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IRE244H1 Chapter Notes - Chapter 2: Ivan Rand, Social Movement Unionism, Windsor, Ontario

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carmineduck597
8 Jul 2018
School
UTSG
Department
Industrial Relations and Human Resources
Course
IRE244H1
Professor
Patrick Clifford

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Document Summary

As an employee today you have many rights and protection that your grandparents never had, and you take these rights and protections for granted. To understand just how far we have (cid:272)o(cid:373)e, let"s e(cid:454)a(cid:373)i(cid:374)e the t(cid:455)pes of (cid:449)orkpla(cid:272)e pra(cid:272)ti(cid:272)es prior to the la(cid:271)or (cid:373)o(cid:448)e(cid:373)e(cid:374)t. The employer as the master, made all the rules. The employee, as a servant, was required to follow these rules and the employees had limited protection or rights because the basis of the relationship was common law, which is the legal regime for nonunion employment. Under this it was required that workers perform work and get paid for that work, but common law today presents many more rights than it did a 100 years ago. It was illegal for workers to form a union, illegal for them to quit, and they were forced into agreeing to employment terms. Government did nothing for employees, and in fact helped employers coerce power.

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Related Questions

I need a diferent point of view and someones opinion on this article.

Reforming the U.S. system of collective bargaining Collective bargaining procedures and relationships between labor and management must reflect less conflict, more cooperation as the Nation's economy struggles to meet international competition and domestic needs D. QUINN MILLS Rules as a productivity drain Rules alone cannot ensure that an organization will perform well. They may keep it from dissolving into self-defeating open warfare, but often do not permit it to achieve its potential. An organization which depends upon adherence to a myriad of rules will always be vulnerable to competition from other organizations which operate in a more consensual and cooperative fashion, even when the latter have fewer resources. And, although an organization of rules may sometimes pull it-self together to respond to an emergency, this need not necessarily occur. It follows, then, that primary dependence on establishing and enforcing rules is a very poor way to run an economic enterprise. The existence of a multitude of rules, many of which attempt to "stretch the work" to maintain jobs in ways reminiscent of depression-era tactics, constrains productivity and raises costs. For example, maintenance classifications may prohibit an employee from doing incidental work outside the strict limits of his or her trade; multiple job classifications may exist even where a person in a single combined classification could do the work effectively, without undue effort and stress; and, job classifications may be perpetuated although technological change has rendered the incumbents' work trivial. Other restrictions may limit the amount of work a person may be assigned, such as permitting a mechanic to open only two flanges. The location of materials and inventory may be restricted by contract or past practice to retain jobs in now-inefficient areas of the plant. In some cases, rules may prohibit employees being assigned work during breaks, and simultaneously prohibit supervisors from doing the employees' work, so that emergencies occurring at coffee breaks or lunchtime cannot be legally handled under the agreement. Over time, rules tend to become increasingly costly and constraining as technology, materials, products, and other aspects of production change. Even rules which made great sense at first become out-of-date under changing conditions. But the rules are difficult to change, and particular employees may be further benefited the more outdated the rules become. Sometimes a company can pay a high price and "buy the rules out," or a union can persuade some workers to give up favored positions for the good of the membership as a group. But often, change cannot be accomplished without a bitter struggle between management and labor. Furthermore, the rule making process promotes a set of attitudes which are inimical to successful enterprise. The existence of the rulebook encourages both management and labor to assert their rights under the contract, rather than to attempt to work out problems. It gives rise to "shop-floor lawyers," rather than problem solvers. It fosters conflict and controversy. It undermines trust. To a large degree, it seems that unions have become captives of their origins. Born in adversity and conflict, they continued to act as opponents of management even when their strength had become much greater. In some instances, unions have created thickets of rules in which to immobilize management, just as spiders build webs to ensnare prey. But when the thickets of rules have crippled productivity, the unions have discovered themselves to be caught alongside management in the trap. Plants have declined in competitiveness, and jobs have been lost. The unions have discovered too late that a snare is no less a snare because they have set it themselves. A prescription for change In a recent survey conducted by the Harris organization, a majority of the general public professed the belief that unions contribute less than they once did to the growth and efficiency of business. Not surprisingly, only 15 percent of union leaders agreed with this judgment.' The need for unions to assist companies in the light of increased foreign competition is apparent to the public. To the inhabitants of the Snow Belt, it is similarly evident that unions should cooperate with local business to stem the outflow of industry and jobs to the South and West. Public perceptions of a productivity problem are supported by Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates, which show particularly sluggish growth in output per labor hour after 1973.3 Collective bargaining practiced primarily as rule making has become self-defeating for both unions and management. It interferes with management's efficient operation of the enterprise, and ensnares employees with legitimate grievances in a web of red tape. It also contributes to the vehemence of employer attempts to resist union organization drives. Study after study of U.S. managers has shown that managers fear the imposition of restrictive work practices far more than the higher wages and benefits which unionization may bring. Companies' efforts to make competitive operations out of older plants often fail because changes in current work rules take the form of additional complex rules which do not provide the flexibility needed to turn a facility around. What management really needs is fewer rules altogether, and willing cooperation from the work force. The union, for its side, needs a management sensitive to the needs of people. Both are very difficult to obtain in the U.S. labor relations environment.


