@prefix vivo: . @prefix edm: . @prefix ns0: . @prefix dcterms: . @prefix skos: . vivo:departmentOrSchool "Arts, Faculty of"@en, "Psychology, Department of"@en ; edm:dataProvider "DSpace"@en ; ns0:degreeCampus "UBCV"@en ; dcterms:creator "Connaghan, Charles Joseph"@en ; dcterms:issued "2011-12-09T00:10:25Z"@en, "1960"@en ; vivo:relatedDegree "Master of Arts - MA"@en ; ns0:degreeGrantor "University of British Columbia"@en ; dcterms:description """This study was undertaken for the purpose of determining the kinds of information wanted by sawmill workers about the Company they work for, and to find out which media they considered best in relaying this information. Personal interviews were conducted with eighty English-speaking workers in a mill located in the Greater Vancouver area. A semi-structured interview was used in which the interviewee was given an opportunity to answer freely in his own terms. Each worker was asked thirty questions. Twenty-seven of these dealt with seven major information areas covering the following subjects: the job, Company production and products, Company expansion and Company history. In addition, the men were questioned about three media of employee communications. After detailed comparison, it was found that most of these workers wanted the same kinds of Information. Seventy-five per cent or more wanted to know the following: cost of operating the Mill, new products being made by the Company, general Company information, and details about layoffs. In contrast, less than 35 per cent of the workers wanted: information concerning the handling of employee complaints, details about hourly-paid employees, information on better ways of doing the job, information about new changes in the job, and details as to how the job affects the overall production process."""@en ; edm:aggregatedCHO "https://circle.library.ubc.ca/rest/handle/2429/39578?expand=metadata"@en ; skos:note "AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF INFORMATION NEEDS OF WORKERS IN AN INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATION by CHARLES JOSEPH CONNAGHAN B. A., UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA, 19^9 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN THE DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY We accept t h i s t h e s i s as conforming to the r e q u i r e d standard THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA October, i960 In presenting t h i s thesis i n p a r t i a l fulfilment of the requirements for an advanced degree at the University of B r i t i s h Columbia, I agree that the Library s h a l l make i t f r e e l y available f o r reference and study. I further agree that permission for extensive copying of t h i s thesis f o r scholarly purposes may be granted by the Head of my Department or by his representatives. It i s understood that copying or publication of t h i s thesis for f i n a n c i a l gain s h a l l not be allowed without my written permission. Department of The University of B r i t i s h Columbia, Vancouver 8, Canada. i i ABSTRACT This study was undertaken f o r the purpose of determining the kinds of information wanted by sawmill workers about the Company they work f o r , and to f i n d out which media they considered best i n relaying t h i s information. Personal interviews were conducted with eighty English-speaking workers i n a m i l l located in the Greater Vancouver area. A semi-structured interview was used i n which the interviewee was given an opportunity to answer f r e e l y i n h i s own terms. Each worker was asked t h i r t y questions. Twenty-seven of these dealt with seven major information areas covering the following subjects: the job, Company produc-tion and products, Company expansion and Company h i s t o r y . In addition, the men were questioned about three media of employee communications. Af t e r detailed comparison, i t was found that most of these workers wanted the same kinds of Information. Seventy-five per cent or more wanted to know the following': cost of operating the M i l l , new products being made by the Company, general Company information, and d e t a i l s about lay-o f f s . In contrast, less than 35 per cent of the workers wanted: information concerning the handling of employee complaints, d e t a i l s about hourly-paid employees, information on better ways of doing the job, information about new changes in the job, and d e t a i l s as to how thenjob affects the o v e r a l l production process. i i i TABLE OP CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT i i TABLE OP CONTENTS . . .. i i i LIST OP TABLES i v LIST OP APPENDICES v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS v i CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION AND STATEMENT OP THE PROBLEM 1 II THEORETICAL BACKGROUND k I I I RESEARCH METHOD 23 IV RESULTS 33 V DISCUSSION 1+8 VI CONCLUSIONS, IMPLICATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS 81 BIBLIOGRAPHY 86 APPENDICES 90 i v LIST OP TABLES Table No. Page I Order of Preference f o r 26 Items of Information f o r T o t a l Sample 3U I I Order of Preference f o r 26 Items of Information f o r Production Workers ......... 35> I I I Order of Preference f o r 26 Items of Information f o r Service Workers 36 IV C o r r e l a t i o n Between Production Workers and Service Workers f o r Order of Preference f o r 26 Items of Information 37 V C o r r e l a t i o n Between Age Groups f o r Order of Preference f o r 26 Items of Information 39 VI C o r r e l a t i o n Between Length, of Service Groups f o r Order of Preference f o r 26 Items of Information i|0 V I I C o r r e l a t i o n Between Work Categories f o r Order of Preference f o r 26 Items of Information i+l V I I I C o r r e l a t i o n Between Married Workers and Si n g l e Workers f o r 26 Items of Information 1+2 IX Order of Preference f o r Three Media of Communication i|3 X Summary of Responses by Work Categories t o the Question: \"What Kind of Information i s Most Important to You P e r s o n a l l y ? \" i|£ XI Means of Ratings on \" P e e l i n g Scale\" f o r Various Sub-Groups I46 V LIST OP APPENDICES Appendix Page A L i s t of Questions Used i n the Interviews 90 B Order of Preference f o r 26 Items of Information f o r Workers i n Three Age Groups 9k C Order of Preference f o r 26 Items of Information f o r Workers i n Three Length of S e r v i c e Groups 98 D Order of Preference f o r 26 Items of Information f o r Workers i n Pour Work Categories 102 E Order of Preference f o r 26 Items of Information f o r Married Workers and Si n g l e Workers 107 P Kinds of Information used i n E v a l u a t i n g the P i n a l I n t e r v i e w Question 110 G Information wanted by the Workers Concerning: a) Production, b) P r o f i t s , and c j L i f e Insurance Plan 112 v i ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Th© w r i t e r wishes t o express h i s a p p r e c i a t i o n t o the P r esident of the Company f o r h i s i n t e r e s t i n the p r o j e c t and f o r p e r m i t t i n g research t o be conducted In one of the Company's m i l l s . He a l s o wishes t o make acknowledgment t o the M i l l Manager and h i s s t a f f f o r t h e i r co-operation. S p e c i a l thanks are due to the e i g h t y workers f o r t h e i r w i l l i n g p a r t i c i p a t i o n during the course of t h i s study. For guidance and patience throughout t h i s study, the w r i t e r Is s i n c e r e l y g r a t e f u l t o Dr. Donald Sampson of the Department of Psychology, the U n i v e r s i t y of B r i t i s h Columbia. CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION AND STATEMENT OP THE PROBLEM The co-ordinated e f f o r t s of people are dependent to a large extent upon the flow of coramunIcation that occurs between them. In Indu s t r i a l organizations, where there are large aggregations of people working towards the same objectives, e f f e c t i v e communication i s paramount. The practice of sharing information with employees has developed only i n the past twenty to t h i r t y years. During th i s period, management's outlook has changed from the b e l i e f that information about the Company i s a management prerogative to a genuine and sincere e f f o r t to keep employees informed. Today, large amounts of time, e f f o r t and money are spent f o r t h i s purpose. This study focusses on two aspects of employee com-munications — the content of communications and the method of communicating. Communications content has been badly neglected ln the past by researchers. As a result of t h i s , hunches and prejudices have been the guiding p r i n c i p l e s in givi n g informa-tion to employees. Much more attention, on the other hand, has been paid to the methods of relaying information. Everything 2 from expensive \"Madison Avenue\" type publications to skywriting has been t r i e d . In t h i s study, eighty non-supervisory sawmill workers were Interviewed in order to answer two general questions: f i r s t , what kinds of information they wanted to know about the Company; second, which method or methods they considered to be the most e f f e c t i v e ln giving information to employees. Each worker was interviewed at the M i l l , u sually at lunch-time, during the period May to July, I960. They were questioned concerning the value to them of the following general areas of information: 1. The Job 2. Sp e c i f i c Company P o l i c i e s 3. Company Employees 1*. Company Earnings 5>. Company Production and Products 6. Company Expansion and Future Plans 7. Company History 8. Best Method of Giving This Information These general categories of Information were u t i l i z e d f o r a semi-structured interview schedule consisting of t h i r t y information items. An attempt was made to determine the order of preference f o r these Items of information f o r the t o t a l sample and the other a r t i f i c i a l sub-groups used In t h i s study. Detailed comparison was ca r r i e d out between the various sub-groups in 3 order to determine what differences existed in terms of the information wanted. CHAPTER II THEORETICAL BACKGROUND In developing employee communication programs, modern business management i s interested in promoting more favourable attitudes to i n s t i t u t i o n a l objectives and a better understanding of the problems which face business. Soholz (195>6) states the object of employee communications i s : . . . to f a c i l i t a t e the p r o f i t a b l e operations of the business, and to promote the understanding, approval and support of employees of Its objectives and the free market system in which i t operates. (Scholz, 1956, p. According to North (191+9) an employee communications program can be seen as having three main aims. F i r s t , i t attempts to make known to the employees what management's r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s and proper status are in r e l a t i o n to the organ-i z a t i o n . Seoond, i t sets out to increase employee productivity as the only means f o r improving the standard of l i v i n g . F i n a l l y , such a program presents management's position on controversial questions. Davis (1953) f e e l s that communication within the business organization i s the \"nervous system\" whieh keeps a l l parts of the hierarchy functioning as a single u n i t . I t brings about cohesion and co-operation at a l l l e v e l s . 5 The importance of employee communications to business and i n d u s t r y , according to Scholz (1956, p. 1+1+9), i s seen i n the f a c t that over one hundred m i l l i o n d o l l a r s are spent annually by business and i n d u s t r y i n the United States to provide information f o r employees. This l a r g e spending program i s designed t o help overcome the ever-widening gap between manage-ment and employees. As the gap widens, changes i n i n t e r p e r s o n a l r e l a t i o n s can occur which can r e s u l t i n misunderstanding and a breakdown of t r u s t and confidence. Management, t h e r e f o r e , looks to i t s communications program to h e l p solve such problems. In essence, according to Bavelas and B a r r e t t (1951) the very success or f a i l u r e of the modern business or i n d u s t r i a l e n t e r p r i s e i s dependent on communication. The goals the o r g a n i z a t i o n s e l e c t s , the methods i t a p p l i e s , the e f f e c t i v e n e s s w i t h whlotfi i t improves i t s own procedures, a l l of these hinge upon the q u a l i t y and a v a i l a b i l i t y of the information w i t h i n the system. (Bavelas and B a r r e t t , 1951, p. 369) Some Results of Employee Communications: According to Scholz (1956, p. 1+52), g i v i n g employees informa t i o n which they want and which a f f e c t s them, can have f i v e p o s i t i v e r e s u l t s . In the f i r s t p l a c e , such information can b r i n g about b e t t e r c o - o r d i n a t i o n of the t o t a l o r g a n i z a t i o n by c l a r i f y i n g the i n d i v i d u a l worker's r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s . In t h i s way i t can improve the employee's work r e l a t i o n s h i p s . Secondly, i t gives each employee an opportunity f o r personal p a r t i c i p a t i o n and improves the worker's performance because of greater 6 f a m i l i a r i t y with the Company's objectives. Next, such a pro-gram can improve employee morale because the workers share the interests of the Company. This author also f e e l s that r e l a -tions with consumers can be improved since the employees develop a good understanding of consumer needs and q u a l i t y requirements. F i n a l l y , union-management rel a t i o n s can be Improved because employees are better Informed about the problems facing manage-ment v i s - a - v i s the union. In t h i s way the workers are better prepared to give balanced consideration to issues that a r i s e between the union and management. The Wall Street Journal in commenting on the p r o f i t a b i l -i t y of such programs states: . . . they seem to be paying o f f f o r many corporate enterprises, large and small. Management spokesmen t e s t i f y they have improved rates of production, headed off labour disputes and cut down on worker turnover. (Scholz, 1956, p. U53) Bachrach (1956) has pointed out that giving Information concern-ing health and safety can be b e n e f i c i a l to the employees and p r o f i t a b l e to the Company. In addition, Bennett (1952) states that accident frequencies can be lowered, compensation costs and insurance premiums cut. Sharing information with employees at a l l l e v e l s can a f f e c t t h e i r a t t i t u d e s . I t tends to diminish the fears and suspicions they sometimes have toward t h e i r employer. Receiving the r i g h t kind of dependable Information, according to Plenty and Machaver (1952), affords the worker the f e e l i n g of being a part of the organization. 