12/8/2009

ORGANIZATIONAL
COMMUNICATION
AUTO PARTS MANUFACTURING CASE 11.1

Phil’s Fab Four

Kelli Bastien, Sandy Kue, Katie Stilp, and Erin Young
Contents
Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................. 4

Case Overview ......................................................................................................................................... 4

Assumptions............................................................................................................................................ 6

Problem Analysis ..................................................................................................................................... 7

Stated Problem.................................................................................................................................... 7

Unstated Problem/ Overall Problem .................................................................................................... 7

Symptoms ........................................................................................................................................... 8

Goals of the Case ................................................................................................................................... 11

Audience Analysis.................................................................................................................................. 14

K.I.S.S. Charts..................................................................................................................................... 14

Change Planning Chart....................................................................................................................... 18

Myers Briggs ...................................................................................................................................... 21

Strategy, Tactics, & Rationale ................................................................................................................ 23

Rejected Ideas ....................................................................................................................................... 28

Conclusion............................................................................................................................................. 28

Continuous Improvement ...................................................................................................................... 29

Appendix A: 100 Facts ........................................................................................................................... 30

Appendix B: Pulse Report ...................................................................................................................... 38

Appendix C: Quantitative Pulse Report Analysis..................................................................................... 41

Appendix D: Qualitative Pulse Report Analysis ....................................................................................... 42

Appendix E: K.I.S.S. Chart for CEO .......................................................................................................... 43

Appendix F: K.I.S.S. Chart for Employees................................................................................................ 44

Appendix G: Change Planning Chart....................................................................................................... 45

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Appendix H: Strategies, Tactics, & Rationale Chart................................................................................. 46

Appendix I: Roll-out Schedule ................................................................................................................ 47

MONTH ONE ..................................................................................................................................... 47

MONTH TWO..................................................................................................................................... 52

Reference Page ..................................................................................................................................... 54

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Executive Summary
Our paper consists of an in-depth analysis of Case 11.1, which deals with an auto parts

manufacturing company and its CEO seeking help with its communication strategy. As

communication experts, we have analyzed the company’s culture, employees, and operations

along with the auto parts manufacturing industry to find the problems within the company that

prevented effective communication. We will present a case overview with the facts we received

as well as our assumptions we made during the case that provided a basic context for our

decisions. Following that, we will present a problem analysis describing the stated and unstated

problems we found from analyzing the company’s Pulse Report, and then propose our

communication goals along with the business goals. Next, we will analyze our audience with

K.I.S.S. charts and an organizational change chart. From our audience analysis, we will

recommend strategies to solve the problems presented in the case, with tactics that can be

implemented, and our rationale for why we think these strategies and tactics will work. We also

will provide a roll-out schedule for the implementation of these strategies and tactics before

concluding with our rejected ideas and our continuous improvement ideas.

Case Overview
Most of us can remember The Telephone Game from when we were young. A group of

kids would stand in a line or a circle and the first person would whisper a sentence or two into

the ear of the next person. That person would repeat it to the next person in line and the next

until it reached the last person. The last person would then announce what they heard, which was

always never close to the original message. Although it was a funny game as a child, many

people don’t realize that the same game is essentially “played” in the workplace as well. One

person tells a second that there are going to be “a few layoffs.” The second person tells the third
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a variant of the first person’s comments and the communication continues going in people’s ears

throughout the company. Before you know it the “few layoffs” turn into everybody hearing that

the whole plant is shutting down and everyone is losing their jobs. This type of “telephone

game” usually begins with rumors as a direct result of a lack of communication between

employees and managers. This common issue was one of the problems identified in our case.

To begin our case, we identified and analyzed what the problems were and the objectives

we were assigned to achieve. Our case involved Suzanne Edwards, a new CEO of an auto parts

manufacturing firm that has over 1,000 employees. After spending the first six months of the job

“righting the financial ship”, Ms. Edwards needed us to develop a communication strategy that

would address the concerns presented in the company’s monthly Pulse Report. A Pulse Report is

a part of the Pulse Process, which, according to Communicating for Managerial Effectiveness by

Phillip G. Clampitt, has three main objectives. The first objective is to “identify employee

concerns and reactions to ongoing initiatives in a timely, reliable, and economical manner.” The

second objective is to “respond to these concerns” and lastly, “cultivate a productive dialogue

between executives and employees.”

The Pulse Process begins by administering a short survey that includes several close-

ended statements in which respondents rate their agreement on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1

representing “strongly disagree” and 5 representing “strongly agree.” In our Pulse Survey (see

Appendix B), questions asked included “I know how I contribute to the Plant’s growth,” “I have

an important role in the Plant’s success,” “My immediate supervisor provides routine updates on

Plant issues,” and “I understand how major decisions are made in the Plant,” among other

questions. The Pulse Survey also asks one or more open-ended questions. In our case, only one

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question was asked: “If you could ask the plant manager one question, what would it be?” The

Pulse Report results will be analyzed later in this paper in Appendixes C and D, as this was one

of the objectives of our case that Ms. Edwards requested.

Upon analyzing the problem, we determined that the purpose of our case was to learn

how to analyze assessment data and develop a strategic plan. To achieve this, we began

developing a list of assumptions to base our decisions on, analyzing our problems and goals for

the case, and identifying communication and business goals.

Assumptions
In our analysis of the case, we made several assumptions to provide a basic context for

our decisions. One of our assumptions was the CEO had not built a rapport with her employees.

We made this assumption because she is relatively new on the job and our case situation

explained that “she has devoted most of her time to ‘righting the financial ship.’” She also

explained that she was “far more comfortable with Six Sigma initiatives than [she is] with any of

the HR alchemy.” Six Sigma is a data driven approach and methodology that companies use for

eliminating defects in any process. Companies use Six Sigma to increase profits by eliminating

variability, defects, and waste that undermine customer loyalty (ISixSsigma, 2006).

Another assumption was that there was only one plant manager and several lower- level

managers, with employees underneath them. We came to this assumption after researching the

hierarchy in auto manufacturing firms and from the question used in the Pulse Survey, which

asked, “If you could ask the plant manager one question, what would it be?” The Pulse Survey

also had a close-ended statement that said “My immediate supervisor provides routine updates

on Plant issues.”
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 A third assumption we formed was that the implementation of the strategy would be over

a long period of time. This goes along with another assumption that there haven’t been any major

improvements from the Pulse Reports in the last 6 months. We made this assumption because in

the case situation it said this month’s Pulse Report has comments and responses that were “fairly

typical of other reports she has received in her first six months on the job.” This shows that the

problems that are arising in the company have been around for an extended period of time and

will not be easily fixed. Employees will need time to get used to the changes and determine if

they are satisfied with the changes presented in the communication strategy.

Problem Analysis
Stated Problem

The obvious, or stated problem, of our case was that the CEO needed us to develop a

communication strategy to address the concerns raised in the Pulse Reports in order to “keep the

crew pointed in the right direction.” The CEO felt that this problem was an HR problem. Results

from the current Pulse Report were not new and as a new CEO, she wanted to try to solve these

problems.

Unstated Problem/ Overall Problem

Based on the compiled results of the Pulse Report (see Appendixes C and D) we noticed

that there was an unstated problem that needed to be addressed. We learned from the Pulse

Report that the overall problem was that there was a manager and employee disconnect.

Employees and managers were not sharing information and bottom- up communication was

ignored. Although some of the feedback we received from the Pulse Report was positive, a large

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portion of the qualitative data that we analyzed was negative. We knew that there was an

underlying problem that needed to be addressed due to the large number of negative responses.

Some responses provided suggestions for corrective action, while others were not very

constructive. We further analyzed the Pulse Report to gather more specific details about the

problems in the company.

In our analysis of the Pulse Report data we identified and classified the employees’

responses using a micro approach because of the need to filter the numerous varied responses.

