discourage cooperation. The relationship between directors and programs prevented members of the executive taking a corporate view. The managers have consistently raised this issue, as had the staff, although they saw the issue as too much management. It was, in reality, too much of a `silo' mentality.

There were too many management positions for the size of the agency (26 for 270 full time equivalent staff). Given that there was unlikely to be an increase in overall resources, resources needed to be shifted internally into service areas to deal with client demand.

Clearer roles were seen as a way to assist accountability and delegations. For example, senior management should be seen as a team focused on strategic external, client and stakeholders/owners' issues. Work groups should be seen as focused on operational plans with an understanding of the overall context. Decisions should be, and should be seen to be, taken at the appropriate level. Staff confirmed that we had a strong `what's in it for me' approach to program management.

The corporate culture needed to develop further to be change focused and enthusiastic about innovation with staff empowered to work in teams. Of course, it is difficult to overestimate the challenge of this. As Lennon and Bryant point out

organisational culture often represents ways of

operating that have become myths about what

leads to success with the credibility of articles

of faith. Radical change of strategy is

sometimes akin to asking people to give up

their religion or identity.[7]

The challenge was, and remains, to change what needs to be changed while cherishing that which is valuable.

Issues and trends specific to Liswa's operations

We studied Liswa's external and internal environments specifically in relation to services and found several where we should question fundamentally what we were doing.

Our clients and their needs Liswa's clients are all the people of Western Australia. However, in order to provide the best service possible with the resources available we should have a keen sense of our clients' diverse information needs so we can focus our efforts effectively.

Defining what our resources are, and should be The world of publishing and information creation can be monitored no longer by librarians--if indeed it ever could be. With limited resources and unlimited demand and sources, it is essential that we define what we will and will not give shelf space to.

Meeting recreational needs Information needs include recreational reading needs. The danger is that in the thrust towards technology, the community's need for access to such materials is ignored.

The people's university Along with preserving the value of our intellectual heritage, there is a need to preserve and celebrate the foundation of the effective communication of all written and spoken and ideas--writing, reading, storytelling, written and spoken ideas--putting people together in a community. Books are not going to disappear and they form the foundation of debate and social discourse--the people's university lives in the society at large. Much is heard of lifelong learning and it is the publicly funded information service which makes this possible.

These are but a slice of the challenges facing the organisation. A protracted and systematic approach was needed to structure a change agenda which would cater for these and take us forward.

Liswa 2000--the change agenda

The concept of a planned change process called Liswa 2000--reinventing the organisation was presented to the Library Board. From late 1993 until September 1996, extensive discussions were held within Liswa about the management directions and structures of the organisation. Issues that required an organisation wide response were explored across all levels and functional units. All staff members were provided with opportunities to make input. Clients, various stakeholders and groups were consulted on planning directions. The proposals required considerable changes to the organisation's structures, information frameworks, ways of making resourcing decisions and, most importantly, service delivery.

The change process

The critical path diagram shows the various paths taken in the change process. Of course, it is not possible to put an organisation into limbo while following a textbook process of planning and implementation. However, we did have a critical path and were able to develop new systems and structures alongside the planning of longer term directions. The process contained four streams

* organisational restructure and executive functions redefinition 

* the development of workplace change

* the implementation of new computer systems

* the creation of a new strategic directions plan

The last was the critical path project. This could be considered as too large an agenda to carry out in parallel. Maybe it was, but it worked--if you are going to implement massive change then do it concurrently rather than sequentially. The mixture of focusing on both positive and negative sensations within the staff can provide a better balance. So, for example, the new computer systems were seen as an exciting project by many staff and the reorganisation at the senior management level was not seen as a bad thing by the majority of the staff. At any one stage different levels and people were being affected so we progressed reasonably quickly.

The logic was to agree on the need for change and a series of management improvement projects. Secondly, we implemented projects such as the executive and senior management replacement. We could then use our new ways of working and new structures to unleash imaginative solutions to issues, trends and constraints in our environment. Thirdly, we developed a new strategic directions plan, to be followed by a series of service delivery plans; and fourthly we could develop a budget based on zero budgeting principles, and present this to government for endorsement.

