04/2008nucleus-international.net1 nucleus approach the ideas and strategies below the surface...

04/2008 Nucleus-International.net 1

Nucleus Approach

The ideas and strategiesbelow the surface

Nucleus-International.netNucleus-International.net


The Ideas of the “Nucleus Approach”

Nucleus

OrganizationalDevelopmentof Chambers

Empowerment of Entrepreneurs

SustainabilityAuto-dynamic

ProcessesLearning Platform

EconomicDevelopment

Democratizationof the Society

Development ofLeadership

Project Design

Costs & Finances


1Organisational Development

of Business Chambers &

Associations


Organisational Development is …

• A planned process to change– the behaviour, attitudes and capacities of the

actors in the organisation– the culture of the organisation– the organisation, communication and decision

structures– the strategies

• Objective: To improve the internal and external efficiency of the organisation


Some basic elements of OD

• Organisation members’ participation– in identifying problems– in developing solutions– in implementing changes

• A moderator / consultant accompanies the process

• OD is a learning process within the organisation


Prerequisites to start an OD process

• The will– to learn– to change the chamber

• due to– internal / external problems or– new visions


Prerequisite to start an OD process

• A problem:negative situation, the organisation suffers

• A vision:adequate situation,but the organisation wants to improve more

desired situation

current situation

problem

vision

current situation

future situation

+

-


Questions

• Do your chambers suffer in a way that they want to change their organisation ?

• Do they have visions? Do they have ideas where they want to be in 5 or 10 years ?


Chambers are highly complex organisations …

• Board and staff members change frequently. – With their exit the new knowledge exits

frequently too. It is not transferred to the successors

Common rules:Every chair person has the absolute right - to start again on level zero- to repeat all the mistakes of the predecessors



• The motivation of the honoraries range between

Altruism Egoism

In favour of thedevelopment ofmembers / economy /town / society

In favour of own personal, economic,political interests

We cannot - and it is also not our task - change persons



• Chairperson & board members apply in the chamber the same management style which they apply in their own enterprise– Independently whether this style is appropriate

in the chamber or notThe “centraliser” does the same in the chamber

(Therefore, a MSME is often not the best chair person)

Owners of bigger enterprises have eventually a moreteam leading / decentralized style



• In the enterprise the most important for success is the quality of the decision– This means often a one person decision

• In the chamber the most important for success is the feeling of board & chamber members that it is their decision– i.e.: Participation

This means compromises which can lead to second best decisions



• In the enterprise exist clear responsibilities– Decisions affect the existence / the family directly– In case of crisis the entrepreneur cannot run away

• In the chamber do not exist clear responsibilities– Decisions do not affect the existence / the family

directly– In case of crisis the entrepreneur can stay away

without severe consequences

There is an element of “institutionalised irresponsibility”in organisations led by honoraries


Development Stages of a

Business Chamber


Development Stages of Chambers 1. Stage

Situation Entrepreneurs observe in their town problems, which have negative effects on their business (traffic, market, taxes etc.)

Activity A businessman initiates discussion of common points of interest and the foundation of an chamber

The number of members ...

is small and homogeneous

Activity of the chamber

100 % Lobby


1. Stage

Tasks of the Board of Directors

Initiate Define opinions Decide Represent Administrate Execute

Tasks of the em-ployees

Inapplicable

The Perfor-mance of the chamber depends ...

on 100% of the engagement and quality of the honoraries

After the election of a new board ...

politic and performance of the chamber changes completely

Development Stages of Chambers


1. Stage 2. Stage


More members and more external contacts cause more administrative and organisational workloads (meetings, calls, letters etc.)


The chamber rents an office

In a further step it contracts a (part time-) secretary





100 % Lobby 100 % Lobby



1. Stage 2. Stage





Inapplicable Administrate Execute



on 90% of the engagement and quality of the honoraries, on 10% of the secretary






1. Stage 2. Stage 3. Stage



Demands of the environment on the members provoke well pre-pared / founded positions, which due to lack of time and specialisation honoraries are not able to elaborate




Employment of a CEO

Eventually he performs services to the members (legal / business administration, consultancy)




is larger and homogeneous / heterogeneous


100 % Lobby 100 % Lobby 50 % Lobby 50 % Service



Development Stages of Chambers 1. Stage 2. Stage 3. Stage




Initiate Define opinions Decide Represent



Advise Administrate Execute




on 50% of the engagement and quality of the honoraries, on 50% of the Secretary General




politic and performance changes considerably


1. Stage 2. Stage 3. Stage 4. Stage




The environment produces pres-sure to change for the members (new laws, technologies, management). They need professionalised services




Employment of a Secretary General


Employment of qualified consultants in different areas

Introduction of a complex organisation





is large and heterogeneous



50 % Lobby 50 % Service



1. Stage 2. Stage 3. Stage 4. Stage









Initiate Define opinions Advise Administrate Execute





on 50% of the engagement and quality of the honoraries, on 50% of the professional staff





politic and performance changes few on short but more on long term



1. Stage 2. Stage 3. Stage 4. Stage 5. Stage

Situation Entrepreneurs observe in their town problems, which have negative effects on their business (trafic, market, taxes etc.)



