Frederick Taylors Scientific Management - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 9 Words: 2574 Downloads: 3 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Management Essay Type Argumentative essay Level High school Did you like this example? Shannon Crilly13321480 Q.2 Frederick Taylorà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"scientific managementà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ was for a different time and a different place. Discuss. I agree that Frederick Taylorà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"scientific managementà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ undoubtedly belonged to a different time and place. In this essay I will express why I believe this to be true. To do so, I will begin by outlining where the idea originated from, and what exactly Taylorà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"scientific managementà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ consists of. Following this I will discuss the reasons why I believe that this system was indeed for a different time and place, and I will compare it with systems that I believe to be more applicable to modern managerial work, for example Henry Mintzbergà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s views on the Managerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s roles. I do however, also believe that there are aspects of Taylorà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å "scientific managementà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ which can be seen to operate well in managerial work today, and so I will also discuss the ways that I see this to be true. A manager is a person who is in charge of an organization or one of an organizationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s sub-units. They are responsible for controlling or overseeing a group of individuals, and they allocate, direct and account for resources. Their main duties are to plan, organise, lead, and control. The principal object of management should be to secure the maximum propensity for the employer, as well as the maximum propensity for each employee (Taylor, 1911). Taylorà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s analysis of management revealed that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"unscientific managementà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ was the fundamental problem of the late years of the 19th century, around the time of the end of the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"Long Depressionà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢. At this time Taylor was working as a machine-shop labourer at the Midvale Steel Company of P hiladelphia, and his studies were based on his personal observations of the organization and execution of daily work tasks here (Fulop and Linstead, 1999). He realised that maximum efficiency wasnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t being achieved by workers as employers were paying the lowest wages they could and in return the employees was doing as little work as they could (Taylor, 1911). The majority of workers believed that the fundamental interests of the workman and the management were antagonistic (Taylor, 1911). Taylor believed that the greatest obstacle to cooperation between the workman and the management was the ignorance of the management as to what the workmanà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s daily endeavour actually consisted of (Taylor, 1911). à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"Scientific managementà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ was developed on the contrary to this, where the interests of both the management and the workman needed to be viewed as one and the same à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" where prosperity for the employer cannot be ac hieved in the long run unless it is accompanied by prosperity for the employee (Taylor, 1911). Taylor came up with a systematic approach to the study and design of work (Fulop and Linstead, 1999). There were four fundamental elements of this idea of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"scientific managementà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ outlining the new duties of the management. The first being that they develop a science for each element of a workmanà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s work, where before they simply used a general rule of thumb method (Taylor, 1911). Secondly the management themselves scientifically select and train the workmen. In the past the workman appointed his own work and trained himself to the best of his capabilities (Taylor, 1911). Thirdly the management heartily cooperate with the workmen, insuring that all the work is being done in accordance with the developed principles of the science (Taylor, 1911). Fourthly and finally, that there is an essentially equal division of both work and responsibility between the workmen and the management. The management take on the work for which they are better suited, where in the past the majority of the responsibility and virtually all of the workload were thrown upon the workmen (Taylor, 1911). At the time the system of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"scientific managementà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ was adopted by numerous companies in the United States, and it worked very well. Daily wages rose from 33% à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" 100 % higher than surrounding companies who were still operating under ordinary management, and average output per man per machine doubled (Taylor, 1911). As time progressed however, flaws to the system surfaced, and what seemed to be more appropriate management systems were developed. One element of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"scientific managementà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ was that work activities were standardized and formalized to optimize execution of finely subdivided repetitive tasks (Fulop and Linstead, 1999), for example Henry Fordà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s asse mbly line that was developed after 1914 is an extension of this principle (Drucker, 1999). In their book, Liz Fulop and Stephen Linstead point out how this isolating and repetitive nature of work tasks was seen by the workmen and the trade unions as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"the ultimate dehumanizing and alienation approach to workà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ (Fulop and Linstead, 1999). Workmen became dissatisfied, increasingly careless, and more frequently absent from their employment. Working in these in humane working conditions, caused many workers to suffer extensive psychological trauma and poor work life quality (Fulop and Linstead, 1999). Managers could see that demotivation from the never-ending monotony of the factory was bound to emerge in the long run (Fulop and Linstead, 1999). In todayà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s society employeeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s average intelligence has risen greatly, and people have become more aware of their value as human beings (Priestly, 2005). While à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"scientif ic managementà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ workers were viewed as working solely for economic reward, today people are no longer satisfied with receiving only fiscal reward for their work (Priestly, 2005). It was clear that managers needed to look for ways to make jobs more intrinsically rewarding à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" so that the actual work