In today's society, the thought of having a Fortune 500 CEO go undercover to obtain a deeper understanding of what it is like to work as a lower-level employee seems like a modern-day fairytale . Whether it be due to pride, arrogance, or ignorance; most CEOs would not even consider the idea to dress in their company's uniform to perform manual labor and provide services that the majority of their employees do on a daily basis. That is what they pay lower-level supervisory staff to do; monitor and direct the rest of the employees to follow company procedures and employment duties.
At the beginning of the year, CBS aired a new type of reality show which asked top-executives of Fortune 500 companies to step out of their pin-strip suits and get down-and-dirty with their employees in the field. The video clip I posted below shows Joe DePinto, 7-Eleven President and CEO, working the night-shift at one of his chain stores. (Mr. DePinto is in charge of 36,000 stores worldwide and handles a $17 Billion dollar company.) While in the process of learning the routine of the night-shift, he learns the extent to which his management skills affect each individual employee of his company. While working in the 7-Eleven chain store, he discovers first-hand, the lack of morale existing in his employees due to the lack of opportunities to move-up within the company. But while learning the corporation's structural malfunctions, he also realizes his employees' good-natured disposition to work hard for the company.
The local store clerk, Waqas, is a college student from Pakistan who sees no future by working at 7-Eleven. While having a conversation with him, he bluntly told DePinto he wouldn't recommend any other person to work at 7-Eleven due to the lack of employment growth opportunities. This is an honest opinion that DePinto would have never learned from any statistical human relations chart. I believe that in order for a company to succeed in all aspects of development, it must obtain a high level of communication within all levels of the structural corporate ladder. In other words, the lower-leveled staff must have the ability to express their concerns, complaints, and desires to the higher-leveled staff without the fear of retaliation and guarantee that their voices are being heard. A collaborative effort must be placed throughout all levels of the company to allow the developmental success to grow, both for the company as well as for its employees. The lesson DePinto learned from his experience by working undercover within his stores allowed him to gain the insight needed for him to know the issues facing his company and its stores, so he could personally have them addressed.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Mv0RVFY-Ms
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjxFo9BRrT0
Janet Echeverry
As an undergrad, I've read a book I'm sure many of you have heard about: "Nickel and Dimed" by Barbara Ehrenreich. Ehrenreich- a social writer/journalist goes undercover as a minimum and low wage worker to unravel how so many Americans survive on such wages on daily basis. As we follow her journey and multiple encounters, some of us realize that the people portrayed in the story might as well be our neighbors...or worse yet-it could be us. So other than finding this post interesting and recommending the book to everyone, this is what I've learned from this. Yes, I do believe there is definitely a lack of communication between the corporate level and the lowest level workers. I also think that the structure of the mentioned 7/11 as well as many similar business ventures is flawed if there aren't that many growth opportunities, while the top few management earns more than the rest of the organization's employees. Most importantly though, I believe the Hygiene Factor (Herzberg) we discussed earlier in the semester has lots to do with it. If basic employee needs (hygiene)are satisfied, the lower level employee will remain at least temporarily content. Obviously, the motivation Factor will eventually take over for most, at which point they will seek higher level positions. But with menial, lowest level, blue collar jobs, I think that's ultimately an expected outcome.
ReplyDeletegabriela J.