Phil’s Fab Four Kelli Bastien, Sandy Kue, Katie Stilp, and Erin Young

Unstated Problem/ Overall Problem

In our analysis of the Pulse Report data we identified and classified the employees’ responses using a micro approach because of the need to filter the numerous varied responses. We found three major types of concerns, which included an issue about the hierarchy of the plant, incongruent goals between different levels or departments, and the lack of information that was being shared in the company. From those three concerns, we concluded that they were all a result of the overall problem of a manager and employee disconnect because of the many organizational boundaries that existed within the plant.

The hierarchy classification was used to identify concerns related to the fact that the plant was too top heavy. This represented a total of 16 percent of our sub problems. Next, 26 percent of the responses were related to the fact that information was not being shared. This could mean that the information was not being shared at all, not effectively shared, or not shared in a timely manner. Lastly, 47 percent of the responses were related to incongruent goals, or the fact that the goals of the employees and the goals of the plant or upper management conflicted with each other.

Symptoms

First, lower-level employees do not understand how major decisions are made in the plant. This can be linked to the fact that the plant is too top heavy and employees do not feel that they are important in the success of the company. It can also be linked to the problem that there are incongruent goals. If the employees don’t understand how major decisions are made, credibility of the upper management is lost and the employees start feeling unimportant. It is hard for employees to relate to these major decisions and understand how they might ultimately be affected by the decisions. This symptom also ties into the problem that information is not being shared. When decisions are being made, the decision makers are not informing others about how that decision was made. Therefore, employees have a harder time going through the acceptance stage, according to the Kubler-Ross Model. Decisions were being implemented with apparent dissatisfaction and without the proper knowledge.

Secondly, lower-level employees do not know where the plant is heading for the future. If they feel that they do not know how major decisions are made and don’t know the plant’s plans for the future, the employees are going to have a hard time trusting the overall credibility of the plant and upper management. This symptom can also relate back to all three of our negative sub problems. For example, upper management is not sharing information, or not sharing information in a timely and effective manner about future plans. Because of the number of levels within the company, top-down communication is being made but not reaching to the lower-level employees. Employees that are uninformed about the direction in which the plant is headed might not understand how their role affects the company and how they might be able to add value to the company. This can result in incongruent goals. The business goals of the company might not be effectively communicated in order for the lower-level employees to understand, relate and contribute to change, and maintain the overall success of the plant.

Thirdly, lower-level employees feel unsatisfied and want more stability and security. If the plant is being run from the top-down and there is no concern for informing the lower-level employees about major decisions and future of the plant, the employees are going to feel insecure. The uninformed employees are going to base their thoughts on the current state of the entire auto industry, which is unstable at the moment. This is also an example of incongruent goals. The employees’ goal is to maintain stability and security, and because upper management is not taking the time to communicate this with their employees, it appears that they do not care about their employees. It can also appear that upper management is trying to hide the possibility that the plant is unstable.

Additionally, there is a lack of employee engagement. The employees do not feel like they are a part of the overall success of the plant due to the fact that there is a lack of communication and information is not being shared. In addition, they also feel that upper management does not value them and they do not share the same goals of the company’s success. If the employees do not feel valued and are unmotivated, they are less likely to be productive.

Lastly, as a result of incongruent goals, the company may be too concerned with financials and not with employees. While the financial well-being of the auto manufacturing industry as a whole is unstable, the plant itself needs to find a balance with valuing the employees while maintaining financial stability. If more emphasis is put on trying to value the employees then it might actually improve the financial state of the company.

Goals of the Case

(1) Provide an analysis of the Pulse data.

(2) Develop a strategy that fits with Ms. Edward’s style.

(3) Suggest some sample tactics that she could use to implement the strategy.

Our overall goal of the case was to develop and implement an effective communication strategy to address the concerns raised in the Pulse Reports.

While developing and implementing an effective communication strategy we needed to be able match our strategy to fit the management style and requests. In order to do this we needed to identify the personality and management style, and adjust accordingly. After identifying and analyzing Ms. Edwards’s personality and management style we needed to also adjust how we communicated with Ms. Edwards.

In addition to identifying and analyzing Ms. Edward’s personality and management style, we also needed to also assess the current communication channels. After doing this, we then could develop new communication channels that could be used in our plan based on the needs of the organization and the communication problems. Then we would implement the strategic communication plan, taking into consideration the audiences and how they are affected by the change.

Before developing our communication strategy to address the concerns found in the Pulse Report, we first had to assess and analyze what those concerns were. After doing so we identified our overall problem, which was a manager and employee disconnect. While taking a closer analytical look we classified the types of concerns relating to our overall problem, which was related to information not being shared, the plant being too top-heavy and incongruent goals. To address these concerns in our communication strategy, we decided that it would be best to identify, clarify and re-establish what the organization’s goals were as well as the roles of each employee. In order to accomplish this, we had to take a look at the goals of each the employees, management, and the plant. The plant’s goals were those valued by management, but were not clearly stated and communicated to her employees. Based on the CEO’s management style (which will be later addressed in the audience analysis section) and the trends in the auto-manufacturing industry, we constructed our business and communication goals.

• 
  Increase production
  
• 
  Increase profitability
  
• 
  Reduce costs
  
• 
  Increase innovativeness
  
• 
  Achieve greater operating efficiency
  
• 
  Create a safer work environment
  
• 
  Lessen employee turnover
  
• 
  Establish a value system
  

• 
  Increase communication and knowledge sharing between upper management and employees.
  
• 
  Create a strong and healthy culture
  
• 
  Increase emphasis on employee importance to the company
  
• 
  Motivate/ engage employees
  

All of our symptoms were linked to the fact that there were either incongruent goals, or a lack of information. This tied into the hierarchy issue and the manager and employee disconnect. In order to address these problems and symptoms we clarified our goals and developed strategies and tactics to carry out our goals and communicate them. These goals provided the foundation for our strategy and tactics that we will describe later after our audience analysis.

Our goals are aimed to not only alleviate some of the symptoms of the problems but to solve them. We wanted to try to solve some of the relational and informational problems present in the company with our communication goals of relating and informing. Focusing on building a stronger culture would encourage teamwork, which would in turn minimize tension between upper management and lower-level employees. By motivating employees, employees could get on board with some of the managers’ goals that conflicted with their own goals. Each employee would become less individualistic and think more about the organization overall and its goals. Lastly, the goal of increasing knowledge sharing helps solve the problem of information hoarding that was present between upper management and the lower-level employees. 

