Sociology

In Mollies Job, the principles and practices the owner, Archie Sergy developed as a manager included his willingness to educate workers on machinery and the products the company manufactured. He also was genuine in his interest in the well-being of those who worked for the company, including Mollie. He and his managerial team were jovial towards staff members, and would provide lunch for their employees they would even offer home loans to those long-term valuable employees that needed it. Race and Sex was never an issue in who they offered these kindnesses towards- everyone was valued.

The strategies he developed to deal with the problems Universal Manufacturing encountered consisted of continuing to show interest in his employees well-being, and he also maintained a steely eyed focus on quality and customer service to the degree that it probably hurt profit margins, (Adler, 2000) and he even opened another plant in rural Mississippi.  With limited financial resources, not long after opening the second plant Sergy ultimately had to sell the firm to a larger conglomerate based in New York due to a major decrease in profits. (2000)

The organizational changes Universal went through were numerous and quick-hitting. For instance, instead of a hands on approach, this new owner was an invisible entity that controlled everything but did not ever try to achieve a close connection with its new employees. Eventually, the company name was also taken from the front of the building, along with machinery- until finally the doors closed and the workload was shifted to workers in Mexico. This reflects the changes in the organizational landscape of American firms due to the emergence of globalization throughout the country. Globalization is not a new phenomenon as evidenced in this story of how Mollies once long-term employer faded into non-existence underneath a corporate umbrella as many other old-fashioned companies from the industrial era had prior to and since then.

For workers, the consequences of change are everlasting- and include a diminished loyalty to employers that the workforce in America was once known for. A new tradition has been forged in the wake of these sudden closings and mass layoffs, and todays employees now see corporations as inhuman entities that exist only to provide income- until the next big restructuring.

While this is not always the case, it is a reality that Americans in the workforce are fully aware of and it is no longer limiting its reaches to that of the factory worker or industrial shop owner- it is a reality for all who wish to pursue the American dream by way of traditional means.