Change agenda document development

To explore the likely methods for implementing such change, all staff members were asked to suggest whether such change was indeed needed and, if so, how such change might be implemented. In addition, we sought to determine what other areas of change staff would like to see included in the process. As there was no suggestion of downsizing or any permanent staff member losing his or her job and this project was largely a self driven agenda, it was hoped staff would feel free to contribute.

The methodology was developed with the assumptions that staff involvement should be as extensive as possible. Consultation was organised deliberately across organisation structures, with general staff meetings to introduce the change agenda and explain the process. Extensive consultation was undertaken for two purposes: firstly to find out what staff wanted to change and secondly, to validate or otherwise perceptions of the desire for change. This was important to me as CEO, given that most of my information on problems was coming only through management channels.

The executive met regularly and developed the issues ahead of the process. Managers and directors met for a brainstorming session that explored the questions: What kind of organisation do we need to be, want to be, should be and will be told to be? Many of the issues at these various meetings overlapped. These ideas formed the basis of a Board paper and the first presentation to the staff.

I conducted workshops with all staff. A pro forma was used and most staff who attended workshops spoke and interacted well. More than sixty per cent of staff members attended workshops. Over fifty proformas were also received. Various managers brainstormed the issues with their staff and reported back. Every manager and director was offered, and most accepted, a personal interview. Several staff members provided separate written submissions on various issues.

A database was created and over 600 items were identified from workshops and interviews. This was then organised under various headings and synthesised to remove obvious repetition. The workshops with staff revealed some major themes.

* A demand for change existed on a range of fronts. Junior staff did not present as resistant to change.

* There was a concern about quality of services and collections, efficiency and productivity and a desire to achieve excellence.

* Lack of resources was of great concern. Old technology, lack of staff for rosters, backlogs of processing, queues of clients and poor maintenance of items such as photocopiers were all mentioned. There was an expectation that these resources should be forthcoming.

* The hierarchical nature of the organisation and its poor information dissemination processes were seen as preventing cooperation, working together and sharing resources.

* There was a strong sense that team based work groups were the way ahead. Where they existed already in the organisation, staff members were pleased with them and believed they cut across levels, and built cooperation. I noted in my workshops that staff from these areas appeared more enthusiastic and positive.

* Many comments were made on corporate culture--but the most disturbing factor was the lack of respect shown to persons at other levels and of differing professions.

* While staff members were most eager to improve their skills and efficiencies, they saw this as being prevented by someone else, usually their supervisor. It was surprising how many things were wrong with the organisation, and it was always suggested that it was someone else's responsibility to fix.

* Much was said on career paths, or rather the lack of them, as well as poor training access and performance appraisal in many areas.

Thus many opportunities for suggested changes were taken. These change requirements have driven much of the other phases and continue to be relevant.

Various presentations were made to directors and managers on the proposed structures and principles. Thereafter the Liswa 2000 change agenda document was produced for consultation, and tabled for the Board's consideration in June, and approval in July, 1994. This formed the basis for the organisational restructure, development of teams and transferring of resources from management to service delivery.

The integrated organisation--projects end results

Once the overarching documentation had been agreed by the Board, implementation could proceed. This required each project to be carried out in parallel.

Project One: Organisational restructure and executive functions redefinition

There is no doubt that the organisational structure was seen by most as a major impediment to achieving any of the identified changes. For example, there could not be small empowered teams in the type of hierarchical structure and culture favoured by the agency for some years. In developing structural solutions, first principles were followed. The service delivery model was developed first, to develop the client focus. A new structure was developed and appropriate accountability mechanisms invented.

The new organisational structure can be diagrammatically shown as follows. The logic of the structure is that each level supports all of the levels above.

Service delivery units There are five areas that lend themselves to definition, as their clients and service delivery mechanisms are sufficiently different, even although all would agree that they are in the `information collection and dissemination business'.

Collection support units Collection support units are to be found in most organisations of Liswa's type and size. These include the acquisitions function, the cataloguing and indexing function; the preservation functions; and the interlibrary loan and document delivery support function. These units are closely linked to the service delivery units--indeed, they deliver services to those units. They are also monitoring units across the collections, ensuring the best price is paid for materials, the most appropriate catalogues and indexes are produced and the collections are maintained in a proper fashion.