Audience Analysis

K.I.S.S. Charts

We also know that she has seen past Pulse Reports that had the same kinds of problems in them. Therefore, we can infer that these kinds of problems are not new to her. One of the suggestions we had for her to do was to present a rollout schedule to her employees to better explain any changes that may take place in the future, and so they can observe any improvements over time. Another thing we suggest would be to try and understand the receiver’s needs. She should try and put herself into their position and see how they would feel during a time of change. We suggested she should not ignore the receiver’s needs. We also do not want her to blame the receivers for the problems that are apparent in the Pulse Report or for other issues within the company.

We also know that the CEO has a financial background. In our case we are told that she had devoted much of her time to “righting the financial ship.” From this, we can infer that she is an Arrow manager. Arrow managers tend to focus on clear expression, and believe that words convey meaning. We suggest that she be perceptive while observing employees and be more aware of communication rules and patterns. A task we would like for her to accomplish is harvesting the dissent in order to anticipate resistance. While she does have a background in finance, we do not want her to overwhelm her employees with information they may not need to know, or that they may not necessarily understand. Details are great but when the problem or information are not necessarily things that the employees need to know, it’s best not to give them too much information, thus causing information overload.

We also did a K.I.S.S. chart for the employees of the automotive parts manufacturing firm (see Appendix F). The first, and most important, thing we know about the employees is that there are over 1,000 of them. With that number of employees, we can infer they are very diverse. They all have their own skills which they bring to the company. There are many different levels in the company. Some are veterans while some may be newer on the ranking. When you have that large of a group of people you are trying to communicate with, there is bound to be many different levels of communication breakdown and communication misinterpretation due to the law of large numbers. Because of this we need to use the divide and conquer approach to identify who the lions and opinion leaders are within the firm. In figuring out who the lions of the departments are, it will help the company figure out a better way of communicating to such a large number of people. Here again, we would like upper management to work on harvesting the dissent because with such a large population rumors are bound to happen. The best way for the CEO and the company to avoid these problems is to avoid using lean channels only. Even though lean channels may be convenient to use, there are so many diverse people that there will be many different communication preferences among the employees. There could also be communication breakdown if everyone does not understand the message as it was intended.

We know that there is most likely a union within this plant since according to the Department of Labor, one out of four automobile workers are part of a union (2009). We can infer that there is some sort of division between the employees. The employees that are part of this union may have different concerns than those employees that are not. We can even infer that those employees that are part of this union have more power than those who are not in the union. What upper management needs to do is realize the differences between the two groups. The employees that are in the union may have different concerns about change than those who are non-unionized. We also need to make sure that union guidelines are followed when communicating messages. There would clearly be consequences if upper management were to break these guidelines. One thing we want to be aware of is making sure that upper management does not favor one group over the other. This will just cause a greater division amongst the employees.

One of the most obvious things that we know about these employees is that they are all employed at an automobile parts manufacturing company. Since we do know this, we can infer that they all may not necessarily be highly educated. To work in an auto parts manufacturer, a bachelor’s degree is not required for the majority of the jobs. However, that does not mean that none of them have higher education. It would be helpful to provide these employees with direct and relatable examples to help them in any information that we give them. Another inference that we can make is that this factory is a strict and fast-paced environment. Auto parts manufacturers need to keep going at a fast pace to make as much as they can in their work shift due to quotas. Since we can infer time is a concern to them, we would want to make sure that upper management presents employees with any changes or ideas in a timely manner. One thing that upper management wants to be careful of is using too much CEO lingo. Since some of the employees might not be as educated as others we need to be careful how technical we get when explaining things to these workers. Since we have already established that they would like information in a timely manner, we need to be careful not to over communicate with the employees. Over communication is much like information overload. We especially do not want to throw them lengthy and time consuming messages. Like we said before, this is a fast-paced work environment and we do not want to hinder that.

Change Planning Chart

The first audience we looked at was the CEO of the firm. We know that once the changes have taken place that her overall responsibility will increase. She has the ultimate responsibility if something bad or good would occur. We determined that she would be the lion of this audience. We realize that as the CEO of a company, the most effective kind of communication that can be given and received is face to face communication. It is the richest form of communication and one that will give and receive the most feedback. CEOs are typically in charge of being accountable for any results coming from changes in the firm. She also thinks she knows all of the problems that are happening within the company. The CEO may have some concerns or resistance points to changes made in the firm. The idea of time and cost are two driving factors that may lessen the enthusiasm of change happening. Time is precious in the current environment. Cost is another factor, especially in the economic times we are currently in. We need to make sure that any changes that are made are efficient along with being able to save money. Another concern the CEO might have would be her job and its stability. If a change is made that affects her performance or the reputation of the company itself, she may fear for her job, especially since she is relatively new with only being there for six months. With this in mind, the communication objectives of the CEO include developing strategies for the company along with understanding and interpreting the measurable improvements.

The second audience that we looked at was the plant manager. The plant manager would be affected by having to increase communication among different levels of the company. The plant manager would also have to be more aware of what is going on inside the plant. When looking at the audience, we determined that the plant manager himself would be the lion. The best form of communication for him to use is face to face because of the amount of immediate feedback. The plant manager, as a lion, knows the problems within the plant, most of them operational problems. However, he too has concerns about change within the plant. Much like the CEO, the plant manager is concerned about his job stability and costs associated with the changes. The plant manager could also be concerned about quotas, and whether or not they can be met. One of his main communication objectives includes letting the CEO know about relevant problems or concerns within the company. The plant manager also needs to plan on executing any strategies that the CEO may come up with.

The third audience that we looked at was the lower-level managers. Much like the plant manager, after the implementation of these changes, these managers need to be more aware of the communication challenges within the plant. The lions of this group would be considered the veteran managers, along with the charismatic and knowledgeable managers. Since these people do have a better handle on the company’s ideas and policies, they prefer face to face communication with meetings and written communication with memos. They know more about the actual problems that are happening within the plant. They also have concerns regarding change. Just like the CEO and the plant manager, the lower-level managers are concerned about their job stability and the wages they are currently receiving. They too will be concerned about quotas. As a communication objective, the lower-level managers need to be able to relay concerns from lower-level employees to the upper management. Also, much like the plant manager, they need to work on executing any of the CEO’s strategies.

