Running head: Workplace Change
 

Workplace Analysis:
A Case Study On Troy Super Valu
Jon Sherman
Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville
 

Abstract
This analysis demonstrates how a workplace’s mode of production can be simultaneously viewed through multiple perspectives.  This analysis utilizes metaphorical concepts in order to illustrate more clearly multiple perspectives on workplace structure.  The workplace structure analyzed is a family owned grocery store, Super Valu, located in Troy Illinois.  Four metaphoric perspectives were found to be relevant in the analysis and are discussed and applied using Super Valu as a case study example.  The concepts utilized in the study were the machine, psychic prison, cultural, and political metaphors.  In analysis of the organization, weaknesses and problems in Super Valu’s system of production arose and an alternate metaphor was suggested for workplace change.  Applying concepts from the organismic metaphor assisted in developing policy recommendations. The policy recommendations offered, in theory, would support a more suitable working environment.
 
 
 
 

Workplace Analysis:
A Case Study on Troy Super Valu
         This study was conducted at Troy Super Valu.  Troy Super Valu is part of a five-store chain, owned and operated by the Schuette family.  The Schuette family opened their first grocery store in 1863 in the small town of St. Rose, IL.  Eventually the Schuette family founded Schuette Stores Inc. and progressed into owning a five-store grocery chain, small food market, and a fleet of trucks, multiple warehouses and an Internet service.  The small food market is based in St. Rose and is the actual store that opened in 1863.  The Schuettes own and operate five Super Valu’s purchased from the corporate name.  Corporate Super Valu is the largest food retailer and wholesaler in the United States.  Area Shop n’ Save, another local grocery retailer, are divisions of corporate Super Valu (Schuette Stores 2001).
         The Schuettes integrate both corporate and family ideologies into their Super Valu working environment.  Wholesale prices and wholesome family work are common goals for Schuette Stores, Inc.  Their Super Valu’s attempt to replicate a family oriented, small town atmosphere by maintaining smaller stores and providing friendly customer service.  The owners of this chain also take pride in having donated over $83,750 to local schools and other charities within the surrounding communities. The Schuette’s strive for an image of a family-oriented store that has an interest in the community, as well as the customer and the employees’ well being (Schuette Stores 2001).
         Super Valu’s goals for the future consistently focus on improving customer satisfaction.  As competition increases from other stores that increasingly sacrifice customer service for lower prices, the Schuettes attempt to provide both while placing great emphasis on customer satisfaction.  Increasing customer feedback, product quality, store appearance, and employee service are all aspects of Schuette Store’s current goals (Schuette Stores 2001).
         Troy Super Valu labor is divided into different departments: grocery, meat, produce, deli and bakery.  Each individual department has a separate head manager. A fresh foods manager supervises fresh food departments, and the store manager supervises over every department.  The grocery department can be divided up into assistant store manager, dairy Manager, frozen food manager, customer service manager, assistant customer service manager, health and beauty aid manager, night managers, cashiers and stockers.  Managers tend to be more full-time orientated whereas stockers and cashiers tend to be more part-time orientated.  A total of twenty-nine people are employed at Troy Super Valu.  Nineteen of these are considered full-time and ten are considered part-time employees.  The demographics portray almost equal male/female ratio, however the top management positions are heavily skewed to the males.  All employees are white Caucasians.  The author’s position in the company holds the title of one of the three night managers at Troy Super Valu (See Appendix 1).
         The night managers responsibilities include insuring job productivity amongst subordinates, mediating employee conflicts, ensuring customer satisfaction, providing experience assistance to employees, balancing employees drawers and end-of-day accounts, customer service desk responsibilities, and locking up store at closing.
 