itself would bring a reward of significance or trial (Boddy, 2005). Most early job redesign strategies were concerned with reversing the effects the over-specified, inflexible jobs that stemmed from Scientific Management, emphasizing making jobs more satisfying and challenging (Fulop and Linstead, 1999). The 21st Century has seen significant increases in access to technology and information. This is another reason why it is difficult to apply à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"scientific managementà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ to modern organizations. Organizations today process huge amounts of input, provided by satellite link-ups and the Internet, and employees no longer work in isol ated units but are literally connected to the organization in its whole (Priestly, 2005). With this swift technological growth the importance of reacting quickly to developments that may affect the organizationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s welfare is rising, and managers realise that it is not possible for them to control every aspect of employeeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s functions, making it imperative for the employees to use their own initiative (Priestly, 2005). This flexibility that must be sustained by modern companies does not comply with Taylorà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"scientific managementà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢, which required the work of every workman to be entirely planned out by the management at least one day in advance (Boddy, 2005). Lack of flexibility of workers can also be seen under à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"scientific managementà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ when workers became too highly specialized in their specific task, prohibiting their capability to adapt to new situations. Managers in the 21 st century require their workers exhibit flexibility as well as efficiency (Priestly, 2005). Henry Mintzberg also tackles many principles of Taylorà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"scientific managementà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ by comparing what he believes to be à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"folkloreà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ and what he believes to be fact about the managerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s job, from his point of view in 1990. The first principle he deals with is that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"the manager is a reflective, systematic plannerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ (Mintzberg, 1990). He countered this by explaining how instead numerous studies have shown that the manager works at an inexorable pace, and that their activities are characterized by brevity, variety and discontinuity (Mintzberg, 1990). He backs up his claim with evidence from studies of U.S. foremen and of British top and middle managers, where his beliefs, which contradict Taylorà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s, can be seen to be true in these modern work organizations. Mintzberg also opposes à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"scientific managementà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ as a whole by saying that it is à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"folkloreà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ that management is a science and a profession (Mintzberg, 1990). What Mintzberg suggests to be true today is that the managerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s programs, including decision making and so on, are rooted deep with their brains (Mintzberg, 1990). With organizations becoming much more complex today, the managerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s job is increasingly more difficult. Managers are overburdened with obligations and are forced to overwork and do many of their task superficially (Mintzberg, 1990). à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"Scientific managementà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ concentrated on specialized functions of the organization, but Mintzberg saw that the characteristics required of effective managerial work are brevity, fragmentation and verbal communication (Mintzberg, 1990). As these are not what à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"scientific managementà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ was prim arily concerned with, these characteristics have in fact impeded any scientific attempts to improve the managerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s job (Mintzberg, 1990). Peter Drucker had a great amount of respect for Taylorà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"scientific managementà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢. In his article in the California Management Review, he declared that no matter how loudly Taylorà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s antagonists tried to proclaim their differences with him, every method during the past one hundred years that has shown any success in raising manual works productivity and real wages, has in fact been based on Taylorà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s principles (Drucker, 1999). This can been seen in à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"work enlargementà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"work enrichmentà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"job rotationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ for example (Drucker, 1999). Despite this, Drucker did agree that in entering the 21st Century we needed to move past à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"scientific managementà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢. He expressed the factors which he considered to be successful in determining the knowledge-workerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s productivity. One of them being that the responsibility for knowledge worker productivity must lie with the individual knowledge workers themselves. They have to manage themselves; have autonomy (Drucker, 1999). Another being that continuous innovation must to be part of the work, and a third is that productivity of the knowledge worker does not solely depend on quantity; quality is at least equally as important (Drucker, 1999). Each of these are almost the complete opposite of the factors emphasized by Taylorà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"scientific managementà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢. Druckerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s knowledge worker system has proved to work effectively in the modern workplace, and an example of where its success can be seen is with a group of orthopaedic surgeons in a Mid-western city in the United States (Drucker, 1999). One of the pri nciples of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"Scientific managementà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ that I previously mentioned that it was heavily oriented to turning everything work-related into quantifiable dimensions, rather than relying on the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"rule of thumbà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ method (Ritzer, 1983). Fordismà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s roots are based on Taylorà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s management model (Priestly, 2005). I will use the example that I previously mentioned of the assembly line. This is similarly oriented to a variety of quantifiable dimensions such as optimizing the speed