TOPICS: Corporate Culture

SUMMARY: Kimberly Clark was a company characterized as paternalistic. It was a place where you could have a job for life. The company paid above market salaries and avoided layoffs. Low performers didn't face consequences and could hide "in the weeds." That's changed as the company significantly overhauled how it evaluates and tracks employees' progress. The company uses performance management software which can quickly recognize those who are performing well or expose those who are not. The company was proud of its low turnover, but now turnover is twice of what it was a decade ago. The company doesn't view this as a problem because the culture changed. These changes are designed to help the company generate more revenue and profit. Companies are moving away from annual performance reviews to continuous oversight and feedback. The goal is to create continuous improvement. Software lets managers track the progress of workers with dashboards that display goals, accomplishments, attendance, peer feedback and other data. The performance culture which requires setting goals and holding workers accountable seems to result in faster growth, higher profitability and a lower likelihood of bankruptcy. Change can be difficult at a company like Kimberly-Clark because it requires a cultural shift.

CLASSROOM APPLICATION: Instead of focusing on the financial performance of a company, this article focuses on the role of culture and management. As times changed, Kimberly-Clark changed its culture. The company had low turnover because employment was for life. The company had to change to become more competitive. The company now tracks, evaluates and communicates with employees using performance management software. The company culture was paternalistic and avoided conflict. Like many other large companies, Kimberly-Clark moved from annual performance reviews to continuous reviews. The company made changes beginning in 2008. It now recognizes the relationship between its human-resource innovations and the stock price. Changes in human resources practices are mostly invisible to analysts and investors. Other factors including lower commodity prices, cost-cutting and growth in emerging markets also likely explain performance. The company no longer promises employment for life and has reduced its workforce by 2,900. The company has gone from a conflict-averse culture to one where "I care enough to tell you the truth."

QUESTIONS:
1. Explain in detail what the term "corporate culture" means?

2. Describe the culture at Kimberly-Clark prior to the changes it instituted starting in 2008.

3. Review the characteristics of performance management software and how it is used at Kimberly-Clark to improve employee performance.

4. How would you describe the current culture at Kimberly-Clark?

5. Why do you think many larger companies are using or plan to use performance management software?

Corporate Culture Change at Kimberly Clark

Diaper and tissue maker shifts from a paternalistic company to one focused on pushing workers to constantly improve, closely tracking progress and shedding laggards

Not long ago, when Kimberly-Clark Corp. employees gathered for interdepartmental meetings, they prefaced their comments with their names and years of service at the company.

These days, “no one cares,” said Scott Boston, vice president of human resources. The attitude in meetings is “ ‘let’s get moving,’ ” he said.

For generations, having a job at Kimberly-Clark meant having a job for life. The maker of household products such as Huggies and Kleenex paid its employees above-market salaries and avoided layoffs.

Even low performers rarely felt pressure. “A lot of people could and would hide in the weeds,” said Rick Herbert, a sales director who retired in 2014 after more than three decades with Kimberly-Clark.

