Most of us have had to hold our bladder at some point whether
waiting in line for a public restroom, on a long car ride, having an ultrasound,
etc. Do you remember how uncomfortable it felt? Now, imagine what it would feel like to hold
your bladder every day. Some of Jim Beam’s frontline employees didn’t have to
imagine what it would feel like because they lived it after the plant managers
passed a strict bathroom break policy.
Mangers disciplined workers for taking extra bathroom breaks, and after six violations, workers were terminated. In fear of disciplinary action, some workers held their bladder, wore adult diapers, and even soiled themselves (Jim Beam’s Sour Bathroom Break Policy, n.d.).
The Critical Approach
The critical approach is based on oppression, imbalance, power,
control, resistance, and liberation (System and critical approaches to organizational communication, n.d.).
Under the critical theory, organizations
in a capitalist society oppress their employees through hierarchy which in turn
promotes an imbalance of power between management and employees, and liberation
comes when employees resist and free themselves from dominate restraints.
Jim Beam’s managers asserted power over their employees by
implementing a stricter bathroom policy to re-establish dominance and to regain
control over employee’s bathroom breaks to increase production.
Managers did not openly communicate with their employees
about the reasoning behind the new bathroom policy. Also, management did not
follow the new bathroom break rules. This created a negative work culture and
further created an imbalance of power between management and employees.
Employees resisted the policy by calling in sick, obtaining
medical waivers, and getting their union representative involved. Through the
help of their union representatives, the case reached the Kentucky Labor
Cabinet and the public got wind of the policy. After receiving public backlash
for the policy, Jim Beam retracted their bathroom policy. Because the employees resisted were
liberated.
The Systems Approach
The systems theory looks at an organization as a system (System and critical approaches to organizational communication,
n.d.). Each organization is comprised of multiple parts including
employees, departments, resources, materials, products, services, etc. that are
interdependent.
For example, Jim Beam’s organization is dependent on their employees
to produce bourbon and provide services (distillery tours, tastings, etc.)
whereas, employees rely on Jim Bean for employment, paychecks, health benefits,
etc. Also, distillery employees depend on management to order corn, rye, barely
malt, etc. to make the bourbon. The bottling and shipping department rely on
the distillery department to provide the bourbon and management to supply
bottles, lids, boxes, etc. The point is, every part of an organization is
mutually reliant on each other.
So, how does interdependence become weak? What happens when it
does? Interdependence becomes weak when a part or parts become isolated from
the rest of the system (System and critical approaches to organizational
communication, n.d.). This, in turn, causes a part or parts to fail, which can
lead to a total system failure. Jim Beam managers closed the system of
communication to employees when they did not explain why the new bathroom
policy was being implemented, ask for input, or listen to feedback. Also,
managers took as many bathroom breaks as they needed but forced employees to
abide by the degrading, embarrassing, and demoralizing policy. Employees felt
isolated from the mangers and the organization. Isolation then led to entropy.
When employees acted against Jim Beam, employee productivity declined because
they were more focused on fighting the bathroom policy.
If Jim Beams management would have openly communicated with
their employees, they could have likely achieved their goals and avoided
disgruntled employees, legal repercussions, and negative press. Below is a
systems concept map of Jim Beam’s organization when their system is open. Below
is a systems concept map of Jim Beam’s organization when their system is open
and functioning the way it should be.
System theory can be applied to a
variety of organizations. Two more real-world examples include restaurants and the movie industry. In restaurants, input
would include employees (labor), food, condiments, alcohol, garnishes, etc., ovens,
stoves, pots & pans, dishes, utensils, sinks, dishwasher, refrigerator, money
invested into the restaurant, etc. Throughputs is the process of making the
food, the process of marketing the restaurant, menu item, or a special promotion,
the process of selling the food, and the process of making restaurant rules and
regulations. Outputs are the food that’s served, the cocktails that are
created, private dining at the chef’s table, private reservations, etc. In the movie industry some inputs are actors,
producers, writers, crew, make-up artists, cameras, props, money invested into
the movie, etc. Some throughputs include the process of playing a character, writing
and revising the script, filming a scene, editing a scene, distributing the
film, marketing the film, etc. Outputs include, the finished movie, movie
released in movie theaters & on dvd, private screenings, etc.
References
Jim Beam's sour bathroom break policy. (n.d.). Retrieved
from
https://moodle.drury.edu/pluginfile.php/915610/mod_resource/content/1/Case%20study%20week%203.pdf
System and critical approaches to organizational
communication. (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://moodle.drury.edu/pluginfile.php/915609/mod_resource/content/1/System%20and%20critical%20approaches%20to%20organizational%20communication.pdf
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