Analysis of Organization
     Machine Metaphor
         The machine metaphor as applied to an organization integrates all aspects and concepts of what can be defined as a machine.  When structuring an organization and approaching it with a mechanistic frame of mind, many characteristics surface that are common to this type of organization. Similar to the way a machine employs precision in it’s timing of it’s internal workings a mechanistic organization employs precision in the workplace through various means. These precise means often include routines, hierarchy, company policies and regulations, and strict schedules.  Each of these characteristic means can be explained and then applied to Super Valu.
         Machines are typically built to produce one particular good in one particular fashion.  Machines are not programmed to be flexible in the production of goods.  They lack creativity and innovation and only do what they are built or programmed to do (Morgan 1989).  Routines and task specialization is the organizational counterpart of this ideology in the mechanistic metaphor.  The employee is subjected to following the same method in order to provide a specific good or service.  Similar to the way a machine is controlled through programming the hierarchy of a mechanistic organization is utilized to maintain control over the workers.  Management at the top of the hierarchy may implement company policies, regulations, and strict schedules to further maintain control.  Control is extremely important in a mechanistic organization so that the employees as “cogs in the wheel” produce exactly what they are “programmed” to produce exactly the same way.  Because the workers are just “cogs in the wheel” they are easily replaced, similar to the way a machine is able to be replaced (1997).
         Routines, resembling a machine, employ the same procedure to a particular task or goal indefinitely.  The task is structured to be completed in a particular fashion in order to maximize task efficiency.  At Super Valu, stockers and cashiers tasks are predominately routinized with little margin for autonomy.  Stockers for instance, in order to stock shelves according to company policy, must follow particular guidelines.  A stocker must begin by loading product from a pallet onto a cart while being sure to lift with legs instead of back when it is appropriate.  The stocker then proceeds onto the sales floor with the cart of product cases.  One case is opened at a time.  The individual product’s UPC is then matched to the shelf and all products in the case are stocked.  The product is then pulled to the front of the shelf as well as the products to the left and the right of the product just stocked.  The empty box is placed on the cart. The process is repeated until all of the stock is completed.  Stockers are even required to use box cutters in a particular fashion, smile at passing customers, and move their carts by pulling them and not pushing them. Stockers are overwhelmed with routines and procedures to dictate their behavior.
         Cashiers are presented with their own routines and guidelines to follow.  Cashiers must follow a policy defined by the company termed HATS.  HATS is an acronym, which stands for in its simplest terms: hi; ask; thank; smile.  A cashier must always follow this procedure when checking out a customer.  Cashiers also use machines.  Machines inherently routinize the task for the employee.  The registers are only programmed to assist employees in one fashion and employees must therefore employ the machine in that fashion.  The UPC laser scanning, button punching, and order totaling, all necessary aspects of ringing out a customer, are constantly processed by the register machine.  Cashier’s tasks are therefore routinized not only by fixed company procedures but also the machines their job specifications must utilize.
         Company policies, routines, rules, and regulations are all tools put to use to control the workers.  A mechanistic organization will often display hierarchical characteristics in order to maintain and govern this control.  Governing this control commonly uses threats of demotion, decreased pay, job termination or other negative consequences in order to maintain employee order.  Because the worker in a mechanistic organization is usually just a “cog in the wheel” replacing a worker for a routinized and easily trainable job is often a trivial issue.
         Super Value employs a hierarchical management structure.  Consequently, as a solution for dissatisfactory performance in the stocker and cashier job spheres, negative threats and actions have in the past been utilized.  Because Super Valu is union supported, threatening job termination for the most part does not exist.  However in two instances since the author has been employed one stocker and two checkers, due to unsatisfactory performance, have been forced to quit by being scheduled the minimum amount of hours permitted.  The minimum amount of scheduled hours is four and is usually sufficient in forcing the unsatisfactory employee to seek alternate employment in order to obtain livable wages.
         These mechanistic aspects have dehumanized at least two specialized positions in Super Valu.  The job specifications that have been imposed onto cashiers and stockers in this instance have been the indirect result of a higher turn over rate for these positions (Foster).  Job satisfaction is consequently at a minimum or even non-existent.  It is rare for a stocker or cashier to stay with the company for longer than one year.  The author has noticed that the most common reason for leaving these positions is boredom, lack of job importance, little pay, and routine.  All of these characteristics are frequently associated with mechanized tasks in an organization.