The environment produces pres-sure to change for the members (new laws, technologies, management). They need professionalised services

A complex and dynamic environ-ment causes high pressure onto the members to change. The chamber has to act and lobby on all political and business levels




Employment of a Secretary General


Employment of qualified consultants in different areas

Introduction of a complex organisation

A large number of qualified staff form an organisation with differentiated functions and hierarchies

Creation of a service network





is large and heterogeneous

is very large and heterogeneous







1. Stage 2. Stage 3. Stage 4. Stage 5. Stage










Initiate Define opinions Advise Administrate Execute

Represent Initiate Define opinions Advise Administrate Execute











politic and performance changes few on short but more on long term

politic and performance changes few on short and long term



Organisational Development: The traditional chamber DO approach

Board

Staff

Members

ConsultingTraining

Instruments:- equipment / grants- administration costs / grants- consulting- traininginformation- etc.

Assumption : Who knows better acts better!

Chamber

Objective: Increasedorganizationalefficiency


But ...

• The assumption is wrong:– Who knows better does not automatically act

better!– One needs always a supportive environment

which motivates to use the new know how.Otherwise it will not be applied


Results

• The project contributes to some repairs under the existing paradigm– This means:

The “Business Club” remains a “Business Club”and does not change into a “Professional Service and Lobby Institution”

• Effect : No sustainability– I do not know one Chamber-OD-Project where

this traditional approach caused successfully long time sustainable effects …


Organisational Development: The Nucleus Approach

• The first objective of the “Nucleus” Approach

is not the promotion of SMEs

but the organizational development of business chambers and associations


Chamber-OD under the Nucleus Approach

Board ofDirectors

EmployeesMembers /

Nuclei

Intervention

Int

Inte

rven

tio

n

Change of the relationship between the actors


The goal

• Change of the relationship – creation of a positive, constructive “tension” between the Chamber’s actors

Members start to request, propose, participate, press

Employees start to orientate towards the members

The chairperson / board of directors start to negotiate with members / Nuclei and employees


Society / Government

Members

Employees

CEO

ChairmanBoard

Public Relations

Services

Lobby

Administration

A BusinessChamber


Members

Employees

ChairmanBoard

N

Public Relations

Lobby

Services

Administration


Start of Nuclei

CEO


Members

Employees

CEO

ChairmanBoard

Public Relations

Lobby

N

New employee:counsellor

Services

Administration



Members

Employees

ChairmanBoard

Public Relations

Lobby

N

New tasksfor the

CEO

Services

Administration


CEO


Members

Employees

ChairmanBoard

Public Relations

Lobby

N

New services:counselling

traininginformation

support

Services

Administration


CEO


Members

Employees

Chairman Board

N

Public Relations

Lobby

Services

N

New type ofrelationship

among members

Administration

N NN


CEO


Members

Employees

ChairmanBoard

Public Relations

Lobby

Services

N

More members:more tasks

for theadministration

Administration

N


CEO


Members

Employees

ChairmanBoard

N

Public Relations

Lobby

Services

Administration

New tasks regarding

Public Relations


CEO


Members

Employees

ChairmanBoard

N

Public Relations

Lobby

Services

Administration

New tasksfor chairperson

and board


CEO


Members

Employees

ChairmanBoard

Public Relations

Lobby

Services

Administration

New goals andtasks in terms

of lobbying

N


CEO


Members

Employees

ChairmanBoard

Public Relations

Lobby

Services

Administration

At the end:everything

is changing!

