Case 28: General Motors and United Auto Workers Group A

Recommendation
QWL should be seen in terms of opportunities granted to employees to learn, innovate
and develop their creative potential in line with the developmental needs of their
organization. This not only encompasses conditions at the workplace, but also sees the
employment relationship as being inextricably bound up with external factors. These
include the support frameworks of policy makers, the issue of work life balance and the
linkage between value creations at the workplace with the broader components of social
capital. It requires for an in-depth analysis of the conceptual landscape as well as
theoretical approaches in this field.

Dialogue culture should be introduces

In order to make the QWL more effective for the new plants as well as keeping the on
going program sustainable a dialogue culture should be introduced, which means, righ for
voice to the top management. Labor union need to participate in QWL initiative while
simultaneously making new types of demands at the bargaining table like employment
security, supervision style, control of technology, involvement in job redesigning, health
and safety issues, living accommodation by organization etc.

Ensure of Acceptance & Awareness of the QWL Program

There are two important prerequisites that must be in place before they begin. First, there
must be some assurance that the GM is really ready for the QWL concept and that the
program will have a chance for success if it is implemented. A good way to determine
this is to measure the management and employee attitudes about the firm, its people and
the working environment. This will uncover any hidden problems that could sabotage the
program. Secondly, there must be public and sincere acceptance of the program and the
philosophy behind it by the senior managers. If the top levels approach the program as
something that doesn’t involve them, but is a new fad that will keep the natives from
becoming restless, the process is doomed from the start.

Initiating involvement of representatives from the salaried employees to keep

corporate integration of QWL active

Stating from 1975, QWL representative were providing regional training program for
both existing and new first three level management get them accounted with GM’s
policies, system and values. At the same time Bluestone made a promise to the GM
executives that QWL was implemented for the improvement of business activity rather a
voluntary civil service. In order to keep this perception imposed, the committee would
need to provide a continuing process to help talented executives to use their capabilities
and competencies to make the program sustainable. The suggestion from the
professionals can a potential input for keep the QWL program active. Currently, GM has
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Case 28: General Motors and United Auto Workers Group A

brought some changes to their corporate strategies through developing leadership and
working with online programs like eCompensation, eLearning and Employee Portals.

Within group, they should work together with their business partners like UWA utilizing
skills and competencies such as: Business Acumen, Building Relationships and
Partnerships, and Change Management. While if focus is on people, QWL representatives
should continually make aware the GM & UWA authorities of the role of operations play
in fulfilling the GM corporate mission.

Coordination between the phases of the QWL program

The union communication system and organizing strategy must be authentically
participatory from the research stage to final phase. Workers’ experiences and attitudes
toward the ‘positive labor relations program’ must be surveyed practically not just
describing as the guidelines and made priorities around which the campaign is organized.
In probing the employee involvement system’s vulnerabilities, facilitators need to
examine a number of other matters, such as the difference between management rhetoric
and reality through asking some of the following questions:
• Which idea and proposal put forward by employee participation teams were
rejected by management?
• Which were accepted but never implemented?
• What specific requests for information by the teams were accepted and refused?
• Who feels frustrated by the rebuff (management or worker)?
• Are supervisors dominating or manipulating the discussion?
• How are dissenters from the management’s view and from the majority view of
one’s peers treated?

Carefully organizing training program

The facilitators of the training program need to be aware that the training sessions are
mixed bag. Distinction should be made between the useful problem solving skills
participants receive and the employment of powerful psychological techniques directed at
changing the employee attitudes, perceptions of management and self-concepts. But
while communicating these conceptions with the employees, the facilitator should be
careful about demonstrating in a warm humanistic terms that actually serve to
fundamental human needs for dignity, self-esteem, empowerment, participation and self-
fulfillment.

In taking a more positive approach, facilitator should demonstrate the union support of
non-manipulative training and educational development. At the same time facilitator
should ensure joint participation in the design, implementation and evaluation of training
programs for the effective transfer of learning.