We found three major types of concerns, which included an issue about the hierarchy of the

plant, incongruent goals between different levels or departments, and the lack of information that

was being shared in the company. From those three concerns, we concluded that they were all a

result of the overall problem of a manager and employee disconnect because of the many

organizational boundaries that existed within the plant.

The hierarchy classification was used to identify concerns related to the fact that the plant

was too top heavy. This represented a total of 16 percent of our sub problems. Next, 26 percent

of the responses were related to the fact that information was not being shared. This could mean

that the information was not being shared at all, or not effectively shared, andor not shared in a

timely manner. Lastly, 47 percent of the responses were related to incongruent goals, or the fact

that the goals of the employees and the goals of the plant or upper management conflicted with

each other.

Symptoms

With this company, the problems were so rampant that with our analysis it was difficult

to determine whether something was a symptom or a problem. Many of the managers were

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trying to appease the symptoms of the employees without actually solving the problem. We have

identified some key symptoms found in the company and will briefly explain how it relates to the

problem at hand.

First, lower-level employees do not understand how major decisions are made in the

plant. This can be linked to the fact that the plant is too top heavy and employees do not feel that

they are important in the success of the company. It can also be linked to the problem that there

are incongruent goals. If the employees don’t understand how major decisions are made,

credibility of the upper management is lost and the employees start feeling unimportant. It is

hard for employees to relate to these major decisions and understand how they might ultimately

be affected by the decisions. This symptom also ties into the problem that information is not

being shared. When decisions are being made, the decision makers are not informing others

about how that decision was made. Therefore, employees have a harder time going through the

acceptance stage, according to the Kubler-Ross Model. Decisions are were being implemented

with apparent dissatisfaction and without the proper knowledge.

Secondly, lower-level employees do not know where the plant is heading for the future. If

they feel that they do not know how major decisions are made and don’t know the plant’s plans

for the future, the employees are going to have a hard time trusting the overall credibility of the

plant and upper management. This symptom can also relate back to all three of our negative sub

problems. For example, upper management is not sharing information, or not sharing

information in a timely and effective manner about future plans. Because of the number of levels

within the company, top- down communication is being made but not reaching to the lower-level

employees. Employees that are uninformed about the direction in which the plant is headed

might not understand how their role affects the company and how they might be able to add
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value to the company. This can result in incongruent goals. The business goals of the company

might not be effectively communicated in order for the lower-level employees to understand,

relate and contribute to change, and maintain the overall success of the plant.

Thirdly, lower-level employees feel unsatisfied and want more stability and security. If

the plant is being run from the top- down and there is no concern for informing the lower-level

employees about major decisions and future of the plant, the employees are going to feel

insecure. The uninformed employees are going to base their thoughts on the current state of the

entire auto industry, which is unstable at the moment. This is also an example of incongruent

goals. The employees’ goal is to maintain stability and security, and because upper management

is not taking the time to communicate this with their employees, it appears that they do not care

about their employees. It can also appear that upper management is trying to hide the possibility

that the plant is unstable.

Additionally, there is a lack of employee engagement. The employees do not feel like

they are a part of the overall success of the plant due to the fact that there is a lack of

communication and information is not being shared. In addition, they also feel that upper

management does not value them and they do not share the same goals of the company’s

success. If the employees do not feel valued and are unmotivated, they are less likely to be

productive.

Lastly, as a result of incongruent goals, the company may be too concerned with

financials and not with employees. While the financial well-being of the auto manufacturing

industry as a whole is unstable, the plant itself needs to find a balance with valuing the

employees while maintaining financial stability. If more emphasis is put on trying to value the

employees then it might actually improve the financial state of the company.
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Goals of the Case
After looking at our overall stated and unstated problems as well as our symptoms we can

more easily identify and specify our goals, while still keeping in mind the case’s objectives of:

(1) Provide an analysis of the Pulse data.

(2) Develop a strategy that fits with Ms. Edward’s style.

(3) Suggest some sample tactics that she could use to implement the strategy.

Our overall goal of the case was to develop and implement an effective communication

strategy to address the concerns raised in the Pulse Reports.

While developing and implementing an effective communication strategy we needed to

be able match our strategy to fit the management style and requests. In order to do this we

needed to identify the personality and management style, and adjust accordingly. After

identifying and analyzing Ms. Edwards’s personality and management style we needed to also

adjust how we communicated with Ms. Edwards.

In addition to identifying and analyzing Ms. Edward’s personality and management style,

we also needed to also assess the current communication channels. After doing this, we then

could develop new communication channels that could be used in our plan based on the needs of

the organization and the communication problems. Then we would implement the strategic

communication plan, taking into consideration the audiences and how they are affected by the

change.

Before developing our communication strategy to address the concerns found in the Pulse

Report, we first had to assess and analyze what those concerns were. After doing so we identified

our overall problem, which was a manager and employee disconnect. While taking a closer

analytical look we classified the types of concerns relating to our overall problem, which was

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related to information not being shared, the plant being too top-heavy and incongruent goals. To

address these concerns in our communication strategy, we decided that it would be best to

identify, clarify and re-establish what the organization’s goals were as well as the roles of each

employee. In order to accomplish this, we had to take a look at the goals of each the employees,

management, and the plant. The plant’s goals were those valued by management, but were not

clearly stated and communicated to her employees. Based on the CEO’s management style

(which will be later addressed in the audience analysis section) and the trends in the auto-

manufacturing industry, we constructed our business and communication goals.

Our Business Goals: Formatted: Font: 12 pt, Font color: Black, Not Highlight
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 Increase production Formatted: Font: 12 pt, Font color: Black, Not Highlight
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 Increase profitability Formatted: Font: 12 pt, Font color: Black, Not Highlight
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 Reduce costs Formatted: Font: 12 pt, Font color: Black, Not Highlight
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 Increase innovativeness
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 Achieve greater operating efficiency
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 Create a safer work environment
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 Lessen employee turnover Formatted: Not Highlight

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 Establish a value system Formatted: Not Highlight

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Our Communication Goals: Formatted: Not Highlight
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 Increase communication and knowledge sharing between upper management and Formatted: Not Highlight
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employees. Formatted: Not Highlight

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 Create a sense strong and healthy of culture
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 Increase emphasis on employee importance to the company Formatted: Not Highlight

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  Motivate/ engage employees Formatted: Font: 12 pt, Font color: Black, Not Highlight
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Our goals are related to our employees’ concerns and our CEO’s values. Overall, the Formatted: Font: 12 pt, Font color: Black, Not Highlight
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companywe wanted to make a profit, find cost savings, improve our culture and build Formatted: Font: 12 pt, Font color: Black, Not Highlight

relationships. In doing this there was a need for our our communication goals to help inspire, Formatted: Font: 12 pt, Font color: Black, Not Highlight

motivate, inform, employees and have the CEO relate to her employees to help accomplish the Formatted: Font: 12 pt, Font color: Black, Not Highlight
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company’s business goals. Formatted: Font: 12 pt, Font color: Black, Not Highlight
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All of our symptoms were linked to the fact that there were either incongruent goals, or a Formatted: Font: 12 pt, Font color: Black, Not Highlight

lack of information. All of this hadThis tied into the hierarchy issue and the manager and Formatted: Font: 12 pt, Font color: Black, Not Highlight

employee disconnect. In order to address these problems and symptoms we clarified our goals

and developed strategies and tactics to carry out our goals and communicate them effectively.

These goals provided the foundation for our strategy and tactics that we will describe later after

our audience analysis.

Our goals are aimed to not only alleviate some of the symptoms of the problems but to solve

them. We wanted to try to solve some of the relational and informational problems present in the

company with our communication goals of relating and informing. Focusing on building a

stronger culture would encourage teamwork, which would in turn, minimize tension between

upper management and lower-level employees. By motivating employees, employees could get

on board with some of the managers’ goals that conflicted with their own goals. Each employee

would become less individualistic and think more about the organization overall and its goals.

Lastly, the goal of increasing knowledge sharing helps solve the problem of information

hoarding that was present between upper management and the lower-level employees.