That’s over. One of the company’s goals now is “managing out dead wood,” aided by performance-management software that helps track and evaluate salaried workers’ progress and quickly expose laggards. Turnover is now about twice as high it was a decade ago, with approximately 10% of U.S. employees leaving annually, voluntarily or not, the company said.

Armed with personalized goals for employees and large quantities of data, Kimberly-Clark said it expects employees to keep improving—or else. “People can’t duck and hide in the same way they could in the past,” said Mr. Boston, who oversees talent management globally for the firm.

It has been a steep climb for a company that once resisted conflict and fostered a paternalistic culture that inspired devotion from its workers.

The changes mirror what is happening inside many large companies, where “performance management” reflects the conviction that a sharpened focus on creating a high-performing workforce is a vital tool to generate revenue and profit.

Some of Kimberly-Clark’s best-known products are decades old, including Kotex sanitary napkins, above in 1949, Kleenex tissues and Huggies diapers. Photo: Kimberly-Clark

In the past year, firms including Accenture PLC and General Electric Co. have dropped annual performance reviews in favor of more continuous oversight and feedback from managers, all meant to drive constant improvement.

Coca-Cola Co. in June approved pushing its new performance-management process from the pilot stage to a global rollout. The new system encourages managers to conduct a monthly “reflection” on every direct report, answering five questions that include “Given his/her performance, would you assign this associate to increased scale, scope, and responsibilities?” and “Is this associate at risk for low performance?”

Adobe Systems Inc., which was one of the first big companies to home in on performance management, scrapped its annual review in favor of frequent “check-ins” in 2012.

Performance management shifts companies away from backward-looking, once-a-year reviews framed largely as compliance requirements—a paper trail for potential job cuts and salary decisions—to a process that is real-time, continuous and focused on helping people meet ambitious goals, or move out of the company faster.

The last recession led many employers to rethink the nearly automatic merit raises they had been doling out, forcing them to do a better job identifying high and low performers when giving raises and bonuses. Millennial workers, meanwhile, demand more feedback, more coaching and a stronger sense of their career path.

Companies spend $14 billion a year on products to help manage employees, including human-resources software from Workday Inc., SAP SE ’s SuccessFactors and Cornerstone onDemand Inc., with about $2 billion of that dedicated to performance management, according to human-resources advisers Bersin by Deloitte.

Those systems let managers track workers’ progress via dashboards that display their goals, accomplishments, attendance, peer feedback and other data.

The company was founded in 1872 by Charles B. Clark, Frank C. Shattuck, Havilah Babcock and John A. Kimberly, clockwise from top left. It initially specialized in top-quality newsprint. Photo: Kimberly-Clark

Executives’ use of phrases like “performance culture” in conference calls with analysts and investors has doubled in the past five years, according to a review of transcripts in the Factiva news database. Firms that set goals and hold workers accountable “clearly outperform,” said Nicholas Bloom, an economist at Stanford University and co-author of a recent paper that used Census data to examine more than 32,000 U.S. manufacturing plants. He said they have faster growth, higher profitability and are less likely to go bankrupt.

Some academics say constant monitoring can feel intrusive and threatening to workers, especially those who value stability. But human-resources experts largely agree that the traditional review process is a waste of time and needs an overhaul.

The shift to a performance focus, which requires consistent oversight and sometimes uncomfortable feedback, can be bumpy.

At Kimberly-Clark, CEO Tom Falk—himself a 33-year veteran—pushed the Dallas-based company onto its new course. “We all talk about how having the best team is the most important difference-maker in your results,” said Mr. Falk, who became chief in 2002. “But we didn’t have the supporting processes to make that sustainable.”

In 2008, with the company’s shares stagnant, few innovations in the pipeline and a belief that costs were bloated, the CEO added human-resources executives to the team putting together the firm’s long-term business plan for the first time.

Holding workers close through good times and bad is “not sustainable” any more, said Liz Gottung, the company’s human-resources chief. “If you look at when we started implementing the big pieces of the company’s people strategy, when you map that to our stock price and our business results, you can see the clear correlation.”

Shares closed at a high of $138.13 in April, and its quarterly dividend, which it has raised every year for more than four decades, hit a high of 92 cents a share in February. The share price has more than doubled since 2008.

