Luggers vs Butcher
Introduction
The main operation of Food Merchandising Corporation located in New Jersey was to stock certain goods (packaged meats) and ship them to various stores. In order to prepare the meat for shipment to the intermediaries, it had to be unloaded and butchered. The employees were broken down in to two sets (luggers and butchers) in order to perform the tasks. The luggers were responsible for unloading the tremendously heavy meat while the butchers were responsible for butchering the meat once it arrived within the warehouse. When the company became unionized, the workers were given an option as to which position they preferred. This was done according to seniority. Most of the older men chose to become butchers because of the physical labor required to lug the meat and because of the higher wage associated with the job. Therefore, the others were slated to be luggers. Consequently, two different types of individuals became associated with the two different types of jobs (Buller & Schuler, 2003, p.317).
Major Issues
Some of the workers at FMC warehouse became disgruntled because of a plethora of reasons. The major issues fall under the categories leadership, motivation, and conflict in the workplace.
Leadership
Good leadership practices are vital in maintaining successful organizations. Leadership is defined as the process by which an individual influences others in ways that help attain group or organizational goals. In O’Connell’s article, Smile, Don’t Bark, in Tough Times (2009), he questions the reaction of managers in critical times: If your team is underperforming, it’s crunch time, and everyone is stressed. Will you get better results by coming down hard on your employees or by cheering them on and trying to foster cooperation? The cheerleaders will generate better performance than the despots, according to new research by Gerben A. van Kleef, of the University of Amsterdam, and five coauthors. That’s because
The main operation of Food Merchandising Corporation located in New Jersey was to stock certain goods (packaged meats) and ship them to various stores. In order to prepare the meat for shipment to the intermediaries, it had to be unloaded and butchered. The employees were broken down in to two sets (luggers and butchers) in order to perform the tasks. The luggers were responsible for unloading the tremendously heavy meat while the butchers were responsible for butchering the meat once it arrived within the warehouse. When the company became unionized, the workers were given an option as to which position they preferred. This was done according to seniority. Most of the older men chose to become butchers because of the physical labor required to lug the meat and because of the higher wage associated with the job. Therefore, the others were slated to be luggers. Consequently, two different types of individuals became associated with the two different types of jobs (Buller & Schuler, 2003, p.317).
Major Issues
Some of the workers at FMC warehouse became disgruntled because of a plethora of reasons. The major issues fall under the categories leadership, motivation, and conflict in the workplace.
Leadership
Good leadership practices are vital in maintaining successful organizations. Leadership is defined as the process by which an individual influences others in ways that help attain group or organizational goals. In O’Connell’s article, Smile, Don’t Bark, in Tough Times (2009), he questions the reaction of managers in critical times: If your team is underperforming, it’s crunch time, and everyone is stressed. Will you get better results by coming down hard on your employees or by cheering them on and trying to foster cooperation? The cheerleaders will generate better performance than the despots, according to new research by Gerben A. van Kleef, of the University of Amsterdam, and five coauthors. That’s because
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