Workplace by design

by Franklin D. Becker

Space is an organization's second most valuable resource, yet little attention is paid to how it supports the new ways of working or the high-performance business strategies driving corporations today. In Workplace by Design, Franklin Becker and Fritz Steele address the missing link for a successfully reengineered organization: the reengineered office. With graphic illustrations and examples from Levi Strauss, Chrysler Corporation, Steelcase, Chiat/Day and others, the authors show how to plan, design, and manage a total workplace in which space is a tool for achieving business goals, not a drain on profits. They demonstrate how managers, executives, human resource specialists, and design consultants can keep the physical work setting from undermining the success of workplace initiatives - such as teamwork, telecommuting, and cross-functional collaboration - that encourages high performance. Workplace by Design illustrates how companies have treated effective alternative workplace strat