The fourth audience that we looked at was the skilled employees of the firm. With any changes that will be implemented, these workers will be taking on more duties and responsibilities such as more cross-training and other culture-building activities. We consider the lions of this audience to be the veteran workers as well as the charismatic and knowledgeable workers. Since some of these employees have been with the company for a while, they too are aware of the daily routines and operations. One can take this into consideration and realize these workers would like face to face communication as well as written communication for something more tangible. The main idea and concepts that these workers know are the special skills that pertain to their own jobs. Just like every other audience, these workers will be concerned about their job stability as well as their wages. They may feel more at risk since they do sit lower on the totem pole of the hierarchy. The main communication objectives that these workers need to focus on are meeting the goals set upon them by upper management, as well as participating in bottom-up communication. They need to realize that they are lower on hierarchy and may not get their voices heard straight to the CEO.

The last audience that we looked at in completing this change planning chart was the support staff. We consider secretaries, sales, accounting, and other administrative personnel in this group. Much like the skilled employees, they too would be taking on more duties and responsibilities related to the Pulse Report and other administrative tasks. Also, like the skilled employees and lower-level managers, the lions of this audience would be considered the veteran support staff as well as the charismatic and knowledgeable staff. Much like the other audiences, they prefer face to face communication as well as written. What sets this audience apart from the others is the fact they sometimes prefer email as a means of communication. Since many of the staff in this audience is office workers, they are usually around computers more than the skilled employees who are working on the line. This audience, much like the skilled employees, knows their job skills. They also tend to know the context of the problems that arise in the company. Once again, the audience will be concerned with their job stability and wages. Since this audience does more of the office work, one of their main communication objectives is to relay information interdepartmentally. They, just like the skilled employees, need to also meet the goals set upon them by upper management.

Myers Briggs

First we looked at the CEO. When looking at whether she was an introvert or an extrovert we determined her to be an extrovert. Within our case she had no trouble bringing us in and being candid about the problems she had with the company. CEOs need to be able to communicate easily with other workers in the company, a characteristic of someone who is an extrovert. We then looked at whether she is an intuitor or a sensor. Since the CEO asked us for help, and, therefore is open to change, we consider her an intuitor. Also, intuitors look into further development of an idea and are open to new things. Next, we needed to determine whether the CEO was a thinker or a feeler. Since she is a business woman and usually CEOs need to have a long term view about the company, we consider her to be a thinker. Thinkers need to be logical, objective, and need to be able to look at a prolonged schedule. Lastly, we needed to figure out if the CEO was a judger or a perceiver. Since the CEO refers to her office as her “Spartan quarters” we could assume she likes control. People who like and are in control are judgers. Therefore, the final result of our analysis is that the CEO is an ENTJ.

We then took a look at the general overview of employees who work at the firm. When deciding whether they were introverted or extroverted, we looked at the kind of job they did. Since most likely they work on their own in their specialties, we assumed they were quieter. With the majority of the employees working on a line, they don’t talk to each other unless necessary. Therefore, we categorized the workers as introverts. Next we were looking at whether these employees were sensors or intuitors. From Phillip Clampitt’s Communicating for Managerial Effectiveness, we know that lower-level employees want the big picture view of things, rather than just focusing on the present (2009). From this, we typed them as being intuitors. We also had to decide if the workers were thinkers or feelers. Since they are logical and emphasize practicality when working on the line, we inferred them to be thinkers. Lastly, we needed to decide if they were judgers or perceivers. We concluded that the employees are judgers since the job in which they are working is very structured. When these people work in such a structured environment, they need to have organization and someone in control. The final result of our analysis of the employees is that they are INTJ.

Strategy, Tactics, & Rationale

For our strategies, we felt that we needed to provide a theme during implementation in order to provide some sort of framework for the employees. To tie within the auto parts industry, we decided our theme would be “One P.A.R.T. of the whole”. The acronym P.A.R.T. means “Pushing Achievement through Rewards and Teamwork”. This theme emphasized the importance of teamwork and would help build a culture focused on the company overall and its goals. It would also motivate employees to achieve these goals through the emphasis on rewards and teamwork.

Our first strategy is to motivate employees, one of the major communication goals we had. Many of the problems derived from the lack of change and improvement seen in the company. The same problems kept on re-surfacing on the Pulse Reports. This could be due to many reasons but as a result of these problems not being solved, employees’ morale and motivation were at an all-time low. We believe we had to tackle this problem first for employees to be more receptive to strategies and tactics that we propose for other problems. In the Pulse Surveys, employees were giving discussion-terminating retorts out of frustration. To prevent these, we had to first motivate employees to achieve the organization’s goals. Some tactics we suggested are for managers to reward goal-achieving behavior with a mix of extrinsic and intrinsic rewards, and inspire employees with story-telling, shared values, and management by walking around. We used the concepts of motivation as our rationale to craft our strategy and tactics. We knew that unmotivated and disengaged employees could affect the company’s culture and financials. We also used the notions of culture and realized the company’s culture was not healthy and needed to be fixed in order to have the company performing at its highest level.

Our next strategy is to emphasize the overall impact of the employees’ individual duties to the bottom line through the goal of emphasizing the value of the company’s employees. Some employees were unmotivated because they did not know about the overall goals and how they impacted them. According to their Myers-Briggs score, the employees wanted to see the big picture and they weren’t getting it. Tactics to combat this problem include informing employees with updates on goals in monthly newsletters and weekly meetings. Using the SMCR model as our rationale, we wanted to use a rich and lean channel to cater to the diverse needs of our audience. Monthly newsletters are lean but allow for introverted employees to contemplate questions. These monthly newsletters would have feedback from the Pulse Report team and the CEO, employee recognition, and updates on major decisions. A weekly meeting allows for a rich channel of communication for ample feedback from those introverts and also provides a forum for the extroverts to speak out. These weekly meetings would not only be informational but motivational with senders setting expectations and goals for receivers. With both of the channels, we wanted to use the underscore and explore strategy with our messages to ensure we were not under- or over-communicating. Each channel could provide reinforcement of our messages without redundancy. We believe if we kept the messages simple and powerful, we could eliminate information overload and encourage action.

Another strategy we recommend is for the CEO to establish more rapport with the lower-level employees based on the goal of relating to her employees. We feel this strategy would encourage bottom-up communication and would allow the organization to be less top heavy without eliminating positions, which could contribute to the employees’ fears of instability. Certain tactics for management by walking around include “10 for 10,” in which the CEO would promise to her employees that she would take at least 10 minutes of her day to meet 10 new people within the organization. After reading The One Minute Manager by Kenneth Blanchard and Spencer Johnson, we believe this would be enough time for the CEO to make an impact and inspire her employees. As Blanchard and Johnson state, it only takes one minute to inspire and motivate employees. This strategy was critical in order to build a culture focused on teamwork and collaboration.

