Foxconn Case

Category: Suicide
Last Updated: 28 Jul 2021
Pages: 10 Views: 70
Table of contents

Organization design

Organization design refers to support suitable resources policies to enhance and manage both company and employees’ performance. Firstly, define measures and governance is part of the organization design, in Foxconn case, Apple has a supplier code of conduct that details standards on labor issues, safety protections and other topics to let suppliers supervise the workers, which are quite good. But Foxconn not follow these standards to treat the employees, so we think Foxconn should give a clearly policy on fairly supervise the works. Secondly, Job evaluation system is reflected in the case, the statement said employees have opportunities for job rotation and promotion. Mr. Lai benefit from the job evaluation methodology. He has been promoted quickly to be in charge of a team. But most employees in the Fonconn not enjoy the promotion system, we suggest Foxconn can give everybody the opportunity to be promoted in order to encourage employees work better. Thirdly, managers and members should work together to define the needs of the organization then create systems to meet those needs more effectively. In Foxconn case, managers should take the work environment and work time into consideration to give the better condition for assembly line workers.

Organization development

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Organization development refers to give the clear organization strategy to employees, keep organization culture, enhancing the performance of organization Intervention is part of the organization development, so we think the Apple should do some intervention when they heard the workers do over time work with low salary, rather than turn a deaf ear to it. Organization development also contains solve problems happened in the organization. In 2010, after multiple suicide attempts, Foxconn created the dedicated mental health hotline and began offering free psychological counseling to the employees. We consider this action means Foxconn solve the suicide problems by organization development. Company culture on Apply is that employee cannot work overtime. And we suggest Foxconn should follow Apple’s company culture to reduce the overwork time. Workers are not machines.

Resource and talent planning

Resource and talent planning should be used to attract more qualified and potential employees for the organization which can create more competitive advantages than competitions. People and time are parts of the resource, In Foxconn, there are 1.2millions workers work together with the strict timetable, which we think Foxconn have a good resource planning. But we think Foxconn almost forget workforce planning, since they did not give any planning in the case for most of the assembly line workers. Good workforce planning is very essential for Foxconn to cultivate employee who has potential, otherwise employee always work as assembly line will feel boring and uncomfortable. We assume the workforce planning can give the people more motivation and hope for the further work and less pressure.

Learning and Talent Development

The HR development has to ensure every organization has the skills of development, knowleage and experience in order to keep the long-term and short-term ambitions of learning and developing by themselves. Learning and talent development function contributes to assess the employees’ capability and skills when recruiting people in different positions for Foxconn company. And also it design the L&D solutions and deliver it to the entire company. For example, the HR department in Foxconn can train the workers about their rights and methods for injury and disease prevention. Besides, in order to increase the productive and profit, the employees can learn more about the skills from the training programs provided by HR department. Moreover, the company may also select the talent person to their line management for contributing more innovation about management and productivity for the development in company. As the New York times mentioned in the report, many Foxconn workers attempted suicide or fell from buildings. HR department may also to offer the psychological guide programs to the workers as to teach them the good way to release the heavy pressure from work.

Performance and Reward

The HR department in this area aim to establish a high quality company culture strategy through the programs to evaluate the skills, capability , and performance. And to ensure the market-based reward system is fair and effective. This unction contributes to develop performance and reward policy and strategy for the whole company. Also it develop the performance culture. On the other hand, it offer the international, expatriate and executive reward. Employees are attracted and motivated through performance and reward. For instance, workers in Foxconn company can treat the workers well when the workers make continues excellent performance. As the New York Times mentioned, one employee with college degree in Foxcoon earned $22 a day which seems to be much lower than the average wage in same level in Chengdu city. Workers are more likely to be motivated if the company can give more reward to them by assessing their work performance. As we know the workforce is the core factor in one company, it appears to be more time waste and money waste to recruit new employees in light of the training fees .Besides, it take more time to deal with the contact between the old employees including the security and health insurance . Good and reasonable reward to the workers according from their performance can be an excellent way to prevent from talent losing.

