Introduction
The aim of this paper is to offer extensive explanation of the strategies that U.S. companies use in present times to keep them away from union as well as explain why it is vital in the achievement of goals and mission of an organization.
The TreadWay Tire Company through one of its branches known as Lima may offer reliable information in the definition of this element. The main problem that Lima went through is on foreman line. In this branch, the company had mainly employed foremen with degrees at the manufacturing department. Successful managers got promotions while backfill to managers led to an undereducated pool of candidates. Therefore, the management wanted to change the candidate pool completely by introducing more qualified experts from outside.
The Treadway Tire Company operates in several states where it has its main plants. However, massive effort or attention has been laid upon Treadway’s Lima, which was the best performing plant of the company but at the moment there was some dissatisfaction among employees. It was at this challenging moment that Wall became the Director of Human Resources in the Lima plant. Following the number of challenges that the organization tried to counter management of the organization was extremely difficult. The main challenge was the employees’ dissatisfaction and Wall had to do everything possible to ensure expertise was introduced among foremen for the plant (Skinner & Beckahm, 2008). This was meant to keep truck of the increasing demand for tires.
Foremen in the Lima tire plant were undergoing massive stress. They had difficult time dealing with frequent challenges from variant sides of upper management of the plant. They often received verbal abuses as well as strict punishments for failure to meet targets. Foremen were also required to adhere and follow union procedures and policies. They usually negotiated wok standards through union officials. They always engaged unions when their grievances were filed with no action taken against them and there was no formal communication of the process to them by the management of the organization. The disconnection following foremen’s lack of authority under the union rules even if they were regarded responsible of upholding the union’s rules. This is a representation of the challenges that foremen went through in the company. Foremen were not in good in terms with hourly employees, which was extremely influential on how activities were conducted in the organization. A section of the management was never satisfied on how foremen carried out their duties in the organization. Foremen were always observed as poor performers in the organization following their low grades and possession of inadequate personal skills (Skinner & Beckahm, 2008).
Alternate courses of action
Following the challenges that the employees and the management of the organization faced in the hands of foremen, extensive caution was required. This was achieved through identification of major resolutions among foremen.
The first one was identification of necessary skills among foremen. This would help in keeping off unqualified foremen. The organization had set minimum qualification for a foreman at the degree level (Skinner & Beckahm, 2008). This meant high negotiation skills which will be reflected in high compensation thus no need for massive reliance on unions.
Since it was extremely difficult to fire foremen who have been of exclusive assistance to the organization, training program was introduced to keep the foremen in line with what has been happening in the industry (Skinner & Beckahm, 2008). Creativity was regarded as a major requirement for the intended development. However, this could have only been achieved if foremen understood more about their job. This would have only been achieved through proper training. This would also train employees on how to make their grievances known as well as follow on them.
Development of proper leadership structure was a major stride that the organization undertook. The management introduced a supervision position that would ensure that foremen carried out their duties accordingly. They aided where expertise was required in daily operations of the organization. This means the influence of unions had been minimized. However, supervisors were supposed to pass foremen’s grievances to the management.
However, despite the above solution to overreliance of unions among employees, the Treadway Tire Company would have tried other techniques to deal with the problem. One of the main elements that would be recommended is to allow the management to offer internships to fresh graduates. This would allow the management access special skills among the graduates. Also, foremen may be given a chance to further their education while working (Hanson, 2013). If their experience was matched with modern knowledge performance will be a guarantee.
Conclusion
Unions influence business activities in an extremely high rate. Therefore, organizations should take proper care of their employees so that they remain focused on the goals and mission of the organization. In the case study for the Treadway Tire Company, Wall finds it difficult to deal with the challenge posed by the foremen in the organization. However, she comes up extensive measures to deal with the problem. Such measures include; training, proper supervision, and lack of adequate information on their roles. However, it may be wise to test various individuals whom are experts.
References
Hanson, A. A. (2013). Free trade. Detroit: Greenhaven Press.
Skinner, W., & Beckahm, H. (2008). The Treadway Tire Company: Job dissatisfaction and high turnover at the Lima tire plant. Havard Business School,1(1), 1-12.