NN N NN


CEO


Result : Ownership

• Members / Nuclei start to understand the chamber more as their organisation – They are the owners,

not the board and the employees– They pay membership fee and therefore can

complain and request services and quality

When the chamber changes into a “Service Organisation” – a new paradigm –

there are more chances for sustainability


Logic of the Development of Chambers of Entrepreneurs

ServicesInformation / Consultation

Training / Support

Lobby in front of Government and other groups of the

society

Higher attractiveness for Entrepreneurs

Law of great number:the more members, the more influence

Chamber

More Entrepreneurs apply for membership

More members pay more membership fees

More means to finance more and

better services


Chamber DO

• Possible fields for interventions– Lobby

- whom, in what, how to influence- planning of objectives and goals- public relations

– Services- training- individual & group counselling in technology, business administration, legal affairs- information - other income generating services


– Organisation & administration- management of organs, staff etc.- membership fees - member administration

– Networking- other chambers- chamber – federation – confederation - public & private institutions


2. The Nucleus: Learning Platform

• We do not botherwhat the entrepreneur learns …

• We only bother

that the entrepreneurstarts to learn …


3. Sustainability

• An unsustainable project

SME level

Time

Project: SME improvementthrough interventions

before

after

durin

g

A repair project


Sustainability

• An sustainable project

before

SME level

Time

Project: Creation of a learning environment,

start of an auto-dynamic development process

the process keeps going by itself

after

durin

g


This correspondents with concepts about the development of organisations

• The institution as learning organisation

traditional step by step improvement

continual improvement

Know how


4. The Nucleus: Costs & Finances

Instruments which the chambers and SMEs are not able to auto-finance one day

are ineffective and do not lead to sustainable impact

Chamber

IndividualConsulting

of SMEs

GroupConsulting

of SMEs

Effective but extremely expensive

Less effective per SMEbut the costs can be

financed by them

Costs


5. The Nucleus: Economic Development

• Many projects try to influence the development of the economy through the intense promotion of a small number of enterprises so that they prosper and grow

• The Nucleus Approach tries to reach as many as possible enterprises through a “Nucleus Movement”– The individual enterprise may grow less– But changes of the total amount of enterprises

may have a considerable impact on the economy, while using the auto-dynamic of the process


The Nucleus: Economic Development

SMEQuantity

SME Growth

General Rule:In order to reach a visible and sustainable impact

> do few things !

> but do them very intensively !!!

Nucleus Approach


6. The Nucleus: SME Empowerment

Producer Businesspeople Entrepreneur?Many people in the economy …


The Nucleus: SME Empowerment

• The Nucleus environment stimulates the economic actor– To gain more courage and self-confidence– To design and develop pro-actively his / her

company– To develop ideas and visions …

“I learned through my Nucleus that I am not only a producer of machines but also an entrepreneur!” D. Chandararatne, Dharshana Iron Works, Galewela, Sri Lanka.


7. The Nucleus: Leadership Development

• Chairpersons / board members are often not prepared to run the chamber when elected

• In the Nucleus members and elected speakers /Nucleus presidents can learn how to deal with – Groups of entrepreneurs on the same level– All chamber businesses

“The Nucleus, that is our school for future chamber leaders!” A Brazilian chamber president


8. The Nucleus: Project Design

• The traditional way of planning and implementing a project:– Definition of a goal– Elaboration of a set of instruments and

activities– Calculation of costs and financing– Definition of necessary staff (donor,

counterpart organisation, other participating institutions) and their qualifications

– Start of the implementation ...


The Nucleus: Project Design

• … followed often by frustrations that the actors– Counterpart staff– Chamber honorary and professional staff

is not sufficient qualified for the application of the instruments and the implementation of the project

“The project is good, but with these people … impossible …”



GoalInstrumen

ts

Development of the project design

Staff

Definition of the goal & selection of instruments underconsideration of the capacities of the staff



• Results:The counterpart staff is after a short time – capable to disseminate the messages, – train others and – accompany the implementation of activities



• Results:Newly contracted chamber counsellors – with a certain personality – but with limited professional capacities, – whose salaries the chambers are able to finance,– trained very fast in moderation and group

working,– can

organise the Nuclei, learn and step-by-step grow with them


9. The Nucleus: Democratization

• Raul, Fundasol, Uruguay:“This means you want to democratise business chambers? “– Democratisation:

participation, actively decision taking, influence the social / economic environment,bottom-up movement

• Answer:“Yes …. But pssst, do not talk about it!”


10. The Nucleus

“What you are doing there with these SME-Nuclei,in reality, is very simple …

… but very difficult to understand!”

Vininius Lummertz, Director SEBRAE, Brazil


Nucleus-International.net

• This file is part of our material to present and illustrate our activities to professional and elected officials of business associations, personnel from technical cooperation projects, and other people with an interest in this field. We are involved in a constant process of elaborating and improving this material, and targeting it to the demands of specific groups.

• You may use, copy, and change this file as you like (we do not insist on a copyright).

• We would, however, like to ask you for the following: please send us a copy (as a file or printout) and additional information if you use the file or parts of it.

• Thank you!• The Nucleus-International.net team

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