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Audience Analysis
K.I.S.S. Charts
In order to better address the needs and styles of each group involved in the case, we did

an in-depth audience analysis. We began with a K.I.S.S. chart pertaining to the CEO of the

automotive parts manufacturing firm (sSee Appendix E). We know that this CEO is new to the

firm because she has only been at the company for six months. What we can infer from this is

that she did not have the opportunity to build a rapport with her employees. Being new to a job

requires much of her time for other things, therefore not giving her the availability to meet the

people that work for her. What we recommend she do to help build a rapport is to demonstrate

her credibility. She needs to show these employees that she is good at what she does, without

coming off as arrogant or pushy. One thing that the CEO needs to realize is that change can be

difficult for some people. Once people get into a routine of leadership it may be hard for them to

adapt to change. Ways for her to try and start warming up to these employees is by MBWA or

management by walking around (MBWA). By doing this, she gets a chance to meet with the

employees that are working for her, and therefore start to build that rapport. We suggested shefor

her not to make drastic changes unless absolutely necessary. This may give the employees a bad

impression of her if she tries to implement these too soon. She needs to understand that not

everyone will be accepting of the change. She shouldn’t have to worry about this if she maintains

communication with the managers and lower-level employees of the plant. If she decided to lock

herself up in her office and not communicate with anyone because she wasn’t getting the

response she wanted, problems will arise among employees and between employees and her.

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 We also know that she has seen past Pulse Reports that had the same kinds of problems

in them. Therefore, we can infer that these kinds of problems are not new to her. One of the

suggestions we had for her to do was to present a rollout schedule to her employees to better

explain any changes that may take place in the future, and so they can observe any improvements

over time. Another thing we suggest would be to try and understand the receiver’s needs. She

should try and put herself into their position and see how they would feel during a time of

change. We suggested she should not ignore the receiver’s needs. We also do not want her to

blame the receivers for the problems that are apparent in the Pulse Report or for other issues

within the company.

We also know that the CEOshe hasd a financial background. In our case we are told that

she had devoted much of her time to “righting the financial ship.” From this, we can infer that

she is an Arrow manager. Arrow managers tend to focus on clear expression, and believe that

words convey meaning. We suggest that she be perceptive while observing employees and be

more aware of communication rules and patterns. A task we would like for her to accomplish is

harvesting the dissent in order to anticipate resistance. While she does have a background in

finance, we do not want her to overwhelm her employees with information they may not need to

know, or that they may not necessarily understand. Details are great but when the problem or

information are not necessarily things that the employees need to know, it’s best not to give them

too much information, thus causing information overload.

We also did a K.I.S.S. chart for the employees of the automotive parts manufacturing

firm (see Appendix F). The first, and most important, thing we know about the employees is that

there are over 1,000 of them. With that number of employees, we can infer they are very diverse.

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They all have their own skills which they bring to the company. Therey are many different levels

in the company. Some are veterans while some may be newer on the ranking. When you have

that large of a group of people you are trying to communicate with, there is bound to be many

different levels of communication breakdown and communication misinterpretation due to the

law of large numbers. Because of this we need to use the divide and conquer approach to identify

who the lions and opinion leaders are within the firm. In figuring out who the lions of the

departments are, it will help the company figure out a better way of communicating to such a

large number of people. Here again, we would like upper management to work on harvesting the

dissent because with such a large population, rumors are bound to happen. The best way for the

CEO and the company to avoid these problems is to avoid using lean channels only. Even though

lean channels may be convenient to use, there are so many diverse people that there will be many

different communication preferences among the employees. There could also be communication

breakdown if everyone does not understand the message as it was intended.

We know that there is most likely a union within this plant since according to the

Department of Labor, one out of four automobile workers are part of a union (2009). We can

infer that there is some sort of division between the employees. The employees that are part of

this union may have different concerns than those employees that are not. We can even infer that

those employees that are part of this union have more power than those who are not in the union.

What upper management needs to do is realize the differences between the two groups. The

employees that are in the union may have different concerns about change than those who are

non-unionized. We also need to make sure that union guidelines are followed when

communicating messages. There would clearly be consequences if upper management were to

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break these guidelines. One thing we want to be aware of is making sure that upper management

does not favor one group over the other. This will just cause a greater division amongst the

employees.

One of the most obvious things that we know about these employees is that they are all

employed at an automobile parts manufacturing company. Since we do know this, we can infer

that they all may not necessarily be highly educated. To work in an auto parts manufacturer, a

bachelor’s degree is not required for the majority of the jobs. However, that does not mean that

none of them have higher education. It would be helpful to provide these employees with direct

and relatable examples to help them in any information that we give them. Another inference that

we can make is that this factory is a strict and fast-paced environment. Auto parts manufacturers

need to keep going at a fast pace to make as much as they can in their work shift due to quotas.

Since we can infer time is a concern to them, we would want to make sure that upper

management presents employees with any changes or ideas in a timely manner. One thing that

upper management wants to be careful of is using too much CEO lingo. Since some of the

employees might not be as educated as others we need to be careful how technical we get when

explaining things to these workers. Since we have already established that they would like

information in a timely manner, we need to be careful not to over communicate with the

employees. Over communication is much like information overload. We especially do not want

to throw them lengthy and time consuming messages. Like we said before, this is a fast-paced

work environment and we do not want to hinder that.

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Change Planning Chart
The next item we created was a change planning chart (see Appendix G). This chart was

created to pick up on the communication objectives for each audience that we wanted to identify.

It is a chart tailored in response to the improved Pulse Reports and the new initiatives that will be

taking place. We used this chart to summarize the audience analysis and to begin thinking about

the strategy-making phase.

The first audience we looked at was the CEO of the firm. We know that once the changes

have taken place that her overall responsibility will increase. She has the ultimate responsibility

if something bad or good would occur. We determined that she would be the lion of this

audience. We realize that as the CEO of a company, the most effective kind of communication

that can be given and received is face to face communication. It is the richest form of

communication and one that will give and receive the most feedback. CEOs are typically in

charge of being accountable for any results coming from changes in the firm. She also thinks she

knows all of the problems that are happening within the company. The CEO may have some

concerns or resistance points to changes made in the firm. The idea of time and cost are two

driving factors that may lessen the enthusiasm of change happening. Time is precious in the

current environment. Cost is another factor, especially in the economic times we are currently

in. We need to make sure that any changes that are made are efficient along with being able to

save money. Another concern the CEO might have would be her job and its stability. If a change

is made that affects her performance or the reputation of the company itself, she may fear for her

job, especially since she is relatively new with only being there for six months. With this in

mind, the communication objectives of the CEO include developing strategies for the company

along with understanding and interpreting the measurable improvements.

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 The second audience that we looked at was the plant manager. The plant manager would

be affected by having to increase communication among different levels of the company. The

plant manager would also have to be more aware of what is going on inside the plant. When

looking at the audience, we determined that the plant manager himself would be the lion. The

best form of communication for him to use is face to face because of the amount of immediate

feedback. The plant manager, as a lion, knows the problems within the plant, most of them

operational problems. However, he too has concerns about change within the plant. Much like

the CEO, the plant manager is concerned about his job stability and costs associated with the

changes. The plant manager could also be concerned about quotas, and whether or not they can

be met. One of his main communication objectives includes letting the CEO know about relevant

problems or concerns within the company. The plant manager also needs to plan on executing

any strategies that the CEO may come up with.

The third audience that we looked at was the lower-level managers. Much like the plant

manager, after the implementation of these changes, these managers need to be more aware of

the communication challenges within the plant. The lions of this group would be considered the

veteran managers, along with the charismatic and knowledgeable managers. Since these people

do have a better handle on the company’s ideas and policies, they prefer face to face

communication with meetings and written communication with memos. They know more about

the actual problems that are happening within the plant. Even though they have been there longer

than the other managers, they stillThey also have concerns regarding change. Just like the CEO

and the plant manager, the lower-level managers are concerned about their job stability and the

wages they are currently receiving. They too will be concerned about quotas. As a

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communication objective, the lower-level managers need to be able to relay concerns from

lower-level employees to the upper management. Also, much like the plant manager, they need

to work on executing any of the CEO’s strategies.

