Manufacturing Systems Foundations of World-Class Practice (1992) / Chapter Skim
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Involvement and Empowerment: The Modern Paradigm for Management Success
Involvement and Empowerment: The Modern Paradigm for Management Success
Pages 85-92
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From page 85... ...
Reasonably inexpensive transportation and highly reliable communication systems, combined with new approaches to managing and controlling the manufacturing enterprise, enabled manufacturers in all segments of the globe to compete in markets that had previously been reserved to those who manufactured where the product was marketed. Furthermore, the plateau on which the competitive battle was joined focused not just on costs but on quality, responsiveness, and flexibility all in the name of satisfying a reawakened interest in providing customers with what they needed or demanded.
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From page 86... ...
firms were confronted with the highly unpleasant alternative of changing their ways of doing business or facing extinction. It was in this environment the new competitive environment of the mid-1970s to early 1980s that U.S.
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From page 87... ...
Although certain organizational structures and systems are required in larger organizations, the effort to accomplish meaningful employee involvement and empowerment is directed at preventing the organizational structure and systems from providing barriers to finding the best solutions to problems. Furthermore, the involvement process provides a means of humanizing the organization and maintaining participation by individuals at all levels a process that is intended to lift the organization to new heights of competitive performance through the best use of the skills and interests of the individual.
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From page 88... ...
What differentiated the Ford experience from other quality circle efforts at the same time efforts that consistently ran out of steam was the fortuitous combination of several elements. These included timing the near-depression that hit the manufacturing sector at the same time the project was launched; the care taken to prepare each plant, one at a time, to install quality circles; and the vitality that was inadvertently built into the process when age-old adversaries union leaders and line managers were "married" to provide joint oversight to the change efforts.
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From page 89... ...
The job of speaking _ on behalf of the change effort was undertaken by two people with high visibility and credibility in the plants: Peter Pestillo, Ford's vice president for labor relations, and Don Ephlin, vice president of the United Automobile Workers' Ford Department. For several months, on request, they jointly visited plants to hold informal meetings with line managers and union officials.
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From page 90... ...
6. Such efforts are sustained when they are tied to competitive improvement- ours has lasted through changes in union leadership, plant managers, vice presidents, and business cycles.
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From page 91... ...
A series of business conferences and workshops was organized for teams that made up the total business group. These meetings involved middle managers who shared common issues, for example, management teams from plants that produced similar products and the entire executive body from division headquarters who oversaw that constellation of plants.
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From page 92... ...
CONCLUSIONS An effective work force that is encouraged to search for ways of achieving continuous improvement is a key foundation of the modern manufacturing enterprise. Employee involvement in problem identification and employee empowerment that encourages the employee to take actions in creating a more efficient and effective system are critical to becoming world class.
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