Psychic Prison
         The psychic prison metaphor attempts to explain an organization using the psychoanalytical principles of consciousness and unconsciousness.  Sigmond Freud, a famous and one of the first psychoanalysts first hypothesized these concepts.  Freud theorized that two aspects, the consciousness and the unconsciousness govern personality and behavior Consciousness pertains to human psyche awareness and dictates a minor portion of behavior.  On the other hand the unconsciousness is an accumulation of past experiences repressed by the human psyche that involuntarily and without awareness heavily influences a larger portion of human behavior and personality (Morgan 1997).
         Organizational decisions are often claimed to be founded on the rational decision making process, consequently making the assumption that every influence on the outcome on the decision was made in complete awareness and therefore was as logical and rational as possible.  However when an organization is viewed using the psychic prison metaphor, it is evident that organizations, in certain decision-making circumstances, are restricted from possible alternate beneficial decision outcomes due to their own limiting unconscious psyche (1997).
         When analyzing possible psychic prisons within the Super Valu organization, two fundamental principles emerge.  The principles of patriarchal family and organizational dolls, and teddy bears are all relevant in analysis of this organization.
         For example, in regards to the labor structure of Super Valu, the patriarchal family concept of psychic prisons is very relevant.  The patriarchal family concept refers to organizations as male domination or utilizing stereotypical male behavior to structure the workplace.  For instance the hierarchy management structure mimics male behavior by applying force and coercion to maintain employee control.  Women may also be organized into submissive positions with little room for advancement to further perpetuate patriarchal male dominance (Morgan 1997).
        The Super Valu labor structure blatantly demonstrates both of these attributes.  The hierarchical labor structure of Super Valu commonly classifies females into cashier positions and males into stocker positions.  This gender job segregation is apparent male dominance patriarchy when job potential promotion is analyzed.  The stocker is presented with more job opportunities because of the likelihood of being cross-trained in multiple job specializations when stocking is not an option for productivity.  Checkers are not presented with this opportunity on account of there always being a customer to check out.  Cashiers generally only have the opportunity to reach the position of customer service manager whereas there is theoretically no ceiling on the potential promotional advances provided to the average stocker.  These circumstances perpetuate patriarchy at Super Valu and due little to promote equal gender opportunities.  It has therefore manifested an interesting psychic prison in which the male dominated management unconsciously perpetuates their gender’s power in this organization.
          The concept of organizational dolls and teddy bears further demonstrates the limitations imposed onto the decision making process due to psychic prison principles.  The organizational dolls and teddy bears perspective, in relation to unconscious decision-making restraints, demonstrates how an organization can cling to a particular idea, belief or symbol even when it is illogical to do so (Morgan 1997).  Much like the way a child clings to a teddy bear in order to assist in associating himself with environmental realities a corporation may cling to a particular idea in order to assist in associating itself with a new environment.  That idea or way of doing things becomes so ingrained in the minds of an organization that change is not seen as an option even when environmental change endangers the organization’s survival.  Super Valu has recently employed this irrational clinging to beliefs and ideas in the face of a serious environmental stressor.
        Recently a new Wal-Mart Supercenter opened for business in the Highland area in direct competition with the Highland Super Valu, moderate competition to Troy Super Valu, and indirect competition to the existence to all Super Valus owned by Shuette Stores, Inc.  Wal-Marts focus, especially in the midst of competition, is lower prices, whereas Shuette Stores focuses more on family store values and service and less on lower prices.  This difference in approaches in attracting customers has had negative results for Schuette Stores.  Customers, seemingly more interested in lower prices, have vested their consumer interests in the new Wal-Mart.  Schuette Stores in response continues to focus even more on family orientated stores and raised prices due to loss of customer activity.  This clearly demonstrates this concept of organizational dolls and teddy bears.  Super Valu is obviously clinging on to ideas and beliefs that more and more customers find little value in.  Consequently Super Valu will more than likely suffer the results unless alternated action is taken.

Cultural Metaphor
            Culture pertains to behavior and norms shared by a group of people in a society.  Culture inadvertently limits experiences and ways of thinking to individuals to whatever is common in that culture.  Experiences and ways of thinking are passed on from generation to generation unintentionally guiding behavior and limiting allowance for innovation.   Perspectives, goals, thoughts, and daily events are all ingredients in the concept of culture.  Just as society develops a culture as does an organization (Morgan 1989).
        Super Valu’s culture for instance is even apparent in the designing of its buildings.  Super Valu’s are generally small to more easily mimic a family like atmosphere for the customer.  The Super Valus also have a more traditional looking building plan utilizing wood floors and wooden ceiling beams to portray a more old-fashioned environment, which once again demonstrates the Schuette’s attachment to old-fashioned family values and beliefs.  Many Super Valu attributes also affect employee culture and beliefs as well.  For instance, there are no chairs except for head of department mangers’ offices and the breakrooms.  This suggest to the employees that unless it is breaktime it is worktime, there is no in between.
        Interestingly enough employees also practice rituals.  A ritual is a repeating procedure that occurs time and time again.  A ritual that Super Valu employees engage in is clocking in and out.  For the last three years the store manager uses the posted scheduled hours to determine pay, and fails to ever look at the time card slips.  They are often ignored.  The employees know this but are forced to use them anyway.  This ritual of clocking in and out has lost its organizational significance.  However it suggest to the employees that they are under Super Valu’s control and that they forfeit their own time for Super Valu as soon as they clock in.  This ritual is a constant reminder of that notion.

Political Metaphor
        Because of different interest, goals, beliefs, ideas, and personalities the emergence of conflict is a sociological certainty.  These conflicts can only be resolved through political means.  Simply put politics is a methodological tool utilizing compromising and communication to settle conflicting disputes between two or more contrasting interests.  Politics exist in any setting in which there is more than one individual in a particular environment.  Conflict can be direct or indirect, latent or completely surfaced depending on the context in which the conflict is situated (Morgan 1997).
        In a workplace setting, politics is much of an issue as it is in other aspects of society.  An organization can be viewed and analyzed using the political metaphor as an instrument to dissect and more fully understand its structure and means of production.  For example when the metaphor is applied to Super Valu, latent and overt conflicts emerge.  These conflicts are resolved through hierarchal power implemented by Schuette Stores.  However there have been instances in which the lesser power pool of employee’s has organized in order to resolve an overt conflict.
        Almost one year ago, around the time for union contract renewal, employees within the Schuette Stores chain presented the union with a list of demands for the new contract.  After the employees’ conflict surfaced, the Schuette’s immediately shot down the demands and offered less than what the current contract offered citing the new Wal-Mart Supercenter as its basis for the reduction in benefits.  The employees, outraged by the return proposal, threatened a strike.  As a consequence the Schuette’s were forced to comprimise and offered the full-time employees more beniftits while reducing part-time benefits even more.  The Schuette’s realized that the bulk of their employees were full-time and a smaller portion was part-time.  Consequently the contract was passed in the final vote because the majority was satisfied while the minority’s benefits were compromised even more.  This has in effect strengthened a latent conflict between full-time employees and part-time employees.  This conflict from time to time presents production and service problems.  Unfortunately the part-time employees are politically suppressed in power hierarchy that will more than likely never be completely resolved.

Policy Recommendations
         In analysis of Troy Super Valu, two main threats to the organization’s survival surfaced.  Those two threats are the Wal-Mart Supercenter as an environmental stressor and the political conflict between part-time and full-time employees.   If Super Valu implemented organism metaphor ideologies it’s survival would be more likely.
 The organismic organization attempts to find the “best fit” for it’s surrounding environment and maintain a homeostasis.  It would also, since it recognizes employees as people with thoughts and emotions, possible utilize human resource management techniques to better control employees by keeping them happy and satisfied.  Both of these concepts, if used by Super Valu, would further increase it’s chance for survival given it’s current circumstances.  Super Valu would then recognize that consumers want low prices with less emphasis on family values.  Realizing this “best fit” would cause Super Valu to be more competitive against the Wal-Mart Supercenter.  Consequently Super Valu’s longtivity would be increased.
         Super Valu could also implement human resource management programs in various ways.   Understanding that part-time people play a major role in the organizations success would be a first step.   Super Valu could reduce tension from part-time employees by offering them different benefits that are not necessarily costly.  For instance the part-time employees could be given more flexible hours.  This would most desirable to part-timers.  The reason that most people are part-time is because they have other spheres in their life that take up a large portion of their time.  By better working around part-timers schedule, tension is more likely to be reduced because part-timers will feel important as well.

Conclusion
         After analyzing Troy Super Valu it is evident that this organization can be viewed through multiple metaphors.  After doing so it is also evident that there are problems threatening the survival of this organization.  If this organization does not engage in some type of workplace change, such as applying organismic views, it’s survival is fairly limited.  This company has been established for a very long time.  Unfortunately the organization has not as of yet realized that sometimes change is necessary and the organization should not always be viewed or run with the same frame of mind or reference.
 
 
 
 
 
 

Works Cited
Foster, Ken. (2001) Interview (Store Manager).  April 14, 7:30 A.M.
Morgan, Gareth. (1989) Creative organizational theory. Sage Publications. 369 pg.
Morgan, Gareth. (1997) Images of an organization. Sage Publications. 485 pg.
Shcuette Stores (2001) www.onlinegrocer .com : April 7, 2001, 9:45 P.M.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Appendix 1
Organizational Chart for Troy Super Valu’s Labor Hierarchy

Store Manager
 

     Assistant Store Manager                               Fresh Foods Manager
 
 

                 Night Managers                                      Deli Dept. Manager              Deli Dept. Clerks
     (Total of 3)     Bakery Dept. Manager           Bakery Dept. Clerks
         (Researcher Included)               Produce Dept. Manager          Produce Dept. Clerks
                    Meat Dept. Manager              Meat Dept. Butcher

 
                                                       Meat Dept. Clerks
              Dairy Manager
         Frozen Foods Manager
              HBA Manager
     Customer Service Manager
 
 

       Assistant Customer Service Manager
 

           Cashiers                 Stockers