The fourth audience that we looked at was the skilled employees of the firm. With any

changes that will be implemented, these workers will be taking on more duties and

responsibilities such as more cross-training and other culture-building activities. We consider the

lions of this audience to be the veteran workers as well as the charismatic and knowledgeable

workers. Since some of these employees have been with the company for a while, they too are

aware of the daily routines and operations. One can take this into consideration and realize these

workers would like face to face communication as well as written communication for something

more tangible. The main idea and concepts that these workers know are the special skills that

pertain to their own jobs. Just like every other audience, these workers will be concerned about

their job stability as well as their wages. They may feel more at risk since they do sit lower on

the totem pole of the hierarchy. The main communication objectives that these workers need to

focus on, are meeting the goals set upon them by upper management, as well as participating in

bottom- up communication. They need to realize that they are lower on hierarchy and may not

get their voices heard straight to the CEO.

The last audience that we looked at in completing this change planning chart was the

support staff. We consider secretaries, sales, accounting, and other administrative personnel in

this group. Much like the skilled employees, they too would be taking on more duties and

responsibilities related to the Pulse Report and other administrative tasks. Also, like the skilled

employees and lower-level managers, the lions of this audience would be considered the veteran

20
support staff as well as the charismatic and knowledgeable staff. Much like the other audiences,

they prefer face to face communication as well as written. What sets this audience apart from the

others is the fact they sometimes prefer email as a means of communication. Since many of the

staff in this audience is office workers, they are usually around computers more than the skilled

employees whothat are working on the line. This audience, much like the skilled employees,

knows their job skills. They also tend to know the context of the problems that arise in the

company. Once again, the audience will be concerned with their job stability and wages. Since

this audience does more of the office work, one of their main communication objectives is to

relay information interdepartmentally. They, just like the skilled employees, need to also meet

the goals set upon them by upper management.

Myers Briggs
We also did a Myers Briggs assessment for both the CEO and of the employees at the

company. While it was fairly simple for us to figure out what the CEO was, it is tough to

determine what the employees were since there are so many of them. There will be so much

diversity amongst the employees, so not all employees are going to fall into this category.

First we looked at the CEO. When looking at whether she was an introvert or an extrovert

we determined her to be an extrovert. Within our case she had no trouble bringing us in and

being candid about the problems she had with the company. CEOs need to be able to

communicate easily with other workers in the company, a characteristic of someone who is an

extrovert. We then looked at whether she is an intuitor or a sensor. Since the CEO asked us for

help, and, therefore is open to change, we consider her an intuitor. Also, intuitors look into

further development of an idea and are open to new things. Next, we needed to determine

21
whether the CEO was a thinker or a feeler. Since she is a business woman and usually CEOs

need to have a long term view about the company, we consider her to be a thinker. Thinkers need

to be logical, objective, and need to be able to look at a prolonged schedule. Lastly, we needed to

figure out if the CEO was a judger or a perceiver. Since the CEO refers to her office as her

“Spartan quarters” we could assume she likes control. People who like and are in control are

judgers. Therefore, the final result of our analysis is that the CEO is an ENTJ.

We then took a look at the general overview of employees whothat work at the firm.

When deciding whether they were introverted or extroverted, we looked at the kind of job they

did. Since most likely they work on their own in their specialties, we assumed they were quieter.

With the majority of the employees working on a line, they don’t talk to each other unless

necessary. Therefore, we categorized the workers as introverts. Next we were looking at whether

these employees were sensors or intuitors. From Phillip Clampitt’s Communicating for

Managerial Effectiveness, we know that lower-level employees want the big picture view of

things, rather than just focusing on the present (2009). From this, we typed them as being

intuitors. We also had to decide if the workers were thinkers or feelers. Since they are logical and

emphasize practicality when working on the line, we inferred them to be thinkers. Lastly, we

needed to decide if they were judgers or perceivers. We concluded that the employees are

judgers since the job in which they are working is very structured. When these people work in

such a structured environment, they need to have organization and someone in control. The final

result of our analysis of the employees is that they are INTJ.

22
Strategy, Tactics, & Rationale
We crafted our strategy after setting our goals and conducting a careful analysis of our

problems and audiences. Our goals of inspiring, educating, and motivating are accomplished

within each strategy as we try to foster a stronger and more informed culture. Our strategy is

aimed to cater to the context of the problem and the audiences involved. With such a large

number of employees, we ultimately made trade-offs in the process. We also tried to harvest the

dissent as much as possible with our audience analysis. Our chart with strategy, tactics, and

rationale is listed in Appendix H.

For our strategies, we felt that we needed to provide a theme during implementation in

order to provide some sort of framework for the employees. To tie within the auto parts industry,

we decided our theme would be “One P.A.R.T. of the whole”. The acronym P.A.R.T. means

“Pushing Achievement through Rewards and Teamwork”. This theme emphasized the

importance of teamwork and would help build a culture focused on the company overall and its

goals. It would also motivate employees to achieve these goals through the emphasis on rewards

and teamwork.

Our first strategy is to motivate employees, one of the major communication goals we

had. Many of the problems derived from the lack of change and improvement seen in the

company. The same problems kept on re-surfacing on the Pulse Reports. This could be due to

many reasons but as a result of these problems not being solved, employees’ morale and

motivation were at an all-time low. We believe we had to tackle this problem first for employees

to be more receptive to strategies and tactics that we propose for other problems. In the Pulse

Surveys, employees were giving discussion-terminating retorts out of frustration. To prevent

23
these, we had to first motivate employees to achieve the organization’s goals. Some tactics we

suggested are for managers to reward goal-achieving behavior with a mix of extrinsic and

intrinsic rewards, and inspire employees with story-telling, shared values, and management by

walking around. We used the concepts of motivation as our rationale to craft our strategy and

tactics. We knew that unmotivated and disengaged employees could affect the company’s

culture and financials. We also used the notions of culture and realized the company’s culture

was not healthy and needed to be fixed in order to have the company performing at its highest

level.

Our next strategy is to emphasize the overall impact of the employees’ individual duties

to the bottom line through the goal of emphasizing the value of the company’s employees. Some

employees were unmotivated because they did not know about the overall goals and how they

impacted them. According to their Myers-Briggs score, the employees wanted to see the big

picture and they weren’t getting it. Tactics to combat this problem include informing employees

with updates on goals in monthly newsletters and weekly meetings. Using the SMCR model as

our rationale, we wanted to use a rich and lean channel to cater to the diverse needs of our

audience. Monthly newsletters are lean but allow for introverted employees to contemplate

questions. These monthly newsletters would have feedback from the Pulse Report team and the

CEO, employee recognition, and updates on major decisions. A weekly meeting allows for a

rich channel of communication for ample feedback from those introverts and also provides a

forum for the extroverts to speak out. These weekly meetings would not only be informational

but motivational with senders setting expectations and goals for receivers. With both of the

channels, we wanted to use the underscore and explore strategy with our messages to ensure we

24
were not under- or over-communicating. Each channel could provide reinforcement of our

messages without redundancy. We believe if we kept the messages simple and powerful, we

could eliminate information overload and encourage action.

Another strategy we recommend is for the CEO to establish more rapport with the lower-

level employees based on the goal of relating to her employees. We feel this strategy would

encourage bottom-up communication and would allow the organization to be less top heavy

without eliminating positions, which could contribute to the employees’ fears of instability.

Certain tactics for management by walking around include “10 for 10,” in which the CEO would

promise to her employees that she would take at least 10 minutes of her day to meet 10 new

people within the organization. After reading The One Minute Manager by Kenneth Blanchard

and Spencer Johnson, we believe this would be enough time for the CEO to make an impact and

inspire her employees. As Blanchard and Johnson states, it only takes one minute to inspire and

motivate employees. This strategy was critical in order to build a culture focused on teamwork

and collaboration.

