🚀 go-pugleaf

----------------------------Original message----------------------------
In response to the concept that "fear works" based on the persecution
of Jews in WWII, and what is happening in Bosnia is IMO an inappropriate
analogy.

How can you compare those types of conditions to what is in the workplace
today?  You know when fear works?  It works when you are locked in a cage
with a lion. You will do anything to get out of that cage.

It is an important point that was made previously regarding GM.  GM is
so often used by consultants I've dealt with as an example of how NOT
to do things.  One tour of a GM plant confirmed this to me.  The entire
organizational culture is based on fear.  Just talking to workers on
the shop floor gives you ample evidence of that.  Getting slightly off-topic
another problem with GM's organizational culture is the clear distinction
between worker and manager.  There is a definite void betweeen the two.

Workers have a meagre, unkept lunchroom, while management have dining
facilities equivalent to a high priced restaurant.  But I digress from
the original point.

But let me use myself as an example albeit I am by no means a statistically
significant sample.  When I worked at a large metal stamping company in
Canada, fear was the backbone of the organizational culture.  My immediate
supervisor used fear constantly as a "motivational tactic" with me.  I
would dread coming to work and having to face him.  In retrospect, I can
remember that my creative and analytical skills actually degraded steadily
over time.  I was deathly afraid of going beyond the "operating parameters"
established by my superior.  In the beginning I tried to fight the effect
this was having on me.  But, eventually I couldn't win.  I am sincerely
very happy to have been laid off by this organization and resume my career
as a management consultant.

The plant manager at this plant would regularly use fear and humiliation
to "motivate" the workforce.  I remember during a management meeting a
colleague of mine was asked to give a presentation.  In my opinion he
had performed a good job.  However, the plant manager didn't see it that
way.  Instead he publicly berated this man for his "poor performance". I
could see the effect this had on him.  To make matters even worse in the
minutes of the meeting that was given out to all management staff this
man's name was listed as demonstrating "unacceptable performance".  It is
hard to believe that this kind of incident would occur in the 1990s but
it did.

What happened to this plant?  They lost 1/3 of their business to their major
customer, Ford.  At my last contact they were about to lose their General
Motors contract for unacceptable quality levels.  The plant has been losing
money since 1990.  It would not be a difficult prediction to make that this
plant does not have much "life" left.  You can only lose so much before the
well runs dry.

What is also interesting about this story is that the "sister" plant in the
same company, with the same tools, customers, conditions, is profitable. What
was the difference?  Management.  In this plant, management and workers
acted together.  The plant manager instilled a culture of open communication
and trust.  So there you have two plants, virtually identical, with the only
difference being the plant culture.  I don't have any statistics to back
up my claims, only personal experience.

Regards,


Robert Spector, BASc
Management Consultant

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