The Phoenix Rises to Meet Competition

Change has been mostly evolutionary in the first 6 or 7 decades of the Salt River Project's history. However, starting in the 1970s, the competitive environment experienced several influences that challenged the company's traditions and business strategy. By the late 1980s, Jack Pfister, g...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Public utilities fortnightly (1994) 1990-12, Vol.126 (13), p.22
Main Authors: Marshall, Robert B, Ahler, Paul G
Format: Magazinearticle
Language:English
Subjects:
Case studies
Competition
Electric utilities
Organizational change
Strategic planning
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Summary:Change has been mostly evolutionary in the first 6 or 7 decades of the Salt River Project's history. However, starting in the 1970s, the competitive environment experienced several influences that challenged the company's traditions and business strategy. By the late 1980s, Jack Pfister, general manager of the Salt River Project (SRP), realized that the utility would no longer be sheltered from competition. Pfister realized that SRP would require an organization transformation (OT) that would reach into all aspects of the company's operations. The 4 steps in the OT process are: 1. strategic, 2. structural, 3. redeployment, and 4. recovery. The company's success with the OT project is measurable and tangible: 1. The salaried employees' acceptance of voluntary separation was over 93%, and only 2 salaried layoffs were necessary. 2. Cost reductions of $24.9 million in 1989 nearly paid for the entire redeployment costs of $29.2 million. 3. The continuing bottom-line improvements in 1990 will total about $50 million. 4. Nearly 80% of all separated workers were reemployed after 6 months.
ISSN:1078-5892
1945-2578