The Reliant
Energy Information Technology department is a massive organization that is
global in its scope and its responsibilities. Its members are regarded as
the premiere experts in the industry within the realms of Windows 2000
architecture, Novell migrations, Storage Area Networking, Routing and
Switching, and a variety of other bleeding-edge technologies. Within this
organization, a variety of platforms and mechanisms are supported. The
level of complexity of the IT architecture is staggering, and the teams
and organizational infrastructure designed to control these diverse and
complex technologies can be equally baffling. However, processes that
have been developed by management greatly facilitate the exchange of
communication between diverse departments within the IT organization, and
contribute to the positive and communication-based culture.
Communication is an important subject for any organization, but it is
critically so for any large IT organization. This is due to the fact that
any effect or change on a software or hardware platform can have dramatic
results in other areas of the IT environment. For example, a seemingly
minor change in the backend of an Oracle database could render the
energy-brokering software front-end unable to format database results,
resulting in confusion and a loss of trading ability. Even the addition
of a new server requires the coordination of three to four different
groups within the IT organization. For this reason, the IT department has
adopted a number of methods to facilitate communication. Once a week,
managers compile information on all outstanding or critical issues through
team meetings. In these meetings, team members are encouraged to vent
frustrations, technology problems, and new ideas to streamline and improve
performance. This information and all relevant documentation are then
taken to a manager meeting, where these issues and problems are
discussed. If the technical issue is extremely complex, invitations are
extended to technical professionals who are subject matter experts. In
this forum, cross-functionality between diverse groups is addressed.
It is important to note that many informal channels of communication also
exist, vertical as well as horizontal. Employees are encouraged to
approach respective managers with any concerns. Employees are also
empowered to deal with technical issues by approaching relevant
individuals and ascertaining the exact nature of the problem through
face-to-face or electronic communication. Also, the practice of mentoring
junior professionals is heavily relied upon. Senior level professionals
are encouraged to establish relationships with junior professionals and
aid them in the technical and professional development through the
exchange of ideas and information.
The efforts that management has expended to ensure an open and easily
accessible communications channel has reaped tremendous benefits in the
spheres of problem resolution and customer advocacy, but have also
resulted in a very positive and employee-oriented culture. Employees are
free to express ideas and concerns in a relatively open environment, and
even concerns that do not bear technical relevancy serve to educate junior
members about the role and function of complex technologies. Expectations
for employee performance are realistic, if somewhat challenging, and the
goals for each employee as well as the team are clearly defined and
documented by managers through interaction with employees. Reliant Energy
attempts to employ individuals from diverse ethnic backgrounds, and does
not discriminate in the process of promotion or demotion. Consequently,
the individuals that are promoted to management or recognized as critical
success factors are recognized as such, instead of the usual prevailing
attitudes that those individuals were sycophantic or obsequious. The
culture is based upon success and competency, and follows the strategic
goals of excellence and innovation that the organization has established.
Culture has effectively become a function of the processes and values that
the company has established, rather than a focused goal from which these
processes are derived.
This is not to
say that conflict is nonexistent with Reliant Energy; in any environment
where there are a vast number of people working under pressure to achieve
challenging goals, there is the possibility of personality clashes,
miscommunication, and disagreement. Conflict management is based upon
manager arbitration and employee advocacy. Employees that disagree or
those who have developed interpersonal stresses that are effecting the
overall success of the team are encouraged to discuss there problems with
each other with a supervisor or a senior team member present, who does not
participate. Employees and team members are encouraged to settle
disagreements on their own. In many cases, it has been determined that
miscommunication has been the principle culprit in creating these
problems. Misunderstood email is the primary factor in horizontal
employee disagreements, and face-to-face meetings have resulted in the
resolution and even closure of these problems.
In addition, due to the extremely competitive nature of Reliant Energy's
business, as well as prevailing marketplace conditions, functional
disagreements between competitors erupt over a variety of legal or social
issues. The marketplace has turned functional disagreements into an
opportunity for the advancement of corporate objectives through the use of
the legal system. Almost all functional disagreements are immediately
relegated to the legal department, and litigation is not uncommon. The
situation is perhaps best expressed by Danny DeVito in the movie
Other
People's Money,
where he describes the process as follows:
"Lawyers
are like nuclear warheads. I have them because the other
guy has them, but the first time you use them, it
[expletive]s
everything
up."
For this reason, as well as other more operative reasons, functional
disagreements are rarely ever worked out in an amicable manner, and end up
buried in a tangle of legal briefs and court documents.
The mechanisms that are in place today at Reliant Energy are significantly
facilitated by the implementation of technology within the different
groups and teams within the IT department. Email is a primary tool for
communication, particularly when remote sites are involved, or when
geographic distances restrict voice communication from a time frame
perspective. Even within localized geographic situations, email is
prevalent, and is the accepted medium for documenting work progress and
the articulation of problems. Of course, Reliant Energy's dependence on
technology to accomplish its business objectives cannot be ignored;
organizations of this size that exist within the framework of energy and
trading have a critical need to sustain a comprehensive IT infrastructure,
and to ensure its availability. Even within the IT department, dependence
on IT resources is vital to the continuous operation of internal
processes. SAP defines inventory and billing. Routing and switching
maintain communications. SANs create manageable storage for applications
and data. Tivoli manages the enterprise. The IT department supports and
maintains the different hardware and software applications that allow
Reliant Energy to continue to breathe. IT is a fundamental force in our
department, and in our company. It has streamlined processes and
significantly improved worker productivity. Technology is as pervasive at
Reliant Energy as writing instruments were in the generation before this
one.