Abstract fo Chevron's Western BusinessUnit
ARTICLE SUMMARY
Donald D. Parker
COM 515
Linda T. Kulka
June 7, 2003
I choose to read the article “Self Managed Work Teams” from the selected readings of
the COM 515 course material. The article focused on Chevron oil company’s Western
Production Business Unit. The three key points of the article:
1. That companies are increasingly employing the team concept.
2. That the team concept has increased the efficiency of Chevron’s Western
Production Business Unit.
3. That the team concept should not be viewed as a quick fix.
The article points out the reason for Chevron’s decision to employ the team concept
Was due to the need to foster team work, increase employee involvement, and
Cultivate employee empowerment. The article also pointed out the need for various
personnel from all areas of the organization to participate in the team organizing but
spent very little time discussing the draw backs of forming teams, The need to train team
members and the cost of transition from one organizational norm to a totally foreign
concept.