The decision-making process concerning workplace innovation

The decision-making process concerning workplace innovation: KLPD Case Study

van der Voordt, Theo (TU Delft Real Estate Management)
Guiza, Bibiana

2003

This case study is one in a series on workplace innovation. This issue is alive in many companies and not for profit organizations. Since 1990 the subject has been studied by many professionals. Yet a consistent knowledge base is not in place. For that reason the Center for People and Buildings (Delft, The Netherlands) aims at developing in depth datasets that enables to answer questions that are being asked by almost everyone engaged in a innovative workplace project. How do we decide, what are the benefits, what are the costs? Does it work better in an innovative office, what are the long term effects of changes in office layout and office use? These questions become even more relevant when we consider the changes that usually come with design and implementation of an innovative office. Those are mainstream developments like changes in individual and collective ways of working. Dealing differently with concepts of performance requires a new mindset. Changes create a battle for the free space in our brains.

Lots of innovative office projects are basically founded on efficiency objectives: cost cutting of input factors like the reduction of real estate costs and reduction of communication times. This raises the question with respect to efficiency: where is the end? Can we do business on increasingly less square meters? What are consequences for employee health, what are consequences for the organizational image and so on and so forth. It is the mission of the Center for People and Buildings to contribute to the creation of a body of knowledge on the relationship between people, work and work environments, not necessarily limited to office buildings or administrative knowledge organizations.

This case study is part of a project on Decision Making. It is a learning project were generic knowledge on decision making is tested in daily office innovation practice. The lessons learned in the case studies are the feedback to the conceptual framework which integrates workplace solution, development and decision making processes with performance (efficiency, productivity and user satisfaction) of both the solution and the processes. The final deliverable will be a toolkit to support workplace decision making. This case study was done at the KLPD, which is the headquarters of the Dutch police

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© 2003 Theo van der Voordt, Bibiana Guiza