Employee Engagement

With the clear objective of organization, the HR department ensures a good emotional connection with employees and ensures that all the employees have their own parts on work. Engagement means the employee is fully involved in, and has passion for his work so that it will further their organization's interests. Employee engagement function contributes to cultivate the employees enthusiastic about their jobs. HR department in the company supply the engagement drivers and developing strategy. Meanwhile, it measures the level of engagement. Employer brand can offer the workers image of their company as a great place to work in order to retain talented candidates and employees, in the same way that it can be utilized to retain clients and consumers. For example, the Foxconn company build up the cafeterias , cinemas, great restaurants, playgrounds, shopping stores ,swimming pools and medical facilities with fantastic environment to increase the workers’ enthusiastic to work. Besides, if all the workers can successfully apply for the health, accident, social security, unemployment and maternity coverage, the workers will be more willing to work in the company in light of the warm care from the company. As we all know that good communication is really important in relationship between employees and company. In order to obtain the thoughts and ideas from every employees, it’s necessary for the company to conduct the survey to monitor the employees’ satisfaction for the reason to enhance the employee engagement. By this way can company retain the talented candidates and employees.

Employee relations

The HR department aims to ensures the strategy and policy with the clear and transparent framework of organization. And it also manage the relations between the employees and the organization through the labor law The employee relations function contributes to the policy and relation strategy of the whole company and make effective collective negotiation and consultation with the employees. Besides, employee relations ensures the employees’ health and well-being, at the same time, they make and revise the law for employment in order to provide both the employees and company the legitimate rights and interests. For example, the company revises their own time policy for their workers in order to obtain good productivity. In Foxconn’s case, the company make strict time schedule for the workers. The workers spend 12 hours a day, six days a week, who arrived late are required to write confession letters and copy quotations. Moreover, thousands of workers are standing in backless chair when working in company. These might be the problems of the company to deal with the relationship of the employees. Foxconn company should pay more attention to the rights of employees. First of all, the security should be put on the first place, the company have to ensure a safe environmental working place for the employees. And then the company Foxconn has the responsibility to apply the security and health insurance for their workers. A survey is also suggested to be conducted by the company to capture the satisfactory according from employees in order to enhance the relationship level.

Service delivery and information

The HR department aim to ensure the accuracy of information about human resource provided by the leader and employees so that the department can manage the data efficiently, timely and cost-effectively The service delivery and information function contributes to the service delivery models and execution, service management. It deliver the business process redesign for the continues improvement. Besides, HR technology and information management is one major function in service delivery and information part. For the case of Foxconn company, the information of HR management such as the survey from the employees can be delivered to the leaders in time so that the company can have some measures to improve the system for the whole company. For example, if the Foxconn company can understand the pressure from the workers in first time, then the suicides can be predicted and prevented. On the other hand, every employee’s information and background are necessary to be entered into the database of the Foxconn company for the effective workforce management. And the Foxconn company can deal with the payment and working welfare to every workers according to the large basement.

Recommendations

Improve the working condition

In order to improve the working condition, the first step is to insight into the Foxconn worker’s dormitories. For Foxconn case, all the workers live in crowded dorms. A regular worker shares a room with 7 other people. The rooms are not air-conditioned and the climate for much of the year is very hot and humid. As part of their time schechel. Besides, thousands of workers standing on assembly lines or sitting in backless chairs. According to the New York Times, 137 workers are injured after using the a toxic chemical for cleaning the iphone screens ,which can cause nerve damage and paralysis .And two explosion happened at the ipad factory lead to the workers’ death. The Foxconn company should set a new strategy aims to improve their facilities to ensure the basic need for the employees’ work and life.

Installation of air-conditoners

The recommendation for the company is that they should start to install an air-conditioner every dorm in order to create a comfortable condition in light of the humid and hot climate. That might lead to increase the cost budget for the whole company.

Adapting technologies

Moreover, Foxconn should improve ventilation and dust disposal and adapt techonologies to enhance worker safety. Besides that, it’s better for Foxconn to assemble a team to investigate and make recommendations to prevent future accident. This plan will also increase the cost for the company.

