Hewlett-Packard is a technology company that operates in more than 170 countries around the world and ranks number nine on the 2009 Fortune 500 list. The Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative at the Kennedy School of Government seeks to study and enhance the public contributions of private enterprise.

Hewlett Packard asked HNMCP to develop and deliver a consensus-building workshop for members of management, human resources, labor representatives, and others impacted by the factory (the system design team). In addition, HNMCP facilitated a joint-brainstorming session for these parties to discuss process options as well as grievance design possibilities for the factory.

Our work

Step 1: Submission to Chicony management of a preliminary HNMCP study (hyperlinked to HP-1 project) of the factory’s current grievance system; requesting feedback and engagement around our findings.

Step 2: Preparation of an interactive workshop to present the concept of consensus building, and walk the training participants through the key process-design decisions they will have to consider in structuring a consensus-based redesign effort.

Step 3: Travel to Dongguan, China, in May 2010 to deliver the training, and produce a process “road-map” for Chicony management.

Final Product

Using what we learned during the brainstorming process, we will compile for the Chicony system design team a provisional “process road-map,” on how it can structure a consensus-based effort to improve its worker grievance system.  This road map will be complete with an idea of who will be included in that process, how these individuals will be selected so as to most accurately represent the stakeholder group they represent, and how the process will be structured and financed.