We also would have “Eating with Edwards,” a specific intrinsic reward that includes a monthly lunch in the cafeteria with a group of employees from all departments who have had exceptional performance for the month. This would give employees the chance to get to know the CEO in a less formal way and allow knowledge sharing among different departments. Another unique benefit would be the motivation for other employees to try to be those “employees of the month.” Having this lunch in the cafeteria allow co-workers to acknowledge their peers and be inspired from them. According to the SMCR model, using a face to face channel with this tactic allows for the CEO to accomplish her goal of inspiring and motivating employees. With our knowledge about the strength of culture and the concepts of motivation as our rationale, we believe this strategy must be implemented in order for the company to be successful.

Our fourth strategy was to communicate to all employees how major decisions were being made in the plant. This strategy was tied to our goals of educating our employees to be better-rounded and informed employees. The organization can implement this strategy when they focus on the goal of educating their employees. We believe using the divide and conquer approach and then selecting key lions within those groups to communicate across organizational boundaries would be ideal. As a large automotive parts manufacturer, decisions need to be made quickly. With this approach, we could allow decisions to be made quickly and have key lions help other groups that were not involved in the decision making to transition into the acceptance stage. These lions would try to prevent bad decision downloading. According to Kubler-Ross’s stages, the decision makers needed to not only be cheerleaders but teachers to others about the decisions they made. We could use key lions, who would be veteran employees or opinion leaders, to be presenters in forums held among shifts. Of course, these key lions would have to be very knowledgeable. These small forums held among shifts would allow for ample feedback and encourage knowledge sharing. We believe based on the SMCR model that using these forums are necessary. With this face to face interaction, it would allow senders to educate the employees who felt they did not know how decisions were being made or what the future plans were for the company.

The next strategy was to analyze and implement solutions to concerns found in the Pulse Report. We believe the Pulse Report needs to be more of a beneficial tool in the company. Based on the D-I-K-A model, the company had a lot of data and information with its many Pulse Reports but barely any knowledge or action being implemented. We believe the Pulse Report should still be done monthly with a group of random people but, to help the Pulse Report be more impactful and encourage knowledge and action, we would enlist a group of key lions among different departments to brainstorm solutions to concerns in the Pulse Report. The group would do so after analyzing the results of the current Pulse Report. This cross-functional team would not be paid but would be given a bonus if the Pulse Report for the following month showed improvements. The amount of the bonus and how much improvement would be needed to get that bonus would be determined by an objective person who would be the director of the team. This strategy could allow problems found in the Pulse Report to be addressed and prevented before it affects the company’s culture and financials.

Rejected Ideas

Conclusion

Continuous Improvement

As for the content of our presentation, our feedback indicated that we did a good job tying our strategies, tactics, and rationale together with the chart we provided. Some of our peers thought we should include our references for more credibility but noted that it was nice that we used an outside source for our rationale. They felt we needed to clarify what about the Pulse Report process and Professor Clampitt suggested we tie our goals to our problems. He also suggested a theme. We have included those suggestions within our paper. Overall, they felt our presentation was informative and thorough.

Appendix A: 100 Facts

1. 
   Six Sigma is a disciplined, data-driven approach and methodology for eliminating defects (driving towards six standard deviations between the mean and the nearest specification limit) in any process -- from manufacturing to transactional and from product to service.
   
2. 
   The goal of Six Sigma is to increase profits by eliminating variability, defects and waste that undermine customer loyalty.
   
3. 
   To achieve Six Sigma, a process must not produce more than 3.4 defects per million opportunities
   
4. 
   A Six Sigma defect is defined as anything outside of customer specifications.
   
5. 
   A Six Sigma opportunity is then the total quantity of chances for a defect.
   
6. 
   The fundamental objective of the Six Sigma methodology is the implementation of a measurement-based strategy that focuses on process improvement and variation reduction through the application of Six Sigma improvement projects.
   
7. 
   This is accomplished through the use of two Six Sigma sub-methodologies: DMAIC and DMADV.
   
8. 
   The Six Sigma DMAIC process (define, measure, analyze, improve, control) is an improvement system for existing processes falling below specification and looking for incremental improvement.
   
9. 
   The Six Sigma DMADV process (define, measure, analyze, design, verify) is an improvement system used to develop new processes or products at Six Sigma quality levels.
   
10. 
    The Six Sigma DMDV can also be employed if a current process requires more than just incremental improvement.
    
11. 
    Both Six Sigma processes are executed by Six Sigma Green Belts and Six Sigma Black Belts, and are overseen by Six Sigma Master Black Belts.
    
12. 
    According to the Six Sigma Academy, Black Belts save companies approximately $230,000 per project and can complete four to 6 projects per year.
    
13. 
    General Electric, one of the most successful companies implementing Six Sigma, has estimated benefits on the order of $10 billion during the first five years of implementation.
    
14. 
    GE first began Six Sigma in 1995 after Motorola and Allied Signal blazed the Six Sigma trail.
    
15. 
    Countless studies continue to tell us the majority of our workforce is not engaged.
    
16. 
    Engaged employees are more productive, more profitable, more customer-focused, safer, and less likely to leave their employer.
    
17. 
    An engaged employee is a person who is fully involved in, and enthusiastic about, his or her work.
    
18. 
    Engaged employees work with passion and are connected to their companies.
    
19. 
    When studies are conducted to find out what employees value in a job, career opportunities and development always appears among the top three items, typically before the expected answers of pay and benefits.
    
20. 
    What employees really want is a relationship with their managers whereby they can have open, honest, two-way conversations about their abilities, interests, and options. They want managers to listen to their perspectives, offer their points of view, and provide encouragement.
    
21. 
    To engage employees, the manager must use a variety of familiar management skills and apply them to the career context.
    
22. 
    To engage employees, frequent discussions with staff members about what they do best and what they want to do should be routine.
    
23. 
    Ongoing dialogue enhances productivity and results in a partnership that aids the employee match positions or projects that maximize their talents.
    
