Part One Understanding the Supervisor’s Role
76
program at Fairchild Republic illustrates the LMC technique.14 Top man¬agement at Fairchild Republic wanted to improve two-way communica¬tions between supervisors and employees. They saw improved communi¬cations as a way of involving employees in work planning and allowing them to make suggestions for improving productivity.
The QWL program they developed was a labor-management commit¬tee given the name PROFIT. The pilot program involved 10 groups of unionized employees and their supervisors. Approximately 150 employ¬ees and supervisors were involved out of a total plant population of 3,000. Supervisors and employees in a given work unit meet twice a week. The meetings take place at the beginning and the end of a shift (on company time) for a total of four meetings per week. Meetings typically run about 15 to 30 minutes.
During morning meetings, the supervisors outline work schedules and priorities are established. Employees discuss any problems they are cur¬rently experiencing or anticipating. At the end of the shift, the work group meets again to review the quality and quantity of production. During the second session of the day employees discuss accomplishments and bar¬riers to accomplishment and make recommendations for improvement. Problems surfacing at the PROFIT meetings are reviewed by an oversee¬ing committee composed of union and management representatives. The committee reviews PROFIT discussions and assigns teams to investigate problems and implement solutions beyond the immediate work group.
Effect of LMCs on Morale and Satisfaction. Opinion and evidence suggests that labor-management committees do improve job satisfaction and morale. One reason attitudes improve is that employees and supervi¬sors take pride in having their productivity improvement suggestions ac¬cepted. Another reason is that joint problem solving itself is an enjoyable experience.
The opinion of a Fairchild official about the PROFIT program helps ex¬plain the contribution of LMCs to satisfaction and morale. He notes that both supervisors and union stewards are enthusiastic about the program and believe it has increased the motivation of participants. Furthermore, the program appears to be promoting teamwork. (Teamwork and morale go hand-in-hand.) Teamwork comes about through the work group re¬viewing its goals and plans, reviewing accomplishments, and identifying problems.15
14All the information about PROFIT is from Jack V. Ferrara, “Fairchild’s QWL Program Improves Performance,” Personnel Administrator, July 1983 pp 65-67
15Ibid.
