• Scotiabank implemented a shared services model by transferring most of the administrative work to branches to form a shared services department. Agency staff can thus concentrate on customer service and benefit from greater autonomy. By giving teams increased autonomy and responsibility through a multifunctional approach, organizations can achieve flexibility (Kanter, 1983; Walton & Hackman, 1986). However, multifunctionalism does not simply refer to employees' expanded tasks; Furthermore, it should never be an excuse for an organization to streamline or eliminate jobs. My experience in the military provided an example of the dysfunction of the multifunctional approach. During my military service, the Taiwanese military had just completed a three-year plan to reduce 20,000 armed forces (about 6% of the armed forces). As a result, many units suffered from a severe shortage of NCOs (NCOs) and enlisted personnel. As many roles were reserved for NCOs only, most NCOs in combat units had to take on multiple irrelevant tasks. For example, as a battalion-level NCO in an anti-aircraft unit, I was responsible not only for the training and education of officers and enlisted personnel, but also other duties for which I had not been trained, particularly the 12-hour shift. air defense radar surveillance and maintenance of engineering equipment. Such a poorly designed cross-functional team design does not empower team members; on the contrary, it contributes to low morale, low productivity and regular staff fatigue. Organizations must understand the goals of cross-functional teams before implementation. Through task analysis and evaluations, an organization is able to decide which tasks should...... middle of paper ......organizational development. It is a well-designed integrated system of training and development, reward and compensation, and talent management. • Tennessee Eastman has a very innovative compensation system. Teams must first meet a set of technical, social and business knowledge expectations set by a cross-functional compensation policy team. Only when all team members meet initial expectations can they participate in the Pay for Applied Skills and Knowledge (PASK) plan. The PASK has six levels and includes a range of “skill areas”. Team members must master additional technical skills and hold at least two team leadership roles. As team members move up the ranks in the system, their learning goals will shift from a series of skills to a specialization, and eventually team members will need to choose a career path. (Wellins et al.., 1994)