Corporate resources units Corporate resources units can be found in every agency and include human, financial, building and information resources support. These units contain experts who ensure the acquisition, management and deployment of these resources is according to principles, policies and guidelines laid down by the public sector central agencies, quality and ethical practice. They should consume less and less of the agency's resources

Executive support units Executive support units should by definition be as small as possible. In this model the chief executive officer and that position's executive assistant are joined by a community programs function, a corporate support and development function, and a strategic planning function. These are resources which operate at a strategic organisation wide and government wide level.

Horizontal vs hierarchical structures While there are five programs and all resources will be allocated to those for program management purposes, the organisation cannot be managed in this way as this would need five cataloguing units, human resource units and so on. Nevertheless, it is important to keep the units engaged in support service delivery as small and efficient as possible to ensure as much of the organisation's resources go into service delivery. Thus our organisational structures are flat, matrix based but with an appropriate mix of centralised and decentralised processes for maximum efficiency.

The greatest challenge of horizontal structures is to ensure appropriate accountability is achieved. As one of the major complaints from the staff was the hierarchical nature of the current organisation, it was proposed that Liswa adopt a modified horizontal structure, focusing on program outcomes while ever before. allowing support staff to make significant contributions to efficiency and quality of products and services. This will need a significant degree of trust and imagination to increase empowerment while maintaining levels of accountability and control so often demanded by central agencies and the community. It is unrealistic to expect that only one type of accountability is possible in the public sector. For Liswa, it can never be simply a financial `bottom line' approach.

Charles Handy argues that `if you reward the good and ignore or forgive the bad, the good will occur more frequently and the bad will gradually disappear'.[8] This is a salutary message for public sector control freaks!

It is important to emphasise that we are not suggesting self organising teams in a totally horizontal structure.

The public sector cannot operate that way without a serious reduction in accountability--and, given the Westminster style of government it is unlikely that it would be possible at all. Our model is a hybrid centralised/ decentralised model, described by Hammer and Champy as `prevalent' in private sector companies and only possible if information technology is used well.

This has not been done because it is the latest `fad'. It seems to be an organically sensible thing to do. I am hopeful that it will work, especially in the so called `professional areas' and that it will unfetter some people's imaginations. However there is a need to monitor and nurture this quite closely. Otherwise we will have implemented what Shapiro calls

an organisational concept that aims to abolish

all hierarchy and thereby produces new

organisations with slower decision making

and greater focus on internal politicking than

ever before.[9]

Teams The fundamental unit of the organisation is now the team. But team leaders are not simply replacing existing management positions. Team leaders are expected to negotiate agreement on outputs and process improvement, and contribute to service delivery improvements. Teams are in the process of being implemented. Team leaders have been appointed but it is early days in designing the structure of these teams and their varying accountabilities and responsibilities. There are many implications of moving to this type of management structure and we do not pretend to have all the answers, or even all the questions. The teams are, or will be based on, various assumptions and principles including the following.

Communication systems must be good Teams need access to the same information if they are to work together.

Separation of executive and senior management disappears Matters affecting the whole organisation are discussed with all unit heads. This needs different kinds of meetings, more like networking than decision making. Electronic solutions can achieve a great deal here.

Close, one on one, management disappears The team approach must prevail. The challenge for the team leader is `to learn to specify the measures of success as well as the signs of failure and must then allow his or her people the space to get on with it in their own way ... to live with more uncertainty but more trust, less control but more creativity'.[10]

Appraisal is based on outcome negotiation Service delivery agreements and performance agreements between individuals and teams are needed so that everyone is clear about what is expected. These are not self directing teams. Performance appraisal becomes essential and predominantly a personal assessment of how one's own contribution has added to team success. Work team plans and achievements can then be used to bring about workplace change in industrial agreements.

Expertise is recognised and valued The sharing organisation must be encouraged. This is characterised by `self development contracts, recognised mentors, outside visits and seminars, incidental learning and corporate forgiveness ... horizontal careers to open up new possibilities ... rewards tied to output not status, to performance not age, constant celebrations of achievement'.[11]

Cross agency and level cooperation occurs Strategic alliances within and without the agency lead to reduction in unit costs and overheads. This can happen more easily at a team level than an organisation weighed down with bureaucracy.

Corporate values and a shared culture are essential Without this everyone pulls in different directions.

Project Two: The development of workplace change

We managed to integrate the new structures, team ways of working and other operational management issues into the agreements. Thus the staff have signed off on new ways of working. Our agreements were based on productivity improvements and do not contain tradeoffs so the scene has been set very well for the next set of agreements since the culture can now see the relationship between productivity and salary increases. The main benefit for clients from these agreements has been the extension of opening hours to include Saturday and Sunday mornings and Monday evenings.

Project Three: The implementation of new computer systems

The new systems are the best available in the world for our industry. We are half way through a three year implementation and the project is on time and on budget. It is a credit to the staff that we have kept the old system going with the new; prime contracted and project managed the whole thing ourselves; and we have done it all without an increase in staffing resources.

The new computer systems have been a great `shot in the arm' for the organisation's self esteem. Our catalogues are on the internet 24 hours a day and we are seen as a leader in the industry. The staff and the clients can get excited about these things but cannot be expected to get too enthusiastic about workplace reform and structural change. By having these projects operate in parallel, everyone had something to get enthusiastic about at any one time (and something to complain about, of course).

Project Four: The creation of a new strategic directions plan

As Ansoff points out, `resistance to change is proportional to the degree of discontinuity in the culture and/or the power structure introduced by the change', and that 'when a cultural change is accompanied by a shift of power, resistance is compounded.[13]

In developing plans, mission statements and objectives, an impressive, elegant and wordy document could be produced by sitting down and writing it from the CEO's point of view However, it will sit on a shelf and gather dust, a tome doomed to be treated with indifference by all but the CEO.

To gain emotional as well as organisational commitment to objectives, it is of paramount importance that the ideas emanate organically from the organisation itself. The process of defining the `core business' and its direction is of itself as important, if not more important, than the plan itself.

The terms `strategic planning' and `strategic management' are used interchangeably but they are different. Planning is but one element of management. Liswa's preferred definition of strategic management is defined succinctly as

the process of identifying, choosing and

implementing activities that will enhance the

long term performance of an organisation by

setting direction and by creating ongoing

compatibility between the external skills and

resources of the organisation and the changing

external environment within which it

operates.

The essential message here is that strategic planning is part of strategic management but a plan has little value if it is not then implemented, evaluated and revised on an as needs or cyclical basis.

Some professions and public sector

organisation argue that their activities

cannot be measured. If one subscribes to

that notion then there is no point in

strategic planning. Objectives must be

defined as targets, have specific resources

allocated to them and then be measured in

such a way that demonstrates to

government and the community that

worthwhile use has been made of the

monies appropriated by parliament for

these purposes. If you cannot measure it,

you should not plan for it and you cannot

hope to define your achievement in best

practice terms. But since our funds are

appropriated on an annual basis,

governments change their directions and

differing policy imperatives arise, public

sector agencies cannot develop detailed

five year plans and then follow them to the

letter. Thus we have produced strategic

directions documents and will back these

up with one year detailed plans--so each

year we may change the way we do things

or our emphases to reflect the

government's priorities.

The soft systems methodology, developed by Peter Checkland of the University of Lancaster and explained in his book Systems thinking, systems practice (Wiley 1981) was used for its conceptual thinking and its appropriateness as a generalised problem solving methodology. Other more familiar techniques can be used in parallel, depending on preferences eg Swot analyses, Edward De Bono's lateral thinking, problem based planning, and data modelling to name but a few. Another tool that was used was paradigm shifting, a technique I developed and which is explained later.

At the end of the day, there is only one reason to carry out complex strategic planning--that is 'a belief, a deep down in the gut conviction about where the company or unit could go and why embarking on this new path would be preferable to sticking to business as usual'.[13] As CEO of Liswa I felt the need for change very strongly and have taken a personal role in all these phases of organisational redevelopment and repositioning.

The result: our values

The 1992 plan contained values to which we have been aspiring for some time. Feedback and usage showed us we had too many and needed to refine them. This we have done and these are our new values on which our strategic directions will be built.

* Our clients are the focus of our services, our planning and how we measure our success.

* We strive for excellence and demonstrate innovation in our work and leadership in our fields.

* We plan what we do and do what we planned

* We communicate openly and widely with each other and the wider community. We share information fairly and responsibly.

* We respect our colleagues and treat them with consideration. We listen to each other's point of view and encourage each other's creativity and initiative.

* We work as teams--with common goals and rewards and with a cooperative responsibility for assessing and improving our services and skills continuously.

* We make effective, efficient and proper use of the resources we hold in trust in the public interest.

Values are of prime importance. By discussing them and seeking feedback we get a sense of the corporate culture. Much is written about culture but it is difficult to measure, especially if one is trying to change it. Actively seeking to change cultures is a bit like being Sysiphus. The minute you get one rock to the top of the hill and feel you have achieved something it falls down the other side. In this case you are probably always pushing a different rock up a different hill as circumstances keep changing. Shapiro calls the culture the `internal game' for which one must `uncover the real rules'.[14]

Feedback from staff and clients admired our values but questioned our ability to live by them. Some of these comments were cynical but others were quite specific and made a valid point. Values written down and published but unlived are worthless--indeed, they are dangerous as they breed contempt. The challenge we face is to decide how we will incorporate these into performance appraisals, policies and procedures, the way we work and other areas so that we can affirm and reaffirm them, test them and validate them.

The result: paradigms shifted

A paradigm is an assumption or set of principles on which an individual bases his or her behaviour. Organisations have paradigms. Organisations like Liswa have some very old paradigms and they can belong to the various professions like archives or librarianship rather than the organisation alone. They come from educational institutions, perceived theory shared between groups as well as organisational myths commonly seen as part of the culture.

Anyone who works in an organisation knows these by heart. For librarians, we suffer the paradigms of others which define the stereotype that librarians are people who work in libraries, stamp out books, belong to one gender and have a recognisable appearance. Unless one faces one's assumptions, they cannot be challenged, defined and shifted. We decided to define Liswa's paradigms and describe what would happen if they were shifted 180 degrees. Each senior manager did this individually, then shared it with colleagues and we defined a series of `shifts' that were worth making in strategic future. When combined with values, they define the kind of organisation we want to be and provide a framework for how we will work.

In short, paradigms are hidden rules about `how we do things around here'. As Gary Hamel has pointed out

...rule makers and rule takers are the industry.

Rule breakers set out to redefine the industry,

to invent the new by challenging the old. Ask

yourself, what are the fundamental

conventions we have examined and abandoned

in our company.[15]

The results: the agency deconstructed

Deconstruction is a technique born of literary theory which enables us to take the elements of a work and then by examining them so create new meaning. My approach has been to look at the basic transformation that goes on in the organisation, separate those parts of the model and then look at how they can interact with each other with new meaning. Librarianship and similar professions have been process focused. There is nothing wrong with this, except when process ends up being the raison d'etre of the organisation.

Professions should have theoretical models on which to base their processes. The problem with our profession is that it needs to reinvent itself completely--to say we are information workers in a period that is seen as the `information age' is a bit like saying we are breathers in a world of oxygen. It is relatively meaningless and fails to differentiate anything that might be called a niche market or a competitive edge.

It became essential to redefine not only Liswa but, if needs be, the professions we employ and it is essential for any sector or profession to do this as part of strategic planning. If you have a very fixed idea of what a teacher is in terms of process, for example, then you will not change the way you teach, no matter how impressive your strategic plans.

The results: Team Liswa

While Liswa has multiple programs and flatter structures, systems are needed to provide cohesion. As an organisation it has agreed on six common themes which will guide how our projects are carried out. These are the glue that binds together the key goal areas commonly known as programs in the Western Australian public sector.

These common themes are

It's easy--removing barriers which

prevent or limit clients' access to our

services

Here we are!--promoting and

explaining ourselves. Since Liswa

cannot meet everyone's needs we need

to explain to all Western Australians

what we can do for them. And we can

do so much more than the typical

library or information service if we

involve the community in a range of

exciting activities which explore

contemporary and historical ideas and

issues.

Together we can do it!--developing

partnerships. Liswa is part of the global

information services industry. To

achieve more in our world we need to

develop new and existing partnerships

to a very sophisticated and mutually

beneficial level.

Something extra?--customised services.

Liswa's resources and staff are

sophisticated and readily available.

Nevertheless, some clients require access

extended services and are prepared to

pay for them

Where we fit--Liswa's role in he

community, government and industry.

Liswa is a government agency and while

not a policy body, we have spheres of

influence which we should use for the

benefit of Western Australians. By

adopting these roles we can attract long

term and future support for a wide

range of people.

The results--building a better organisation.

An integrated organisation requires solid management development projects which bind the staff together and comply with so many of government's unique requirements. We have developed several themes to cater for this.

Clients first--all our management and planning operations will have the client as centre

The right staff--staff are appropriately skills, committed to a high level of service, well managed and have a determination to excel

The best practice--ensuring our activities are more cost effective at a given quality than comparable alternative sources

The best information--information management practices make Liswa a leader in the field

The best technology--information technology is used to deliver flexible services, support partnerships and manage our resources well.

Implementing the vision--some examples

These processes and change projects have been undertaken for the sole purpose of delivering more relevant, more exciting and better quality services to the people we have been established to support. In changing our paradigms and shifting some of our directions, we realised we needed a simple way to communicate what we are.

Much has been made of librarians becoming information specialists, but there are so many of those these days. Much discussion has been initiated about the converging or diverging of professions like librarianship, records management, systems analysts, archives, information planners and so on. If we are to go forward we need to see ourselves as Liswa employees sharing the same goal. Our vision is about bringing a world of knowledge and information to our clients. So our slogan has become:

Liswa--your guide to knowledge.

Your denotes our focus on you as the individual.

Guide denotes our role in assisting through personal, paper based or electronic means--and we can guide you as far as you wish to go or simply point you in the right direction.

Knowledge denotes our performance measure that requires us to ensure you have developed or acquired knowledge--not a data dump or a piece of information without context, that we have assisted you to be able to find that information again.

So Liswa staff will be knowledge workers and be the first librarians, as far as is known, to encompass this term. It is an inclusive term and can cover all professions and all levels in a common purpose.

Key goal areas

We have four main goal areas, commonly known as programs.

Public library services

* Look at new information service models

* Look for new partnerships with telecentres and other organisations

* Examine closely the role of the public library in the formal and informal education sector

* Develop electronic statewide systems for document delivery and information support

Reference services

* Create a concept of centres of excellence, defining our niches in areas like the performing arts and business information

* Be a guide for Western Australians to access to the world's information resources on the internet and elsewhere

* Develop individual relationships with clients to the point of providing fee for service products

* Help clients develop their information seeking skills

* Work with government and university libraries to develop a virtual library for seamless access to the state's collections

Documentary heritage services

* Complete the digitisation of our extensive collections

* Produce comprehensive guides and publications to assist people find out about WA history and culture

* Work with local communities to identify and gather historical information

* Promote the value of Western Australian writers, publications and books

Public records services

* Work with public sector agencies to improve records management practices

* Produce electronic and other guides to collections to make access easier

* Tackle the multiple challenges of electronic public records

* Develop training programs for clients who need to use public records

Major projects--some glimpses

Four specific projects suggest the future.

The Centre for the Book

A new space is to created in the Alexander Library Building--a physical centre for the celebration of everything to do with the book. This will encompass its history, creation, various formats, its authors and its readers. Displays, meet the author sessions, book launches, oral history tapes, electronic books--all will be available in our building.

But we will extend this beyond the physical space with newsletters, internet conversation groups, images and text available electronically. We will travel our displays and seek to have national and international connections to similar groups and societies to enrich the book reading and buying public's enjoyment of that wonderful piece of technology known as the book.

Affiliated activities will include a shop, an interactive multimedia centre and events like the Premiers Book Awards and Childrens Book Week. This is an Australian first, and we are very excited about it.

Community involvement

The centre is but one of many ways in which we hope to involve the community in the life of our organisation beyond receiving traditional and new information services.

A new friends group will be established to be called The WA Library Society. This will be supported by the Centre for the Book and for a membership fee, people will receive a range of benefits.

A fund raising body is to be set up, tentatively called the Liswa Foundation, whose sole purpose will be to increase support for our collections and building in the form of cash or kind. We hope to be able to establish publishing programs and lecture series through this kind of support as well as raise money for preservation, digitisation and special acquisitions.

