Problem 2: No Representation for Employees
“You did overhear a variety of grumblings about poor communication, unsafe conditions, clueless managers, and low pay. You may have even heard them mention something about organizing a union” (Doohickeys Case Study). Doohickeys, Inc. doesn’t have proper representation for their employees and there is talk of unionizing among the factory workers. Besides the “union talk”, the more alarming problem is the apparent look of boredom and exhaustion of employees who work on the factory floor. Lack of care seems to be the cause of injury and excess “garbage product” being produced on the floor (Doohickeys Case Study). While it would be simple to say the problems resulting on the factory floor are simply …show more content…
The previously mentioned “grumblings” from disgruntled employees was only overheard by the new HR representative, which makes it apparent in the case study that the employees do not trust management enough to approach them directly. This really comes as no surprise when the President of the company is overheard, “yelling again in his office about paying too much for lazy, unmotivated employees.” (Doohickeys Case Study) Ultimately, without employee representation, Doohickeys is losing money. They are losing money because they are missing out on opportunities for increased production with employees who are driven by fairness, representation, and respect. In the case study it goes on, “He explains that some employees have been complaining about the lack of overtime pay.” (Doohickeys Case Study) This lack of overtime pay comes from a clearly mismanaged work schedule where employees are required to work overtime during the week, and then record it as if it was worked a different week so it doesn’t appear on the time cards. This is a blatant disregard for the needs of employees and needs to be corrected by finding ways to …show more content…
There needs to be a proper balance between autonomy and incentive, where employees feel they have enough freedom in their work without upper management hovering over them. Employees need to be given responsibilities and stewardship over their own work in a way that they can take pride in a job well done. When employees feel empowered, they will be more likely to produce quality products. To address in incentive, in an ideal world, incentive pay would drive production to where it needs to be. Based on the Adam Baxter Company case studies, this doesn’t seem to be the case, especially due to the management style of the company. The incentive pay and bonuses earned from reaching targets actually created employees that were apt to quit when the targets were reached. They were guaranteed a hefty bonus at this time, and there really was no reason for them to stay and work longer or harder the rest of the day. (Adam Baxter Company/Local 190 1978 Negotiation Baxter Management Confidential Information) “Ideally, you would like daily targets to reflect the amount of work that could be done by a highly motivated, efficient team in eight hours. Such optimistic targets are very likely to require a higher level of management authority.” (Adam Baxter Company/Local 190 1978 Negotiation Baxter Management
“You did overhear a variety of grumblings about poor communication, unsafe conditions, clueless managers, and low pay. You may have even heard them mention something about organizing a union” (Doohickeys Case Study). Doohickeys, Inc. doesn’t have proper representation for their employees and there is talk of unionizing among the factory workers. Besides the “union talk”, the more alarming problem is the apparent look of boredom and exhaustion of employees who work on the factory floor. Lack of care seems to be the cause of injury and excess “garbage product” being produced on the floor (Doohickeys Case Study). While it would be simple to say the problems resulting on the factory floor are simply …show more content…
The previously mentioned “grumblings” from disgruntled employees was only overheard by the new HR representative, which makes it apparent in the case study that the employees do not trust management enough to approach them directly. This really comes as no surprise when the President of the company is overheard, “yelling again in his office about paying too much for lazy, unmotivated employees.” (Doohickeys Case Study) Ultimately, without employee representation, Doohickeys is losing money. They are losing money because they are missing out on opportunities for increased production with employees who are driven by fairness, representation, and respect. In the case study it goes on, “He explains that some employees have been complaining about the lack of overtime pay.” (Doohickeys Case Study) This lack of overtime pay comes from a clearly mismanaged work schedule where employees are required to work overtime during the week, and then record it as if it was worked a different week so it doesn’t appear on the time cards. This is a blatant disregard for the needs of employees and needs to be corrected by finding ways to …show more content…
There needs to be a proper balance between autonomy and incentive, where employees feel they have enough freedom in their work without upper management hovering over them. Employees need to be given responsibilities and stewardship over their own work in a way that they can take pride in a job well done. When employees feel empowered, they will be more likely to produce quality products. To address in incentive, in an ideal world, incentive pay would drive production to where it needs to be. Based on the Adam Baxter Company case studies, this doesn’t seem to be the case, especially due to the management style of the company. The incentive pay and bonuses earned from reaching targets actually created employees that were apt to quit when the targets were reached. They were guaranteed a hefty bonus at this time, and there really was no reason for them to stay and work longer or harder the rest of the day. (Adam Baxter Company/Local 190 1978 Negotiation Baxter Management Confidential Information) “Ideally, you would like daily targets to reflect the amount of work that could be done by a highly motivated, efficient team in eight hours. Such optimistic targets are very likely to require a higher level of management authority.” (Adam Baxter Company/Local 190 1978 Negotiation Baxter Management