7 Management s i l e n c e , on the other hand, a f f e c t s the employee i n two ways. He assumes that management has nothing to say t o him and i s not i n t e r e s t e d l n him; and such s i l e n c e helps t o r e i n f o r c e i n h i s mind the erroneous claims and charges sometimes made by other groups competing w i t h management f o r h i s l o y a l t y . I f a vacuum of information e x i s t s , rumours and falsehoods s t a r t e a s i l y . A recent study (Jackson, 195>9) i n v o l v -i n g rumours i n a housing settlement found that people w i l l i n i t i a t e and spread rumours when they are confused and u n c l e a r about what i s happening or when they f e e l powerless t o change t h e i r own c o n d i t i o n . In the i n d u s t r i a l s e t t i n g , ignorance of p o l i c i e s and operations can le a d to misunderstanding and rumours. Some B a r r i e r s to E f f e c t i v e Communication In s p i t e of the great e f f o r t s being made by experts i n the f i e l d of communication, f a i l u r e t o communicate w i t h others i s s t i l l a major dilemma i n modern i n d u s t r y . They have been abl e , however, to uncover some of the b a r r i e r s to e f f e c t i v e communication. Weaver (1957), i n r e p o r t i n g the f i n d i n g s of an i n d u s t r i a l study, c i t e s the \"semantic b a r r i e r \" as a major impediment to employee communications. A communicator,:can probably never convey the message he intends. He can only arouse i n the l i s t e n e r a concept which has been developed through experiences . . . there i s often a d i f f e r e n c e between the concept evoked and the concept Intended. (Weaver, 1957, P« 6) 8 On© of th© most serious b a r r i e r s has been explained by Simon ( 1 9 5 5 ) . He has suggested t h a t the f a u l t l i e s i n manage-ment's r e f u s a l t o recognise that management and employees do not t h i n k a l i k e . O t i s and Treuhaft (19^9) b e l i e v e that t h i s i s caused by management 1s u n w i l l i n g n e s s to l i s t e n t o what i t s employees have to say and to what they r e a l l y want to know. Instead, management i s too occupied w i t h pursuing i t s own point of view. According to F i s c h e r (1955)» management: . . . has sought to e x t i n g u i s h the f i r e of discontent by dousing the employee w i t h information on every subject from taxes to taxidermy. ( F i s c h e r , 1955* p. U88) Too much a t t e n t i o n t o the media t o be used and not enough to what management wants t o say has been blamed by Drucker (1951) f o r the i n e f f e c t i v e n e s s of employee communications. This over-r e l i a n c e on method has caused management to lose s i g h t of the o b j e c t i v e s of such programs and to underemphasize the value of the message i t has t o g i v e . The s i z e of the o r g a n i z a t i o n can become an obstacle t o e f f e c t i v e communications. In large o r g a n i z a t i o n s w i t h many l e v e l s of s u p e r v i s i o n , the information given at the l e v e l of management tends t o become d i l u t e d and d i s t o r t e d on i t s journey through the communication ch a i n . S i m i l a r l y , a recent study (Bennett, 1952) shows that i n upward communications, subordinates tend to pass on only that information which they consider the \"boss 1 1 wants to know. 9 Foremen have been r e f e r r e d to as one of the major obstacles t o i n d u s t r i a l communications. Barlow (1956), a prominent a u t h o r i t y i n t h i s f i e l d , a s s e r t s that foremen f r e -quently do not consider g i v i n g i n f o r m a t i o n , other than mere ro u t i n e d e t a i l s , a part of t h e i r Job. This i s often the r e s u l t of not being c e r t a i n how much they can rel e a s e or what kinds of information can be given out. Too, many b e l i e v e that Company information i s a management p r e r o g a t i v e . Lack of t r u s t between the employees and the foreman can a l s o block communication. A recent study (Murray, 1956) has shown t h a t , because of a l a c k of t r u s t between the workers and the s u p e r v i s o r , there i s an ei g h t y per cent l o s s l n content when a message i s t r a n s m i t t e d by a shop foreman. H i s t o r i c a l Development of Employee Communications Content In h i s t o r i c a l p e r s p e c t i v e , employee communications has undergone both q u a l i t a t i v e and q u a n t i t a t i v e changes d u r i n g the past t h i r t y years. According t o Dover (1959) the most s i g n i f i -cant of these changes has occurred i n the a o t u a l content of these communications. P r i o r t o World War I I , most of the information given t o employees was concerned w i t h items of go s s i p , b i r t h d a t e s and jokes as w e l l as \" s e r v i c e \" information ( i . e . d a t e s of meetings). During the e a r l y part o f the Second World War i t was r e a l i z e d that mere \"entertainment\" or \" s e r v i c e \" information was of l i t t l e value i n e n l i s t i n g g r e a t e r employee e f f o r t at a time when h i g h e r p r o d u c t i v i t y was needed t o increase war production. As a r e s u l t of t h i s t h i n k i n g , a new communications philosophy evolved. 10 Under i t emphasis was placed on supplying Company information — \" g i v i n g the employees the f a c t s . \" Future plans were discussed, operations and p o l i c i e s were explained and cost information was presented. No attempt was made, however, t o I n t e r p r e t these data t o the employees. In the immediate post-war years management began to r e a l i z e t h a t f a c t s per se were of l i t t l e s i g n i f i c a n c e to the average employee, and so two new concepts were added t o the content of communications. The f i r s t was the d e c i s i o n t o i n t e r p r e t and e x p l a i n t o the employees the importance of the Company in f o r m a t i o n . Second, management made d i r e c t and d e f i -n i t e suggestions as t o the course of a c t i o n employees should take on the basis of the \" f a c t s \" given by management. This major break w i t h t r a d i t i o n can be a t t r i b u t e d t o a number of causes. For one t h i n g , management f e l t that i t should speak out against the emerging power of trade-unions and t h e i r o f f i c i a l s . AJso management wanted to l e t the employees know about the s t i f f e n i n g competition and the need f o r greater and b e t t e r p r o d u c t i v i t y . Factors A f f e c t i n g Acceptance of Communications Content Bennett's (1952, p. I4O) d e s c r i p t i o n of communication as \". . . a n exchange of f e e l i n g s and understanding more so than an exchange of ideas,\" p o i n t s out the v i t a l r o l e played by employee a t t i t u d e s and employee needs i n the acceptance of man-agement 1 s message. 11 1, The Role of A t t i t u d e s Hovland (195l» P« U32) has defined an a t t i t u d e as \". . . a n i n t e r n a l i z e d a n t i c i p a t o r y approach or avoidance tendency towards an object or person.\" A t t i t u d e s have long been considered a v i t a l i n f l u e n c e i n employee morale. Maier (1955) s t a t e s that they act as a frame o f reference f o r the i n d i v i d u a l and a l l h i s opinions are i n f l u e n c e d by t h i s frame of reference. A t t i t u d e s determine meanings f o r the person and they h e l p t o r e c o n c i l e c o n t r a d i c t i o n s . They can a l s o organize f a c t s i n t o an acceptable p a t t e r n f o r the person. I t i s obvious from t h i s what an important part a t t i t u d e s p l a y i n employee communications. Jackson (1959) has given an i n d i c a t i o n of t h e i r importance. The e f f e c t of any p a r t i c u l a r communication depends l a r g e l y upon the p r i o r f e e l i n g s and a t t i t u d e s that the p a r t i e s have toward one another. (Jackson, 1959* p. 16U) I t was a l s o found i n t h i s study that when people are i n d i s -agreement or do not t r u s t one another, an Increase i n information does not n e c e s s a r i l y l e a d t o gre a t e r understanding. I f an employee d i s l i k e s or m i s t r u s t s h i s employer, he i s not l i k e l y t o be r e c e p t i v e t o what h i s employer t e l l s him and h i s v e r s i o n of the message Is apt t o be d i s t o r t e d by h i s own personal o p i n i o n . The mere p r o v i s i o n of in f o r m a t i o n , according to Higham (1957) does not reduce the proneness t o pr e j u d i c e s i n c e I t does not succeed i n modifying the u n d e r l y i n g a t t i t u d e and m i s t r u s t which prevents acceptance. The information 12 and promises must be backed up w i t h a c t i o n s which are accept-able t o the employee. R i e g e l (1956) claims that Emerson's \". . . what you are and not what you say\" i s a fundamental tenet of s u c c e s s f u l employee communications. The a t t i t u d e s of supervisors are another c r u c i a l d eter-minant i n employee acceptance. Murray (1951) i s of the opinion that some s u p e r v i s o r s , no matter what they have to say, w i l l not be heard because they n t a l k down\" to the workers. Ross (1957) supports t h i s p o i n t and adds: . . . i f the communicator • i s b a s i c a l l y i l l - d i s p o s e d towards these w i t h whom he i s t o communicate, the communication i s bound to s u f f e r . (Ross, 1957, p . 5 l 5 ) The r e a l heart of employee communications, according t o Emery (1955), does not l i e i n fancy gimmicks but i n manage-ment's a b i l i t y t o create a favourable s o c i a l c l i m a t e w i t h i n the o r g a n i z a t i o n . This means b u i l d i n g an atmosphere of f r e e and easy exchange of ideas, things that create f e e l i n g s of acceptance and s e c u r i t y throughout the Company. In H a l l ' s (1951) opinion i t i s the f r u s t r a t i o n s , the considered wrongs caused by management, r a t h e r than the q u a l i t y of the communica-t i o n which determine i n l a r g e measure the value the employee attaches t o the i n f o r m a t i o n . The s i g n i f i c a n c e of information i n i n f l u e n c i n g a t t i t u d e s was demonstrated by Perry and Mahoney (1955). They showed that the presence or absence of c r u c i a l information r a t h e r than the amount of information a v a i l a b l e was the d e c i d i n g f a c t o r . 13 The employees who . . . acquire the most information about the Company do not n e c e s s a r i l y acquire the most favourable a t t i t u d e s as a r e s u l t . . . i t may be that i t i s not how much i s known but r a t h e r what i s known that i s important i n a f f e c t i n g a t t i t u d e s . (Perry and Mahoney, 1955, p. 31+1) In s h o r t , t r u s t and confidence are important i n g r e d i e n t s i n a communication program and the f a i l u r e of such programs can often be t r a c e d t o a d e f i c i e n c y i n these q u a l i t i e s . 2. The S i g n i f i c a n c e of Employee Heeds C u l l e n (195l, p.6) f e e l s that the key t o b e t t e r work and b e t t e r p r o d u c t i v i t y f l. . . i s the employee's s e l f - i n t e r e s t and h i s s e l f - i n t e r e s t i s best served by s a t i s f y i n g h i s human needs.