Workplace by Design Mapping the High-Performance Workscape

Create workspace that supports business strategiesSpace is an organization's second most valuable asset. Yet little attention is paid to how it supports the new ways in which today's organizations operate---teamwork, flattened hierarchies, telecommuting, collaborating across functions. Workplace by Design shows CEOs and managers alike how to put aside and rethink conventional, awkward notions of space utilization based on hierarchy and status--notions that pit people against each other in turf wars, tear apart teams, and tie up company cash. Using illustrative examples from Digital Equipment Corporation, Steelcase, and others, the authors show how team environments, non-territorial offices and other strategies can support business objectives, energize employees, and produce a more competitive organization.

FRANKLIN BECKER is director of the International Workplace Studies Program at Cornell University and president of Becker-Sims Associates, Inc. FRITZ STEELE was formerly on the faculty of Yale and Harvard Universities, and is a principal and founder of the Portsmouth Consulting Group.