Information for employee empowerment A U.S. automobile components plant had recently been reorganized so that quality and employee teamwork were to be the guiding principles for all managers and workers. One production worker described the difference:
In the old production environment, we were not paid to think. The foreman told us what to do, and we did it even if we knew he was wrong. Now, the team decides what to do. Our voices are heard. All middle management has been cut out, including foremen and superintendents. Management relies on us, the team members, to make decisions. Salary people help us make these decisions; the production and manufacturing engineers work for us. They are always saying, "We work for you. What do you need?" And they listen to us.
The plant controller commented as follows:
In traditional factories, the financial system viewed people as variable costs. If you had a production problem, you sent people home to reduce your vari¬ able costs. Here, we do not send people home. Our production people are viewed as problem solvers, not as variable costs.
REQUIRED

(a) What information needs did the production workers have in the old envi¬ ronment?

(b) What information do you recommend be supplied to the production work¬ ers in the new environment that emphasizes quality, defect reduction, prob¬ lem solving, and teamwork?(LO 4, 5)