ACTIVITY THEORY MODEL

Application in the Automotive Industry

Jon Aldazabal, Gaizka Ballesteros

MIK S.Coop. Uribarri etorbidea 19, Mondragón Gipuzkoa, Spain

Juan Antonio Martín

MIK S.Coop. Uribarri etorbidea 19, Mondragón, Gipuzkoa, Spain

Keywords: Activity theory, activity analysis, processes reorganization.

Abstract: Activity Theory is a set of basic principles that constitute a general conceptual system, rather than a highly

predictive theory and constitutes an adequate research tool in order to generate organizational activity

changes. This paper intends to show the activity theory model and to present a real case of its application in

a real organization and how the model has achieved company’s reorganization.

1 INTRODUCTION

MIK S.Coop.

applies the activity theory in many of

its projects to analyse and redefine the way

companies are working in any of its processes. This

paper intends to show the activity theory model and

to present a real case of its application in a real

organization.

2 THE ACTIVITY

THEORY MODEL

2.1 The Basic Principles of Activity

Theory

Activity Theory is a set of basic principles that

constitute a general conceptual system, rather than a

highly predictive theory and constitutes an adequate

research tool in order to generate organizational

activity changes. The basic principles of Activity

Theory include the hierarchical structure of activity,

object-orientedness, internalization/externalization,

tool mediation, and development.

MIK S.Coop. is the management research centre of the MCC

industrial group (Mondragon Corporación Cooperativa).

www.mik.es

2.2 Hierarchical Structure of Activity

In Activity Theory the unit of analysis is an activity

directed at an object which motivates activity, giving

it a specific direction. Activities are composed of

goal-directed actions that must be undertaken to

fulfil the object. Actions are conscious, and different

actions may be undertaken to meet the same goal.

Actions are implemented through automatic

operations. Operations do not have their own goals;

rather they provide an adjustment of actions to

current situations. Activity Theory holds that the

constituents of activity are not fixed, but can

dynamically change as conditions change.

2.3 Object-orientedness

The principle of “object-orientedness” (not to be

confused with object-oriented programming) states

that human beings live in a reality that is objective in

a broad sense: the things that constitute this reality

have not only the properties that are considered

objective according to natural sciences but

socially/culturally defined properties as well.

2.4 Internalization/ Externalization

Activity Theory differentiates between internal and

external activities. It emphasizes that internal

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Aldazabal J., Ballesteros G. and Antonio Martín J. (2007).

ACTIVITY THEORY MODEL - Application in the Automotive Industry.

In Proceedings of the Ninth International Conference on Enterprise Information Systems, pages 615-619

 SciTePress

activities cannot be understood if they are analyzed

separately from external activities, because they

transform into each other. Internalization is the

transformation of external activities into internal

ones. Internalization provides a means for people to

try potential interactions with reality without

performing actual manipulation with real objects

(mental simulations, imaginings, considering

alternative plans, etc.). Externalization transforms

internal activities into external ones. Externalization

is often necessary when an internalized action needs

to be “repaired,” or scaled. It is also important when

a collaboration between several people requires their

activities to be performed externally in order to be

coordinated.

2.5 Mediation

Activity Theory emphasizes that human activity is

mediated by tools in a broad sense. Tools are created

and transformed during the development of the

activity itself and carry with them a particular

culture - historical remains from their development.

So, the use of tools is an accumulation and

transmission of social knowledge. Tool use

influences the nature of external behavior and also

the mental functioning of individuals.

2.6 Development

In Activity Theory development is not only an

object of study, it is also a general research

methodology. The basic research method in Activity

Theory is not traditional laboratory experiments but

the formative experiment which combines active

participation with monitoring of the developmental

changes of the study participants. Ethnographic

methods that track the history and development of a

practice have also become important in recent work.

2.7 Integration of the Principles

These basic principles of Activity Theory should be

considered as an integrated system, because they are

associated with various aspects of the whole activity.

A systematic application of any of these principles

makes it eventually necessary to engage all the other

ones.

3 ACTIVITY THEORY MODEL

In the model (see Figure 1), the subject refers to the

individual or sub-group whose agency is chosen as

the point of view in the analysis. The object refers to

the ‘raw material’ or ‘problem space’ at which the

activity is directed and which is molded and

transformed into outcomes with the help of physical

and symbolic, external and internal mediating

instruments, including both tools and signs. The

community comprises multiple individuals and/or

sub-groups who share the same general object and

who construct themselves as distinct from other

communities. The division of labor refers to both

the horizontal division of tasks between the

members of the community and to the vertical

division of power and status. Finally the rules refer

to the explicit and implicit regulations, norms and

conventions that constrain actions and interactions

within the activity system.

Different subjects, due to their different histories

and positions in the division of labor, construct the

object and the other components of the activity in

different, partially overlapping and partially

conflicting ways.

There is constant construction and renegotiation

within the activity system. Coordination between

different versions of the object must be achieved to

ensure continuous operation. Tasks are reassigned

and redivided, rules are bent and reinterpreted.

