Aberdeen & Green River's Final Analysis

The FMC Corporation has plants all over the country. One that has received quite a bit of attention is the small plant in Aberdeen, South Dakota. It has a very unique way of running business, and has experienced quite a bit of success with this innovative technique. Green River, Wyoming has a few large plants that have been there for decades. A new plant manager has sparked some interest in the way things operate in the plant at Aberdeen. He is curious about many aspects of the plant's model and how they differ from that of his. He would also like to know if Aberdeen's system is applicable to his plants.

The management of ability at Aberdeen FMC started out as a highly selective process. Management was very specific about the type of people they wanted working for them. On the other hand, the Green River locations have been around for a long time, and use their unions to manage ability. The management of ability is a process to correctly match people with jobs they are qualified for. Management does this by selection, placement, and training. (George/Jones, p.59) At Aberdeen, management looked for people with open minds, and positive attitudes. They felt that technical skills are more easily learned than personal. This was very important to management at Aberdeen because of their innovative way of running the plant. This allows for the employees to have more control, without there being any problems. Green River is focused on technical skills. This is because the union leaders take care of all the issues the employees might have, and wish to take up with management. They make use of their employees skill sets by getting their product in and out as quickly as possible. They leave the business side of things to the union leaders and management. I am doubtful as to weather Aberdeen's method would work in Green River. I feel this way because Green River has multiple plants, they are much bigger, and to find so many people with that type of personality may be difficult. Also, considering the business there is so much bigger than that of Aberdeen's, I think it would be difficult to keep a family-like atmosphere. Aberdeen is doing exactly what it should to make the best use of their employee's abilities. They seem to fit their employees in the best possible spot for them and then train them in new fields, so that the employee can be versatile and work in whatever position that needs filled. I think unions put a halt on making the best use of their employees right off the bat. I don't think they should do away with the unions, but I feel like if the employees didn't have someone to speak for them, if they had their own voice in the company, they would feel more important to the business, and more willing to work. I think this could be done by letting the union leaders take a step back and allow the members to share with the company what would make them more willing and able to work. Maybe they will find that Green River's method was sort of wasteful. People in unions are usually only worried about making their quota, and anything extra is thought of as bad. Maybe if they had more of the power to say how much or what should be done in a day, they would be more willing to push themselves. People will undoubtedly disagree. Some people may feel uncomfortable with the extra freedom, and some may not be willing to speak for themselves. These issues could cause some problems when trying to put Aberdeen's system to work in Green River.

The organizational commitment at Aberdeen is quite unique. It is clear to me that all people employed at this plant are extremely committed. I think this is one of the things that the plant was based around. Organizational commitment includes hoe people feel about the organization's promotional practices, the quality of their products, and their stance on ethical issues. (George/Jones, p. 75) Aberdeen's employees strive to keep the organization the way it was when they opened. I do not think the Green River plants employees have a great deal of organizational commitment, because they do not have that much involvement in deciding what the promotional practices and such are. I think if Dailey could make the management of ability in effect at Aberdeen work in Green River, he could easily change the level of organizational commitment at his plants. I think with more freedom and more involvement in the company's procedures, people will appreciate things more because they know they had a chance to voice their opinion. Once again, I think Aberdeen has done all it can to maximize employee commitment. The testimonials in Custom Business Resources are very positive. Everyone seems to love every aspect of the plant and how it is run. I think Green River could maximize organizational commitment by allowing the employees to have more of a say in what the procedures are, how people are treated, and things of that sort. They could hold meetings in small groups to determine how they felt things should be at their plant. After each small group reaches a consensus, they could have a bigger meeting with everyone, and discuss what the small groups want to do. People should also be able to go to a higher authority with any problems or suggestions, without feeling like their comments will be disregarded or forgotten. One of the biggest issues with this is the number of voices management would have to listen to. They need to consider each employee's thoughts and wishes and find a medium where everyone would be satisfied. Again, disagreement will undoubtedly occur, and dealing with that will be difficult. Also, it may be difficult for those in charge to change their ways and even listen to what the laymen have to say.

A man who thought that job satisfaction was the key to maximizing output, profit, and quality was the first plant manager at Aberdeen. Green River's plants leave it to the union to figure out what needs to be done to create or improve job satisfaction. "Job satisfaction is the collection of feelings and beliefs that people have about their current jobs." (George/Jones, p. 75) Aberdeen obviously does a great job with regard to employee satisfaction, but with Green River, it is hard to tell. I'm sure their employees are pretty well satisfied, considering if there is a big enough problem, the union president will take it up with management. Green River could implement the same methods as Aberdeen because it just takes a management system with enough compassion to hear out the employees. It seems like in Aberdeen, there is not much room for growth. Although employees have the option to learn new trades, and advance that way, once they reach the top of the points scale, there is nothing else they can do. If there were more job opportunities, and more diverse ones, maybe people would be more satisfied