Engineers in 1948 worked on product development at a company mill in Neenah, Wis. Photo: Kimberly-Clark

Behind-the-scenes changes to human-resources practices are largely invisible to analysts and investors. Analysts attribute Kimberly-Clark’s rising stock price to declining commodity prices, aggressive cost-cutting, growth in emerging markets and a generous dividend payout.

Big cuts

Since 2009 Kimberly-Clark has laid off around 2,900 mostly salaried workers world-wide, some of the first big cuts in the company’s 144-year history. It currently employs about 43,000.

Remaining employees are expected to work “smarter” and meet regularly raised targets. “We have to routinely shuffle the resources and say, what’s the most important thing we need to do today, this week, this month, to drive this objective?” said Stephanie Martin, an engineer who analyzes new product ideas.

Using the Workday tool, Kimberly-Clark’s salaried employees set goals and report their progress, record accomplishments or mistakes, and solicit and send feedback. (Hourly workers don’t use the system.)

The system collects and archives feedback, which can be seen by employees’ managers. It also holds data on staffers’ strengths and development needs, their performance ratings and the risk they might leave the company.

“It’s certainly more challenging” for employees, said Mr. Herbert, the retired sales director. “If you really don’t have the mettle, you’re asked to get on with your life’s work [elsewhere].”

In 2015, Kimberly-Clark retained 95% of its top performers. Among the employees whose work was rated “unacceptable” or “inconsistent,” 44% left the company voluntarily or were let go. Ms. Gottung said she is “pretty pleased” that low-performer turnover has been rising.

Retired sales manager Jeanne Sanders remembers executives boasting about the firm’s low turnover when she interviewed at Kimberly-Clark in 1987. Stories are told about how during the Depression and in more-recent production interruptions, mill managers reconfigured shifts to avoid layoffs.

These days, leadership has communicated to employees that turnover is a good thing, said Chris Luettgen, a senior research manager who left in 2014 to join the engineering faculty of Georgia Tech. “I saw it as a good move in that we could get some new thinking and innovation into our pipeline,” he said.

Mr. Falk, the CEO, reviews 100 senior managers’ performance plans every year to make sure their goals are ambitious and reflect company priorities. Managers are instructed to begin every meeting with a story about how someone demonstrated one of the six behaviors the company promotes, such as “build trust” or “think customer.”

Training sessions

Regular “culture of accountability” sessions train employees in giving and receiving difficult feedback. When a colleague suggests improvements, “the proper response was ‘thank you for the feedback,’ not defensiveness,” Mr. Luettgen said. Employees also practice reinforcing positive behaviors, such as praising a colleague who had given up a weekend to solve a customer complaint.

More than 10,000 of Kimberly-Clark’s workers used the feedback feature in Workday in 2014, and about 25% of the comments were considered “constructive,” while the rest were positive or neutral, said Sandy Allred, a senior director on the talent management team. Staffers can send feedback to peers or workers above or below them.

Making paper for Scott paper towels at the company’s Chester, Pa., mill in 1917. Photo: Kimberly-Clark

An earlier, unpopular system required managers to rank employees in a nine-box grid according to strict percentages, and then put the lowest performers on mandatory performance improvement plans, often the first step to a termination. In 2013, the company switched to the current, more-flexible system, which uses four ratings, with percentages that are suggested for each rating.

Around that time the company trimmed some salaries and put more workers on a bonus plan, to tie pay more closely to performance.

Dave Bernd, a 33-year veteran whose father was a senior executive at the company, said that when he walked on the Roswell, Ga., corporate campus a few months ago he found the old warmth missing. “It doesn’t feel like the family it once was.”

The former manufacturing director, who retired in 2013, said a decade ago, “whether you knew anyone or not,” employees said hello in the parking lot and engaged in camaraderie typical of a smaller company. Even so, he said he approves of the recent management changes.

One of the firm’s core values is still “caring,” said Ms. Gottung, who joined Kimberly-Clark in 1981. “When I started with the company, we were very conflict-averse, very oriented towards consensus,” she said. “And now it’s ‘I care enough about you to tell you the truth.’ ”

CEO Tom Falk, left, at a volunteer event to clean donated furniture, electronics and appliances for needy families in Ventura, Calif., in April. Photo: Michael Kovac/Getty Images for Viva (Kimberly-Clark)

One former employee said he was initially glad that the company was identifying those who weren’t pulling their weight. Then, after earning top reviews over his decadeslong career, he said he was given a low rating and placed on a performance-improvement plan after missing a project deadline. After that, “no one would talk to me” about other positions, he said.

