It seems to me the problem with Treadway Tire in this case is a lack of leadership. The high turnover in the line foreman position cannot be blamed on a lack of adequate compensation. The money is relatively good, so the job itself is churning them out.
The case talks about how the majority of line foremen come up from the ranks of the hourly unionized workers. A small percentage are college grads, and an even smaller percentage are experienced transfers from within the company. There is no formal training program in place, so line foremen are thrown into a meat-grinder with heavy accountability to daily numbers with no support. The plant manager is quoted as saying that he feels the line foremen are disconnected from the upper levels of management. His solution is a periodic social hour. This is way off base as it does nothing to address the lack of training. The plant manager refuses to implement a formal training program, citing cost as prohibitive. It would be interesting to see the cost of the turnover he is experiencing and compare that with the cost of a training program.
In addition to training the foremen, upper management needs a shot in the arm. The case states that most managers above the foremen came up through the ranks. They are running roughshod over their foremen, and then wondering why the foremen abuse the hourly workers! The foremen are emulating the management style they were raised with. A focus on leadership and development must be added to the narrow focus on maximizing efficiency in order for the plant to overcome its turnover problem.