24. 
    The manager's role includes:
    

• Providing timely performance feedback

• Identifying an employee's potential

• Providing training and growth opportunities consistent with both individual and organizational goals

• Communicating formal and informal advice and information on the organization

• Linking employees with appropriate resources and people

25. 
    The employees' role includes:
    

• Engaging in self-assessment and soliciting feedback

• Initiating development discussions with their managers

• Setting multiple career goals

• Advocating their own cause

• Making use of a variety of development opportunities

26. 
    Historically, U.S. auto manufacturers had “Fordist” organizational practices such as bureaucracy, tall organizational structures, command and control management systems, and seniority based compensation.
    
27. 
    With new competition from Japan, domestic auto manufacturers have been trying to implement Japanese practices like team work, few job classifications, an active continuous improvement culture (Kaizen), outsourcing, just-in-time inventory management, quality circles, and lean manufacturing.
    
28. 
    There is considerable evidence in the industrial relations literature that the traditional adversarial relationship of United Automobile Workers is being gradually replaced by a more cooperative relationship in response to globalization, the enforcement of government regulations, capital mobility and the increasing difficulty union’s face in organizing new members.
    
29. 
    Auto parts manufacturers can be Tier 1 (lead vendor), Tier 2, or Tier 3 suppliers for the major manufacturers.
    
30. 
    The key driver of profitability for auto parts companies, going forward, hinges on their ability to continuously reduce costs and achieve greater operating efficiency, with secure and stable orders from auto makers being crucial.
    
31. 
    Companies strong in the area of capacity utilization & plant flexibility, geographic positioning/market reach, cost protection in relation to commodity price movements and product development efficiency should exhibit resilience in profitability, and earn good ratings.
    
32. 
    The automotive parts manufacturing industry is heavily integrated between the U.S. and Canada. Today, every vehicle assembled in North America contains nearly $1,250 worth of parts manufactured in Canada. There is a high concentration of these firms in the state of Michigan and the Province of Ontario, Canada.
    
33. 
    Because of lost business, more than 200 auto suppliers in the $10 million-$500 million revenue bracket are in financial trouble.
    
34. 
    Auto industry faces a number of problems including overburdening health-care costs, union strife, over-capacity, exposure to high steel prices, and competition from abroad.
    
35. 
    Although approximately 1 out of 5 jobs are located in Michigan, especially the Detroit area, an increasing number are located in other parts of the country, particularly the south.
    
36. 
    Average earnings are very high compared with those in other industries.
    
37. 
    Overtime is especially common during periods of peak demand. Most employees, however, usually work an 8-hour shift: either from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. or from 4 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. A third shift often is reserved for maintenance and cleanup.
    
38. 
    Heat, fumes, noise, and repetition are not uncommon in this industry. In addition, many workers come into contact with oil and grease and may have to lift and fit heavy objects, although hydraulic lifts and other equipment have eliminated much of the heavy lifting. Employees also may operate powerful, high-speed machines that can be dangerous.
    
39. 
    In 2006, motor vehicle manufacturing, on average, sustained 11.4 cases of work-related injury and illness per 100 full-time workers, 13.2 in motor vehicle body and trailer manufacturing, and 7.7 in motor vehicle parts manufacturing—compared with 6.0 in all manufacturing industries and 4.4 in the entire private sector.
    
40. 
    Industrial production managers oversee first-line supervisors and managers of production and operating workers. These supervisors oversee inspectors, precision workers, machine setters and operators, assemblers, fabricators, and plant and system operators. They coordinate a variety of manufacturing processes and production activities, including scheduling, staffing, equipment, quality control, and inventory control.
    
41. 
    Assemblers and fabricators and metal workers and plastic workers put together various parts to form subassemblies, and then put the subassemblies together to build a complete motor vehicle. Most assemblers in this industry are team assemblers, who work in teams and perform a variety of tasks.
    
42. 
    In 2006, about 1 out of 4 workers in motor vehicle and parts production were union members or were covered by union contracts, more than double the proportion of workers in all manufacturing industries and all workers in the private sector.
    
43. 
    The primary union in the industry is the United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, also known as the United Auto Workers (UAW).
    
44. 
    For example, Toyota and many of its suppliers expect all employees to show potential for leadership, to participate in teams, to develop the skills and flexibility necessary for multiple jobs, and to focus on safety and built-in quality. The automaker also seeks and develops employees with a structured approach to thinking, problem-solving, and improvement.
    
45. 
    The U.S. auto parts manufacturing industry consists of about 4,500 companies with combined annual revenue of about $225 billion.
    
46. 
    Large companies include ArvinMeritor, Dana, Delphi, Lear, Visteon, and the automotive division of Johnson Controls.
    
47. 
    The industry is very concentrated.
    
48. 
    Tier 1 suppliers, of which there are roughly 1,000, usually concentrate in one or two distinct industry segments such as axles, power trains, brakes, exhaust systems, suspensions, electrical components, seating, engine parts, or accessories.
    
49. 
    “Most of these supplier companies are family-owned,” said Daniel Luria, research director of the Michigan Manufacturing Research Center in Ann Arbor. “And in a period when the families can’t sell, the decision is to preserve the companies as future streams of revenue for the next generation.”
    
50. 
    Some plants have institutionalized "pay-for-skill," a pay system in which, employees receive additional pay for each new skill they learn.
    
51. 
    Loyalty and gift exchange appeared to motivate employees in several cases. For example at Industrial Strainer, workers contributed on average half a suggestion per year each, even though there was no explicit reward for doing so. When asked why, several workers said, "It's a good place to work," because of above average wages ($12 per hour rather than the $10 prevailing in the area). One worker added that an additional motivation was, "Management--at least some of them--cares about you.”
    
52. 
    When conducting a communication audit, the first step is to determine who should conduct the assessment.
    
53. 
    The next step to take into consideration is to select the proper method(s) or tool(s).
    
54. 
    A variety of methods, such as questionnaires, interviews, focus groups, communication logs, and network analysis, can be used to conduct an annual or biannual communication audit.
    
55. 
    You want to make sure that all employees know their comments will remain confidential when conducting a communication audit.
    
56. 
    You want to make sure that you garner top management’s full support of the assessment.
    
57. 
    Finally, you want to carefully interpret your findings.
    
58. 
    If the organization does not plan to respond to the findings, then the data should not be collected in the first place.
    
59. 
    Even if the organization plans on responding to the audit results, the timelines of the response presents one of the most troublesome potential drawbacks.
    
60. 
    The first major objective of the Pulse process is to identify employee concerns and reactions to ongoing initiatives in a timely, reliable, and economical manner.
    
61. 
    The second major objective of the Pulse process is to respond to these concerns.
    
62. 
    The third major objective of the Pulse process is to cultivate a productive dialogue between executives and employees.
    