Building up more facilities

The Foxconn company can build up more dorms to divide the large dorm member into small group so that four people can share one dorm. Besides, more cafeterias , cinemas, great restaurants, playgrounds, shopping stores ,swimming pools and medical facilities are also suggested to built up to meet both the employees’ need and increase the workers’ enthusiastic to work. This project will need to hire more engineering teams for building up projects and also lead to the increase of cost budgets

More attention to mental pressure

According from the New York Times, 18 Foxconn workers attempted suicide or fell from the buildings because the high psychological pressure from the work. Besides, the company culture demands pushing limits for excellence and scale of economy. Workers have the strict time table for their life made by the company which seems to be a military-like formation. Often, they are forced to run around the buildings in a group as "motivation. Founder Gou sets the example by working 15-18 hours daily (for nearly 25 years). Most Foxconn executives follow the founder’s footsteps, using military-style management to create a “kingdom” controlled by the highest loyalty, longest working hours, greatest efficiency and quality, largest financial reward, and lowest cost structure. The Foxconn company should take the responsibility for the accidents and make more measures for preventing from the suicides.

Reduce over time

Most pressure comes from the over-time work .Foxconn company can reduce the overwork time by hiring more people. We regard this as the most directly way to solve the overwork problem. But in this way Foxconn will pay more on the employee salary and other cost, like build more dormitories and support more foods. More people also means more risk, the cost of preventing fire disaster will be high, and the management cost will also be increased.

Set up hot lines

One recommendation for the company is that they may set up the a dedicated mental health hotline to reduce the workers’ tension from work. This means the company have to hire more professionals to help the employees and pay more on operating the special service department for the workers.

Establish the mental care center

In Foxconn case, we recommend the company to establish its own mental care center for the workers offering the free psychological counseling. The doctors can provide the professional treatment to the employee who are under heavy working pressure. The doctors can also collect the information from the workers and send the thoughts and ideas for the leaders. Then they may make some change to improve the conditions and save their lives.

Enhance employees’ right

We assume one of the factor for workers in the Foxconn company have the high pressure since they have no rights to complain their work and life. And Foxconn do not clearly know the feeling and real situation about workers. So, we suppose if there is some way can enhance the employees’ right will let them fell better and fair.

Organize labor union

Here we suggest Foxconn permit and support workers to organize the union, and all the executives and members are selected by employees. In this way, employees can share the experience with each other, and complain the unfair work time and poor work condition. Then the leader of union can complain all the facts to the Foxconn to let them know the real thinking of workers and change the bad situation as soon as possible in order to prevent the suicide. Otherwise, workers can organize strike and stop work to object the poor management. We assume organize union will reduce the employees’ stress, elevate employees’ position and have a good interaction between employees and managers. Having more communication can be one of the ways to avoid suicide.

  • Conduct survey—we suggest the Foxconn company to conduct seasonal survey in order to monitor the satisfactory of the employees. The ideas and thoughts can be delivered as soon as to the leader and senior manager can alter the management mode according to the different situation so that some of the suicide can be prevented in the future.

References

  1. “Organisation design”, web from: http://www.cipd.co.uk/cipd-hr-profession/hr-profession-map/professional-areas/organisation-design.aspx
  2. “Service delivery and information” 2 Aril 2013, web from :< http://www.cipd.co.uk/cipd-hr-profession/hr-profession-map/professional-areas/service-delivery-information.aspx>
  3. “Organisation development”, 2 Aril 2013, web from :< http://www.cipd.co.uk/cipd-hr-profession/hr-profession-map/professional-areas/organisation-development.aspx>
  4. “Resourcing and talent planning”, 4 April 2013, web from : http://www.cipd.co.uk/cipd-hr-profession/hr-profession-map/professional-areas/resourcing-talent-planning.aspx
  5. “Performance and reward”, 4 April 2013, web from :< http://www.cipd.co.uk/cipd-hr-profession/hr-profession-map/professional-areas/performance-reward.aspx>
  6. “Employee relations”, 4 April 2013, web from :< http://www.cipd.co.uk/cipd-hr-profession/hr-profession-map/professional-areas/employee-relations.aspx>
  7. Gu Huihui “In China, human resource cost are built into an ipad” New York Times January 25,2012,
  8. “Inspections Begin at Chinese Plant Making Apple Products” New York Times Feb 14 ,2012

Cite this Page

Foxconn Case. (2018, Apr 03). Retrieved from https://phdessay.com/foxconn-case/

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