William Atkins
Monday, 27 April 2009 21:00
Opinion and Analysis
Page 3 of 4
Yes, in NASA’s case, it has instituted a better interplay between employees and management since the destruction of the space shuttle Columbia. (I don’t think it learned much from Challenger.)
However, based on the operations of most large organizations, when operating for decades in one particular way, improvement does not occur (and is accompished) overnight and I would bet my bottom dollar that there is still quite a ways to go to making safety and efficiency the best it can be at NASA, and at any business in the world.
My suggestion is to use these employee suggestion teams (employee action teams, or whatever they are now called), as a basis for a NASA-wide program to identify safety problems and concerns at the employee level.
Use these employee groups to identify problems when they first occur: at the desk of employees, in the rooms where astronauts are trained, and out there everywhere where employees work each day.
Every employee should be involved, from the person that cleans restrooms to the astronauts that go out into space. They are all either NASA employees or contractor employees. Thus, all employees all important. (Remember the uncomfortable situation on the Space Station when the space toilets didn’t work? It is a clear reminder than all employees are important to the success of an organization.)
These employee teams discuss problems and make recommendations to management to solve these problems. Their fellow employees tell these representatives their problems. These reps, themselves, know what the problems are because they experience them every day.
Instead of ignoring these problems, here is a chance to fix them so employees can stop complaining about those little problems that nag at employees of any organization.
Unfortunately, most companies focus on the employees that never have problems. They are the ones that always tell management “I’m good, everything is fine!” and management thinks everything is rosy.
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