63. 
    A short Pulse survey (10-15 questions), is routinely administered to a rotating sample of employees on a biweekly or monthly basis.
    
64. 
    The Pulse Report is a one-page summary of the findings, presenting quantitative data for the numerically rated questions and major themes for the open questions.
    
65. 
    An Executive Response outlines senior management reactions to the issues highlighted from the current Pulse Report.
    
66. 
    The Pulse Report provides the organization with a timely and accurate record of the current working climate.
    
67. 
    The Pulse Process requires a degree of attentiveness to procedural concerns similar to that of a communication audit.
    
68. 
    Employees need to have a clear understanding of how the process will work, including the projected timetable for the report and executive responses.
    
69. 
    Communication strategy can be broadly defined as the macro-level communication choices we make based on organizational goals and judgments about others’ reactions, which serves as a basis for action.
    
70. 
    Strategy involves a macro-level orientation that can be distinguished from tactical concerns.
    
71. 
    Strategy involves implicit or explicit choices resulting in trade-offs.
    
72. 
    Strategy involves goal setting.
    
73. 
    Strategy involves anticipating others’ reactions.
    
74. 
    The dance between the initiative and the response and then the subsequent adjustment creates the dialogue that determines the success of the strategy.
    
75. 
    That dance differs greatly from one based on a theme of “learning to avoid mistakes.”
    
76. 
    Strategy naturally serves as the basis for action.
    
77. 
    Suzanne Edwards is the new CEO of an automotive parts manufacturing firm.
    
78. 
    She recently read the company’s communication Pulse Report.
    
79. 
    Pulse Reports are market research data.
    
80. 
    She has been in the position for at least 6 months.
    
81. 
    The firm for which she works has over 1,000 employees.
    
82. 
    She has a background in finance.
    
83. 
    There were 1,742 respondents to the Pulse report.
    
84. 
    The Pulse Report was from the month of April.
    
85. 
    Respondents were asked to respond on scale of 1-5: 1 representing that they STRONGLY DISAGREE and 5 representing that they STRONGLY DISAGREE.
    
86. 
    Only 44 percent of the employees responded to the Pulse report.
    
87. 
    There was an increase from the cumulative norm to the current month norm of .4 percent with people thinking that they have an important role in the Plant’s success.
    
88. 
    The current month norms seemed to be fairly close to the current month norm.
    
89. 
    Out of those that responded to the questions only 9 percent of the people strongly disagreed that safety is a high priority in their department and 41 percent disagreed, and 9 percent were undecided, which means over 50 percent of the people felt safety was an issue.
    
90. 
    No one strongly agreed that they understood where the Plant is headed.
    
91. 
    No one strongly agreed that the plant was moving in the right direction and only 9 percent agreed that the plant was moving in the right direction.
    
92. 
    Fifty percent of the people who responded were either undecided or agreed to some degree that they understood how decisions were made.
    
93. 
    The questions the plant manager was asked all varied.
    
94. 
    Some of the questions posed by the employees were double barreled questions.
    
95. 
    It was unclear if people knew how they contributed to the plant’s growth- 39 percent agreed, 14 percent undecided 24 percent agreed, and 23 percent strongly agreed.
    
96. 
    Forty-six percent of the people who responded said that they and their co-workers were focused on controlling costs.
    
97. 
    The employees were allowed to ask the plant manager one question.
    
98. 
    The questions from the employees who responded indicate that the employee’s feel there is not good communication.
    
99. 
    The questions from the employees who responded indicate that the employees feel their concerns are not of importance to the CEO.
    

Appendix B: Pulse Report

Pulse Report
April

Rating is on a “1–5” scale; 1 representing “strongly disagree (SD),” 5 representing “strongly agree (SA).”

Questions arranged in order of most agreement to least agreement for the current month’s reading
 

Question	Cumulative Norm	Current Month Norm	SD (1)	D	U	A	SA (5)
I know how I contribute to the Plant’s growth.	4.5	4.0		39%	14%	24%	23%
My co-workers and I are focused on controlling costs.	4.2	3.8		46%	18%	9%	27%
Safety is a high priority in my department.	3.8	3.7	9%	41%	9%	29%	12%
I have an important role in the Plant’s success.	3.1	3.5	17%	23%	34%	8%	18%
We continue to meet customer needs while controlling costs.	3.1	2.9	20%	24%	30%	14%	12%
My immediate supervisor provides routine updates on Plant issues.	3.0	2.8	18%	30%	30%	11%	11%
The Plant is moving in the right direction.	2.9	2.6		59%	32%	9%
I understand where the Plant is headed in the next quarter.	2.7	2.4	4%	52%	22%	22%
I understand how major decisions are made in the Plant.	2.4	2.2	28%	22%	36%	9%	5%
N (Number of Respondents)	1746 (of 3882)	22 (of 44)
Response Rate	44%	50%

 

If you could ask the plant manager one question, what would it be?

§ What new products are on the horizon? 

§ There is a significant amount of work being done to keep the plant operating at its current high level for our existing products. Given this, it seems there should be a little less emphasis on getting all the transformation training done this year. Sure the training is important, but let’s be smart as we prioritize activities. Comments? 

§ The key to our competitiveness in the future will be totally engaged employees. Employees always looking for improvement opportunities and a way to reduce waste. It is employees utilizing their time wisely every day. This is a different mentality than punching a clock and putting in your time. Some of our people really do utilize their time effectively. My question is, do you think the union membership (in general) truly understands the urgency of this? Do they understand coming into the plant and working on whatever needs attention, safely of course. It has to be significantly different in the future than it is today. 

§ We have trained a large number of people to do our job because of flex issues. People who have done the job for nearly 2 years are still having occasional problems with parts of the job, and they trained for over a month at the beginning. Now we are training other flex people on this job so they can help out at times; they are receiving 3 or 4 days of training each. How much help do you think they will be?

§ When are we going to get somebody in the maintenance dept who is a person who will work with the people and not for the puppet master that controls him? Do you have to have a graduate degree to get promoted in the maintenance dept (buddy system)?

§ Thanks for taking on the challenge of being plant manager at this time of transition. 

§ I really appreciate the work that is being done to clean up the plant. It is looking nice. To help keep it clean, how do we get people to quit throwing used earplugs, coffee cups, etc., on the floor? They wouldn’t do this at home; at least I don’t think they would. 

