JIM BEAM SCENARIO ASSIGNMENT

Respond to the following case scenario by applying topics and theories.

Jim Beam fighting citation for bathroom-break policy

The Jim Beam bourbon-making plant in Bullitt County is fighting a state citation criticizing its policy on bathroom breaks for employees. Since October, line workers at the plant have been permitted to use the restroom only during lunch and two other times during the day – one before lunch and one after. They also are allowed one unscheduled toilet break per day, and can be disciplined for taking more, starting with a warning and escalating to dismissal after six incidents.
The old policy allowed workers to rotate off the line for short, unscheduled breaks
throughout the day, with no set number. The company changed the policy after it concluded that workers were taking advantage of the liberal break policy. The Labor Cabinet, in a citation issued in November, said Jim Beam is violating a federal labor law requiring employers to provide restroom facilities to employees. Jim Beam is appealing the citation. The cabinet did not propose a fine.
A hearing on the citation is scheduled next week in Bardstown. The distiller has filed a
memo with the Labor Cabinet, saying it “observed, documented and analyzed break habits of the employees” and consulted with a urologist to make sure that the new policy would be reasonable.” The company said people with medical conditions get more leeway. But the United Food and Commercial Workers union that represents the approximately 100 production-line
workers said the urologist determined the breaks were not motivated by need, but most
likely by “smoking habits.”
The union said 45 workers have been disciplined, some workers have begun wearing
protective undergarments and others have urinated on themselves because they were afraid to leave the line. “It’s embarrassing to be a 36-year-old woman and have to justify your need to go to the bathroom,” said Krystal Ditto, who said she has been disciplined five times and is one unscheduled bathroom visit away from losing her job. “Once you get the feeling you have to go, you sit there looking at the clock and see you have an hour to go, and it intensifies. I’m not going to sit there and be miserable.” The company is holding its ground. “We feel our system provides reasonable breaks for all employees, and we’re looking forward to explaining our position in detail next week at the hearing,” said Stephanie Moritz, director of publications for Jim Beam, based in Deerfield, Ill.
Jo Anne Kelley, the union local’s president, has worked at the Jim Beam plant for 34
years. She said the policy is degrading and that company officials have told some workers that they should “practice” going to the bathroom every two hours at home on the weekends to put themselves on a schedule. “Basically, we’re being asked to train our bladders and other organs to meet their needs, not ours,” Kelley said. “Your bodily functions don’t have a time clock.” In its appeal, Jim Beam said its break policy “effectively balances the medical needs of
employees with the company’s need to maintain a productive workforce.” (Adopted from Harvard Business Review, 2019).
The following items should be evident in your case assignment:
• Identify the key roles and organizational issues through a brief summary or introductory paragraph (this is not the abstract page).
• Integrate specific theories from rational, natural, and open systems.
• Provide your personal perspective on the case, applying theories, perspectives, and structures you along with alternatives that could be best integrated to address the participant’s concerns.
• The paper must be written using current APA format and must include a title page, an abstract, and a references list. These are not included in the word count.
• The paper must have a minimum of 800 words.
• Do not use bullets or listing anywhere in the paper. Do not copy/paste the scenario into the paper.
• References must be as follows:
A minimum of 5 different references and the Bible must be used as reference.
The peer-reviewed journal articles between 2017-2021 for each reply. . Reference sample make sure to include DOI-Drollinger, T., Comer, L. B., & Warrington, P. T. (2006). Development and validation of the active empathetic listening scale. Psychology & Marketing, 23(2), 161-180. https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.20105

ANSWER

Jim Beam Scenario Assignment

Introduction

Jim Beam is a global bourbon manufacturing company. The company has been concerned about the number of breaks their employees are taking. They have introduced a new policy that allows three restroom breaks for their product line workers within the plant. This policy has failed to satisfy the workers who feel that the company is focusing on its needs and failing to consider the needs of employees. The policy has led to a major organizational issue: a lack of employee satisfaction with the management. Employees are being mistreated and not being trusted. Such workforce stress can influence job satisfaction, decreasing morale and workforce performance (Foy et al., 2019). This is because when employees are less satisfied, they are less likely to be motivated to offer quality services and remain productive. From the case study reading, Jim Beam only focuses on how employees maximize their time to boost production. Therefore, the company has lowered the employees’ job satisfaction since they feel that the new policy is too demanding. The employees at Jim Beam are seeking help from the United Food and Commercial Workers Union to challenge the discriminatory acts of the restroom policy, which requires the employees to only use the restroom during lunch break, one before lunch and one after lunch. However, Jim Beam feels that the current policy balances the medical demands of the employees with the organization’s needs to maintain a productive workforce.