We also would have “Eating with Edwards,” a specific intrinsic reward thatwhich

includes a monthly lunch in the cafeteria with a group of employees from all departments

whothat have had exceptional performance for the month. This would give employees the chance

to get to know the CEO in a less formal way and allow knowledge sharing among different

departments. Another unique benefit would be the motivation for other employees to try to be

those “employees of the month.” Having this lunch in the cafeteria allow co-workers to

acknowledge their peers and be inspired from them. According to the SMCR model, using a

face to face channel with this tactic allows for the CEO to accomplish her goal of inspiringe and

25
motivatinge the employees. With our knowledge about the strength of culture and the concepts

of motivation as our rationale, we believe this strategy must be implemented in order for the

company to be successful.

Our fourth strategy was to communicate to all employees how major decisions were

being made in the plant. This strategy was tied to our goals of educating our employees to be

better-rounded and informed employees. The organization can implement this strategy when

they focus on the goal of educating their employees. We believe using the divide and conquer

approach and then selecting key lions within those groups to communicate across organizational

boundaries would be ideal. As a large automotive parts manufacturer, decisions need to be made

quickly. With this approach, we could allow decisions to be made quickly and have key lions

help other groups that were not involved in the decision making to transition into the acceptance

stage. These lions would try to prevent bad decision downloading. According to Kubler-Ross’s

stages, the decision makers needed to not only be cheerleaders but teachers to others about the

decisions they made. We could use key lions, who would be veteran employees or opinion

leaders, to be presenters in forums held among shifts. Of course, these key lions would have to

be very knowledgeable. These small forums held among shifts would allow for ample feedback

and encourage knowledge sharing. We believe based on the SMCR model that using these

forums are necessary. With this face to face interaction, it would allow senders to educate the

employees who felt they did not know how decisions were being made or what the future plans

were for the company.

The next strategy was to analyze and implement solutions to concerns found in the Pulse

Report. We believe the Pulse Report needs to be more of a beneficial tool in the company. Based

26
on the D-I-K-A model, the company had a lot of data and information with its many Pulse

Reports but barely any knowledge or action being implemented. We believe the Pulse Report

should still be done monthly with a group of random people but, to help the Pulse Report be

more impactful and encourage knowledge and action, we would enlist a group of key lions

among different departments to brainstorm solutions to concerns in the Pulse Report. The group

would do so after analyzing the results of the current Pulse Report. This cross-functional team

would not be paid but would be given a bonus if the Pulse Report for the following month

showed improvements. The amount of the bonus and how much improvement would be needed

to get that bonus would be determined by an objective person who would be the director of the

team. This strategy could allow problems found in the Pulse Report to be addressed and

prevented before it affects the company’s culture and financials.

Our last strategy was to show follow-through. This was a problem in the company

because many employees were getting discouraged by the lack of improvement they saw,

especially in response to the Pulse Reports. We wanted to have the CEO present a rollout

schedule to her employees that includedof the new changes that would occur in the workplace.

We have included a rollout schedule for the implementation of our tactics in Appendix I. We

wanted to ensure that according to the Myers-Briggs score of the employees who were judgers

were able to be aware and observe the changes being made over time. The receivers wanted to be

informed of these new changes and the best channel for that was written or face to face,

according to the SMCR model. This written rollout schedule could be used as a reference for the

receivers to prepare them for the new changes and ensure them that things were getting done to

27
improve the workplace. This rollout schedule could also be a stepping stone to foster a more

informed culture.

Rejected Ideas
Through our decision making process, we had many rejected ideas. We did not want to

use the majority rule approach. This approach would be convenient and cost effective for the

CEO and upper management but it would not cater to the diverse audiences in the plant. Having

a big meeting would not be ideal as well. Introverts would be unwilling to share their input out

loud. By using smaller meetings among shifts, people feel more included within the discussion.

We also wanted to have the CEO be more involved with these meetings, but we felt that the CEO

should focus on more strategy issues and she would not have enough time to attend all the

meetings. We also felt that the lions within each groups could lead these meetings just as well as

the CEO so we rejected the idea of having the CEO in these meetings. We also thought about not

improving the Pulse Report. We finally decided to improve the structure of the Pulse Report to

include more qualitative questions to get more specific answers.

Conclusion
From the words of Henry Ford: “Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is

progress. Working together is success.” We needed to get this company working together. Its

departmentalized company had made it so focused on achieving departmental goals that the

company was ignoring the organization’s goals and how it affects the company’s culture. We

wanted to get the company back on track. With our communication strategy, we wanted the CEO

to build rapport with her employees, encourage boundary spanning to increase communication

28
and knowledge sharing between levels of the company, and in the end have a stronger culture

with more motivated and engaged employees.

Continuous Improvement
In general, there seemed to be some controversy amongst the feedback we received.

Some people seemed to think that the organization of the presentation including the PowerPoint

slides, color, layout, and information included was good and some thought that it was bad. Some

people said that the presentation was too long and some said that it was too short. Some people

said that we included just the right amount of information and some said we had too much info

and needed to save it for the paper. Although we cannot go back in time to change how we

would present, nor can we change for our next class presentation because the semester is at an

end, we can take this knowledge and use it in the future and try to tie it into our paper. It was

difficult to see what exactly needed to be changed due to this polarization of feedback. In

addition, the feedback also seemed very vague and not specific.

As for the content of our presentation, our feedback indicated that we did a good job

tying our strategies, tactics, and rationale together with the chart we provided. Some of our peers

thought we should include our references for more credibility but noted that it was nice that we

used an outside source for our rationale. They felt we needed to clarify what about the Pulse

Report process and Professor Clampitthil suggested weus to tie our goals to our problems. He

also suggested a theme. We have included those suggestions within our paper. Overall, they felt

our presentation was informative and thorough.

Formatted: Normal

29
Appendix A: 100 Facts
1. Six Sigma is a disciplined, data-driven approach and methodology for eliminating defects
(driving towards six standard deviations between the mean and the nearest specification
limit) in any process -- from manufacturing to transactional and from product to service.

2. The goal of Six Sigma is to increase profits by eliminating variability, defects and waste
that undermine customer loyalty.

3. To achieve Six Sigma, a process must not produce more than 3.4 defects per million
opportunities

4. A Six Sigma defect is defined as anything outside of customer specifications.

5. A Six Sigma opportunity is then the total quantity of chances for a defect.

6. The fundamental objective of the Six Sigma methodology is the implementation of a

measurement-based strategy that focuses on process improvement and variation reduction
through the application of Six Sigma improvement projects.

7. This is accomplished through the use of two Six Sigma sub-methodologies: DMAIC and
DMADV.

8. The Six Sigma DMAIC process (define, measure, analyze, improve, control) is an
improvement system for existing processes falling below specification and looking for
incremental improvement.

9. The Six Sigma DMADV process (define, measure, analyze, design, verify) is an
improvement system used to develop new processes or products at Six Sigma quality
levels.

10. The Six Sigma DMDV can also be employed if a current process requires more than just
incremental improvement.

11. Both Six Sigma processes are executed by Six Sigma Green Belts and Six Sigma Black
Belts, and are overseen by Six Sigma Master Black Belts.

12. According to the Six Sigma Academy, Black Belts save companies approximately
$230,000 per project and can complete four to 6 projects per year.

13. General Electric, one of the most successful companies implementing Six Sigma, has
estimated benefits on the order of $10 billion during the first five years of
implementation.

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14. GE first began Six Sigma in 1995 after Motorola and Allied Signal blazed the Six Sigma
trail.

15. Countless studies continue to tell us the majority of our workforce is not engaged.

16. Engaged employees are more productive, more profitable, more customer-focused, safer,
and less likely to leave their employer.

