Are we treating each other fairly? – A work perspective
I was fascinated by this story that I came across about factory workers in Argentina, taking over an abandoned factory and putting it back into operation under better conditions. See the story at:
LabourNet
It is a must read.
Now there are many issues with this action from both sides – previous managements inability to operate profitably; how management treated the workers; the workers occupation of property not their own.
But a nugget that intrigues me the most, is that the workers have made the factory better than it was before now that they work for themselves. This leads to an inevitable question – can we get more from ourselves and/or our employees if we are fair to each other? Fairness can mean more than pay, for example share options, work conditions, participation in the company direction. All of these are not possible without a facilitative change agent(s) or mediator, but it is possible.
I am reminded of a story of Harley Davidson in the US, where in the ’80’s management partnered with unions to save the company from bankruptcy. See the full story at bNET.
Management met for months with groups from all departments, from engineering to maintenance. Says Gelb: ”No changes were implemented until the people involved understood and accepted them. It took two months before the consensus decision was made to go ahead. That was a Friday — and we started making the changes on Monday.” About three weeks later Beals walked around the plant asking workers on the line how the conversion was going. To his surprise and delight, he says, the answer was generally, ”Well, we have some problems, but it’s a lot better than it was before, and we will get those problems fixed.” Says Beals: ”That reaction demonstrated the true value of employee ^ involvement. Normally, the engineers would figure out how to make the changes. They would have made them with the usual number of errors, and the reaction then would have been, ‘Those dummies screwed up again.’ And worse yet, the employees wouldn’t have lifted a finger to help solve the problems.” It took more than just-in-time and employee involvement to make Harley a competitive manufacturer — the company learned that it also had to teach workers the statistical tools for monitoring and controlling the quality of their own work, train skeptical plant managers to become team leaders instead of bosses, and help its suppliers to adopt similar methods. Even today the company says the process won’t be complete until employees are thinking perpetually about their own responsibility for doing the job better. But the dramatic quality improvements and cost reductions that resulted were the foundation of the company’s comeback. Finally on its way to leveling the playing field in manufacturing, Harley shifted its focus to marketing.
Ultimately, there are a lot more complications that exist with this type of issue, however one thing is clear, proper management-employee involvement leads to above average productivity, but this must be accompanied, by agreed checks and balances that ensure that everyone is pulling their weight.
I have seen this at work at one of the multinational companies I worked for, where departments actually monitored their own KPI’s (Key Performance Indicators), and reported them on a notice board for all to see – the good, sometimes bad, but never the ugly.
Cultural changes are ultimately the most difficult ones. They require a lot more mental effort and care, versus putting in a new machine or handing down a directive as the owner, manager or supervisor. But it is precisely these changes that can lead to balance in company objectives vs. employee satisfaction and a greater degree of flexibility in perilous times.
What that means is that hidden agendas and personal motives must be left out, in favour of the greater good. Cynics may say that this is not possible, that greed always wins out, but in times of crisis we see that greed can be exposed and eliminated. Its up to us as individuals to be brave enough to adhere to, and convince others of what’s right – and fair.
What are your thoughts?
Randall Douglas – Ingenuity Team