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Case 28: General Motors and United Auto Workers Group A

Trainer should understand the deviation of perception of workers

The facilitators of the training program need to be aware that the training sessions are
mixed bag. Distinction should be made between the useful problem solving skills
participants receive and the employment of powerful psychological techniques directed at
changing the employee attitudes, perceptions of management and self-concepts. But
while communicating these conceptions with the employees, the facilitators should be
careful about demonstrating in a warm humanistic terms that actually serve to
fundamental human needs for dignity, self-esteem, empowerment, participation and self-
fulfillment.

Considering number of components prior to developing program

Prior to developing a program, consideration of a number of elements must be made.
Certain job components differed in importance depending on the occupational group.
Consideration of the importance and existence of each component is essential to avoid
inappropriate programs and the associated costs of their implementation. Studies showed
that companies which aspire to become active in their QWL orientation should analyze
not only the levels of employee satisfaction with particular components, but also the
associated values and perceptions (Gale Group, 1991).

Benchmarking job quality & Evaluate the outcome

In order to make the QWL universal for all the plants, GM & UAW need to benchmark
the quality of job so that the employees’ impact can be justified and the result is reliable
and verifiable. Moreover, if any standardized occur in all plants, employee response can
be evaluated. This will help GM to diagnose areas of strength & weakness, develop
strategies to address latter, track progress. They can initiate incentives for managers to
contribute to specific job quality goals.

Considering the economic and competitive situation while implementing the

program
Since economic downturn and competitive situation are the thread for the programs for
QWL, the financing team of QWL should always maintain contingency source of fund
which can beneficial to continue the program without any hindrance. Specially, if the
problems arise in the right to work states where the voluntary subscription might not be
possible, they can go for broader source, like the stakeholders of the society who are
directly or indirectly getting the benefits of the QWL results. The committee should
maintain a liaison with the communications department which can provide the
information regarding the availability of the fund from the donors.

Initiating broader range programs under QWL

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Case 28: General Motors and United Auto Workers Group A

Recently, under the umbrella of QWL many other world renowned companies have
implemented the QWL concept in their work place and they included many other
programs under the broad definition of QWL. Some of these big companies are Ford
motors, Xerox, IBM, Tisco, Johnsons & Johnsons, Tata, Google, Boeing, Apple
Computer, Prentice Hall, Intel etc. Some of their programs are very much appreciated by
the both the management and the union. Therefore, GM can also implement such kind
program to make the program in term of return on investment, like

• They can change the assembly line system and make it flexible
• Inaugurate flextime concept and 35 hour work weeks
• Funding for the children care center in their plants
• Dedicate a day of service to their local communities each year
• Establishing a quiet room for employees where they can take mental retreats
• Deciding a team leader for each group and recognizing the worker whose idea on
the assembly brought welfare for both company and the worker. Providing
company ownership to those talented employees
• Two engine line in a plant to bring back laid of employees where production
standard needs to set at a higher level (April 27, 2010, General Motors' Town of
Tonawanda engine plant for the production of the "Generation V" engine —
representing a $400 million investment by GM — is set to begin in 2012. It could
bring the total job count to near 1,200, welcome news for a plant that last year
was nervous about its future amid job cuts, the phaseout of two engines and GM's
bankruptcy (source: GM’s official website)

Conclusion
Hard and diligent efforts by Irv Bluestone of the United Auto Workers, and Stephen
Fuller of General Motors led to the development of guidelines which sufficiently allayed
misgivings on both side to permit the implementation of pilot QWL pro-grams. The dire
straits in which the domestic automobile industry found itself in the 1970s provided an
added impetus for innovative action. The success of the pilot QWL programs promoted
the spread of the concept to other General Motors plants. The Future of QWL In one
sense, the introduction of QWL may be compared to the introduction of the metric
system into a society used to traditional English weights and measurements. As the older
generation dies off, the metric system is the only system with which the remaining
members of society are familiar, and opposition to the metric system disappears. This
phenomenon occurred in Britain, and is rapidly occurring in Canada. A similar projection
may be made for the future of QWL at General Motors, although the road to the future
will be scattered with the boulders of increasing automation and foreign competition.

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