§ Could you please give me three specific examples of “flexibility” that you would like to see and some explanation of why that shouldn’t scare the sh__ out of me? 

§ Why don’t you let the plant employees make some decisions on what new policies to enact instead of management making all the decisions?

§ Are we getting any feedback from our customers? Have orders gone up? 

§ In the past year, I have noticed our products sitting on the loading docks with “HOT” stickers on it due to no availability of outside carrier trailers and/or late due dates. What do you plan on doing about it and how are we compensating our customers for late shipments with over the road carriers and scheduling? Have we thought about our own trucking line (which we already have) to run loads back and forth? 

§ Why do we pay so much attention to the whiners and not the winners?

§ Nothing that is worthy of your time

§ What has happened to our employee communication? 

§ This may not seem that important, but I can’t understand why I do not ever receive my pay stub on Thursdays. I get it on Fridays and several times I will get it on Saturday. 

§ Thanks for a great job in a tough situation! 

§ You don’t see too many cars here on nights and weekends! I know corp and salary stick together but until you look in a mirror and truly be honest with yourself, you will realize that we are indeed too top heavy. 

§ Why is it when new business development gets good ideas the execs throw them out? I don’t think they follow through with ideas well enough. When they do, and someone comes up with something, they don’t get anything for it. What a knife in the back to those who deserve more than they got. I, for one, am glad I will not be one of those people!

§ Do you not hear the frustration in these questions month after month after month? Where do you think this comes from? And how do you think the negativity affects people after this amount of time? It’s not fair to keep putting more frosting on. Good people with good attitudes work here, but constant frustration does take its toll on even good people and wear down a person. And please don’t suggest looking for another job anymore. We want and appreciate our jobs here. We just want more stability and some security and I don’t think that’s too much to ask for.

Appendix C: Quantitative Pulse Report Analysis

Highest to Lowest

Cumulative- See sheet

Current Month- See sheet

Difference between Cumulative and Current Month (April) Norm

(+.4) I have an important role in the Plant’s success.

(-.1) Safety is a high priority in my department.

(-.2) We continue to meet customer needs while controlling cost.

My immediate supervisor provides routine updates on Plant issues.

I understand how major decisions are made in the plant.

(-.3) The plant is moving in the right direction.

I understand where the Plant is headed in the next quarter.

(-.4) My co-workers and I are focused on controlling costs.

(-.5) I know how I contribute to the Plant’s growth.

Some Answers Provided on Report We May Want to Look Into

(39% DISAGREE) I know how I contribute to the Plant’s growth.

(46% DISAGREE) My co-workers and I are focused on controlling costs.

(41% DISAGREE) Safety is a high priority in my department.

(52% DISAGREE) I understand where the Plant is headed in the next quarter.

(59% DISAGREE) The Plant is moving in the right direction.

(ONLY 9% AGREE) The Plant is moving in the right direction.

Also, a large number of the respondents are undecided on whether they feel they have an important role in the Plant’s success.

Response rate was up 6% this month compared to Cumulative norm.

Appendix D: Qualitative Pulse Report Analysis

19 comments to “If you could ask the plant manager one question, what would it be?”

Five out of 19 responses suggested a specific improvement

Overall Problem: Manager and Employee Disconnect (15) (79%)

Sub-problems:

Hierarchy (3) (16%)

Incongruent goals (9) (37%)

Information not shared (5) (27%)

Positive comments recognizing transition being tough (2) (10%)

Appendix E: K.I.S.S. Chart for CEO

KNOW	INFER	SO WHAT TO DO	SO WHAT NOT TO DO
-new to the job (only 6 months)	-she hasn’t built a rapport with the employees	-demonstrate credibility -realize change’s effect on employees -MBWA	-don’t make drastic changes unless needed -don’t assume everyone understands change -lack of communication
-she has seen other Pulse Reports	-problems are not new to her	-present rollout schedule -focus on receivers’ needs	-ignore receivers’ needs -blame receivers
-she has a financial background	-she’s an Arrow manager	-be perceptive while observing employees (harvest the dissent)	-Overwhelm them with details (information overload)

Appendix F: K.I.S.S. Chart for Employees

KNOW	INFER	SO WHAT TO DO	SO WHAT NOT TO DO
-Over 1,000 employees	-They’re diverse -There are different levels -Communication will be misinterpreted by some	-Use divide and conquer approach and identify the lions/opinion leaders -Harvest the dissent	-Only use lean channels
-There’s a union	-There is division between employees -Have more power compared to non-unionized workers	-Realize the differences between the two groups -Follow Union guidelines	-Don’t favor one group over the other
-Auto parts manufacturing firm	-Not required to have a bachelor’s degree -Strict and fast paced environment	-Provide direct and relatable examples -Timely messages	-Don’t use CEO lingo -Over communicate

Appendix G: Change Planning Chart

Audiences	How group will be effected	Who are the lions?	What are the channel preferences?	What do group members know or think they know?	Concerns or resistance points?	Communication Objectives
CEO	Overall responsibility	CEO	Face to face	Accountable Problems	Time Cost Job stability	Developing strategy Measureable improvements
Plant Manager	More comm. and awareness	Plant manager	Face to face	Problems	Job stability Cost Quotas	Executing strategy Provide relevant concerns to CEO
Lower-Level Managers	More comm. and awareness	Veterans Charismatic Knowledgeable	Face to face Written	Problems	Job stability Wages Quotas	Executing strategy Relay concerns to upper management
Skilled Employees	More duties and responsibility	Veterans Charismatic Knowledgeable	Face to face Written	Job skills	Job stability Wages	Meeting goals Participate in bottom-up comm.
Support Staff	More duties and responsibility	Veterans Charismatic Knowledgeable	Face to face Written Email	Job skills Context of problems	Job stability Wages	Meeting goals Relay info inter-departmentally

Appendix H: Strategies, Tactics, & Rationale Chart

Appendix I: Rollout Schedule

MONTH ONE

- WEEK ONE-

DAY ONE:

• 
  Meeting with CEO to present and explain our communication plan (including the need for Pulse Report improvement)
  
• 
  Make necessary changes based on feedback received from CEO
  

DAY TWO:

• 
  Individual meetings to explain the new communication plan with
  
  • 
    Top executives, plant manager and department heads
    
  • 
    Lower-level managers and shift supervisors/lions of each department/shift
    

DAY THREE:

• 
  Meeting with CEO, top executives, plant manager, department heads, shift supervisors, Lower-level Managers, and lions to review the new communication plan and receive feedback.
  

