Fmc Corporation: Organizational Behavior Analysis
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FMC Corporation is a Chicago-based conglomerate that consists of over five major businesses. Aberdeen and Green River are both plants that work under FMC Corporation. These two businesses work in two separate industries — defense and chemicals, respectively. Unfortunately, the industries are not the only differences to consider. Both locations have operated with different management styles, leading to differences in organizational commitment, job satisfaction, and organizational ethics, as outlined below.
The management of ability can be looked at from many aspects including management style. Bob Lancaster founded the Aberdeen plant based on the beliefs of participative-management and empowerment to its employees. Managers who use the participatory style of management believe that the worker can make a contribution to the design of their own work. These managers engage the workers by establishing and communicating the purpose and direction of the organization, developing a shared vision of what the organization should be and the plan to get there. Essentially, the manager takes on the role of leader and is also a coach (Quality America, 2008). Lancaster based his system on the principle of trust, involving self-directing work teams that would eliminate fear from among all employees. He wanted to hire people who were dedicated to serving the customer, who were open to new ideas, who had a history of participative management interests, and those who were willing and eager to create something new (Clawson, 2005, p. 4). Once hired, each employee was placed on a team that managed virtually every aspect of the plant’s work and reporting. This resulted in highly motivated employees that retained job satisfaction and had continued morale, while productivity remained high. These techniques have given workers a great sense of responsibility and more importantly, trust between co-workers.
In Green River, Kenneth Dailey operates into an organization that has performed under an autocratic management style for several decades. In an autocratic organization, the control comes from top management. The premise of the autocratic management style is the belief that in most cases the worker cannot make a contribution to their own work, and even if they could, they wouldn’t (Quality America, 2008). Green River operates under a union, which is part to blame for this sort of negative behavior. Even though the union is progressive, it somehow continues to function under old job descriptions, not allowing the employees to have much say in the day to day operations of the company (Clawson, 2005, p. 23). Employees here work in “say-do” mode — basically awaiting orders and carrying them out. They don’t try to improve processes because they have job security through the union. This is something that will be hard to overcome since the company has been operating this way since the 50’s. It is fair to say that this type of management results in low morale and motivation, suspicion, and low commitment.
In his report, Ken Dailey stated that his management style is very interactive, with a high level of trust for people; he is relatively open, is willing to distribute information, and is eager to drive decision making down into the organization (Clawson, 2005, p. 23). Despite this, he is also aware that the current methods of communication are poor due to the limited computer system the company uses. Since communication is essential to any organization, no matter what the size, Dailey must first improve the communication methods and standards at Green River. From there, he can work on facilitating a more enthusiastic and committed organization.
Job satisfaction and organizational commitment are key factors that go hand in hand. The levels of job satisfaction and organizational commitment at Aberdeen far exceed that of Green River. In Aberdeen, there is a low turnover rate, where most people leave the company for reasons other than simply not liking the company (Clawson, 2005, p. 12). The employees here appreciate being trusted by management, having management’s help in times of need, and having managers that listen to their concerns.