DRDC Toronto: A Case Study of Organizational Change for Strategic Goals

Background

DRDC Toronto is a research centre whose mission is “to ensure that the Canadian Defence and National Security capabilities exploit the full potential of Human Effectiveness S&T [science and technology].” It is one of nine centres across Canada that are governed by several core values: trust and respect, commitment, client focus, creativity and innovation, teamwork, leadership, and professionalism and integrity.

DRDC Toronto was founded in 1939 when the Department of National Defence (DND) recognized the importance of human factors by establishing the interdepartmental Associate Committee on Aviation Medical Research. Sir Frederick Banting, the co-discoverer of insulin, chaired the committee. DRDC Toronto has built on its early history of scientific excellence in human factors design and now serves both the Canadian forces and industrial clients with an internationally recognized combination of research facilities and expertise. DRDC Toronto has developed a range of S&T products and processes for military and industrial clients. For example, its diving tables are used around the world to reduce the risk of decompression sickness; the STING (Sustained Tolerance to INcreased G) system, provides superior G protection to jet fighter pilots; and the “Clothe the Soldier” project provided human engineering support to the Canadian Army in acquiring over 24 new items of state-of-the-art soldier protective clothing and personal equipment. These are just a few of the projects DRDC Toronto has been involved in but they are illustrative of the range and the variety of its work.1 DRDC Toronto began “a change journey” to design an organization that both integrated and acknowledged its scientific expertise while becoming more efficient and relevant to its military client. It was a particularly challenging change as there were various stakeholders within the organization who had different mental maps that shaped their behaviour. As Exhibit 10.10 shows, a mix of military, scientific, technical, and administrative staff reported ultimately to the director general, a well- published researcher in psychology. However, the military members (Canadian Forces personnel) also reported through a separate chain of command to the military commanding officer and associate director general. Dr. Pigeau was the change agent for DRDC Toronto’s “Partnership through Professionalism”—an initiative designed to promote an organizational culture of mutual respect so that all staff worked together collaboratively. He brought in external consultants as well as engaging his own personnel. He wanted to create a community of professionals dedicated to using and sharing its expertise to work on projects that would have direct and lasting benefits for its clients. The organization was to become client-driven rather than remaining a largely “silo-ed” organization where scientists did pure research of interest to them. Besides, the organization was to become better integrated and more cohesive while still recognizing the professional expertise of the various units. As part of its change, the Professional Partnership Initiative (PPI) recognized four professional streams—corporate, technical, science, and management—which cut across the hierarchy and affected both military and civilian staff. Each stream has members at different levels of experience who also have roles and responsibilities that are distinct to the stream. What is key in the design is that each stream is considered to be of equal value in serving the goals of DRDC Toronto’s clients. The streams do not replace the organization’s design (illustrated in Exhibit 10.10) nor do they challenge the military chain of command. “Rather, [the system of streams] complements it by allowing members of professional streams, civilian and military, to see how their efforts yield tangible, mission-specific effects.”2 The organizational design has two dimensions, vertical and horizontal, that establish task accountability and unity of effort, respectively. According to Dr. Pigeau, the PPI will be a successful change when it has achieved three significant outcomes: each professional stream will be able (1) to self-organize, (2) to partner well with other streams, and (3) to contribute directly to achieving the mission and vision of DRDC Toronto. See Exhibit 10.11 for observations from one member of each stream.

This case analysis is to be done individually. Carefully read and review the case study and write a 1,500-1,800-word case analysis report, In MS Word, double spaced, 12-point font, APA standards, excluding title page or references. Using all the organizational theory and design concepts you learned so far in this course you should analyze the case study by answering the two case questions below while focusing on how the organization changed its structure to achieve its new strategic goals.

1. What are the change challenges for DRDC Toronto?

2. What is your assessment of the PPI?