DAY FOUR:

• 
  Meeting with CEO, top executives, plant manager, department heads, shift supervisors, lower-level managers and lions to:
  
  • 
    Review the new communication plan
    
  • 
    Address feedback concerns
    
  • 
    Go over results of Pulse Report.
    
  • 
    Make changes to Pulse Survey for next month.
    

DAY FIVE:

• 
  Meeting with CEO, top executives, plant manager, department heads, shift supervisors, Lower-level Managers, and lions to:
  
  • 
    Answer any additional questions
    
  • 
    Address feedback and concerns
    
  • 
    Review next week’s schedule
    

-WEEK TWO-

DAY ONE:

• 
  CEO’s “10 for 10” starts
  
• 
  Weekly department meetings held (for each shift), where:
  
  • 
    New communication plan is introduced to employees
    
  • 
    Tentative rollout schedule is presented to employees
    
  • 
    Pulse Report and executive response is presented to employees
    
  • 
    Feedback is received
    

DAY TWO:

• 
  MBWA, “10 for 10”
  
• 
  First “official” forum held to:
  
  • 
    Review new communication plan
    
  • 
    Go over Pulse Report results and new Pulse Survey for next month.
    
• 
  First “official” knowledge sharing team meeting held
  
  • 
    Review new communication plan
    
  • 
    Go over Pulse Report results and new Pulse Survey for next month.
    

DAY THREE:

• 
  MBWA, “10 for 10”
  
• 
  Monthly newsletter is developed.
  

DAY FOUR:

• 
  MBWA, “10 for 10”
  
• 
  Last changes to monthly newsletter before print
  

DAY FIVE:

• 
  MBWA, “10 for 10”
  
• 
  Monthly newsletter distributed to all employees
  

-WEEK THREE-

DAY ONE:

• 
  MBWA, “10 for 10”
  
• 
  Weekly department meetings held
  

DAY TWO:

• 
  MBWA, “10 for 10”
  
• 
  Second “unofficial” forum held (since usually only once a month)
  

DAY THREE:

• 
  MBWA, “10 for 10”
  
• 
  Second “unofficial” knowledge sharing team meeting held (since usually only once a month)
  

DAY FOUR:

• 
  MBWA, “10 for 10”
  
• 
  Meeting with CEO to give update on progress of new communication plan and the plant.
  

DAY FIVE:

• 
  MBWA, “10 for 10”
  

- WEEK FOUR -

DAY ONE:

• 
  Weekly department meetings held
  
• 
  MBWA, “10 for 10”
  

DAY TWO:

• 
  Explain (what it is, why it’s important and how info will be used) and distribute Pulse Survey
  
• 
  MBWA, “10 for 10”
  

DAY THREE:

• 
  Calculate results of Pulse Survey
  
• 
  MBWA, “10 for 10”
  

DAY FOUR:

• 
  MBWA, “10 for 10”
  
• 
  Meeting with CEO, plant manager, and top executives to:
  
  • 
    Go over Pulse Report results
    
  • 
    Form executive response
    
  • 
    Discuss/develop next month’s Pulse Survey questions
    

DAY FIVE:

• 
  MBWA, “10 for 10”
  
• 
  Eating with Edwards
  

MONTH TWO

(MBWA / CEO’s “10 for 10” done daily)

- WEEK ONE-

DAY ONE: Weekly department/shift meetings- executive response given from last month’s Pulse Report

DAY TWO- Knowledge sharing teams meet to address Pulse Report concerns

DAY THREE- Lions present feedback of knowledge sharing teams to CEO and management

DAY FOUR- Management meetings (where CEO is present)

DAY FIVE- Information is collected for the monthly newsletter

- WEEK TWO -

DAY ONE: Weekly department/shift meetings

DAY TWO: Newsletter published (with last month’s information and this month’s needed to know information)

DAY THREE: Forums held and lions present (to discuss decisions in plant)

DAY FOUR: Management meetings where CEO is present

DAY FIVE: New Pulse Survey developed

- WEEK THREE -

DAY ONE: Weekly department/shift meetings

DAY TWO: Pulse Survey given with explanation and timeline of information useDAY FOUR- Management meetings where CEO is present

DAY FIVE: Pulse Survey Data calculated and developed into report

- WEEK FOUR -

DAY ONE: Weekly department/shift meetings

DAY TWO: Pulse Report results discussed with CEO and upper management with lions present

DAY THREE: Executive Response is finalized with CEO; Upper management and ions present (is distributed at the beginning of next month in weekly department/shift meetings by lions)

DAY FOUR: Management meetings where CEO is present

DAY FIVE- Eating with Edwards

Reference Page

Bendoly, E., Helper, S., and Levine, D. (2001). Employee involvement and pay at U.S. and Canadian auto suppliers. Retrieved from http://dspace.mit.edu/bitstream/handle/1721.1/727/helper1.pdf?sequence=15.

Blanchard, K and Johnson, S. (1983). The one minute manager. Berkeley Trade: New York, NY.

Brandt, J. and Taninecz, G. (2008). Turning success for automotive suppliers. Retrieved from http://www.mpi-group.net/PDFs/documents/AutomotiveSuppliers_WP_US.pdf

Clampitt, P. (2010). Communicating for managerial effectiveness. Sage Publications:

Thousand Oaks, CA.

Deshpande, S.P. and Golhar, D.Y. (2009). Outsourcing for financial success? An exploratory study. Entreprenuer. Retrieved from http://www.entrepreneur.com/tradejournals/article/204480540.html.

Goldsmith, M. (2007). Engaging employees. Retrieved from http://www.businessweek.com/careers/content/jul2007/ca2007073_512524.htm.

Hoovers. (2009). Auto parts manufacturing. Retrieved from www.hoovers.com.

Ijose, O. (2007). Culture and the adoption of practices: An assessment of the U.S. automotive manufacturing sector. Journal of International Business and Cultural Studies. Retrieved from http://www.aabri.com/manuscripts/09232.pdf.

ISixSigma. (2000-2009). Six sigma: What is six sigma? Retrieved from http://www.isixsigma.com/sixsigma/six_sigma.asp.

Uchitelle, L. (2009). Detroit woes’ wound an army of suppliers. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/03/business/03suppliers.html?_r=1&ref=business.

United States Department of Labor. (2009). Motor vehicle and parts manufacturing. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved from http://www.bls.gov/oco/cg/cgs012.htm.

Download 461.67 Kb.

Share with your friends: