Thomas Motor Company Case Study Essay Example

mechanics. Despite lacking a formal job description, he acted as an informal leader and treated everyone equally while joining in the fun. The workshop operated as a close-knit group that required minimal effort from Robbins to maintain order, making it well-suited for him. On the workshop floor, Bob Johnson, who was thirty-four years old, held the second highest rank among the mechanics.

The workshop had a veteran employee named Robbins who had been with the company for fifteen years. Another skilled employee named Dick Kelly, age thirty, had also been with the company for ten years and possessed equal skills as Robbins and Johnson. However, he lacked their experience which made them more efficient. Jim Richards, age twenty-one, was the only apprentice in the workshop. Currently, the workshop was short of one mechanic as Dave Hines had departed to Melbourne in search of a more vibrant city.

His unexpected departure left the workshop one man short. As mechanics were not easy to find, Robbins decided to train one himself. Richards, who had been in the workshop for the last year, was chosen to learn and help either Robbins, Johnson or Kelly. There was also Ralph Turner, a newcomer to the workshop at the age of thirty-six. Turner had been hired three months ago after working for his father's workshop, where they initially handled their own trucks and some trucks from other firms. However, their contracts with several firms had recently expired.

The firms declined to enter into new contracts, leading Turner to realize that his workshop was actually losing money because they were only servicing their own trucks. Consequently, Turner senior made

the decision to shut down the workshop and entered into a contract with Thomas Motor Company to service their trucks. Unfortunately, this left Turner unemployed. Desperate for a job, Turner approached Robbins and inquired about any openings for mechanics at his workshop. Recognizing the urgent need for another mechanic and considering Turner's experience, Robbins agreed to hire him despite Richards still being inexperienced.

Turner appeared to be understanding and accommodating when Robbins informed him about the procedures at the place. Despite being the second lowest paid worker, Turner was happy and enthusiastic about his new job. The pay was determined by a computer, considering seniority and skill, but Turner didn't seem to mind losing out on seniority. Robbins believed this was likely because Turner felt fortunate to have a job at all. The workshop opens at 8 am every day, and Robbins assigns the mechanics their tasks.

At 10:00 am, the entire crew would meet across the street for an informal coffee-break. This gathering served as a social opportunity for the men to interact and get to know each other better. It was agreed that if anyone failed to finish their initial task by 10:00 am, they would have to skip the coffee-break for that day. Turner, although skilled, wasn't as quick as Johnson, Kelly, or Robbins. During his first three weeks at the company, he only attended one coffee-break because he consistently missed them due to not completing his initial task on time.

Turner became dissatisfied with his job and began rushing through tasks to make time for social events, leading to a truck he fixed breaking down due to

a defective gasket. Robbins spoke calmly to Turner about the incident and advised him to be more cautious and work at a reasonable pace. However, Turner responded rudely by shrugging his shoulders.

Turner's dissatisfaction escalated in the following days as he hurried through his tasks, striving to be meticulous but neglecting his coffee breaks. At lunchtime, he opted to isolate himself from the rest of the team, leading to limited interaction with others. Consequently, Turner began voicing complaints about various matters. He approached Robbins and conveyed his conviction that the workshop was excessively unclean, impeding his work progress. In response, Robbins tried to clarify that they were understaffed and that workshops naturally amass dirt.

Responding to the incident, Turner mentioned that his father's workshop was always clean. Shortly after, Turner expressed his displeasure about the noise coming from the loudspeakers. The rest of the men were accustomed to working with the radio playing in order to stay updated on football and baseball scores. Turner once yelled, "Turn off that damn thing, willya? How can a person concentrate with this level of noise?" At this point, the other men had grown tired of Turner's unpredictable behavior. They started excluding him from their activities, causing Turner to believe that they were discussing him behind his back.

The situation deteriorated gradually as multiple incidents unfolded. Turner began secretly observing his father's truck mechanics and expressed concerns to Robbins about Richards. He informed Robbins that Richards prioritized coffee breaks over work and showed no interest in learning from him. These occurrences further intensified the animosity towards Turner among his colleagues. The act of spying made his

coworkers question their own performance, causing them significant distress.

Gradually, Turner's suspicions grew bolder and he persistently hovered around his father's trucks. He firmly believed that only he should be responsible for the maintenance of the Turner trucks. Robbins argued against this idea, stating that it was simply not feasible since multiple Turner trucks often required repairs simultaneously. Nevertheless, Turner insisted on working on as many trucks as he possibly could. These disturbances ultimately resulted in a noticeable decline in Turner's mechanical skills. He seemed to become more careless in his duties and showed little interest in any work except for that related to his father's trucks.

The critical moment occurred when Turner's repaired truck experienced another breakdown. The dislocation of the front axle resulted from Turner's inadequate nut tightening, posing a potential fatal accident risk at higher speeds. Adding to the predicament, this truck belonged to the same owner as the previous malfunctioning one. Consequently, the owner confronted Robbins and issued an ultimatum. Unexpectedly, John Thomas made an impromptu visit to the workshop on the subsequent day and interacted with the staff. Taking advantage of this situation, Robbins seized the opportunity to update Thomas about the recent events.

Robbins stated that letting go of Turner could have negative consequences for the company, despite the fact that the Turner account brought in a significant amount of business. However, Robbins also acknowledged that if Turner was not dismissed, he could be the reason for losing even more accounts. Ultimately, Robbins expressed a preference for sacrificing one account, no matter how significant, in order to maintain the company's financial stability and avoid bankruptcy in the long

run.