\" In t h i s way he po i n t s out the value of meeting and s a t i s f y i n g employee information needs by p r o v i d i n g data i n which they are v i t a l l y i n t e r e s t e d and which f u l f i l s t h e i r immediate requirements. I f the information does not s a t i s f y t h e i r current need, then there i s a good p o s s i b i l i t y t h a t they w i l l r e j e c t i t . The area of human needs i s not a s t a t i c one. Those thi n g s that we cu s t o m a r i l y recognize as f a c t o r s i n i n d u s t r i a l morale have a h i e r a r c h i c a l character. Mas low (191+3) has formu-l a t e d a \"need h i e r a r c h y \" i n which some needs are more basic than others. He has shown that as soon as the basic b o d i l y needs have been g r a t i f i e d l e s s basic ones become dominant. Thus, as soon as the ba s i c p h y s i o l o g i c a l needs have been g r a t i f i e d \" s a f e t y needs\" take precedence, and as soon as these have been s a t i s f i e d the neact most important ones dominate the i n d i v i d u a l ' s l i f e . To i l l u s t r a t e i n the I n d u s t r i a l s e t t i n g , i f wages f a l l below a c e r t a i n l e v e l , or i f job s e c u r i t y i s threatened then the Ik i n d i v i d u a l ' s \"higher need\" (e.g. a demand f o r a voice i n s e t t i n g work o b j e c t i v e s ) w i l l disappear. P a r a d o x i c a l l y , when the bas i c needs have been g r a t i f i e d the s a t i s f a c t i o n of \"higher needs\" increases and becomes more urgent. Ha i r e and Gottsdanker (195M) suggest t h a t there Is a tendency f o r businessmen t o t h i n k t h a t i f the employees are w e l l p a i d everything i s going to be f i n e . On the cont r a r y , i t seems p o s s i b l e that I f they are w e l l p a i d and p a i d r e g u l a r l y , t h i s provides an opportunity f o r other demands t o become more important. The general area of human needs has often been overlooked by management In c o n s i d e r i n g employee's l e v e l s of a s p i r a t i o n and i n e v a l u a t i n g employee needs. Katz (195V) f e e l s that In com-municating w i t h employees i t i s necessary to know what they r e a l l y want as the f i r s t step i n developing a s u c c e s s f u l com-munications program. What Employees Want to Know Many i n d u s t r i a l o r g a n i z a t i o n s , l a r g e and s m a l l , have surveyed t h e i r employees i n order to a s c e r t a i n the kinds of Information they want. The Upjohn Company has p a i d p a r t i c u l a r a t t e n t i o n to t h i s s p e c i f i c t o p i c . In one study, report e d by E a r l (1951) i t was found that the workers wanted informa t i o n about Company a f f a i r s and Company plans that a f f e c t e d them p e r s o n a l l y . E i g h t y - s i x per cent wanted to know about the Company's plans f o r the f u t u r e , and seventy-eight per cent wanted to know about employee r e c r e a t i o n a l f a c i l i t i e s . The employees a l s o expressed 15 an i n t e r e s t i n the new produces being made and the s t o r y behind t h e i r development. The author concludes that employees have a s i n c e r e i n t e r e s t In the Company's competitive p o s i t i o n and long-range outlook and suggests t h a t these data are of value to the worker i n h i s l i f e outside the work s e t t i n g . An employee has an opportunity t o f e e l important when he can answer the questions of h i s f a m i l y , h i s f r i e n d s and others about the Company. ( E a r l , 1951* p.1+0) Ext on (191+9) found a s i m i l a r t r e n d i n a study of t e x t i l e workers. He was able t o show that ©ne of the reasons workers wanted informat i o n about the Company was t o s a t i s f y e n q u i r i e s from f r i e n d s . A recent study (Personnel, 191+8) i n a mult i-Indus t r y survey found that f i f t y - t h r e e per cent of those questioned wanted management t o given them information about the Company, I t s p r o f i t s and operations. Almost f i f t y per cent claimed that they d i d not r e c e i v e t h i s i n f o r m a t i o n . But, approximately one t h i r d s t a t e d that they d i d not b e l i e v e information given by management. Ki r c h n e r and Belenker (1955) i n r e p o r t i n g on research among employees i n two Companies i n the S t . Paul - Minneapolis area, revealed that information about Company products was r a t e d e i t h e r f i r s t , second or t h i r d by the employees. D e t a i l s of Company s e r v i c e s , Company f i n a n c e s , computing of wages and work r u l e s wereaalso r a t e d h i g h l y . On the other hand, informa t i o n about employees and the s t a t e of the American economy evoked l i t t l e i n t e r e s t . 16 \"Anything to do w i t h wages and s e c u r i t y \" were the major i n t e r e s t s of workers questioned d u r i n g a recent B r i t i s h survey (Times, 1959). In a d d i t i o n , they were i n t e r e s t e d i n knowing about the products they made as w e l l as where the products were s o l d . D e t a i l s about the production achievements of t h e i r own work u n i t s were a l s o important t o them. M a t e r i a l on Company p r o f i t s , however, was ranked q u i t e low. L i k e w i s e , a study (Hewcomb and Sanations, 1959) undertaken by the Weyhauser Timber Company i n i t s Tacoma o f f i c e showed that wages and s a l a r y p o l i c i e s were uppermost i n the minds of the employees. The f u n c t i o n i n g of the b e n e f i t plans and Company h i s t o r y a t t r a c t e d i n t e r e s t too. In a l l of these s t u d i e s \" s e c u r i t y \" has c o n s i s t e n t l y appeared as one of the most important items of information f o r the employee. Barlow (1956, p. 5) has reported that f i f t y -e i g h t per cent l n one study c i t e d \" f e a r of l o s i n g my job\" as the main cause of f e e l i n g i n secure. He s t a t e s \" . . . the p o s s i b i l -i t y of being l a i d - o f f i s a very r e a l one t o the average man.\" Kolb (195H) supports t h i s view and suggests a reason f o r employees' l a c k of i n t e r e s t i n other parts of the l a r g e r organiza-t i o n t o which they belong. The employees have not much r e a l i n t e r e s t i n the b i g m i l l i o n s of d o l l a r s f i g u r e s of the Corporation as a whole; they want to know about t h e i r own l o c a l p l a n t . . . . They want some idea of how the economics of t h e i r own u n i t w i l l a f f e c t them and t h e i r own s e c u r i t y . (Kolb, 195*1, P. W ) 17 Communications Media a. Employee P u b l i c a t i o n s : Many d i f f e r e n t ways of t r a n s m i t t i n g management's message have been t r i e d . Peters (1952) s t a t e s that some have been s u c c e s s f u l and others have f a i l e d completely despite the f a c t t h a t more a t t e n t i o n has been p a i d t o t h i s p a r t of the I n d u s t r i a l communication process than any others. Company p u b l i c a t i o n s , magazines and newspapers, have often been c i t e d as the best method of Imparting Information to employees. Jones (1950) Is a strong supporter of t h i s view. I n d u s t r y has discovered that the soundly e d i t e d employee j o u r n a l i s the most e f f e c t i v e medium of communication between management and l a b o r . (Jones, 1950, p. 1+7) Beach (1950) suggests that t h i s medium i s an e f f e c t i v e method of overcoming the u n c e r t a i n t i e s of f i r s t - l i n e s u p e r v i s i o n and the dangers inherent i n rumours. He Intimates that w e l l - w r i t t e n m a t e r i a l presented i n t h i s form can reassure management that i t s d i r e c t i v e s and p o l i c i e s are t r a n s m i t t e d f u l l y and c l e a r l y . In a d d i t i o n , the magazine provides information that Is a v a i l a b l e nowhere e l s e . In t h i s way I t becomes \"the o f f i c i a l voice of management.\" Results of the Naval Ordinance T r a i n i n g S t a t i o n study (Walton, 1959) show that s e v e n t y - f i v e per cent of those interviewed claimed t h a t the \" s t a t i o n newspaper\" had the g r e a t e s t o v e r a l l e f f e c t i n g i v i n g i n f o r m a t i o n . The reasons given f o r i t s e f f e c t i v e n e s s were that i t was the o f f i c i a l management vo i c e and the workers \"were sure of g e t t i n g i t . \" A Chesapeake and Ohio Railway Company survey (Householder, 1951+) i n d i c a t e d a 18 s i m i l a r t r e n d . Company magazines were c r e d i t e d w i t h p r o v i d i n g f o r t y - n i n e per cent of the a v a i l a b l e information w h i l e rumours f u r n i s h e d forty-one per cent. B u l l e t i n boards c o n t r i b u t e d t h i r t e e n per cent and s u p e r v i s o r s only s i x per cent. Scholz (1956) f e e l s t h a t there i s no adequate a l t e r n a -t i v e t o the employee p u b l i c a t i o n . He p o i n t s out that they are the l e a s t expensive medium since they make t h e i r way i n t o the workers' homes and i n t e r e s t the wives as w e l l as the workers. Dee (1959) i n h i s study i n a trade-union l o c a l s u b s t a n t i a t e s t h i s c l a i m . E i g h t y - f o u r per cent of the people interviewed s t a t e d t h a t they read the union column r e g u l a r l y . Ninety-two per cent reported that some members of t h e i r f a m i l y read i t , w h i l e seventy-three per cent s a i d that t h e i r wives perused i t . Heusser (1955) argues that p u b l i c a t i o n s can pay t h e i r own way by i n f l u e n c i n g employees' performance and a t t i t u d e s . What accidents c o s t — w h a t i t costs to t r a i n a new employee, what i t costs t o l o s e a customer, what waste and scrap and i n e f f i c i e n c y c o s t . . . . The work of the House Organ i s t o reduce some or a l l of these. (Heusser, 1955, p. 133) Research f i n d i n g s show that both management and workers consider employee p u b l i c a t i o n s a worthwhile and e f f e c t i v e medium. Berlow (1956, p. 11) p o i n t s out that e i g h t out of ten United States companies use employee p u b l i c a t i o n s . B a s i c a l l y , they are w e l l - l i k e d and employees i n d i c a t e they value them. He adds that i n a s i x t e e n - p u b l i c a t i o n survey i t was found t h a t , i n eleven cases, a s e r i o u s information item was read and r e c a l l e d by one out of two readers; i n three cases by one out of t h r e e , and i n two cases by one out of f o u r . 1 9 This medium of communication, however, i s not without i t s c r i t i c s . North (191+9) has suggested that the magazine's gre a t e s t s i n g l e weakness has been the excessive r e l i a n c e on c h i t - c h a t i n e d i t o r i a l p o l i c y . Leathern (I960) agrees w i t h t h i s view: The House Organ i s misused since the employees are i n t e r e s t e d i n more than c h i t - c h a t and other t r i v i a . . . they are i n t e r e s t e d i n reading something of more sub-stance and companies miss the opportunity t o inform employees of management philosophy and p o l i c i e s . (Leathern, I960, p. 200) S u f f r i n and Gaynes' (191+8) review of space a l l o c a t i o n s i n Company p u b l i c a t i o n s supports t h i s stand. They found that t h i r t e e n per cent of a v a i l a b l e space was devoted t o personals. H e a l t h and s a f e t y accounted f o r f i v e per cent and s p e c i f i c i nformation about the Company and i t s products was given three per cent of the a v a i l a b l e space. These researchers are of the opinion that more e f f o r t should be expended i n e x p l a i n i n g t e c h n o l o g i c a l changes and i n o f f e r i n g management's views on the \" r e a l \" problems of modern i n d u s t r y . The f i n d i n g s of a c r i t i c a l a n a l y s i s (England, 19f>l) of f i f t y House Organs re v e a l e d another major weakness. The researchers found that the m a j o r i t y of the p u b l i c a t i o n s were beyond the understanding of f i f t y per cent of t h e i r readers. These p u b l i c a t i o n s were d i f f i c u l t t o read, the language was too advanced and the ideas expressed were d i f f i c u l t t o grasp. b. B u l l e t i n Boards: B u l l e t i n boards have not been as p o p u l a r l y accepted as other media of communication. Despite t h i s there i s evidence 20 to suggest that b u l l e t i n boards can be e f f e c t i v e . A study by Dee (1959) of communication media i n a l o c a l of the United S t e e l Workers of America, found that b u l l e t i n boards were ranked h i g h . They were r a t e d f i r s t along w i t h union meetings as a source of in f o r m a t i o n . N i n e t y - f o u r per cent of those p o l l e d reported that they \"always\" or \" f r e q u e n t l y \" read the b u l l e t i n boards. Shop Stewards a l s o ranked them h i g h l y . On the b a s i s of h i s f i n d i n g s he concludes: . . . the b u l l e t i n board c o n s t i t u t e s a h i g h p o t e n t i a l , g e o g r a p h i c a l l y a c c e s s i b l e and w e l l accepted channel of communication. . . . They are conve n i e n t l y l o c a t e d i n each department of the p l a n t , they are seen many times a day . . . they are read and t r u s t e d . (Dee, 1959, p. 102) In the Naval Ordinance T r a i n i n g S t a t i o n study (Walton, 1959), b u l l e t i n boards were ranked h i g h by \"blue c o l l a r \" workers, as a means of communication, w h i l e d i r e c t i v e s , which were c i r c u l a t e d , were ranked much lower. \"White c o l l a r \" workers, on the other hand, judged d i r e c t i v e s much higher than b u l l e t i n boards. The Borden M i l k Company (Personnel, 195l) considers b u l l e t i n boards to be the I d e a l medium i n small p l a n t s . This i s based on the f a c t t h a t b u l l e t i n boards cost very l i t t l e to operate and em-ployees are i n d a i l y contact w i t h them. c. The Foreman: T r a d i t i o n a l l y , man-to-man, fa c e - t o - f a c e communication has been considered the best method of informing employees. Zelko (1952) i s a strong supporter of t h i s and has s t a t e d that supervisors are the key communicators i n employee communication. I t has been argued that the su p e r v i s o r ' s r o l e and p o s i t i o n i n 21 the I n d u s t r i a l h i e r a r c h y provides a n a t u r a l opportunity t o communicate w i t h employees. He can do t h i s by d i s c u s s i n g the requirements of the worker's job as w e l l as the reasons f o r the job. North (1949) f e e l s that i n t h i s way the employee i s made aware of h i s p a r t i n the o r g a n i z a t i o n . One study (Walton, 1959) found that the foreman was considered an e f f e c t i v e com-munication medium. Twenty-seven per cent of the employees f e l t t h a t the s u p e r v i s o r was the q u i c k e s t way of spreading i n -formation among the workers. However, not a l l researchers i n t h i s f i e l d view the face-to-face method as an e f f e c t i v e one. Newcomb and Sammons (1959) f e e l that i t has s e r i o u s disadvantages: . . . u n t i l there i s a c e r t a i n t y that every v e r b a l communication passed on t o supervisors w i l l