of the line, and decreasing the price of the finished product (Ritzer, 1983). General Motors received increased sales and ultimately increased profits from the employment of this system. Although his theory retained the faults of Taylorà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s; little workplace democracy and alienation, after 16 years of implementing Taylorà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s scientific approach, Ford skilfully managed to sell more than 10 million cars, proving the success of the system (The Saylor Foundation, 2005). The auto industry has continued to thrive into the 21st Century, making use of new efficiencies and cost reductions (The Saylor Foundation, 2005). There are many other organizations today where elements of Taylorà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"scientific managementà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ can be seen to be employed effectively. Taylorà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s system strived for rationality and maximum efficiency. A typical example of an organization employing à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"scientific managementà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ in its production is the fast food chain McDonalds. The McDonalds workerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s manual includes every step-by-step detail that the staff must follow, from the precise cooking times and temperature settings for all products and equipment, to that precise instruction that the Grill men must put hamburgers à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"on the grill moving left to right, creating six rows of six patties eachà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ ž ¢ (Priestly, 2005). Speed, convenience and standardization are set in place of any creation in cooking or variety in choice (Ritzer, 1983). Uniformity is complete in every McDonaldà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s restaurant, meaning that no matter what country in the world you are in, each on is using the same standard method to prepare food, promote the staff, and clean the floors (Priestly, 2005). This scientific system of managing every aspect of working life in this fast food chain is what has given them the ability to efficiently supply standard food and service around world and lead them to become the biggest restaurant chain on Earth (Priestly, 2005). While there is no doubt that it is this scientifically managed system that has led to McDonaldà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s worldwide triumph, the flaws of the system are still to be seen. George Ritzer introduces the idea of the irony of the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"irrationality of rationalityà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ that is found in the workplace of McDonalds (R itzer, 2011). This means that what appears to be an extremely rational and efficient system, does in fact lead inefficiency, loss of control, and other irrationalities in the long run. Employeeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"McJobsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ are deemed dehumanizing, and provide little satisfaction or stability, and so it is no surprise that alienation, resentment and absenteeism are present (Ritzer, 2011). The fast-food industry have an enormous turnover rate of 300%, meaning that the average workers only lasts for approximately 4 months (Ritzer, 20011). This high turnover rate is of course inadmissible for any organization, as there is the increased costs of constantly hiring and training new staff. Also, the lack of workerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s skill required for their à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"McJobsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ in inefficient for the organization. Managers could be obtaining much more from their workers for the money they are paid (Ritzer, 2011), but as they operate under a s cientific system of management, there is no diversity or flexibility in the workerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s jobs, and therefore they can only do the exact tasks that they are asked to do in the exact manner that they are asked to do them. To conclude, I would say that it is evidently clear that Frederick Taylorà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"scientific managementà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ was developed for a different time and a different place. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"Scientific managementà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ seemed like a simple result to managerial problems at the end of the 19th Century, but modern organizations of the 21st, being much more complex, require more than a systematic approach to managers. There is no doubt that Taylorà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s ideas have dramatically shaped modern methods of mass production and structural organization (The Saylor Foundation, 2005), and it is true that there are elements to à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"scientific managementà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ which cooperate well today with some organizations management systems and continue to work effectively, however in general, our industry and society today have moved on and left à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"scientific managementà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ in the past where it belongs. Bibliography Boddy, D. (ed.) 2005. Management: An Introduction, 3rd edition. Harlow, Pearson Education. Drucker, F. P. 1999. Knowledge-Worker Productivity: The Biggest Challenge. In Introduction to Organisation and Management, 3rd edition. (Quilliam J., ed.), Harlow, Pearson Education, pp. 247-262. Fulop, L. and Linstead, S. 1999. Management: A Critical Text. South Yarra, Macmillan Publishers Australia. Mintzberg, H. 1990. The Managerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Job: Folklore and Fact. In Introduction to Organisation and Management, 3rd edition. (Quilliam J., ed.), Harlow, Pearson Education, pp. 53-68. Priestley, S. 2005. Scientific Management in 21st Century. Available online at: www.articlecity.com/articles/business_and_finance/article4161.shtm l [Accessed 31st January 2014]. Ritzer, G. 1983. The McDonaldization of Society. Journal of American Culture, 6(1), 100-107. Available online at: https://antropologi.fib.ugm.ac.id/wp-content/uploads/George-Ritzer-The-McDonaldization-of-Society.pdf [Accessed 31st January 2014]. Ritzer, G. 2011. The McDonaldization of Society 6. California, SAGE Publications, pp. 141-160. Available online at: https://engl101-mlady.wikispaces.umb.edu/file/view/Chpt+7+-+Irrationality+of+Rationality.pdf [Accessed 12th February 2014]. Taylor, W. F. 1911. The Fundamentals of Scientific Management. New York, Harper Brothers. Available online at: www.marxists.org/reference/subject/economics/taylor/principles/ch01.htm [Accessed 3rd January 2014]. Taylor, W. F. 1911. The Principles of Scientific Management: Part I. In Introduction to Organisation and Management, 3rd edition. (Quilliam J., ed.), Harlow, Pearson Education, pp. 32-51. The Saylor Foundation, 2005. Scientific Management Theory and t he Ford Motor Company. Available online at: https://www.saylor.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Saylor.orgs-Scientific-Management-Theory-and-the-Ford-Motor-Company.pdf [Accessed February 7th 2014]. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Frederick Taylors Scientific Management" essay for you Create order

The first light flooded a tsunami in her eyes. She slowly...