There is also incessant movement between the

nodes of the activity. What initially appears as object

may soon be transformed into an outcome, then

turned into an instrument, and perhaps later into a

rule (Engeström, 1996). For instance, an unusual

medical case first appears as a problem, is

transformed into a successful diagnosis and

treatment, the account of which is used

instrumentally as a prototype or model for other

similar cases, and is gradually sedimented and

petrified into a rule requiring certain procedures in

all cases that fit the category. On the other hand,

rules may be questioned, reinterpreted and turned

into new tools and objects.

4 ACTIVITY THEORY

APPLICATION IN THE

AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY

This section intends to present a real case of activity

theory application in a real organization.

The organization designs and manufactures

tooling and machinery for the iron and aluminium

foundry industry, mainly for the automotive sector.

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Subject: Project manager, Technical manager and

Designers

Instruments / artifacts: spreadsheet, project

management programme

Division of labour:

 Project manager: he defines project’s phases’

deadlines (long-term planning).

 Technical manager: He is responsible for

managing design activities that is to say, for

defining short-term deadlines and its

monitoring and for assigning designers to each

specific activity.

 Designer: He develops product’s design.

This division of labour is all right in theory, but

in practice technical managers feel more

comfortable designing than managing their

department. They were designers before being

Technical managers and in spite of having new

responsibilities they haven’t fully assumed them. If

there are problems with the activities deadlines they

rarely adopt the necessary measures to correct it.

Therefore, Technical Office work usually arrives

late to the following process phases (CAM,

manufacturing, assembly).

Rules:This company is organized in customer

teams, depending on technologies (iron, aluminium

or injection). Each team’s structure is formed by a

project manager, a technical manager, designers, a

quality manager, an assembly manager and assembly

workers. Manufacturing is common for all the

teams.

The main goal of this organization is to provide a

personalized attention to customers but, on the other

hand we loose flexibility. In practice we find a

problem when there are significant work level

differences among teams because they are

specialised in their customers and they are not used

to sharing their resources. This problem is even

more critic in the technical office, which is usually

the origin of the delivery delays. Technical

managers don’t like “lending” their designers to

other teams.

In addition to work level balance problem there

is a huge lack of standardization (different

documents, different design programmes, etc.).

Technical managers are focused on their own teams

and they don’t manage together their department.

Meetings among technical managers don’t even

exist.

Community: Directly, all the departments which

take part in the order – delivery process (project

managers, technical office, manufacturing,

assembly).

Indirectly, the whole organization and its customers.

4.5 New Configuration of the Processes

Once all the analysis elements have been defined,

and specially focused on the tensions identified

during the activity, we organized interdisciplinary

sessions in order to find some alternative activities

with the objective of tension reduction.

Within each session there was an interesting

dynamic between open-ended dialogue technique

and the desire for reliable data. The influence of

observation on the observed is a well known

phenomenon. The mere act of watching may help

subjects to increase their awareness of mediating

instruments, rules and the activity system object.

Clearly, the group became more aware of

misalignments in their work methods or tools.

As we said, the briefing, especially the

discussion of tension between the subjects and

division of labour served as a catalyst for dialogue

between de interdisciplinary group. This dialogue

created a new depth of understanding among the

whole process. Having a representative of each part

of the process to discuss more deeply the meaning

and implications of the process analysis contributed

significantly to the appreciation of the whole group

and permitted to arise some solutions or changes

described in next lines.

Subject: Project manager, Technical manager,

Designers and Technical Director (new figure).

Division of labour:

 Project manager: he defines project’s

phases’ deadlines (long-term planning).

 Technical director: he manages the

technical office (resources assignment,

innovation, standardization, activities

monitoring, etc.).

 Technical manager: He is responsible for

the engineering and design activities of his

projects.

 Designer: He develops product’s design.

Rules: Technical office needed a new figure who

really managed the department. In the new model

developed technical managers continue working in

customer teams but designers are not members of a

customer team but of different projects. The

technical Director is the person who assigns

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designers to each project. He knows workloads and

he can decide which project needs which designer.

Moreover, designers will work with different

customers / technologies and technical office will

increase its flexibility.

Technical director will not only balance

workloads but he will also assume the department

standardization activities (documents, checklists,

CAD programmes) and he will lead all innovation

and improvement initiatives.

Instruments: an ERP will be implemented to

improve the organization’s management (to

standardize processes, to avoid documents

duplications, etc.)

5 CONCLUSIONS

Actions can not be analysed as if they were isolated

activities. The Activity Theory defines and takes

into account all the elements taking part in the

activity, not only the subject and the outcome but

also the object, the division of labour, the

instruments, the community involved in the action

and existing rules and culture.

Relations among the different elements defined

are dynamic and can change if the ambient

conditions change, so the moment’s conditions

determines each analysis results and if conditions

change it will be necessary to make a new study.

The Activity Theory offers us a theoretical

framework to study social practices. The greatest

asset in an organization is its people, that is to say,

its employees’ knowledge, capabilities and acts.

Consequently, Activity Theory provides an

important potential to be applied in companies and

contribute to analyse most of its problems.

REFERENCES

Engeström, Y., Middleton, D., 1996. Cognition and

communication at work. Cambridge University Press.

New York.

Engeström, Y., 2005 Developmental Work Research.

Expanding Activity Theory in Practice. Lehmanns

Media. Berlin.

Engeström, Y., Miettinen, R., Punamäki, R.L. 1999.

Perspectives on Activity Theory. Cambridge

University Press. New York.

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