Several severe accidents have recently occurred in the 12- employee assembly department of Blakely Company, which has a total workforce of 65 employees. The supervisor of this department, Joe Benson, is quite perturbed and, in response to questions by the general manager and owner of the company, claimed the employees do not listen to him. He has warned them about not taking safety precautions, he explained, but he can’t police their every move. The general manager countered, “Accidents cost us money for repairs, lost time, medical expenses, human suffering, and what not. It’s important that you stop it. Your department has a bad safety record— the worst in the company. You are going to have to correct it.” Joe believed he had taken the necessary precautions but was not getting satisfactory results. He also believed there were more possibilities of accidents occurring in his department than in any other department of the company. He decided to talk it over with the human resource manager, Fay Thomas. Fay suggested scheduling a 10- minute safety talk by a different employee each week. The first subject would be “using machine guards.” Joe thought that “good housekeeping and safety” and “no smoking” would also be good subsequent subjects. Fay suggested that Joe schedule part of his time to review his department periodically. Furthermore, she suggested that any unsafe act he discovered should result in an immediate two- day suspension for the offender. “You have to get tough when it comes to safety. Your people are taking safety much too lightly. Of course, you start by making an announcement of what you are going to do. Put a notice to that effect on the bulletin board. Then enforce it to the letter.” Joe believed that simply talking personally to each of his employees and urging them to work safely might get better results. However, he was convinced that some type of incentive was needed. As a result, he devised a plan in which the employee with the fewest safety violations over the next three months would be given a day off with pay. Joe’s plan was approved by his boss.
Question
1. What is Joe’s problem?
2. In your opinion, how did this problem develop? What were its main causes? Discuss.
3. What actions do you recommend Joe take? Why?