The first light flooded a tsunami in her eyes. She slowly opened them in order to minimize the irritation. It was pointless because Dolores had realized it was impossible to avoid another day. All she wanted to do was stay in her warm linen haven of a bed. But, She knew the moment she put her feet down, her whole body would feel the cold shock of the real world. The cold shock ripped through her, but she did not respond nor react, she could not let it win. Walking down the narrow maple-floored corridor, it seemed to chill her bones every time she stepped. The light beckoning from the bedroom bay windows was stationary almost painted in place, unmoving in her presence. She continued on as the house creaked as if about to break but†¦show more content†¦Underneath, in red spray paint there were the almost illegible words screaming: â€Å"TAX THE RICH†. The flagpole was now missing it’s glorious flag and in it’s place, was a pair of non wet sneakers with a muddy tint to them. Dolores closed the GTO’s door gently behind her and walked across the dead patch of brown â€Å"hair†. Mike the cop tipped his hat as he opened the door to the school.. â€Å"How are the kids Mike?† Dolores asked. â€Å"Fine. My oldest son’s first day is tomorrow. I’ll make sure he’s in your class.† He responded with a smile, and how are You? â€Å"Fine!† She thought she felt her nose grow†¦. I’ll keep my eye out for that troublemaker.† She managed a little smile, â€Å"Say hello to Marie for me will you?† â€Å"Will do, See you later Dolores† The metal detector gave a little acceptance buzz as Dolores walked through. The High School hallway had always felt dead of spirit and happiness. 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Sewing for Millionaires Free Essays

Sewing for Millionaires A two-hour drive from the capital of San Jose, Costa Rica, sits the small community of Turrialba where mostly young workers sit and sew baseballs destined for Major League Baseball teams. Rawlings Sporting Goods Company moved its baseball manufacturing operations from Haiti in 1986 when the political landscape of the country began to change. Rawlings selected the town of Turrialba due to the incentives offered to the company by the Costa Rican government. We will write a custom essay sample on Sewing for Millionaires or any similar topic only for you Order Now Rawlings was awarded a free-trade zone in which the company would be allowed to operate duty-free in the country. Rawlings pays no import tariffs on the goods it imports to manufacture its baseballs, and the finished product can be shipped duty-free into the United States under the Caribbean Basin Initiative. The Turrialba region was hard hit economically in the 1980s when a major highway from the capital bypassed the town. Because travelers no longer stopped in Turrialba, the Costa Rican government wanted to develop the local area through foreign investment. Rawlings found the potential workforce better educated, and more disciplined than its workers in Haiti. The country was also well known for being very politically stable. With few employment opportunities in the area, Rawlings had no difficulty in securing dedicated and motivated employees. Although Costa Rica is the wealthiest country in Central America, per capita income is still only about $4,200 a year. Costa Rica has a national unemployment rate of 6. 7 percent. However, the rate can vary from region to region. With the completion of the new highway and declining employment opportunities in the coffee and sugarcane industries, many local residents of Turrialba were eager to find stable employment. Most Rawlings employees in Costa Rica are engaged in sewing operations. In the plant, 300 employees sit in rows of high back chairs and sew baseballs. Many employees break the boredom of the work by listening to music on their headphones. The plant employs a total of 575 workers. At one time Rawlings employed approximately 1,900 workers at the Costa Rican plant, however, employment fell when the company shifted production of its lower quality baseballs to China. The Rawlings plant takes a baseball core and wraps it in yarn. The product is then covered with cowhide and sewn by hand. Baseballs must be sewn by hand in order to achieve the quality level demanded by the Major Leagues. Each worker sews 108 perfect stitches using a long needle and thread. The balls are then inspected, cleaned, and stamped with the MLB logo and the signature of the commissioner of baseball. The balls are then packed and shipped to the port city of Limon where they are loaded onto a ship bound for Port Everglades, Florida. The baseballs are then trucked to Rawlings’ Springfield, Missouri facility, and then to Major League teams or retail stores. Rawlings has been the exclusive supplier of baseballs to the Major Leagues since 1977. The Costa Rican facility produces approximately 2. million baseballs a year, with 1. 