“That’s Not My Job” †Learning Delegation at Cin-Made

THATS NOT MY JOB LEARNING DELEGATION AT CIN-MADE When Robert Frey purchased Cin do in 1984, the company was in force(p) ruin. The Cincinnati, Ohi-based manufacturer of paper packaging had non altered its product line in 20 years. Labor costs had hit the ceiling, while profits were go through the floor. A solid quarter of the companys shipments were late and absenteeism was high. Management and workers were at each others throats. Ten years later, Cin Made is producing a new assortment of super differentiated composite cans, and pre-tax profits have increased more than than five times.The Cin Made workforce is both flexible and deeply committed to the success of the company. On-time livery of products has reached 98 percent, and absenteeism has virtu onlyy disappe atomic number 18d. There argon even plans to form cardinal spin off companies to be owned and operated by Cin-Made employees. In fact, at the cardinal daylight Future of the American Workforce conference held in July 1993, Cin-Made was recognized by President Clinton as one of the best run companies in the unify States. How did we achieve this startling turnaround? Mused Frey. Employee presentment is one part of the answer.Profit sharing is another. In the late spring of 1986, traffic between heed and cut into had reached rock bottom. Having recently suffered a pay cut, employees at Cin- Made came to work each day, performed the duties required of their particular positions, and returned home-nothing more. Frey could see that his company was suffering. To survive we needed to flow being worthy adversaries and start being worthy partners, he realized. Toward this end, Frey decided to call a meeting with the union. He offered to restore worker pay to its front level by the end of the year.On top of that, he offeredsomething no one expected a 15 percent share of Cin-Mades pre-tax profits. I do not choose to own a company that has an adversarial relationship with its employees. Frey proclaimed at the meeting. He therefore proposed a new arrangement that would encourage a collaborative employee-management relationship Employee participation will play an essential role in management. Managers within the company were among the first people to oppose Freys new psyche of employee involvement. My three managers felt they were paid to be worthy adversaries of the unions. Frey recalled. Its what theyd been trained for. Its what made them good managers. Moreover, they were not used to participation in any form, certainly not in decision making. The workers also resisted the idea of extending themselves beyond the written requirements of their jobs. (Employees) wanted generous wages and benefits, of course, plainly they did not want to conceive responsibility for anything more than doing their own jobs the course they had al agencys done them, Frey noted. Employees were therefore skeptical of Freys overtures toward employee participation. We thought he w as trying to rip us off and shaft us, explained Ocelia Williams, one of numerous Cin-Made employees who distrusted Freys plans. Frey, however, did not give up, and he eventually convinced the union to agree to his terms. I wouldnt take no for an answer, he asserted. Once I had made my two grand pronouncements, I was determined to press ahead and make them come true. But salvage ahead lay the considerable challenge of convincing employees to take charge I made people meet with me, then instead Of telling them what to do, I asked them.They resisted. How can we cut the waste on his run ? Id say, or How are we going to allocate the overtime on this order ? Thats not my job, theyd say. But I need your input, Id say. How in the World can we have participative management If you wont participate? I dont have a go at it, theyd say. Because thats not my job either. Thats your job. ? Gradually, Frey made progress. Managers began sharing more information with employees. Frey was able slowly to expand the responsibilities workers would carry.Managers who were unable to work with employees left, and union relations began to improve. Empowerment began to happen. By 1993, Cin Made employees were taking responsibility for numerous tasks. Williams, for example, used to operate a tin-slitting machine on the companys factory floor. She still runs that same machine, but now is also responsible for ordering almost $ 100,000 in supplies. Williams is just one example of how job roles and duties have been redefined throughout Cin-Made.Joyce Bell, president of the local union, still runs the punch press she always has, but now also serves as Cin- Mades corporate safety director. The companys scheduling team, composed of one manager and five breath workers from various plant areas, is charged with setting hours, designating layoffs, and deciding when temporary help is needed. The hiring review team, staffed by three hourly employees and two managers, is responsible for interviewing applicants and deciding whom to hire. An employee direction performs both short and long term planning of labor, materials, equipment, production runs, packing, and delivery.Employees even meet daily in order to set their own production schedules. We empower employees to make decisions, not just have input, Frey remarked. I just coach. Under Freys new management regime, company secrets have virtually disappeared. All Cin-Made employees, from entry-level employees all the way to the top, take part in running the company. In fact, Frey has delegated so much of the companys operations to its workers that he now feels little in the dark. I now know very little close to whats going on, on a day-to-day basis, he confessed.At Cin-Made, empowerment and delegation are more than mere buzzwords they are the way of doing business good business. We, as workers, have a lot of opportunities, said Williams. If we want to take leadership, its offered to us. Questions and answers Q. 1 How were principles of delegation and decentralization incorporated into Cine Made operations? Answer - a. The employee participation was made an integral part of the companys management practices. b. Establishing Participative Management c. Centralized hiring process which was independent in itself and managed by esignated managers. Q. 2 What are the sources and uses of power at Cin Made? Answer Collaboration, Innovation, Participative management Empowerment through delegation and decentralization Deriving more output through employees sense of possession for their actions Improving flexibility of the companies employees. Giving a free hand to their imagination rather than reining it in. Q. 3. What were some of the barriers to delegation and empowerment at Cin Made? Answer Our perceptions about work and the way we are part of it need to change.These are the lessons in management that can be learnt from the Cin-Made experience. a. Transparent management policies are the ca ll of the day b. Managers must lead by example rather than simply lecturing and ordering the employees. c. Any status quo achieved or stagnation point reached by way of policies being in place for long term must be challenged and remedied with cautious efforts that to while taking care of sentimentalities and emotional attachments of old employees of company all leading to change for the better.