By promoting and informing the community better about our services we will be able to gain more support--it is as important to be explaining ourselves within government as it is without.

Subject libraries

One of the most exciting initiatives is the creation of the special niches. The centres of excellence model has been chosen and we have defined those areas in which we intend to be classed as such. These include performing arts (especially music), industry and technology, arts and literature, business and management, and society and citizenship.

This is a radical concept for a state library. It is defining what we will aspire to be best at while still maintaining our referral services. The structure of the libraries reflects what we believe to be the best match with Western Australia's economic and social mix. By setting ourselves up in this way, we will redefine our collecting, service and charging policies and establish a very solid foundation for moving forwards in ways that we have not had before.

Specific client groups

Just as we have defined our service areas better so we have viewed our clients differently. We face the challenge of seeing our clients as individuals. This is a challenge as we do not issue reader's tickets to any area other than the public records collections.

If we can gather information on our clients, we can determine how accessible or equitable are our services. While we can treat them as individuals when we meet them, to market and explain ourselves we need to see people in groups with special needs. To this end we will target people from different language backgrounds, Aboriginal people, younger people, genealogists, researchers, people in remote communities, children and so on.

This is a huge challenge but one we have some strengths already in meeting. In the last two years we have developed plans for services to language groups, to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and to women. This double pronged approach of the individual within the group and the group as a set of individuals should serve us well.

Conclusion

The last three years have unleashed a great deal of enthusiasm and talent in Liswa. However, change brings anxiety and turmoil. We have removed a layer of middle management and it would be no surprise to find that middle managers have not been overwhelmingly enthusiastic about this. Those who have been promoted or become team leaders will have more rewarding jobs at the end of the day. We have only two unplaced officers and considerable new blood in the organisation.

In our agency, we have had a strong culture of hierarchy and kicking a decision upstairs. We have now people whose self esteem is not fed by being asked and making these decisions. Nor will they pass them on to me to make, as in the past. Self esteem based on pecking orders will take some time to disappear. Antagonisms between levels and self esteem based on having a university degree or a particular skill will take even longer to disappear. But they will disappear as we appoint and train more people and reward alternate behaviours.

I have a great deal of faith in the Liswa staff and am excited about our future. We will walk the road together and do our best. If, at the end of the day, the culture is too strong, we remain a backwater and become irrelevant or, worse still, elitist, it will not be for the want or will to be otherwise. But our world is changing, like that of everyone else.

So, watch this space! Liswa is flying to the moon, to be an agency that similar agencies worldwide use as benchmarks for best practice, to work with our sister agencies to make the people of Western Australia among the best informed in the world--to truly be their guide on their journey through the wonderful world of information and knowledge.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

References

[1] Senge, P et al The fifth discipline fieldbook: strategies and tools for building a learning organisation New York, Doubleday 1994 p19

[2] Griffin, B The national performance review Canberra bulletin of public administration 77 December 1994 p7-11

[3] Independent Commission to Review Public Sector Finances [McCarrey] Agenda for reform: report Perth, 1993 p58

[4] Cowan, R The ego barrel Corporate review May 1995 p58

[5] Grass, G Interview New stateman & society 22 June 1990

[6] Shapiro, E Fad surfing in the boardroom: reclaiming the courage to manage in the age of instant answers Sydney, HarperCollins 1995 p212

[7] Lennon, E and Bryant, D Linking individual and organisation performance through strategic planning and performance management systems: why there is a lot more said than done Training and development in Australia 1995 p11

[8] Handy, C The age of unreason London, Arrow Books 1990 p60

[9] Shapiro op cit p39

[10] Handy op cit p104-105

[11] ibid p185

[12] Ansoff, I Corporate strategy rev ed London, Penguin 1987 p238-9

[13] Shapiro op cit p206

[14] ibid p53

[15] Hamel, G Strategy as revolution Harvard business review July-August 1996 p69-82

Dr Lynn Allen was appointed State Librarian of Western Australia in 1989 after a career including Head Cataloguer at the University of WA and State Manager in WA for AWA Urica. She was national president of the Australian Library and Information Association in 1990. Address: Alexander Library Building Perth Cultural Centre Perth WA 6000 Tel[phone]