17. An engaged employee is a person who is fully involved in, and enthusiastic about, his or
her work.

18. Engaged employees work with passion and are connected to their companies.

19. When studies are conducted to find out what employees value in a job, career
opportunities and development always appears among the top three items, typically
before the expected answers of pay and benefits.

20. What employees really want is a relationship with their managers whereby they can have
open, honest, two-way conversations about their abilities, interests, and options. They
want managers to listen to their perspectives, offer their points of view, and provide
encouragement.

21. To engage employees, the manager must use a variety of familiar management skills and
apply them to the career context.

22. To engage employees, frequent discussions with staff members about what they do best
and what they want to do should be routine.

23. Ongoing dialogue enhances productivity and results in a partnership that aids the
employee match positions or projects that maximize their talents.

24. The manager's role includes:

• Providing time for development discussions

• Providing timely performance feedback

• Identifying an employee's potential

• Providing training and growth opportunities consistent with both individual and
organizational goals

• Communicating formal and informal advice and information on the organization

• Linking employees with appropriate resources and people

31
25. The employees' role includes:

• Taking responsibility for their own development

• Engaging in self-assessment and soliciting feedback

• Initiating development discussions with their managers

• Setting multiple career goals

• Advocating their own cause

• Making use of a variety of development opportunities

• Creating and communicating their development plan

26. Historically, U.S. auto manufacturers had “Fordist” organizational practices such as
bureaucracy, tall organizational structures, command and control management systems,
and seniority based compensation.

27. With new competition from Japan, domestic auto manufacturers have been trying to
implement Japanese practices like team work, few job classifications, an active
continuous improvement culture (Kaizen), outsourcing, just-in-time inventory
management, quality circles, and lean manufacturing.

28. There is considerable evidence in the industrial relations literature that the traditional
adversarial relationship of United Automobile Workers is being gradually replaced by a
more cooperative relationship in response to globalization, the enforcement of
government regulations, capital mobility and the increasing difficulty union’s face in
organizing new members.

29. Auto parts manufacturers can be Tier 1 (lead vendor), Tier 2, or Tier 3 suppliers for the
major manufacturers.

30. The key driver of profitability for auto parts companies, going forward, hinges on their
ability to continuously reduce costs and achieve greater operating efficiency, with secure
and stable orders from auto makers being crucial.

31. Companies strong in the area of capacity utilization & plant flexibility, geographic
positioning/market reach, cost protection in relation to commodity price movements and
product development efficiency should exhibit resilience in profitability, and earn good
ratings.

32
32. The automotive parts manufacturing industry is heavily integrated between the U.S. and
Canada. Today, every vehicle assembled in North America contains nearly $1,250 worth
of parts manufactured in Canada. There is a high concentration of these firms in the state
of Michigan and the Province of Ontario, Canada.

33. Because of lost business, more than 200 auto suppliers in the $10 million-$500 million
revenue bracket are in financial trouble.

34. Auto industry faces a number of problems including overburdening health-care costs,
union strife, over-capacity, exposure to high steel prices, and competition from abroad.

35. Although approximately 1 out of 5 jobs are located in Michigan, especially the Detroit
area, an increasing number are located in other parts of the country, particularly the
south.

36. Average earnings are very high compared with those in other industries.

37. Overtime is especially common during periods of peak demand. Most employees,
however, usually work an 8-hour shift: either from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. or from 4 p.m. to
12:30 a.m. A third shift often is reserved for maintenance and cleanup.

38. Heat, fumes, noise, and repetition are not uncommon in this industry. In addition, many
workers come into contact with oil and grease and may have to lift and fit heavy objects,
although hydraulic lifts and other equipment have eliminated much of the heavy lifting.
Employees also may operate powerful, high-speed machines that can be dangerous.

39. In 2006, motor vehicle manufacturing, on average, sustained 11.4 cases of work-related
injury and illness per 100 full-time workers, 13.2 in motor vehicle body and trailer
manufacturing, and 7.7 in motor vehicle parts manufacturing—compared with 6.0 in all
manufacturing industries and 4.4 in the entire private sector.

40. Industrial production managers oversee first-line supervisors and managers of

production and operating workers. These supervisors oversee inspectors, precision
workers, machine setters and operators, assemblers, fabricators, and plant and system
operators. They coordinate a variety of manufacturing processes and production
activities, including scheduling, staffing, equipment, quality control, and inventory
control.

41. Assemblers and fabricators and metal workers and plastic workers put together various
parts to form subassemblies, and then put the subassemblies together to build a complete
motor vehicle. Most assemblers in this industry are team assemblers, who work in teams
and perform a variety of tasks.

33
42. In 2006, about 1 out of 4 workers in motor vehicle and parts production were union
members or were covered by union contracts, more than double the proportion of workers
in all manufacturing industries and all workers in the private sector.

43. The primary union in the industry is the United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural
Implement Workers of America, also known as the United Auto Workers (UAW).

44. For example, Toyota and many of its suppliers expect all employees to show potential for
leadership, to participate in teams, to develop the skills and flexibility necessary for
multiple jobs, and to focus on safety and built-in quality. The automaker also seeks and
develops employees with a structured approach to thinking, problem-solving, and
improvement.

45. The U.S. auto parts manufacturing industry consists of about 4,500 companies with
combined annual revenue of about $225 billion.

46. Large companies include ArvinMeritor, Dana, Delphi, Lear, Visteon, and the automotive
division of Johnson Controls.

47. The industry is very concentrated.

48. Tier 1 suppliers, of which there are roughly 1,000, usually concentrate in one or two
distinct industry segments such as axles, power trains, brakes, exhaust systems,
suspensions, electrical components, seating, engine parts, or accessories.

49. “Most of these supplier companies are family-owned,” said Daniel Luria, research
director of the Michigan Manufacturing Research Center in Ann Arbor. “And in a period
when the families can’t sell, the decision is to preserve the companies as future streams of
revenue for the next generation.”

50. Some plants have institutionalized "pay-for-skill," a pay system in which, employees
receive additional pay for each new skill they learn.

51. Loyalty and gift exchange appeared to motivate employees in several cases. For example
at Industrial Strainer, workers contributed on average half a suggestion per year each,
even though there was no explicit reward for doing so. When asked why, several workers
said, "It's a good place to work," because of above average wages ($12 per hour rather
than the $10 prevailing in the area). One worker added that an additional motivation was,
"Management--at least some of them--cares about you.”

52. When conducting a communication audit, the first step is to determine who should
conduct the assessment.

34
53. The next step to take into consideration is to select the proper method(s) or tool(s).

54. A variety of methods, such as questionnaires, interviews, focus groups, communication

logs, and network analysis, can be used to conduct an annual or biannual communication
audit.

55. You want to make sure that all employees know their comments will remain confidential
when conducting a communication audit.

56. You want to make sure that you garner top management’s full support of the assessment.

57. Finally, you want to carefully interpret your findings.

58. If the organization does not plan to respond to the findings, then the data should not be
collected in the first place.

59. Even if the organization plans on responding to the audit results, the timelines of the
response presents one of the most troublesome potential drawbacks.

60. The first major objective of the Pulse process is to identify employee concerns and
reactions to ongoing initiatives in a timely, reliable, and economical manner.

61. The second major objective of the Pulse process is to respond to these concerns.

62. The third major objective of the Pulse process is to cultivate a productive dialogue
between executives and employees.

63. A short Pulse survey (10-15 questions), is routinely administered to a rotating sample of
employees on a biweekly or monthly basis.

64. The Pulse Report is a one-page summary of the findings, presenting quantitative data for
the numerically rated questions and major themes for the open questions.

65. An Executive Response outlines senior management reactions to the issues highlighted
from the current Pulse Report.

66. The Pulse Report provides the organization with a timely and accurate record of the
current working climate.

67. The Pulse Process requires a degree of attentiveness to procedural concerns similar to
that of a communication audit.

68. Employees need to have a clear understanding of how the process will work, including
the projected timetable for the report and executive responses.

