Looking Out for the Best Interests of the Company?

Many large companies have recognised the need to change their organisations in order to provide challenging opportunities for workers. The use of job enrichment schemes, autonomous work groups and participative management is now widespread. There are, however, still too many instances of repressive management practice. In this article, the personal experience of a worker in the US car industry forms the basis of a plea for a new approach to development and training. In it, I try to show that inefficient management practices are employed in the plant where I work, and give some suggestions for improvement. The company's name is not given in order to protect the guilty as well as the innocent.