Case 4.6 A New Work Ethic?

1. How typical are the attitudes that Sheehy reports? Does his description of a new work ethic tally with your own experiences?

The attitudes of the employees that Sheehy reported on do, in fact, appear to be typical. It has been my experience that there is a break down or disconnect, if you will, in the attitudes of workers in the United States. Initially, it was believed that the poor attitudes of those in customer service positions were a lack of maturity on the part of the employee. However, as I continue to experience customer service in this country, it is noted that the problem is not just one of immaturity. It appears that the problem is based more in a lack of understanding and training in appropriate customer service.

There is a fast food chain that has become popular in recent years that seems to get the customer service process right on several levels. Chick-fil-A provides the best customer service of all fast food chains. Whether placing an order inside at the counter or in a car at the drive through, a customer always feels important. Employees of this chain have been highly trained in quality customer service and always respond with a my pleasure at the end of serving a customer. People return to this restaurant over and over again because the product us excellent, but also so is the customer service. An interesting study would be to determine the level of pilferage that is experienced within the Chick-fil-A organization.

2. What are the implications for the future of American business of the work ethic Sheehy describes?

There are many implications of the work ethic described by Sheehy. Considering quality customer service is one of the many reasons customers return to spend their money, it is important that employees put their best foot forward, so to speak. Quality customer service promotes business growth, as customers return to make future purchases and to share their good experiences with others, opening the doors for other customers to have the same positive experiences. Poor customer service, in effect does just the opposite. Poor customer service keeps people away. Why would someone choose to pay for poor customer service? Unfortunately, it seems that poor customer service is becoming the norm in our great country. Poor customer service is evident in most industries in this country. Regardless of what the business, there are customers, whether the customer is internal or external, there are customers. It seems that there is no standard for holding employees accountable for providing poor customer

service to customers. Considering the current downturn in the United States economy, we can use all of the help we can garner improvements in the economy. Improvements in the quality of customer service in all industries would do wonders in helping to improve the economy.

3. Some might discount Sheehys experiences either as being the product of one particular industry or as simply reflecting immaturity of young employees. Would you agree?

Having had many experiences, both as a customer and employee in several industries, I must disagree that Sheehys experiences were the product of that particular industry or a simple reflection of immaturity of young employees. It would appear that the lack of quality customer service resonates through all industries and is not associated with a persons age. There is an indifference that permeates the United States culture and will not likely go away easily. This indifference unfortunately impacts the level of customer service afforded in most industries in this country.

One way to improve the level of customer service is through training and accountability. Employees must be trained in the ways to provide quality customer service. In addition, managers must implement measures to hold employees accountable for providing quality customer service.

4. Is it reasonable to expect workers, especially in a capitalist society, to be more devoted to their jobs, more concerned with quality and customer service, than Sheehys coworkers were? What explains employee theft?

In a capitalist society, it is extremely important to maintain quality customer service. Because profit in a capitalist society is free to all, competition is also a concern. Providing the highest customer service possible can help to stave off competition. If managers train employees to be concerned about and devoted to their jobs, they will then have pride in their work. Pride is also a missing piece of the puzzle in our work environments in recent history. If all employees had pride in their work, employee theft would decrease. Because human behavior is involved, employee pilferage will always be a part of all work environments. However, pride in ones work can definitely decrease the amount of employee theft that an organization experiences.

5. In what ways does the culture of our capitalist society encourage attitudes like those Sheehy describes?

The culture of our capitalist society promotes a somewhat individualistic, selfish persona. Employees are allowed to become selfish and only consider themselves. Stealing from a company is no longer seen as hurting the company, but helping oneself. Pilferage in this sense can be equated to the Robin Hood theme, rob from the rich and give to the poor. The employee views the company as the rich and him- or herself as the poor.

One way to possibly remedy the poor quality service is to implement the principles of Total Quality Management (TQM). TQM was first used in the 1980s at Motorola. It was popular in the 1990s in many other companies, but has decreased in popularity since. However, it would be wise to begin to implement the principles across the board in many companies again. The principles are 1. Produce quality work the first time; 2. Focus on the customer; 3. Have a strategic approach to improvement; 4. Improve continuously; and 5. Encourage mutual respect and teamwork. The principles of TQM could both improve the level of quality customer service and decrease the amount of employee theft if implemented correctly. It would be great for our economy to return to a high level of pride in all industries in our country again.