35
69. Communication strategy can be broadly defined as the macro-level communication
choices we make based on organizational goals and judgments about others’ reactions,
which serves as a basis for action.

70. Strategy involves a macro-level orientation that can be distinguished from tactical
concerns.

71. Strategy involves implicit or explicit choices resulting in trade-offs.

72. Strategy involves goal setting.

73. Strategy involves anticipating others’ reactions.

74. The dance between the initiative and the response and then the subsequent adjustment
creates the dialogue that determines the success of the strategy.

75. That dance differs greatly from one based on a theme of “learning to avoid mistakes.”

76. Strategy naturally serves as the basis for action.

77. Suzanne Edwards is the new CEO of an automotive parts manufacturing firm.

78. She recently read the company’s communication Pulse Report.

79. Pulse Reports are market research data.

80. She has been in the position for at least 6 months.

81. The firm for which she works has over 1,000 employees.

82. She has a background in finance.

83. There were 1,742 respondents to the Pulse report.

84. The Pulse Report was from the month of April.

85. Respondents were asked to respond on scale of 1-5: 1 representing that they STRONGLY
DISAGREE and 5 representing that they STRONGLY DISAGREE.

86. Only 44 percent of the employees responded to the Pulse report.

87. There was an increase from the cumulative norm to the current month norm of .4 percent
with people thinking that they have an important role in the Plant’s success.

88. The current month norms seemed to be fairly close to the current month norm.

36
89. Out of those that responded to the questions only 9 percent of the people strongly
disagreed that safety is a high priority in their department and 41 percent disagreed, and 9
percent were undecided, which means over 50 percent of the people felt safety was an
issue.

90. No one strongly agreed that they understood where the Plant is headed.

91. No one strongly agreed that the plant was moving in the right direction and only 9
percent agreed that the plant was moving in the right direction.

92. Fifty percent of the people who responded were either undecided or agreed to some
degree that they understood how decisions were made.

93. The questions the plant manager was asked all varied.

94. Some of the questions posed by the employees were double barreled questions.

95. It was unclear if people knew how they contributed to the plant’s growth- 39 percent
agreed, 14 percent undecided 24 percent agreed, and 23 percent strongly agreed.

96. Forty-six percent of the people who responded said that they and their co-workers were
focused on controlling costs.

97. The employees were allowed to ask the plant manager one question.

98. The questions from the employees who responded indicate that the employee’s feel there
is not good communication.

99. The questions from the employees who responded indicate that the employees feel their
concerns are not of importance to the CEO.

100. The employees asked loaded questions which may indicate they need an abundance of
information.

37
Appendix B: Pulse Report
Pulse Report
April

Rating is on a “1–5” scale; 1 representing “strongly disagree (SD),” 5 representing “strongly

agree (SA).”

Questions arranged in order of most agreement to least agreement for the current
month’s reading

Current SD D U A SA
Question Cumulative Month
Norm Norm (1) (5)
I know how I contribute to the 4.5 4.0 39% 14% 24% 23%
Plant’s growth.
My co-workers and I are focused on 4.2 3.8 46% 18% 9% 27%
controlling costs.
Safety is a high priority in my 3.8 3.7 9% 41% 9% 29% 12%
department.
I have an important role in the 3.1 3.5 17% 23% 34% 8% 18%
Plant’s success.
We continue to meet customer 3.1 2.9 20% 24% 30% 14% 12%
needs while controlling costs.
My immediate supervisor provides 3.0 2.8 18% 30% 30% 11% 11%
routine updates on Plant issues.
The Plant is moving in the right 2.9 2.6 59% 32% 9%
direction.
I understand where the Plant is 2.7 2.4 4% 52% 22% 22%
headed in the next quarter.
I understand how major decisions 2.4 2.2 28% 22% 36% 9% 5%
are made in the Plant.

N (Number of Respondents) 1746 (of 3882) 22 (of 44)

Response Rate 44% 50%

38
If you could ask the plant manager one question, what would it be?

§ What new products are on the horizon?

§ There is a significant amount of work being done to keep the plant operating at its current high
level for our existing products. Given this, it seems there should be a little less emphasis on
getting all the transformation training done this year. Sure the training is important, but let’s
be smart as we prioritize activities. Comments?

§ The key to our competitiveness in the future will be totally engaged employees. Employees
always looking for improvement opportunities and a way to reduce waste. It is employees
utilizing their time wisely every day. This is a different mentality than punching a clock and
putting in your time. Some of our people really do utilize their time effectively. My question
is, do you think the union membership (in general) truly understands the urgency of this? Do
they understand coming into the plant and working on whatever needs attention, safely of
course. It has to be significantly different in the future than it is today.

§ We have trained a large number of people to do our job because of flex issues. People who
have done the job for nearly 2 years are still having occasional problems with parts of the job,
and they trained for over a month at the beginning. Now we are training other flex people on
this job so they can help out at times; they are receiving 3 or 4 days of training each. How
much help do you think they will be?

§ When are we going to get somebody in the maintenance dept who is a person who will work
with the people and not for the puppet master that controls him? Do you have to have a
graduate degree to get promoted in the maintenance dept (buddy system)?

§ Thanks for taking on the challenge of being plant manager at this time of transition.

§ I really appreciate the work that is being done to clean up the plant. It is looking nice. To help
keep it clean, how do we get people to quit throwing used earplugs, coffee cups, etc., on the
floor? They wouldn’t do this at home; at least I don’t think they would.

§ Could you please give me three specific examples of “flexibility” that you would like to see
and some explanation of why that shouldn’t scare the sh__ out of me?

§ Why don’t you let the plant employees make some decisions on what new policies to enact
instead of management making all the decisions?

§ Are we getting any feedback from our customers? Have orders gone up?

§ In the past year, I have noticed our products sitting on the loading docks with “HOT” stickers
on it due to no availability of outside carrier trailers and/or late due dates. What do you plan
on doing about it and how are we compensating our customers for late shipments with over
the road carriers and scheduling? Have we thought about our own trucking line (which we
already have) to run loads back and forth?

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§ Why do we pay so much attention to the whiners and not the winners?

§ Nothing that is worthy of your time

§ What has happened to our employee communication?

§ This may not seem that important, but I can’t understand why I do not ever receive my pay stub
on Thursdays. I get it on Fridays and several times I will get it on Saturday.

§ Thanks for a great job in a tough situation!

§ You don’t see too many cars here on nights and weekends! I know corp and salary stick
together but until you look in a mirror and truly be honest with yourself, you will realize that
we are indeed too top heavy.

§ Why is it when new business development gets good ideas the execs throw them out? I don’t
think they follow through with ideas well enough. When they do, and someone comes up
with something, they don’t get anything for it. What a knife in the back to those who deserve
more than they got. I, for one, am glad I will not be one of those people!

§ Do you not hear the frustration in these questions month after month after month? Where do
you think this comes from? And how do you think the negativity affects people after this
amount of time? It’s not fair to keep putting more frosting on. Good people with good
attitudes work here, but constant frustration does take its toll on even good people and wear
down a person. And please don’t suggest looking for another job anymore. We want and
appreciate our jobs here. We just want more stability and some security and I don’t think
that’s too much to ask for.

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Appendix C: Quantitative Pulse Report Analysis
Highest to Lowest

Cumulative- See sheet

Current Month- See sheet

Difference between Cumulative and Current Month (April) Norm

(+.4) I have an important role in the Plant’s success.

(-.1) Safety is a high priority in my department.

(-.2) We continue to meet customer needs while controlling cost.

My immediate supervisor provides routine updates on Plant issues.

I understand how major decisions are made in the plant.

(-.3) The plant is moving in the right direction.

I understand where the Plant is headed in the next quarter.

(-.4) My co-workers and I are focused on controlling costs.

(-.5) I know how I contribute to the Plant’s growth.

Some Answers Provided on Report We May Want to Look Into

(39% DISAGREE) I know how I contribute to the Plant’s growth.