be heard and understood t h i s method has shortcomings. Word of mouth needs to be accompanied and c l a r i f i e d w i t h w r i t t e n communication. (Newcomb and Sammons, 1959, P. 75) A r e l a t e d study by Dahle (1954) i n v o l v i n g the use of f i v e d i f f e r e n t methods of t r a n s m i t t i n g Information s u b s t a n t i a t e d the above. He found that o r a l communication given simultan-eously w i t h a w r i t t e n communication was the most e f f e c t i v e method i n an I n d u s t r i a l s e t t i n g . O r a l communication was r a t e d much lower but s t i l l the next most e f f e c t i v e method. Conclusion In summary, a review of the r e l e v a n t l i t e r a t u r e suggests the f o l l o w i n g main p o i n t s : 1. e f f e c t i v e communication programs can be b e n e f i c i a l t o both employees and management; 22 2. the acceptance of management 1s message Is deter-mined i n la r g e part by the employee's a t t i t u d e s toward the Company and by the need which he ex-presses f o r s p e c i f i c kinds of i n f o r m a t i o n ; 3. there i s no s i n g l e type of Information which meets the demands of a l l workers i n a l l o r g a n i z a t i o n s ; and 1|. House Organs are the best medium f o r communicating w i t h employees. CHAPTER I I I RESEARCH METHOD A. I n t r o d u c t i o n Th© agreement t o undertake t h i s research was entered i n t o by the w r i t e r and o f f i c i a l s of a pulp and paper and timber Company at the end of the summer of 1959. The choice of t o p i c was l e f t e n t i r e l y to the w r i t e r and f i n a n c i a l a s s i s t a n c e was given by the Company to a s s i s t him i n the completion of the study. A f t e r d e l i b e r a t i o n , a research p r o j e c t on communications content was proposed. This research was t o be based on a survey of h o u r l y - p a i d employees i n one of the Company's sawmills l o c a t e d i n the Greater Vancouver area. The t o p i c and research method were discussed w i t h and approved by se n i o r Company o f f i c i a l s and the M i l l management. A number of s t i p u l a t i o n s were agreed upon by the Company and the w r i t e r . I t was made c l e a r that t h i s study should not i n t e r f e r e w i t h the operations of the M i l l and should not jeopardize the s a f e t y of employees p a r t i c i p a t i n g . The men were to be asked to p a r t i c i p a t e on a v o l u n t a r y b a s i s . The Company granted the i n t e r v i e w e r permission t o enter and leave the M i l l a t w i l l , and r e l e v a n t Company records were made a v a i l -able to him. F i n a l l y , the names of workers interviewed w i t h 2k t h e i r I n d i v i d u a l answers were not to be released t o anyone and were t o remain i n the w r i t e r ' s personal custody. At the suggestion of Company o f f i c i a l s , a s e n i o r execu-t i v e of the union l o c a l of the I n t e r n a t i o n a l Woodworkers of America was approached i n order t o e x p l a i n the p r o j e c t and e n l i s t the co-operation of the union. The w r i t e r was assured by the o f f i c i a l t h a t the union would not o b j e c t , provided the men agreed t o p a r t i c i p a t e v o l u n t a r i l y . The p r o j e c t was then explained i n d e t a i l t o the M i l l union o f f i c e r s . Again no o b j e c t i o n was met. In order to gain background experience, the i n t e r v i e w e r spent a p e r i o d of ten days and many half-days during the u n i v e r s i t y term at the M i l l p r i o r t o the a c t u a l p e r i o d of the survey. This was done i n order t o become f a m i l i a r w i t h the operation of the m i l l and i t s v a r i o u s departments. I t a l s o a f f o r d e d the i n t e r v i e w e r an opportunity to meet the department foremen and e x p l a i n the p r o j e c t t o them. An attempt was a l s o made to meet as many of the workers as p o s s i b l e . B. S e l e c t i o n of Subjects The subjects used i n the study were drawn from among the three hundred and f o r t y men employed In the M i l l i n December 1 9 5 9• A l l the names were taken from the departmental time sheets and information concerning each worker's b i r t h d a t e , date* of employment and m a r i t a l s t a t u s was obtained from Pay-Office records. 25 Employees were segregated aocording t o job i n t o the Production Group or the Service Group. A l l sawmill and plan e r -m i l l workers were c l a s s i f i e d as Production Workers. The Service Group was composed of tradesmen ( e l e c t r i c i a n s , mechanics and Steam Plant personnel) and non-tradesmen ( v e h i c l e d r i v e r s , s h ipping workers and general l a b o u r e r s ) . Each worker's age was c a l c u l a t e d t o the c l o s e s t f u l l year u s i n g A p r i l 31, I 9 6 0 , as the common base, and three age groups were e s t a b l i s h e d : 16 to 3 0 years, 31 t o 50 years, and 5 l t o 65 years. A s i m i l a r method was used t o compute each worker's le n g t h of s e r v i c e and each employee was placed i n one of f o u r c l a s s e s : 0 to 2 years s e r v i c e , 2 t o 10 years, and more than 10 years s e r v i c e . A l l employees were a l s o categorised by m a r i t a l s t a t u s . In the next stage, each worker's name was placed i n h i s appropriate age, m a r i t a l s t a t u s , and len g t h of s e r v i c e category. Approximately twenty-five per.: cent of each category was s e l e c t e d by randomly drawing names. I n some cate g o r i e s where there were l e s s than four names, one name was drawn and became part of the sample. In some cate g o r i e s i t was not p o s s i b l e to obtain r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s . In categories where l a r g e numbers were a v a i l -a b l e , s u b s t i t u t e names were drawn over and above the r e q u i r e d twenty-five per cent. These s u b s t i t u t e s were to be used In cases where the \" f i r s t choice\" names were not a v a i l a b l e . Only English-speaking workers were used i n t h i s study, but I t a l i a n workers had been included i n the o r i g i n a l sample. 26 The decision not to use the l a t t e r in the f i n a l sample was arrived at a f t e r interviewing three I t a l i a n workers. The language b a r r i e r made i t impossible to interview them e f f e c t -i v e l y and persistent questioning aroused anxiety on t h e i r part. As a r e s u l t of t h i s , approximately 1+3 names were deleted from the o r i g i n a l l i s t of employees and l£ names from the selected sample. Fortunately, i t was possible to replace the employees deleted from the o r i g i n a l sample because of the language b a r r i e r by suitable substitutes. Afte r the completion of a l l adjustments 91+ names were f i n a l l y selected. Of t h i s number, however, only 80 interviews were completed. The difference between the o r i g i n a l and f i n a l sample can be explained in the following way: Refused $ Terminated 7 Sick _ | L Total Eliminated 11+ The f i v e men who refused to p a r t i c i p a t e were a l l middle-aged with a mean age of f?8 years and a mean length of service of l£ . 8 years. The oldest was sixty-four years of age and had twenty-one years employment service with the Company. Two of these men were Central European and the others were Canadian. Those who terminated did so either s h o r t l y before or during the study. The two sick men could not be contacted during the survey period. I t was not possible to f i n d suitable substitutes f o r these fourteen men. 2 7 C. Framing the Question a In preparing the questions t o be used i n the i n t e r v i e w ? , the problem was t o devise questions which could cover a l l p o s s i b l e areas of employee i n t e r e s t . An i n t e n s i v e search of the r e l e v a n t l i t e r a t u r e proved h e l p f u l . S p e c i a l a t t e n t i o n was p a i d to the K i r c h n e r and Belenker study (1955), McKeand and Van Nostrand»s paper (191+9) and Scholz's (1956) work i n t h i s area. On the b a s i s of information obtained from these sources a t o t a l of f o r t y questions were assembled d e a l i n g w i t h nine s p e c i f i c areas. These questions were given a t r i a l run and a f t e r c a r e f u l examination of the r e s u l t s , i t was decided to delete one area d e a l i n g w i t h the Canadian economy as w e l l as s i x other questions which were r e p e t i t i o u s . Appendix \"A*1 contains a l i s t of the t h i r t y questions used i n the study. Twenty-six of these d e a l t w i t h s p e c i f i c Items of in f o r m a t i o n ; one asked what k i n d of information the workers considered to be most important; and three were concerned w i t h media of communication. D. Interview Procedure Interviews took place at the M i l l and covered personnel working on a l l three s h i f t s . In most cases the i n t e r v i e w e r approached the workers s h o r t l y before the lunch-hour and b r i e f l y e xplained the study and asked them to p a r t i c i p a t e . The l a r g e s t number of in t e r v i e w s were arranged i n t h i s manner. A few int e r v i e w s were c a r r i e d out \"on the job\" during l u l l s i n produc-t i o n . 28 Most of the i n t e r v i e w s took place at lunch time and i n the lunch-room. Despite the n o i s e and the presence of the other workers, the subj e c t s seemed t o r e l a x . Care was taken to ensure that the in t e r v i e w s were h e l d at places designated by the workers. The interviews v a r i e d i n leng t h from twenty-f i v e minutes to three-quarters of an hour. A t t e n t i o n was paid t o o u t l i n i n g the o b j e c t i v e s and approach of the study and I t was pointed out t o the Interviewees that both management and the union were aware of t h i s p r o j e c t . The subjects were assured t h a t names of p a r t i c i p a n t s and t h e i r i n d i v i d u a l responses would not be made known to anyone. A semi-structured or \"focussed Interview\" approach was used In conducting the i n t e r v i e w s . The same areas were probed i n a l l Interviews but the i n d i v i d u a l was given an opportunity to answer i n h i s own terms. According to Maccoby and Macooby (1954, P« 451j t h i s technique gives the i n t e r v i e w e r a more f l e x i b l e approach i n conducting the i n t e r v i e w . A v a r i a t i o n of what Kahn and Cannel (1957) c a l l the \"funnel sequence\" was used. This technique c a l l s f o r the f i r s t question In a s e r i e s t o be general and the questions f o l l o w i n g t o become s u c c e s s i v e l y more s p e c i f i c . In t h i s way the f i r s t question does not bias or c o n d i t i o n the l a t e r ones. The \"fu n n e l sequence\" i s h e l p f u l i n m a i n t a i n i n g a good r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h the Interviewee and i t a s s i s t s i n m o t i v a t i n g f u l l communication. In a d d i t i o n : I t permits the respondent, i n the e a r l y stages of the sequence to v e r b a l i z e as he w i l l w i t h those things which are s a l i e n t to him. (Kahn and Cannel, 1957* p. 110) 29 The i n t e r v i e w technique used i n t h i s study d i f f e r s s l i g h t l y from the true \" f u n n e l . \" The opening question i n each area was general but was fo l l o w e d by a s e r i e s of s p e c i f i c and p r e c i s e ones. For example, an area was i n v e s t i g a t e d In t h i s manner: \"What k i n d of information do you want about your job?\" \"How about Information about b e t t e r ways of doing the job?\" \"How about Information on new changes i n the job?\" \"How about information about promptIons In your job?\" At the conclusion of the Interview the subject was asked to s t a t e what he considered t o be the most important k i n d of information f o r him p e r s o n a l l y . This a f f o r d e d a check on responses a l r e a d y given as w e l l as a l l o w i n g the I n t r o d u c t i o n of other t o p i c s that were not discussed before but might be of p a r t i c u l a r i n t e r e s t t o the Interviewee. At the beginning of each Interview the subjects were asked i f they objected to notes being taken. As was expected, there were no obj e c t i o n s and the note-tak i n g d i d not appear t o d i s t r a c t them. During the i n t e r v i e w the responses were recorded by the Interviewer on an i n t e r v i e w guide sheet. No attempt was made t o take down the responses verbatim. Instead, key phrases and words were used. As soon a f t e r the i n t e r v i e w ars was p o s s i b l e the responses to the questions were w r i t t e n out i n f u l l on 6-inch x l j - i n c h cards. At the ter m i n a t i o n of each i n t e r v i e w a f i v e - p o i n t \" F e e l i n g S c a l e \" was employed to r a t e each interviewee. This 30 s c a l e was intended to d e p i c t the subject's f e e l i n g s towards the Company. I t ranged from \"extremely h o s t i l e M (-2), through \"some h o s t i l i t y \" ( - 1 ) , \" n e u t r a l \" or \"no f e e l i n g s \" ( 0 ) , \" f a v o r a b l e \" (+1), t o \"very f a v o r a b l e \" (+2). Care was taken l n r a t i n g t h i s s c a l e and the content of the interviewee's responses, the language used, and the general impression made by the subject were used to r a t e each Interview. The mean r a t i n g f o r each group of workers was computed by adding together the r a t i n g s given the men and d i v i d i n g t h i s sum by the number of workers i n that p a r t i c u l a r group/ E. A n a l y s i s of Data A. A f t e r a l l the i n t e r v i e w s had been completed the data were prepared f o r t a b u l a t i o n . The responses to each question were c l a s s i f i e d as e i t h e r \"yes\" or \"no\" and coded on IBM cards. Each worker was assigned an IBM card which contained: (a) h i s i d e n t i f i c a t i o n number (b) h i s age (c) h i s l e n g t h of s e r v i c e (d) h i s m a r i t a l s t a t u s (e) h i s work category (f) teds f e e l i n g s toward the Company (gj h i s responses to twenty-nine questions (Twenty-six items of s p e c i f i c information and three items r e l a t i n g to media of communi-cat i o n ) . 31 The cards were processed on an IBM 1+02 Tabulator i n order t o determine the number of p o s i t i v e responses to each Item. Prom t h i s information an order of preference was estab-l i s h e d . The order of preference f o r each item of information was determined i n each case by the number of p o s i t i v e responses given t o each Item. The item wanted by the l a r g e s t number of men was ranked highest and the item wanted by the smallest number was ranked lowest. A l l other items were placed i n h i e r a r c h i c a l order In r e l a t i o n to the most popular and the l e a s t popular. An order of preference f o r the twenty-six items of Information was e s t a b l i s h e d f o r the f o l l o w i n g groups: (a) the t o t a l sample (bj the production workers ( c j the s e r v i c e workers (dj workers i n three age groups (e) workers In three length of s e r v i c e categories ( f ) married workers and s i n g l e workers (g) workers In f o u r work categories An order of preference f o r three media of communications was a l s o e s t a b l i s h e d f o r the above groups. B. The order of preference f o r the twenty-six items of information f o r each group was compared i n order t o i n v e s t i g a t e the degree of s i m i l a r i t y between groups. In comparing production workers and s e r v i c e workers, both product^moment c o r r e l a t i o n and rank order 32 correlation were used. However, only rank order correlations were used in comparing the following groups: (a) sixteen to t h i r t y years and thirty-one to f i f t y years of age (b) thirty-one to f i f t y and f i f t y - o n e to s i x t y - f i v e years of age (c) sixteen to t h i r t y years and f i f t y - o n e to s i x t y -f i v e years of age (d) workers having less than two years service and workers having two to ten years service (e) workers having less than two years sdrvice and workers having more than ten years service ( f ) workers having two to ten years service and workers having more than ten/years service (g) planermill workers and sawmill workers (h) tradesmen and non-tradesmen (I) sawmill workers and tradesmen (j ) sawmill workers and non-tradesmen (k) planermill workers and tradesmen (1) planermill workers and non-tradesmen (mj married workers and single workers The responses to the f i n a l interview question, which asked what kind of information the workers regarded as the most Important, were tabulated and c l a s s i f i e d by work categories under f i v e major headings: a) security information, b) b e n e f i c i a l i n -formation, c) general knowledge information, d) no choice of information made, and e) miscellaneous information. CHAPTER IV RESULTS Table I indicates the order of preference for twenty-six items of information f o r the complete sample of eighty workers. TABLE I Table II and Table III record the order of preference f o r the twenty-six items of information f o r the production workers and service workers respectively. Table IV shows the r e l a t i o n s h i p between these two groups f o r the twenty-six items of information. In both the product-moment correlation coef-f i c i e n t and the rank order c o e f f i c i e n t a high positive s i m i l a r i t y i s shown between the information wanted by production workers and that wanted by service workers. TABLE I I , TABLE III AND TABLE IV Table V states the co r r e l a t i o n between the three age groups. In each cases there i s a high p o s i t i v e correlation between the groups ind i c a t i n g a close s i m i l a r i t y in preference (for d e t a i l s see Appendix B). 34 TABLE I Order of Pre ference f o r 26 Items of I n f o r m a t i o n f o r T o t a l Sample ( N = 80 ) ORDER ITEMS OP INFORMATION ^THIS^ITEM^* 1. Cost of o p e r a t i n g the M i l l 88 2. New products be ing made by the Company 81 3. I n f o r m a t i o n about the Company i n g e n e r a l 79 4. I n f o r m a t i o n about l a y o f f s 75 5. P r o f i t s 74 Cost of new machinery and new b u i l d i n g s In the M i l l 74 New jobs a v a i l a b l e through Company expansion 74 8. I n f o r m a t i o n about M i l l p r o d u c t i o n 69 9. M i l l p r o d u c t i o n compared t o o ther m i l l s 66 10. S a f e t y 63 11. I n f o r m a t i o n about Company h i s t o r y 61 12. Company p r o f i t s compared to p r o f i t s of o ther companies 60 13. How wages are worked out 58 14.. Where the lumber i s s o l d 5 l Number of orders the Company has onj^hand 5 l 16. P o l i c i e s concerning t r a n s f e r s t o o ther jobs 50 17. I n f o r m a t i o n concerning promotions 49 I n f o r m a t i o n concerning the l i f e insurance p l a n 49 S i c k leave p o l i c i e s 49 20. I n f o r m a t i o n about management p e r s o n n e l J48 21 . I n f o r m a t i o n about the pens ion p l a n 46 22. I n f o r m a t i o n about the h a n d l i n g of employee complaints 35 23 . I n f o r m a t i o n about h o u r l y p a i d Company employees 33 24. I n f o r m a t i o n about b e t t e r ways of do ing the job 30 25. I n f o r m a t i o n about new changes i n the job 29 26. How the job a f f e c t s the o v e r a l l p r o d u c t i o n process 19 3 5 TABLE I I Order of Preference f o r 2 6 Items of Information f o r Production Workers ( N = 51 ) ORDER ITEM OF INFORMATION ^THIS^TEM^ 1 . Cost of operating the M i l l 8 6 2 . New products being made by the Company 8 0 3 . Information about the Company In general 7 8 j+. Information about l a y o f f s 7 3 Cost of new machinery and new buildings in the M i l l 7 3 6 . P r o f i t s 7 1 7 . Information about M i l l production 67 New jobs available through Company expansion 67 9 . M i l l production compared to other m i l l s 6 5 1 0 . Safety 6 1 Company p r o f i t s compared to p r o f i t s of other Companies 6 1 1 2 . Where the lumber i s sold 5 7 1 3 . Information about Company h i s t o r y 5 3 11+. How wages are worked out 5 l l 5 . Information concerning the l i f e insurance plan 1+9 Number of orders the Company has on hand 2+9 1 7 . Information concerning the pension plan 1+7 P o l i c i e s concerning transfers to other jobs 1+7 Information about management personnel 1+7 2 0 . Sick leave p o l i c i e s i+1 Information about promotions i j l 2 2 . Information about the handling of employee complaints 3 1 2 3 . Information about better ways of doing the job 2 9 Information about new changes in the job 2 9 Information about hourly-paid Company employees 2 9 2 6 . How the job af f e c t s the o v e r a l l production process 2 2 36 TABLE I I I Order of Preference f o r 26 Items of Information f o r Service Workers ( H = 29 ) ORDER ITEMS OP INFORMATION ^TH^^TEM^ 1. Cost of operating the M i l l 90 2. New jobs available through Company expansion 86 3. New products being made by the Company 83 \\\\. Information about the Company i n general 79 Information about l a y o f f s 79 P r o f i t s 79 7. Cost of new machinery and new buildings In the M i l l 76 Information about Company h i s t o r y 76 9. Information about M i l l production 72 10. M i l l production compared to other m i l l s 69 How wages are worked out 69 12. Safety 66 13. Information concerning promotions 62 Sick leave p o l i c i e s 62 15. Company p r o f i t s compared to p r o f i t s of other Companies 58 16. Number of orders the Company has on hand 55 P o l i c i e s concerning transfers to other jobs 55 18. Information concerning the l i f e insurance plan 1+8 Information about management personnel 48 20. Information concerning the pension plan 1+8 21. Where the lumber i s sold 1+1 Information about the handling of employee complaints i+1 23. Information about hourly paid Company employees 38 2I4. Information about better ways of doing the job 31 25. Information about new changes in the job 28 26. How the job af f e c t s the ov e r a l l production process 11+ 37 TABLE IV C o r r e l a t i o n Between Production Workers and Service Workers f o r Order of Preference f o r 26 Items of Information ( H = 80 j f ORRFTiA TTfjW L E V E L G P SAMPLE CORRELATION SIGNIFICANCE SIZE Rank Order C o r r e l a t i o n p = +• 885 Pearson Product-Moment r = +• 757 P < .01 P < . 0 1 N = 80 N = 80 38 TABLE V Table VI shows that a h i g h p o s i t i v e c o r r e l a t i o n e x i s t s between the three l e n g t h of s e r v i c e groups. This suggests that r e g a r d l e s s of length of employment, the workers i n general want the same k i n d of information ( f o r d e t a i l s see Appendix C). TABLE VI Table V I I i n d i c a t e s that h i g h p o s i t i v e c o r r e l a t i o n s e x i s t between the f o u r work c a t e g o r i e s . This shows that there i s l i t t l e d i f f e r e n c e in-the kinds of information wanted by men working i n d i f f e r e n t jobs ( f o r d e t a i l s see Appendix D). TABLE V I I Table V I I I shows tha t there i s a close s i m i l a r i t y between the k i n d of information wanted by married and s i n g l e workers ( f o r d e t a i l s see Appendix E ) . TABLE V I I I Table IX summarizes the rankings given by the t o t a l sample, the production workers, and the s e r v i c e workers f o r three communication media. I t i s apparent, by i n s p e c t i o n , that a h i g h c o r r e l a t i o n e x i s t s between these groups. TABLE IX 39 TABLE V C o r r e l a t i o n Between Age Groups f o r Order of Preference f o r 26 Items of Information AGE GROUP CORRELATION ^IGNIPIIANCE SAMPLE SIZE 16 t o 30 and 31 to 50 p = +• 836 P<.61 N = 62 31 t o 50 and 51 t o 65 P = +' 7$k P< . 0 1 N = 59 16 to 30 and 51 t o 65 p = +• 605 P< . 0 1 N = 39 TABLE VI C o r r e l a t i o n Between Length of Service Groups f o r Order of Preference f o r 26 Items of Information LEVEL OP SAMPLE LENGTH OP SERVICE CORRELATION SIGNIFICANCE SIZE 0 t o 2 years and 2 t o 10 years p = +• .856 P<.01 N = 56 0 to 2 years and 10+ years p = +• .71+6 P<.01 N = 1+3 2 t o 10 years and 10+ years p = +* .821+ P<.01 N = 61 kl TABLE V I I C o r r e l a t i o n Between Work Categories f o r Order of Preference f o r 26 Items of Information WORK CATEGORY CORRELATION ^ P I C A N C E 'KZE* P l a n e r m i l l and Sawmill p a +* Qk$ P< . 0 1 N = 51 Tradesmen and Non-Tradesmen p = +• 6 8 3 P< . 0 1 N = 2 9 Sawmill and Tradesmen p = +• 7 5 l P< . 0 1 N = i+8 Sawmill and Non-Tradesmen p = +• 762 P< . 0 1 N = i+5 P l a n e r m i l l and Tradesmen p = +• 789 P< . 0 1 N = 3 5 P l a n e r m i l l and Non-Tradesmen p = +• 5 8 8 P< . 0 1 N = 3 2 1+2 TABLE V I I I C o r r e l a t i o n Between Married Workers and Single Workers f o r 26 Items of Information MARITAL STATUS CORRELATION g g k w ^ , , \" g g * Married and Single p = +• 81(6 P < .01 N = 80 TABLE IX Order of Preference f o r Three Media of Communication 1+3 w ra H : 8 EH s H O tO fe O CO ix| TO P ^ H CO EH ^ 5 H O 'CO fe O CO fe w H CO E H g H O CO fe O CO few GROUP H •=5 E H 1 ICO CQ 3 CQ CO is; cb S H s ^ O g T o t a l Sample Production Workers Service Workers 86 82 93 2 2 2 69 76 66 3 3 3 1+1 37 1+8 kk Table X summarizes the answers to the f i n a l i n t e r v i e w question which determined the information that the interviewees considered most important. The responses were categorized under f i v e major headings ( f o r d e t a i l s see Appendix F ) . I n f o r -mation about s e c u r i t y was acknowledged to be the most important by the l a r g e s t percentage of workers. TABLE X Table XI gives the r e s u l t s f o r a l l groups of the r a t i n g s f o r employees on the \" P e e l i n g S c a l e . \" The r e s u l t s indicate:some v a r i a t i o n between groups but there i s a general t r e n d of m i l d h o s t i l i t y toward the Company. TABLE XI In summary, the o v e r a l l r e s u l t s show h i g h p o s i t i v e c o r r e l a t i o n between a l l the groups i n the order of preference f o r the twenty-six items of i n f o r m a t i o n . Thus, i t can be s a i d that a l l employees, i r r e s p e c t i v e of work group, age, m a r i t a l status or s e n i o r i t y , want the same k i n d of i n f o r m a t i o n . These r e s u l t s a l s o show tha t magazines are ranked c o n s i s t e n t l y h i g h e r than e i t h e r b u l l e t i n boards or foremen as a medium of communication. This Indicates t h a t , i n the mind of the worker, the magazine i s the best method of g i v i n g i n f o r -mation . 45 TABLE X Summary of Responses by Work Categories to the Question: \"What Kind of Information i s Most Important to you Personally?\" PLANERMILL SAWMILL TRADESMEN NON-TRADESMEN TOTAL % N # N $ N i N # N Security 10 7 16 13 8 6 6 5 40 31 Be n e f i c i a l 6 5 10 7 1 1 2 2 19 15 General Knowledge 1 1 4 3 1 1 1 1 7 6 No Choice Made 6 5 10 8 8 6 5 4 29 23 Mis c e l -laneous 1 1 1 1 2 2 1 1 5 5 TOTAL 24 19 41 32 20 16 15 13 100 80 46 TABLE X I Means of Rat ings on \" P e e l i n g S c a l e \" f o r V a r i o u s Sub-Groups (This s c a l e ranged from \" v e r y h o s t i l e \" (-2), through \"some h o s t i l i t y \" (-1), \"no f e e l i n g s \" (0), \" f a v o r a b l e 1 1 (+1), t o \" v e r y f a v o r a b l e \" (+2).) GROUT MEAN SAMPLE SIZE Sample as a Whole P r o d u c t i o n Workers S e r v i c e Workers -5 80 51 29 M a r r i e d Workers S i n g l e Workers ,6 .3 51 29 0 to 2 years S e r v i c e 2 to 10 years More than 10 years S e r v i c e 16 t o 30 years of Age 31 t o 50 years of Age 5 l t o 65 years of Age •.3 -.6 ••5 -.2 19 37 24 21 41 18 P l a n e r m i l l Workers S a w m i l l Workers Tradesmen Non-Tradesmen -.1 - .6 - .5 - . 6 19 32 16 13 I t has a l s o been pointed out that a l l sub-groups e x h i b i t e d v a r y i n g degrees of h o s t i l i t y toward the Company. I t i s f e l t t o be of considerable s i g n i f i c a n c e that i n f o r m a t i o n concerning s e c u r i t y was r a t e d the most important by the l a r g e s t number of workers, w i t h i n f o r m a t i o n concerning p o l i c i e s and other b e n e f i c i a l data ranked lower i n importance (sde Table X ) . CHAPTER V DISCUSSION WHAT THE WORKERS WANT TO KNOW In the f o l l o w i n g d i s c u s s i o n each of the t h i r t y ques-t i o n s w i l l be d e a l t w i t h s e p a r a t e l y i n order t o show the nature of the responses to each. Cost of Operating the M i l l Information about the cost of operati n g the M i l l was ranked f i r s t by the sample as a whole, w i t h 88 per cent wanting to know about i t . I t was ranked f i r s t by a l l but two of the groups used i n t h i s study. Nbri-Ttedesmen and p l a n e r m i l l workers ranked i t second. The responses given to t h i s question I n d i c a t e t h a t the m a j o r i t y of the workers want t h i s Information because i t has d e f i n i t e s e c u r i t y value f o r them. This was apparent by the numerous references made about the consequences of automation. The workers want t o know about costs because they f e e l t h a t i f these r i s e too h i g h t h e i r f u t u r e jobs may be jeopardized when machines replace labour. This sentiment may w e l l be a r e s u l t of the emphasis which management i s p l a c i n g on costs i n i t s day-to-day operations. One worker s t a t e d that \". . . management i s always squawking about c o s t s . \" This f a c t o r coupled w i t h the s t r e s s which Industry as a whole i s p l a c i n g on costs as a 4 9 determinant of competitiveness and the p u b l i c i t y which t h i s has r e c e i v e d , has i t seems, had some e f f e c t on the workers. I t appears that t h i s information i s a l s o of value as general knowledge f o r the I n d i v i d u a l . The workers expressed an I n t e r e s t i n knowing the cost of \"shut-downs\" In various depart-ments. Sawmill workers p a r t i c u l a r l y wanted to know what i t cost i n l o s t production and money I f one of the main saws was clo s e d down. I t i s evident from these r e a c t i o n s t h a t f u t u r e s e c u r i t y i s most important to the workers. However, the prominence of t h i s t o p i c at t h i s time may have been accentuated by the f a c t t h a t during the i n t e r v i e w p e r i o d , the whole lumber i n d u s t r y was undergoing widespread production c u r t a i l m e n t s because of uncer-t a i n market c o n d i t i o n s . New Products Being Made by the Company Eighty-one per cent of the workers s t a t e d t h a t they wanted to be informed about new products being made by the Com-pany. This item was ranked second i n importance by the sample as a whole but, I t was placed f i r s t by tradesmen, p l a n e r m i l l workers and men between the ages of s i x t e e n and t h i r t y . Here again, t h i s knowledge has s e c u r i t y i m p l i c a t i o n s . I The production workers are I n t e r e s t e d i n knowing about new products being made because these products may a f f e c t the s t a b i l i t y of t h e i r jobs. To: i l l u s t r a t e , i f a new product i s developed that does not r e q u i r e the Planer operations, then t h i s departments operation may be c u r t a i l e d . By the same token, however, the advent of 5o new products may r e s u l t i n more jobs being a v a i l a b l e t o these workers. This same reason appears to i n f l u e n c e the trades-men's preference f o r t h i s item. They b e l i e v e t h a t as new products are developed tradesmen w i l l be r e q u i r e d to i n s t a l l and maintain the new machinery and new p l a n t s . A c c o r d i n g l y , b e t t e r jobs may become a v a i l a b l e to them. Another reason f o r the h i g h r a t i n g given by tradesmen i s that they are, g e n e r a l l y , not too w e l l informed about the d i f f e r e n t types of lumber manufactured i n the M i l l and so they want t o know more about M i l l p roduction. S i m i l a r l y , the I n t e r e s t of the younger workers i s evoked by a l a c k of knowledge of the range of Company production. Many of them are not aware of how many products are made or what kinds of lumber are produced. Other workers claimed they wanted t o know t h i s i n order t o s a t i s f y the en-q u i r i e s of f r i e n d s . Employees who r a t e d t h i s item low, s t a t e d they d i d so out of l a c k of i n t e r e s t . Sawmill workers r a t e d i t q u i t e low because they f e l t that even w i t h the manufacturing of new prod-u c t s , few innovations could be introduced i n t o a c t u a l s a w m i l l i n g . They a l s o pointed out that they were not o v e r l y i n t e r e s t e d i n knowing about products i n other departments because these departments d i d not a f f e c t them. Workers w i t h l e s s than two years s e r v i c e tended to r a t e i t q u i t e low as w e l l . Their l a c k of i n t e r e s t appears to r e s u l t from not knowing much about t h e i r own job as w e l l as a l a c k of knowledge of the M i l l as a whole. Information About the Company In General S h o r t l y before t h i s study was completed, a major r e -or g a n i z a t i o n of the whole Company was e f f e c t e d . As a r e s u l t , changes had occurred i n the d i v i s i o n w i t h which t h i s p a r t i c u l a r p l a n t was a s s o c i a t e d . T h i s , p o s s i b l y , helps t o account f o r the s p e c i a l i n t e r e s t shown by the workers i n information about the Company i n ge n e r a l . General Company information was ranked t h i r d by the t o t a l sample and 79 per cent s t a t e d they wanted t h i s Information. This item was ranked f i r s t by men w i t h between two and ten years s e n i o r i t y . Sawmill workers and workers between t h i r t y - o n e and f i f t y years of age ranked i t second while p l a n e r -m i l l workers assigned i t t h i r d p o s i t i o n . I t was given i t s lowest r a t i n g by employees between f i f t y - o n e and s i x t y - f i v e years of age, who ranked I t s i x t h . This p a r t i c u l a r piece of information appears to have both s e c u r i t y and general knowledge value f o r the workers. Most of them showed concern over the r e o r g a n i z a t i o n . They were not sure how i t was going to a f f e c t t h e i r jobs. They thought that i f t h e i r own M i l l was considered unproductive then i t might be cl o s e d down or moved to another l o c a t i o n . This r e -o r g a n i z a t i o n , combined w i t h the u n c e r t a i n market c o n d i t i o n s and the emphasis placed on the cost of production, has generated a n x i e t y among most of the workers. I t s general knowledge value i s seen i n the amount of i n t e r e s t t h i s question aroused concerning such things as the 52 number of Company employees, the number of sawmills and the d i f f e r e n t products made by the reorganized Company. Men who d i d not want to know about the Company i n general claimed they simply were not I n t e r e s t e d i n i t . Information about L a y o f f s Seventy-five per cent of the workers as s e r t e d that they wanted to be informed about the p o s s i b i l i t y of employment cur-t a i l m e n t s . This was ranked f i r s t by non-tradesmen and workers w i t h l e s s than two years s e n i o r i t y . Sawmill workers and mar-r i e d men r a t e d i t second and the youngest workers r a t e d i t t h i r d . Non-tradesmen suggested that t h i s k i n d of information would make i t p o s s i b l e to plan f o r a l a y o f f . They s t a t e d that they could look f o r another job i f they were sure of being l a i d o f f on a c e r t a i n date. The other groups mentioned supported t h i s p o i n t of view. Some h o s t i l i t y was generated toward the Company by many of these people because of what they regard to be a l a c k of c o n s i d e r a t i o n on the part of the Company f o r the employees \". . . b y g i v i n g only a few hours n o t i c e about being l a i d o f f . \" Tradesmen, p l a n e r m i l l workers, older employees and workers w i t h considerable s e n i o r i t y , r a t e d t h i s item low. The tradesmen were of the opinion t h a t , apart from the s e n i o r i t y s t i p u l a t i o n , they would be r e q u i r e d to continue doing e s s e n t i a l work, i n s t a l l i n g and mai n t a i n i n g machinery, even i f production was c u r t a i l e d . Older workers and employees w i t h considerable s e n i o r i t y b e l i e v e that they are r e l a t i v e l y safe from being l a i d 53 o f f because of t h e i r s e n i o r i t y r a t i n g . In a d d i t i o n , some of them s t a t e d that they were b e t t e r prepared f i n a n c i a l l y t o meet such e v e n t u a l i t i e s than many of the younger employees. These older men h e l d the c o n v i c t i o n that l a y o f f s were w e l l handled by the union. The m a j o r i t y of p l a n e r m i l l workers are among the seni o r m i l l employees and so t h e i r f e e l i n g s about t h i s item are s i m i l a r t o those of t h i s l a t t e r group. Information about Company P r o f i t s In r e a l i t y , information about Company p r o f i t s was ranked f i f t h i n importance along w i t h two other items: the cost of new machinery and new b u i l d i n g s , and new jobs a v a i l a b l e through company expansion. In each of the three cases 71+ per cent of the workers declared they wanted t h i s i n f o r m a t i o n . Knowledge of p r o f i t s was considered important by the o l d e r age group and by men w i t h more than ten years s e n i o r i t y . In c o n t r a s t , workers between s i x t e e n and t h i r t y years of age, as w e l l as tradesmen and employees w i t h l i t t l e s e n i o r i t y , r a t e d i t low. The older workers w i t h s e n i o r i t y s t a t e d that they wanted t h i s k i n d of information because i n t h i s way they could t e l l whether or not the M i l l would continue to operate. I f the P l a n t began to los e money then t h e i r jobs would be l e s s secure. This reasoning demonstrates, i n the w r i t e r ' s o p i n i o n , a \"higher\" and more su b t l e d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n and awareness of the f a c t o r s which a f f e c t s e c u r i t y than that e x h i b i t e d by the younger workers. This i s p o s s i b l e because the older workers, protected by t h e i r s e n i o r i t y , are i n l e s s f e a r of l o s i n g t h e i r jobs than the younger and more recent employees. These l a t t e r are con t i n u -ously aware of the p o s s i b i l i t y of being l a i d o f f . T heir perception i s clouded by t h i s and so they a t t a c h very l i t t l e importance to the more s u b t l e and \"higher\" or f a r - r e a c h i n g s e c u r i t y f a c t o r s . Twenty per cent of those who want t h i s information s a i d they wanted t o know about p r o f i t s f o r t h e i r own M i l l r a t h e r than f o r the Company as a whole. This need, i t seems, has two r o o t s . F i r s t , the employees r e a l i z e that t h e i r own f u t u r e s e c u r i t y i s r e l a t e d to the fortunes of the l o c a l p l a n t r a t h e r than t o the Company as a whole. Second, some s t a t e d that the p r o f i t p i c t u r e f o r the Company as a whole was not very c l e a r or meaningful t o them because of the large s i z e of the Company. The stockholders* share of the p r o f i t s was one of the most popular items of s p e c i f i c information wanted by the workers. They were unsure of what the stockholders' s t a t u s was i n r e l a t i o n to the Company and what c o n t r o l they e x e r c i s e d over the a f f a i r s of the Company. Seven per cent f e l t that the p r o f i t s should be shown according to product ( I . e . Pulp, Paper, Timber). This suggestion was prompted, according t o one worker, because \" . . . the management keeps t e l l i n g us that p r o f i t s from paper produc-t i o n are s u b s i d i z i n g the production of lumber.\" Appendix G contains a l i s t of more s p e c i f i c information requested by the men about t h i s t o p i c . 55 Of those who d i d not want Information on p r o f i t s , 9 per cent claimed that the Company d i d not give out the true p i c t u r e . I t was even suggested that the Company made more money than i t reported. Others s t a t e d that the union gave out information about Company p r o f i t s and as a r e s u l t they had no need to re c e i v e i t from management. I t should be mentioned that there was a great deal of d i s t r u s t and s u s p i c i o n concerning the information s u p p l i e d by the Company about p r o f i t s . Some suggested that information about money was only given immediately before wage n e g o t i a t i o n s and, at these times, the workers were t o l d about Company losses r a t h e r than p r o f i t s . I t i s i n t e r e s t i n g t o note that a l l em-ployees, even those who valued t h i s information h i g h l y , f e l t management would not give the workers a tru e p i c t u r e . On the other hand, some employees proposed that t h i s information should be made known by the Company r a t h e r than by other groups, so that the workers could act according to f a c t s r a t h e r than innuendos and rumours. There appears to be confusion and i n -accurate information about p r o f i t s and t h i s i s r e s p o n s i b l e , i n p a r t , f o r the s u s p i c i o n and d i s t r u s t w i t h which the Company i s h e l d by some of the workers. Most of the employees s t a t e d they read about Company p r o f i t s i n the d a i l y newspapers. Twenty-five per cent of these s a i d that they found the newspaper accounts too complicated and could not understand what was meant by the f i g u r e s given. As a r e s u l t they had to take someone e l s e ' s word about p r o f i t s . 