Top Executives Case

Top executives believed the lessons learned should make implementing the programme at other sites less costly and time-consuming. However, when Howard and her team attempted to implement the programme at the Lubbock plant, things did not go well. They felt immense pressure from top management to get the team-based productivity project running smoothly. This was because people were not showing up for the problem chat meetings, attendance was made mandatory. Nevertheless, the meetings still produced few valuable ideas or suggestions. Although a few of the SPITS teams solved important problems, none of them showed the kind of commitment and enthusiasm Howard had seen originally. In addition, the Lubbock plant's workers refused to participate in the softball games and other team-building exercises that Howard's team developed for them. Howard finally convinced some workers to join in the softball games by bribing them with free food and drinks. ‘If I just had a Donald Peterson, things would go a lot more smoothly', Howard thought. ‘These workers don't trust us the way workers trusted him.' It seemed that no matter how hard Howard and her team tried to make the project work in the Lubbock plant, morale continued to decline and conflicts between the different groups of workers actually seemed to increase.

Howard had a stroke of luck in the form of Donald Peterson, a long-time Acme employee who was highly respected at the Wichita plant and was looking for one final challenging project before he retired. Peterson had served in just about every possible line and staff position at Acme over his 39-year career, and he understood the problems workers faced on both the brains and the brawn sides of the business. Howard was pleased when Peterson agreed to serve as a leader for the Wichita pilot project. Three functional groups at the Wichita plant included operations, made up primarily of hourly workers who operated

...