Rivethead and Organizational World By Mansur Boydaş Mansur Boydas Vahdi Boydas

Rivethead and Organizational World By Mansur Boyda Mansur Boydas Vahdi Boydas

By Mensur Boydas Vahdi Boydas Mansur Boyda

Rivethead is Ben Hamper's autobiographical report of life on the General Motors' assembly line. It documents the problems in union-management relationship that illustrated the auto industry in the 1960s, 70s and 80s. The book is filled with examples of General Motors manufacturing employees taking extremely long breaks. Employees routinely take turns covering each other on the assembly line so that they could spend several hours sleeping or drinking bears at bars. This actually expresses that the operation management is not functioning well. The book is a reflection of his life at work and leisure hours. Ben Hamper is highlighting many insights about the nature of the organizational world. Some of them are; "Modern Times" like organizations, out of control but still seem to function, academics and industry are different and how organizations affect our lives.

Rivethead points up the assembly line similar to Charlie Chaplin movie called Modern Times. It reveals that the organization seems to function as a machine which had to control the entire system, such as lunch hour, break time and other events within the working shift. The organization functions like a machine in all its aspects. Cars, windshield, cars fenders etc. The routine turns the human into a robotic structure as shown in the movie. There are also control mechanisms that sort the mean culture of the organizations. Theory says "Organizations as machines". He reveals that the tradition in organizations in 1930s is still the same in the 60s, 70s, and 80s.

Secondly, organizations are out of control but still seem to function somehow. In the organizations control mechanism or hierarchy that is the organs of a body seems not to function as it's supposed to. Consequently, the body gets infected or in other words some part of the hierarchy not functioning well. Although this occurs, the organizations seem to function. Organizations are mainstays of the regions where they are located for the survival of the communities. This involves the family lives; parents and children for several generations being employed at the same firm, performing the same monotonous work as those who came before them. Hamper states that, "The only prospect more dreadful than having a job at GM was not having one", page 167. This illustrates that it's better to have a job wherever than not having one. Humankind has to have a source of income to satisfy their needs according to the Maslow's Theory of needs. There are three main theories how organizations controlled. Theory X, Y and Z. The theory emphasized in Rivethead is theory X in which there is no motivation involved and under controlled all the time to keep the production happening. The needs of the employees are at the secondary objective.

Moreover, theory thought in the universities is differ from the practice. Simply academics and industry are different. In academics, we are getting filled with all of the theories however even in the first steps of industry; we start to fluctuate in our responses to the environment. Knowing it is a lot different than living it. Distinctions between the two organizational settings include academic freedom, educational outcome measurement, and resistance to change. Academic freedom refers to teach with freedom. Many teaching techniques could be utilized and there are no limitations means in the hands of the academia. On the other hand there are different boundaries in the industrial world of how to accomplish the task to meet the needs of the organization you work for. There is no freedom in assembly line and you must do the requirements of the work. In the academy world, to be able to reach to the point of being a professor, there are certain educational measures need to be considered. On the other hand in the assembly line there is almost no educational outcome measurement.

The measures guide you through which certain type of career you really want to achieve but there is no measure in terms of assembly line because there is no career to be achieved. Resistance to change is another issue in terms of differentiating the academic world and the industrial world. Industry, by its very nature is conservative and organizations actively resist change. You don't have to look far to see evidence of this phenomenon. Academic world which exist to open minds and challenge established ways of thinking, are themselves extremely resistant to change. Majority of the academia use the same teaching technologies today as they were 50 years ago.

Lastly, organizations have a lot in our lives. We form them and work within them. In every aspect of our live there is a chip contained by the organizations. Our culture, environment, mental health, friends, etc are affected by. One of the very interesting highlights of the book is the impact of routine work that workers go through each and how it affects their lives. Hamper describes it as "The rigid system rush home, drink three beers, eat supper, watch wheel of fortune, hop the old lady and be sound sleep by 9:00", page 86. Working in a factory assembly line of a General Motors plant has a significant impact on its workers' daily life. All jobs, regardless of their nature, are for the most part a mixture of both interesting and boring aspects. The author experiences the effects of long hours in assembly line performing a simple task repeatedly with little result in the end product. He was, as may be said, a cog of a wheel turning but going nowhere. This type of existence does not provide benefits for either organization or workers. The author describes the life and time of the American autoworkers in the assembly line performing the repeating action and hard work they perform may have an affect person's mental capacity which indeed affects their efficiency. I was really delighted to read this interesting life story by Ben Hamper. I have realized the importance, the large organizations play in today's business world also how one theory like "Organization a Machine" is not enough to explain a whole organization itself. In order to have a clear understanding of organizations we need to take into account more than just one theory or business metaphor. Ben Hamper refers to public agitator, Michael Moore, who uses his factory experience to impress his views to the workers and the author to write about his life at General Motors. Eventually, Hamper was laid off and became a full time writer for the paper "Flint Voice". He then considered Moore's advice and the result was the book we are now reviewing.

The book outlines many other problems faced in the automated production lines. In spite of all the problems the author describes, it is my opinion that there is too much exaggeration and artistic privilege used. I want to say that there have been significant changes over the years. Auto companies have worked hard to adjust their managerial structures to satisfy the needs of their employees and stay on top with other competitions in the industry.

However, I still feel that the organizations should create a comfortable working environment and should supply the adequate moral management needed for the employees in order to bring huge benefits to the company and its employees.

Mansur Boydas

Vahdi Boydas

Mansur Boyda

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