Superior Slate

Problem Statement

The Superior State Quarry had a sharp decline in production output after the process was upgraded and streamlined. Thomas North is now faced with profit losses and uncertainty in his company's ability to compete in the slate roofing industry.

Analysis

There are many reasons why "improvements" made to the slate quarry work process and equipment triggered a loss in productivity. To understand why this happened, one has to first understand the social system of the group members at the quarry. By analyzing the elements of behavior of the social system, both external and internal, and how they relate to one another, we will be able to understand why erecting the new mill had the kinds of consequences it did.

The part of the social system called the external system is comprised of required and given behavior. More specifically, it consists of required activities, required interactions, required sentiments and given sentiments. These elements of behavior are what a group starts with and will depend on various background factors which members of the group have little or no control over. Some of these background factors are job design, technology, management policy and practice, leadership behavior, personal backgrounds, economic environment and social environment.

Prior to erecting the mill, the group performing the work of making shingles primarily consisted of two splitters and one trimmer. The required activities of the splitters and trimmer were as follows:

* Two splitters were to break a large rock into small blocks by using a wooden mallet. The splitters then carried the small blocks into the shanty. There the splitters further chiseled the blocks into thinner pieces.

* When this was completed, the splitters placed the thin pieces for the trimmer on a low table. The trimmer then proceeded to make as large a rectangle out of these pieces with a trimming machine. After the pieces was trimmed, the trimmer was expected to clear the slate waste chips from his trimming machine.

* At the end of the day, the shingles that were produced were carried out of the shanty by the splitters and trimmer and placed in long rows.

In order to successfully complete all these activities, frequent interaction in close proximity was required and a willingness to work together in a small team.

The activities, interactions and sentiments required of the splitters and trimmer in order to successfully perform the task of making shingles were influenced by certain background factors. The most important of these factors was the job design. By design, the required activities were to be very labor intensive, and the workers were expected to work in close proximity with one another and interact frequently. A key overall expectation was for the workers to work well together. The lack of available technology at the quarry was also another major factor in shaping the required behavior of the workers. Not having automation and sophisticated equipment required the workers to work more with their hands and have a higher level of cooperation between one another to be highly productive.

As the required behavior to make shingles was influenced by such factors as job design and technology, the given sentiments that the workers brought to the workplace were influenced by their individual characteristics and personal background. The personal background and characteristics of the splitters and trimmers who worked at the quarry were very similar. They were all born in Wales and preferred to speak in their native tongue. They socially mixed with just one another and tried to maintain their traditional customs, habits and beliefs. Due to their similar personal background, the Welsh splitters and trimmers brought to the work place similar sentiments or feelings.

For example, they all enjoyed working with rocks and took great pride in the work they produced with their own two hands. They would remark, "Machines, no matter how well built, can never tell the grain. They leave marks which often mar the beauty of the finished stone." Another feeling they brought with them was their fondness of working with other Welsh people in small groups. They had lunch together every day sharing their food. After work they would take their time heading home. As they passed by the shanties, they would complement each other on their outputs. They did not mingle with the two other ethnic groups in their community, the Irish and Yankee. Lastly, they felt they were better than others, especially the Irish, because they were more skilled and paid better. The Irish in the town of Gorham largely worked in the slate mills where they scraped and cut the slate products made by the Welsh. Less skill and experience was required to do mill work as compared to slate splitting. Consequently, mill workers made a third less than their slate splitting counterpart. In addition, the mills were dusty, noisy and considered to be an unhealthy place to work by the Welsh. For these reasons, they looked down on the Irish and did not get along with them. The Welsh perceived their external status being higher than that of the Irish because they best represented the ideals of their given sentiments or values.

As the splitters and trimmer worked closely together in the shanties, they started developing ways of thinking and behaving that were in addition to the behavior that was required of the job. This emerging behavior assisted them to be more productive and the relationships which emerged brought a high level of satisfaction to them. In contrast when the new mill was erected and the process streamlined, the emerging behavior that ensued hindered their productivity and the relationships which emerged brought little satisfaction to them. Hence, an emerging behavior can either assist or hinder in the performance of a task. Understanding how these emerging behaviors evolve will help us to predict how members of a group are likely to behave. And in our case, this will help us to understand why there was productivity loss and why there was less job satisfaction after erecting the mill.

When the splitters and trimmer worked in the shanty, what emerged from them working together was a higher level of cooperation than that which was required of the job. For example, one of the splitters would clear away waste chips that fell when the trimmer operated his machine. And in turn, the trimmer would help the splitters carry their blocks and bring fresh water to them. They truly cared for one another and enjoyed working with one another. There seemed to be a sense of positive competition that served as reinforcement to the Welsh pride in their work as well as ensure high productivity