8 million of those going to Major League Baseball. The remaining balls are sold to minor league and college baseball teams, or sold to the public through retail stores or the Websites of MLB and Rawlings. Although Rawlings refuses to disclose the price of the baseballs paid by MLB, the baseballs retail on the company’s Website for $12. 99 per unit. Employees ar e paid $1. 21 per hour and receive the value of 67 cents an hour in benefits, or about 30 cents per ball produced. Workers can go home early in the week if they complete their production quotas. Rawlings workers earn about 14 percent above the Costa Rican minimum wage. In addition to their wages, Rawlings employees in Costa Rica must be paid for eleven holidays, receive two weeks of paid vacation a year, and receive a Christmas bonus equal to one month’s pay. The Company must also pay into a retirement and medical plan and provide four months of maternity leave when needed. A 2004 New York Times article questioned the pay and working conditions of the Rawlings plant in Costa Rica. The article accused Rawlings and MLB of running a sweatshop in Costa Rica where workers were underpaid and worked in an unhealthy environment. Consumer advocate Ralph Nader joined in the criticism by writing a letter to Bud Selig, MLB Commissioner and the Executive Director of the MLB Player Association. In the letter Nader condemned the two men for allowing baseballs to be manufactured in what he considered to be poor conditions. Portions of the letter follow: â€Å"Your respective organizations must not ignore their roles in this exploitation and abuse of worker rights committed under Major League Baseball and Player Association product sourcing and licensing agreements. † â€Å"American consumers and baseball fans currently have no guarantee that any icensed Major League Baseball products are not being made under sweatshop conditions that violate basic human and worker rights standards. † Major League Baseball consumer products vice president, Howard Smith, responded to the rising complaints by stating: â€Å"I can assure you that there is no company we do business with that knowingly goes into a factory w ith sub-par working conditions. † Not everyone agrees with Mr. Smith. Maribel Alezondo Brenes worked at the Rawlings plant for seven years before her doctor told her to stop working there for health reasons. Carpal tunnel syndrome has been noticed in the Rawlings employees due to the repetitive nature of the work. Dr. Carlos Guerrero who worked at the Rawlings plant as company physician says that up to 90 percent of Rawlings employees may have experienced pain from the work, from minor cuts to disabling injuries. Others feel that the plant has been a good addition to the region, including Warny Gomez, who worked at the Rawlings facility for four years and made enough money to attend college and to become a teacher. With average pay for Major League Baseball players close to $2. 3 million a year, some Rawlings employees feel that their compensation is unjust. Many, however, feel like Alan Cascante, an eight-year employee of the baseball factory: â€Å"We can live on that (Rawlings wages). We never made that working in the fields. † Plant manager, Ken West agrees with Cascante, by saying â€Å"The best thing’s the pay. We’re a good place to work. † The debate over pay and working conditions of employees who supply MLB with its products appears to be growing in some quarters. People like Kenneth Miller; a self-appointed champion of sweatshop workers takes his message to the fans by camping outside ballparks. He tells potential consumers of MLB products that the baseball player bobble head doll they are about to purchase was made by a Chinese worker who works 20 hour shifts for very little pay. Miller states that he often finds indifference among consumers. Some tell him: â€Å"Why are you trying to interrupt our nice day at the ballpark? Miller and a handful of others are pressuring MLB to take greater control over the working conditions of its suppliers, such as Rawlings. As the debate continues in the United States over the working conditions and pay of the Costa Rican employees and others, baseballs are sewn in Turrialba with pictures of Alex Rodriquez, Mike Piazza, and other baseball players hanging on the walls of the factory. Rawlings’ employees, however, are too busy sewing baseballs for the millionaire players to even notice the pictures h anging above them. How to cite Sewing for Millionaires, Essay examples