He said the situation eventually improved with a new supervisor, but he still decided to leave the company last year.

In that instance, “did the system work or not? I don’t know,” said Ms. Gottung. With thousands of performance reviews happening every year, “I wish we had 100% satisfaction, but that’s unrealistic. Overall, our employees think this is a fair and equitable process.”

Basma Osman a 27-year-old product-development engineer, considers herself a beneficiary of the new system. Tapped early in her career as a high-potential employee, she was working on health and wellness products but told her manager she was interested in industrial safety. He soon asked her to oversee a $30 million project in that area. “I was terrified,” she said, but she was also grateful that her manager “understood what I wanted and what I’m good at.”

1. Whistleblowing in the private employment sector in the United States typically is

Not protected by a uniform federal law

Protected under some state whistleblower protection statutes

Usually protected by the law if the disclosure is made to the media since the disclosure will be widespread and thus do the most good

Never required morally pursuant to Kantian ethics since the consequences for the whistleblowing employees usually are harsh, for example, loss of employment.

2. Advocate Antonio believes that corporations should not only be held accountable for their financial states, but also for some level of charitable and community and civic involvement. Antonio's beliefs would most likely be defined as:

A code of ethics

A social responsibility view

A corporate moral audit

A distributive justice legal theory.

3. What did Kant mean by the "Categorical" part to his Categorical Imperative?

You must act legally, period, because the "law is the law."

You and your company must act in a socially responsible manner if you and your company want to be placed in the "good corporate citizen" category.

You must act morally if the consequences are definitely good for you and your firm.

You must act morally based on what your reason informs you is the supreme ethical principle and the correct moral course of action regardless of consequences.

4. As to why a company should be a socially responsible one and get involved in civic and charitable affairs, Socrates would likely argue:

Justice is the will of the stronger.

Money comes from virtue.

Ignorance of the law is no excuse.

Virtue comes from money.

5. Happy Feet manufactures shoes in Country Y for sale in the United States. Happy Feet's president discovers that the Country Y workers' average age is sixteen and that they work on average of 13.2 hours per day in a 90 degree warehouse with insufficient safety precautions, all of which practices are legal in Country Y. The president of Happy Feet decides to improve the working hours and conditions of the company's workforce, even though these actions will be more expensive for the company. The president's decision is best described as

Lawful profit maximization

Moral profit-making

Illegal since the shareholders of Happy Feet might be harmed

Social Darwinism.

6. Which of the following statements is most accurate?

Morals are legal minimums.

Morals are legal maximums.

Laws are moral minimums.

Laws are moral maximums.

7. International Sales Corporation, like other business, has enforceable duties prescribed by

Ethics and the law

Ethics only

Neither ethics nor the law

The law only

8. Which is an accurate statement about the modern business corporation|

The corporation, once approved by the state and given a corporate charter, is a legal actor and artificial "person" endowed with legal and certain constitutional rights.

According to the traditional, conservative, Milton Friedman, organizational view of the corporation, it is only a legal actor and has no moral or social responsibility and just must obey the law and pay taxes.

A true corporate code of ethics today must have some provisions that go "above and beyond" the law; that is, an ethics code cannot be a mere "restatement" of the law.

All of the above.

9. A problem with the Last Resort principle when applied to business is:

Does business have the capability to help and to aid the community and local charities?

Is business the last real alternative to help and to aid the community and local charities?:

Are there potential legal liability issues for helping, aiding, and rescuing?

All of the above.

10. A spray paint company discovers that its products are being misused by children and young people, who get "high" sniffing the fumes. There are no warning labels on the spray paint cans. The company would be best deemed to have what type(s) of obligation and duty to take steps to protect children and young people?

An ethical obligation but not a legal duty

A legal obligation but not an ethical obligation

Both an ethical obligation and a legal duty

Neither an ethical obligation nor a legal duty.