How BPX Implemented Dual-Career Ladders

When BP Exploration decided to transform its structure and culture, a key item on the company's agenda was to set up a dual career ladder system in which individual contributors, such as technologists and R&D specialists, could advance as far as managers. The design methodology, the author...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Research technology management 1993-01, Vol.36 (1), p.39-44
Main Author: Moravec, Milan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Business innovation
Business management
Business structures
Career development planning
Careers
Case studies
Consultants
Consumer goods industries
Design
Employee empowerment
Employee involvement
Executives
FEATURES
Human resources
Information technology
Job descriptions
Learning
Management consulting
Managers
Mentoring
Oil companies
Organizational change
Petroleum industry
Role models
Skills
Success
Teams
Technological innovation
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Summary:When BP Exploration decided to transform its structure and culture, a key item on the company's agenda was to set up a dual career ladder system in which individual contributors, such as technologists and R&D specialists, could advance as far as managers. The design methodology, the author explains, turned out to be as important as the resulting ladders themselves. Every type of employee-worldwide-participated in the process, which reconceived not only technical roles but managerial roles as well. The multilevel design teams abandoned the old concept of "job descriptions" and discovered new ways to ensure that the scientific/technical and management ladders stayed parallel all the way to the top. They also modeled the teamwork, open thinking, and personal responsibility that BPX is encouraging as it tries to become more flexible and innovative.
ISSN:0895-6308
1930-0166
DOI:10.1080/08956308.1993.11670875