5 6 Cost of New Machinery and Hew B u i l d i n g s i n the M i l l Ranked e q u a l l y w i t h p r o f i t s , cost of machinery and b u i l d i n g s was r a t e d h i g h l y by production workers g e n e r a l l y , as w e l l as s i n g l e workers i n s e r v i c e jobs. Men w i t h more than ten years s e n i o r i t y ranked i t s l i g h t l y h i g h e r than members of other l e n g t h of s e r v i c e groups. I t r e c e i v e d i t s lowest r a n k i n g from workers w i t h between two and ten years s e n i o r i t y . Tradesmen and non-tradesmen were not s p e c i a l l y i n t e r e s t e d . Tradesmen s t a t e d they d i d not want t h i s i nformation because they learned t h i s i n t h e i r jobs. A few of them, however, thought th a t the cost of machinery and the cost of m a i n t a i n i n g i t , should be made known to machine operators and v e h i c l e d r i v e r s because such information \" . . . would show the o r d i n a r y f e l l o w how much money i s i n v o l v e d i n h i s job.\" They f e l t t hat t h i s k i n d of knowledge would help the operators to understand that they have a r e s p o n s i b i l i t y to t r e a t t h e i r machines w i t h care. In support of t h i s sentiment, 1+ per cent of the operators f e l t that t h i s k i n d of Information would make them more c a r e f u l i n handling t h e i r machines. The l a c k of I n t e r e s t shown by the m a j o r i t y of non-tradesmen i s explained by the f a c t that i n t h e i r jobs they have l i t t l e contact w i t h machinery and so have no need to be aware of I t s importance. Of those who r a t e d machinery cost h i g h , production workers i n general attached g r e a t e r importance to t h i s information than d i d s e r v i c e workers. On the b a s i s of t h e i r comments two reasons f o r t h i s come to l i g h t . F i r s t , t h e i r jobs demand a c l o s e a f f i l i a t i o n w i t h machinery, arousing a n a t u r a l i n t e r e s t i n how 57 much i t c o s t s . Second, t h e i r f u t u r e s e c u r i t y i s at stake since they r e a l i z e that automation i s r e p l a c i n g manual labour and the cost of t h i s change-over i s c r u c i a l to them. New Jobs A v a i l a b l e through Company Expansion The a v a i l a b i l i t y of new jobs throughout the Company was the t h i r d item to be ranked f i f t h by the workers as a whole. I t was ranked f i r s t by employees w i t h l e s s than two years s e r v i c e and by tradesmen. I t was valued second by s e r v i c e workers. P l a n e r m i l l workers, workers w i t h between two and ten years s e n i o r -i t y and workers In the youngest age group a l s o r a t e d I t h i g h . I t s lowest r a t i n g was given by workers between f i f t y - o n e and s i x t y -f i v e years of age and workers w i t h more than ten years s e r v i c e . The comments made by workers i n these groups i n d i c a t e that tradesmen are i n t e r e s t e d i n knowing t h i s because they have strong needs f o r personal advancement In t h e i r jobs. They are of the opinion that along w i t h Company expansion w i l l come a gr e a t e r demand f o r s k i l l e d workers and, as a r e s u l t , more oppor-t u n i t i e s f o r advancement w i l l be a v a i l a b l e . Employees w i t h l e s s than two years s e r v i c e gave ! ,a chance t o b e t t e r myself\" as t h e i r reason f o r wanting t o know about vacancies throughout the Company. This group was somewhat c r i t i c a l of present s e n i o r i t y requirements because these tended t o slow down or obstruct promotions f o r younger employees. They f e l t t h a t movement t o a new plan t would gi v e them an opportunity to overcome the s e n i o r i t y h u r d l e . Some of the younger workers i n the p l a n e r m i l l claimed that they wanted to know about vacancies because there i s l i t t l e o p portunity f o r 58 advancement i n t h e i r present jobs. Others i n t h i s department want to know about job vacancies because they suspect that vacancies i n t h e i r area are f i l l e d by workers from outside the department, l e a v i n g no opportunity f o r them. Other production workers manifested u n c e r t a i n t y about the f u t u r e of the lumber i n d u s t r y i n general and were anxious to move i n t o more st a b l e jobs. Non-tradesmen shared t h i s l a t t e r viewpoint. Of those who rated t h i s item low, o l d e r workers and men w i t h more than ten years s e n i o r i t y s a i d that they d i d not want to move to other jobs since they were f a i r l y secure i n t h e i r present ones. Others who were not i n t e r e s t e d s t a t e d that they d i d not want to l o s e t h e i r present s e n i o r i t y r a t i n g by moving to other jobs. I t i s evident from the responses to t h i s question that the importance of t h i s i nformation about new jobs i s dependent upon how secure the worker f e e l s i n h i s present job. Those who are not too secure are w i l l i n g to move to other jobs w h i l e the more secure workers do not want to change t h e i r present ones. Information about M i l l Production D e t a i l s of M i l l production were asked f o r by 69 per cent of those interviewed. This was ranked f i r s t by tradesmen and second by workers i n the o l d e r age group. Production workers tended to r a t e i t higher than s e r v i c e employees. I t i s apparent from the comments p e r t a i n i n g to t h i s ques-t i o n that the main appeal of t h i s k i n d of information i s i t s general knowledge value. Some of the workers s a i d they wanted 59 t h i s k i n d of information i n order to s a t i s f y the e n q u i r i e s of f r i e n d s . The most sought-after p a r t i c u l a r s under t h i s heading were concerned w i t h d a i l y M i l l p roduction, production according to the various lumber grades, and the s e l l i n g p r i c e of the lumber. The men a l s o expressed i n t e r e s t i n the production f o r each s h i f t so that work done i n each department could be compared. The workers who d i d not want t h i s information claimed t h a t i t was a l r e a d y given p e r i o d i c a l l y i n the union paper. Others s t a t e d that i t was p o s s i b l e to f a m i l i a r i z e themselves w i t h M i l l production by t a l k i n g to workers i n other departments. Appendix G shows some of the areas which aroused the g r e a t e s t i n t e r e s t about t h i s t o p i c . M i l l Production Compared to that of Other M i l l s \" S e c u r i t y \" again appeared as the dominant theme among the 66 per cent who wanted to know how t h e i r own M i l l production compared to t h a t i n other P l a n t s . Men w i t h more than ten years s e n i o r i t y ranked t h i s h igher than workers w i t h l e s s s e n i o r i t y . Production workers g e n e r a l l y and workers between t h i r t y - o n e and f i f t y years of age a l s o r a t e d i t q u i t e h i g h . Employees i n the youngest age group gave t h i s Item i t s lowest ranking. The older workers 1 choice can be explained as a d e s i r e to compare t h e i r own production w i t h competitors. They are of the opinion that a d e f i c i e n c y on the part of t h e i r own M i l l w i l l be d e a l t w i t h by increased automation or some other measure which co u l d jeopardize the tenure of t h e i r jobs. This sentiment appeared to be uppermost i n the minds of production employees as 60 they discussed t h i s t o p i c . They f e l t t hat information of t h i s nature could show them how t h e i r production ranked i n r e l a t i o n to more h i g h l y automated p l a n t s . Thus, i f they could not keep up to t h e i r automated r i v a l s then they could be f a i r l y sure that t h e i r jobs would be l e s s secure. Other workers who asked f o r production information suggested that i t would help d i s p e l rumours that other p l a n t s were producing more than t h e i r s . The l a c k of i n t e r e s t shown by the younger workers demon-s t r a t e s that they are e s s e n t i a l l y p a r o c h i a l i n outlook. This Is a r e s u l t of the Immediate and p r e s s i n g needs they face, such as f e a r of a l a y o f f and adjustment to t h e i r work s i t u a t i o n . Among those who a t t r i b u t e d l i t t l e importance to t h i s k i n d of i n f o r m a t i o n , the m a j o r i t y claimed that they were \"not i n t e r e s t e d \" because t h i s i nformation would not help them i n t h e i r work. Others b e l i e v e d the information was r e a d i l y a v a i l a b l e through the union. Information about Safety Information about s a f e t y was requested by 63 per cent of those questioned. This item was r a t e d very h i g h by workers between f i f t y and s i x t y - f i v e years of age. S i n g l e men g e n e r a l l y and married production workers a l s o ranked I t h i g h . P l a n e r m i l l workers placed emphasis on s a f e t y information as d i d members of the youngest age group and tradesmen. Non-tradesmen ranked t h i s q u i t e low, as d i d men w i t h l e s s than two years s e r v i c e and men between t h i r t y - o n e and f i f t y . 61 In g e n e r a l , of those who wanted t h i s i n f o r m a t i o n , 7 per cent f e l t there should be more s a f e t y education i n the M i l l . Furthermore, i t was suggested that a t t e n t i o n be given t o ensure that a l l workers, even \"graveyard\" workers, be made aware of accident d e t a i l s . Some c r i t i c i s m was voiced by workmen who h e l d the con-v i c t i o n that management would not put s a f e t y suggestions Into e f f e c t , no matter how desperate the problem, because these sug-gestions would cost money to implement. Findings i n t h i s category r e v e a l a d e f i n i t e t r end. That i s , workmen who have contact w i t h machines, production workers and tradesmen, value t h i s information h i g h l y , w h i l e the m a j o r i t y of non-tradesmen, who have l i t t l e contact w i t h machinery, rank i t low. Information about Company H i s t o r y Information about the Company's development and h i s t o r y was considered important by 61 per cent of the workers. Trades-men c l a s s i f i e d t h i s item f i r s t In importance, w h i l e employees w i t h l e s s than two years s e n i o r i t y ranked i t f i f t h . Service workers g e n e r a l l y tended to r a t e i t h i g h e r than production em-ployees. This item appealed t o tradesmen and men w i t h l i t t l e s e r v i c e because they have not been working f o r the Company long enough t o l e a r n about i t s h i s t o r y . These workers s t a t e d that they wanted to know the true f a c t s about the Company's development i n place of rumours and s t o r i e s c i r c u l a t e d by other workers. 62 This information r e c e i v e d i t s lowest r a t i n g from workers w i t h more than t e n years s e n i o r i t y — p l a n e r m i l l workers and members of the oldest age group. These men f e l t t hat they knew enough about the Company, having learned t h i s during t h e i r years of s e r v i c e w i t h the Company. Results here r e v e a l that Information concerning the h i s t o r y and development of the Company i s valued by workers as general knowledge. Company P r o f i t s Compared t o P r o f i t s of Other Companies S i x t y per cent of the workers wanted information that compared Company p r o f i t s w i t h those of other Companies. This question was i n t e r p r e t e d by the men as the p r o f i t s of t h e i r own M i l l r a t h e r than the Company as a whole. Production workers ranked I t hi g h e r than s e r v i c e workers, w i t h sawmill workmen g i v i n g t h i s item i t s highest r a t i n g . Workmen i n the t h i r t y - o n e to f i f t y age group, and workers w i t h between two and ten years of s e r v i c e a l s o r a t e d i t h i g h l y . Workers w i t h l e s s than two years s e n i o r i t y r a t e d i t very low, as d i d the members of the ol d e s t age group/ Men who wanted t h i s item claimed to be i n t e r e s t e d i n the e f f i c i e n c y of the M i l l . They pointed out that i f the M i l l operation was not e f f i c i e n t t h i s might have s e r i o u s repercussions and might a f f e c t t h e i r jobs. Others wanted comparative p r o f i t Information i n order to f i n d out i f management's c l a i m that the M i l l was l o s i n g money, was r e a l l y t r u e . Some workers s a i d that they wanted to know t h i s so they would be able t o discuss i t 63 w i t h f r i e n d s who work i n other m i l l s . T h i r t y - e i g h t per cent of those who d i d not want t h i s information s t a t e d that they were \"not I n t e r e s t e d \" because such knowledge would not r e a l l y h e l p them In t h e i r job. These r e s u l t s i n d i c a t e that the m a j o r i t y of the workers interviewed are i n t e r e s t e d i n the economic welfare of the place i n which they work. This i n t e r e s t Is based on concern f o r t h e i r own f u t u r e s e c u r i t y since they r e a l i z e t h a t , as long as t h e i r own M i l l compares favourably p r o f i t - w i s e t o other m i l l s then t h e i r own jobs are somewhat more secure. Information about How Wages are Computed D e t a i l s of how wages are computed were wanted by 58 per cent of the employees. This information evoked considerable i n t e r e s t among s e r v i c e workers. I t was considered important by men w i t h l e s s than ten years s e r v i c e and those between s i x -teen and f i f t y years of age. Older workers and men w i t h more than ten years s e n i o r i t y expressed l i t t l e - i n t e r e s t i n I t . The basis used f o r e v a l u a t i n g and r a t i n g jobs and the apparent discrepancy i n pay between jobs, c o n s t i t u t e d the most sought-after i n f o r m a t i o n . Tradesmen wanted to know why jobs w i t h r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r r e p a i r i n g machinery were not p a i d more than \"easy jobs.