The organization relies on the classical theory of management. The classical theory emphasizes the motivation of employees through physical needs (Hussain et al., 2019). The theory holds that employees’ physical needs can be met through monetary incentives and income, thus failing to consider employees’ social needs. The classical theory views companies as machines and human beings as major machine components. Considerably, organizations that rely on the classical theory of management prioritize the employees’ economic and physical needs over social needs and satisfaction. The classical approach views organizations as closed systems. These formal organizational structures manage the organization’s activities and ignore the human element of employees. Additionally, the classical theory ignores human relations and demoralizes the role of the human factor. Jim Beam focuses on optimizing productivity, thus treating the company as a machine while the workers are the machine components. Jim Beam has a limited focus on job satisfaction and human relations, leading to restrictions and high levels of pressure on the employees.

The classical theory leads to disheartened attitudes and frustrations because the employees only have economic and physical needs. For instance, Jim Beam argues that the break policy has effectively balanced the medical needs of the company’s workers while focusing on maintaining a productive workforce. The company believes that its system offers reasonable breaks for all the workers. The company has a closed system that fails to consider the human relations theory. The human relations theory pays attention to the significance of interpersonal relationships, employee attitude and group dynamics. The human relations theory believes that the organization is a social system that views the workforce as human beings, focusing on the general organizational output and social ethics (Nicotera, 2019). Jim Beam has failed to focus on the individual needs and the resultant behaviours of the employees to facilitate worker satisfaction.

One of the main challenges with the management of Jim Beam is that they have ignored human needs and desires in the workplace. They have failed to consider the social needs of the workforce, with major emphasis being process improvement. For instance, the plant line workers are only allowed to use the restroom three times a day during lunch break and one before and after lunch. They have also been permitted one unscheduled toilet break in a day and can be disciplined for having more. This starts with a warning and escalates to dismissal. The current policy is taking advantage of the employees who feel that they are being mistreated. Jim Beam is violating OSHA requirements that focus on providing restroom and sanitary facilities to all workers.

The organization needs to focus on human relations theory and contingency theory. The human relations theory emphasizes the need to create positive social bonds and perceive a worker as a special individual (Hossni, 2019). An interpersonal approach in the management of human beings will improve employee satisfaction and result in the motivation of individuals. The contingency theory is grounded on environmental conditions (Mahmud et al., 2021). This theory states that organizations that increasingly link the internal components to the demands of their environments will be more successful.

The notion behind the contingency theory is that there is no best way to manage or lead an organization (Scott and Davis, 2016). The management needs to look further and examine how the management style is influencing the workforce. There is a need to identify which management style will enable the organization to reach its goals. Using the contingency theory allows the organization to understand and know the employees and make better decisions that will satisfy the employee needs.

Conclusion

In summation, the management style is significant for motivating employees and boosting their level of satisfaction. Jim Bea’s management has failed to consider the need to motivate employees and boost their satisfaction levels. The management views the organization as a machine while the employees are a component of the machine. This has negatively influenced human relations since the major focus is increased productivity rather than job satisfaction. There is a need for Jim Beam to consider a contingency approach to the management of behaviours and certain situations to improve employee satisfaction and performance.

References

Foy, T., Dwyer, R. J., Nafarrete, R., Hammoud, M. S. S., & Rockett, P. (2019). Managing job performance, social support and work-life conflict to reduce workplace stress. International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/IJPPM-03-2017-0061

Hossni, M. (2019). Human Relations Theory of Management. Unpublished. https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.12893.56804

Hussain, N., HAQUE, A. U., & Baloch, A. (2019). Management Theories: The Contribution of Contemporary Management Theorists in Tackling Contemporary Management Challenges. Journal of Yaşar University, 14, 156-169. http://dx.doi.org/10.19168/jyasar.635061

Mahmud, M., Soetanto, D., & Jack, S. (2021). A contingency theory perspective of environmental management: Empirical evidence from entrepreneurial firms. Journal of General Management. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0306307021991489

Nicotera, A. M. (Ed.). (2019). Origins and traditions of organizational communication: A comprehensive introduction to the field. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203703625

Scott, W. R., & Davis, G. F. (2016). Organizations and organizing rational, natural, and open system perspectives. New York, NY: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315663371