(46% DISAGREE) My co-workers and I are focused on controlling costs.

(41% DISAGREE) Safety is a high priority in my department.

(52% DISAGREE) I understand where the Plant is headed in the next quarter.

(59% DISAGREE) The Plant is moving in the right direction.

(ONLY 9% AGREE) The Plant is moving in the right direction.

Also, a large number of the respondents are undecided on whether they feel they have an
important role in the Plant’s success.

Response rate was up 6% this month compared to Cumulative norm.

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Appendix D: Qualitative Pulse Report Analysis

19 comments to “If you could ask the plant manager one question, what would it be?”

Five out of 19 responses suggested a specific improvement

Overall Problem: Manager and Employee Disconnect (15) (79%)

Sub-problems:

Hierarchy (3) (16%)

Incongruent goals (9) (37%)

Information not shared (5) (27%)

Positive comments recognizing transition being tough (2) (10%)

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Appendix E: K.I.S.S. Chart for CEO
KNOW INFER SO WHAT TO DO SO WHAT NOT TO
DO
-new to the job -she hasn’t built a -demonstrate credibility -don’t make drastic
(only 6 months) rapport with the -realize change’s effect changes unless needed
employees on employees -don’t assume everyone
-MBWA understands change
-lack of communication

-she has seen -problems are not -present rollout schedule -ignore receivers’ needs
other Pulse new to her -focus on receivers’ -blame receivers
Reports needs

-she has a -she’s an Arrow -be perceptive while -Overwhelm them with
financial manager observing employees details (information
background (harvest the dissent) overload)

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Appendix F: K.I.S.S. Chart for Employees
KNOW INFER SO WHAT TO DO SO WHAT NOT
TO DO

-Over 1,000 -They’re diverse -Use divide and conquer -Only use lean
employees approach and identify the channels
-There are different lions/opinion leaders
levels
-Harvest the dissent
-Communication will be
misinterpreted by some

-There’s a union -There is division -Realize the differences -Don’t favor one
between employees between the two groups group over the
other
-Have more power -Follow Union guidelines
compared to non-
unionized workers

-Auto parts -Not required to have a -Provide direct and -Don’t use CEO
manufacturing bachelor’s degree relatable examples lingo
firm
-Strict and fast paced -Timely messages -Over
environment communicate

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Appendix G: Change Planning Chart
Audiences How group Who are the What are the What do Concerns Communication
will be lions? channel group or Objectives
effected preferences? members resistance
know or points?
think they
know?
CEO Overall CEO Face to face Accountable Time Developing
responsibility Problems Cost strategy
Job Measureable
stability improvements

Plant More comm. Plant manager Face to face Problems Job Executing
Manager and stability strategy
awareness Cost Provide relevant
Quotas concerns to CEO

Lower- More comm. Veterans Face to face Problems Job Executing

Level and Charismatic Written stability strategy
Managers awareness Knowledgeable Wages Relay concerns to
Quotas upper
management

Skilled More duties Veterans Face to face Job skills Job Meeting goals
Employees and Charismatic Written stability Participate in
responsibility Knowledgeable Wages bottom-up comm.

Support More duties Veterans Face to face Job skills Job Meeting goals
Staff and Charismatic Written Context of stability Relay info inter-
responsibility Knowledgeable Email problems Wages departmentally

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Appendix H: Strategies, Tactics, & Rationale Chart

46
Appendix I: Roll-out Schedule
MONTH ONE
- WEEK ONE-

DAY ONE:

 Meeting with CEO to present and explain our communication plan (including the need

for Pulse Report improvement)

 Make necessary changes based on feedback received from CEO

DAY TWO:

 Individual meetings to explain the new communication plan with

o Top executives, plant manager and department heads

o Lower-level managers and shift supervisors/lions of each department/shift

DAY THREE:

 Meeting with CEO, top executives, plant manager, department heads, shift supervisors,

Lower-level Managers, and lions to review the new communication plan and receive

feedback.

DAY FOUR:

 Meeting with CEO, top executives, plant manager, department heads, shift supervisors,

lower-level managers and lions to:

47
 o Review the new communication plan

o Address feedback concerns

o Go over results of Pulse Report.

o Make changes to Pulse Survey for next month.

DAY FIVE:

 Meeting with CEO, top executives, plant manager, department heads, shift supervisors,

Lower-level Managers, and lions to:

o Answer any additional questions

o Address feedback and concerns

o Review next week’s schedule

-WEEK TWO-

DAY ONE:

 CEO’s “10 for 10” starts

 Weekly department meetings held (for each shift), where:

o New communication plan is introduced to employees

o Tentative rollout schedule is presented to employees

o Pulse Report and executive response is presented to employees

48
 o Feedback is received

DAY TWO:

 MBWA, “10 for 10”

 First “official” forum held to:

o Review new communication plan

o Go over Pulse Report results and new Pulse Survey for next month.

 First “official” knowledge sharing team meeting held

o Review new communication plan

o Go over Pulse Report results and new Pulse Survey for next month.

DAY THREE:

 MBWA, “10 for 10”

 Monthly newsletter is developed.

DAY FOUR:

 MBWA, “10 for 10”

 Last changes to monthly newsletter before print

DAY FIVE:

 MBWA, “10 for 10”

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  Monthly newsletter distributed to all employees

-WEEK THREE-

DAY ONE:

 MBWA, “10 for 10”

 Weekly department meetings held

DAY TWO:

 MBWA, “10 for 10”

 Second “unofficial” forum held (since usually only once a month)

DAY THREE:

 MBWA, “10 for 10”

 Second “unofficial” knowledge sharing team meeting held (since usually only once a

month)

DAY FOUR:

 MBWA, “10 for 10”

 Meeting with CEO to give update on progress of new communication plan and the plant.

DAY FIVE:

 MBWA, “10 for 10”

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- WEEK FOUR -

DAY ONE:

 Weekly department meetings held

 MBWA, “10 for 10”

DAY TWO:

 Explain (what it is, why it’s important and how info will be used) and distribute Pulse

Survey

 MBWA, “10 for 10”

DAY THREE:

 Calculate results of Pulse Survey

 MBWA, “10 for 10”

DAY FOUR:

 MBWA, “10 for 10”

 Meeting with CEO, plant manager, and top executives to:

o Go over Pulse Report results

o Form executive response

o Discuss/develop next month’s Pulse Survey questions

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DAY FIVE:

 MBWA, “10 for 10”

 Eating with Edwards

MONTH TWO
(MBWA / CEO’s “10 for 10” done daily)

- WEEK ONE-

DAY ONE: Weekly department/shift meetings- executive response given from last month’s

Pulse Report

DAY TWO- Knowledge sharing teams meet to address Pulse Report concerns

DAY THREE- Lions present feedback of knowledge sharing teams to CEO and management

DAY FOUR- Management meetings (where CEO is present)

DAY FIVE- Information is collected for the monthly newsletter

- WEEK TWO -

DAY ONE: Weekly department/shift meetings

DAY TWO: Newsletter published (with last month’s information and this month’s needed to

know information)

DAY THREE: Forums held and lions present (to discuss decisions in plant)

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DAY FOUR: Management meetings where CEO is present

DAY FIVE: New Pulse Survey developed

- WEEK THREE -

DAY ONE: Weekly department/shift meetings

DAY TWO: Pulse Survey given with explanation and timeline of information use

DAY THREE:

DAY FOUR- Management meetings where CEO is present

DAY FIVE: Pulse Survey Data calculated and developed into report

- WEEK FOUR -

DAY ONE: Weekly department/shift meetings

DAY TWO: Pulse Report results discussed with CEO and upper management with lions present

DAY THREE: Executive Response is finalized with CEO; Upper management and ions present

(is distributed at the beginning of next month in weekly department/shift meetings by lions)

DAY FOUR: Management meetings where CEO is present

DAY FIVE- Eating with Edwards

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