\" Those who r a t e d t h i s item low s t a t e d they had no I n t e r e s t i n i t and another 10 per cent claimed that they knew how wages were computed as the union explained i t t o them. 61+ Information about Company Markets and the Number of Orders the Company ha3 on Hand Information as to where the lumber produced In the M i l l Is s o l d and d e t a i l s about the number of orders the Company has on hand, were ranked e q u a l l y by f?l per cent of the interviewees. Information about markets was ranked h i g h e s t by production workers as w e l l as members of the ol d e s t age group. Hon-tradesmen, workers i n the youngest age bracket and men w i t h more than ten years Company s e r v i c e rated i t low. The concern f o r s e c u r i t y i s apparent once more. The production workers, according to t h e i r comments, are i n t e r e s t e d i n knowing what new markets are being explored so that t h e i r own jobs w i l l be assured i n the f u t u r e . The i n t e r e s t of the older workers i s a r e s u l t of f e a r of l o s i n g t h e i r jobs because of l a c k of markets. Of those who attached l i t t l e importance to t h i s item, the low r a t i n g given by non-tradesmen and younger employees can be explained as a l a c k of i n t e r e s t and a f e e l i n g they know about t h i s . Workers w i t h over ten years s e r v i c e c l a i m they already know about markets. In essence, t h i s information i s important to employees who see l a c k of markets as a d e f i n i t e t h reat to t h e i r f u t u r e l i v e l i h o o d . The s e c u r i t y trend Is f u r t h e r demonstrated i n the responses given by the workers who wanted to know about the number of orders the Company has on hand. The ol d e r workers w i t h more than ten years s e n i o r i t y claimed that they wanted t h i s informa-t i o n because i t would help them to make d e f i n i t e plans f o r the f u t u r e . Others supported t h i s viewpoint, adding that such information would be p a r t i c u l a r l y e f f e c t i v e i n d i s p e l l i n g rumours about l a y o f f s during the w i n t e r months. 6 5 The workers who r a t e d information about orders low — s i n g l e men, employees i n the t h i r t y - o n e t o f i f t y age group and workers w i t h l e s s than ten years s e r v i c e , were simply not In t e r e s t e d or f e l t t hat such knowledge would not p a r t i c u l a r l y h e l p them i n t h e i r work. Information Concerning Transfers to Other Jobs F i f t y per cent of the workers wanted Information about t r a n s f e r s to other jobs. This item was r a t e d h i g h by plan e r -m i l l workers and workers i n the s i x t e e n t o t h i r t y age group,/ New employees i n a l l departments tended t o rank I t h i g h . These men wanted s p e c i f i c i nformation about t r a n s f e r s . Approximately 2 5 per cent of the production workers and 2 0 per cent of those h o l d i n g s e r v i c e jobs wanted t o know i f i t was p o s s i b l e to t r a n s -f e r t o another job and s t i l l r e t a i n t h e i r s e n i o r i t y r a t i n g . T h i r t y s i x per cent of the tradesmen expressed the opinion that the Company was u n f a i r t o I t s employees by u s i n g people from outside the department to f i l l vacancies w i t h i n the department. Too, they c r i t i c i z e d the l a c k of information given about vacan-c i e s In other Company m i l l s . Sawmill workers, non-tradesmen and o l d e r workers w i t h long s e r v i c e r a t e d t h i s q u i t e low. This question generated some h o s t i l i t y towards the Company on the part of non-tradesmen. These men i n f e r r e d t h a t management always had i t s own men pi c k e d out f o r any vacancies which occurred. The l a r g e s t number of those who r a t e d i t low, sta t e d that information about vacancies was always posted on the b u l l e t i n boards In accordance w i t h the 66 union c o n t r a c t . In a d d i t i o n , they f e l t that the method of o b t a i n i n g a t r a n s f e r was w e l l documented i n the union c o n t r a c t . Information about Promotions Information about promotions was ranked seventeenth along w i t h Information about the l i f e insurance plan and s i c k leave p o l i c i e s . In each case 1|9 per cent of the workers wanted i n f o r -mation on t h a t p a r t i c u l a r s u b j e c t . D e t a i l s about promotions were given a h i g h r a t i n g by the younger workers i n s e r v i c e jobs while o l d e r men h o l d i n g produc-t i o n jobs showed l i t t l e i n t e r e s t In i t . Among the s e r v i c e workers, 30 per cent of the tradesmen wanted t h i s i n f o r m a t i o n . The most sought-after Information, concerned d e t a i l s of how t o obtain a promotion, as w e l l as the q u a l i f i c a t i o n s needed, i n -c l u d i n g the k i n d of education necessary. The r e s u l t s show that younger workers g e n e r a l l y tend to show a greater i n t e r e s t i n promotions than o l d e r men. S i m i l a r l y , servioe workers appeared to be more conscious of promotions than those i n production jobs. This can be explained by the f a c t that the younger trades-men and non-tradesmen are more a l e r t f o r o p p o r t u n i t i e s to advance i n t h e i r jobs. In the production departments there appears to be apathy toward promotions. This i s due i n part to the large concentra-t i o n i n these departments of older workers, as w e l l as some younger workers who have no i n t e n t i o n of remaining i n these jobs because of I n s e c u r i t y based on f e a r of automation and production c u r t a i l m e n t . 67 Among those who d i d not want t h i s i n f o r m a t i o n , i t was claimed that promotions were based on s e n i o r i t y and were pub-l i c i z e d by the Company i n accordance w i t h the union c o n t r a c t . In a d d i t i o n , 36 per cent of a l l the workers interviewed s t a t e d o u t r i g h t that they were not i n t e r e s t e d i n promotion. Information Concerning the L i f e Insurance Plan D e t a i l s about the l i f e insurance p l a n was ranked h i g h by workers i n both the s i x t e e n t o t h i r t y age group and i n the f i f t y -one to s i x t y - f i v e group. Production workers i n general tended to r a t e t h i s higher than s e r v i c e employees. S p e c i f i c data about the plan roused the most i n t e r e s t . Appendix G. o u t l i n e s the most s i g n i f i c a n t of these e n q u i r i e s . Some men claimed they wanted t h i s i nformation because the plan had not been p r o p e r l y explained to them when they f i r s t j o i n e d the Company. Others wanted to have the \" f i n e p r i n t \" i n t e r -preted. The I n t e r e s t of o l d e r workers can be explained by a renewed d e s i r e t o know more about the plan as they come clo s e to retirement age, while the younger workers have not r e a l l y had much opportunity t o explore the b e n e f i t s given under the pl a n . This k i n d of information was considered r e l a t i v e l y unim-portant by workers between t h i r t y ^ o n e and f i f t y years of age as w e l l as s i n g l e men In s e r v i c e jobs. T h i r t y s i x per cent of the workers s a i d they were not i n t e r e s t e d and others f e l t there was al r e a d y enough Information a v a i l a b l e . This apathy appears t o stem from a general b e l i e f that once you j o i n there Is r e a l l y 68 nothing more to know and the workers become s e l f - s a t i s f i e d , f e e l i n g t h a t t h e i r f a m i l i e s are w e l l and completely p r o t e c t e d i n the event of a c c i d e n t s . Information about S i c k Leave P o l i c i e s S i c k leave p o l i c i e s were of more i n t e r e s t to s e r v i c e workers than production workers. Workers i n the youngest age group and those w i t h l e s s than two years s e n i o r i t y expressed i n t e r e s t i n t h i s item. L i k e w i s e , s i n g l e men and non-tradesmen ranked i t q u i t e h i g h . The m a j o r i t y of these people admitted they knew nothing about i t at present. Younger new employees and younger workers want t h i s i nformation because they have not been w i t h the Company long enough to get to know about these p o l i c i e s . Por example, they were unsure about how much time o f f they were allowed. The o l d e r workers and men w i t h ten years s e n i o r i t y d i d not a t t r i b u t e too much importance t o t h i s item. They claimed they were thoroughly f a m i l i a r w i t h s i c k leave p o l i c i e s . In ge n e r a l , 4I4 per cent of those who d i d not want t h i s i nformation explained . . management here Is good about t h i s and you j u s t have to ask f o r i t . \" I nformation about Management Personnel - Information about management personnel was ranked twen-t i e t h and only i|8 per cent wanted i t . I t s highest r a t i n g was given by workers i n the s i x t e e n t o t h i r t y years age group and those w i t h l e s s than two years s e n i o r i t y . S i n g l e men g e n e r a l l y tended t o rat e i t h i g h e r than married men, and non-tradesmen 69 placed g r e a t e r emphasis on t h i s than those i n any other work category. Tradesmen, older workers, and men w i t h between two and ten years s e n i o r i t y r a t e d t h i s low. These workers s t a t e d they were e i t h e r not i n t e r e s t e d or that they a l r e a d y knew about l o c a l management. F i f t e e n per cent of the workers who wanted t h i s Item were i n t e r e s t e d i n \" . . . how management got ahead,\" wh i l e a f u r t h e r 29 per cent s t a t e d that t h i s would be i n t e r e s t i n g to know. The comments made by these workers r e v e a l that there i s a g r e a t e r d e s i r e to know about l o c a l management than top management. The preference f o r t h i s item among the younger workers was summarized by one of them who s t a t e d \" . . . knowing how they worked themselves up gives a f e l l o w the impression i t i s s t i l l p o s s i b l e t o get t o the top.\" Information Concerning the Pension Plan D e t a i l s about the pension plan were considered Important by 1+6 per cent of the workers. Men i n the oldest age bracket and those w i t h more than t e n i y e a r s of s e r v i c e r a t e d i t h i g h . Married men who had r e c e n t l y j o i n e d the Company d i s p l a y e d a s i m i l a r I n t e r e s t . Older workers wanted to know how much money they w i l l be p a i d when they r e t i r e and how the payments w i l l be made. Younger workers, on the other hand, wanted to know about the plan as a whole because they had not been Informed about i t when they f i r s t j o i n e d the Company. ( I t should be noted that these workers were i n e l i g i b l e to p a r t i c i p a t e i n the plan because they d i d not f u l f i l the necessary l e n g t h of s e r v i c e requirements.) 70 Those who r a t e d i t low i n Importance included t r a d e s -men, men w i t h more than two years but l e s s than ten years s e r v i c e . S i n g l e men tended t o r a t e I t lower than the married nnes. These men f e l t t h a t the plan was e i t h e r w e l l explained at present or claimed that they were not i n t e r e s t e d i n i t at a l l . A number of workers who p a r t i c i p a t e d i n the plan c r i t i -c i z e d I t s a d m i n i s t r a t i o n . They pointed out they had r e c e i v e d a booklet o u t l i n i n g the plan when they f i r s t Joined I t but many of them s a i d that they d i d not understand the booklet. Hence, they f e l t t h a t p e r i o d i c follow-up Information should be given In order to c l a r i f y questions which come up. These f i n d i n g s demonstrate that workers approaching retirement tend to a t t a c h g r e a t e r importance to Information about the pension p l a n than do other workers. Information about the Handling of Employee Complaints Only 3 5 per cent of the workers expressed an i n t e r e s t i n knowing about what happens to employee complaints. I t was ranked twenty-second i n importance. S i n g l e men In s e r v i c e jobs placed importance on t h i s and tradesmen ranked i t higher than any other work group. In a d d i t i o n , younger workers and those w i t h l i t t l e s e n i o r i t y tended to r a t e I t higher than the o l d e r workers w i t h long s e r v i c e . The most sought-after item In t h i s category was knowledge of what a c t i o n i s taken concerning the complaints. Some claimed they were not t o l d about the outcome of t h e i r complaints and others s a i d that most information on t h i s t o p i c was given by the union, not by the management. 71 Fourteen per cent of those workers who ranked I t low d i d so, they c l a i m , because there was no poin t i n submitting com-p l a i n t s as no a c t i o n was ever taken on them. A f u r t h e r 19 per cent f e l t that the union looked a f t e r t h i s matter adequately and so they had no i n t e r e s t i n knowing more about I t . The remainder were simply not I n t e r e s t e d . Comments made by the workers i n d i c a t e that there i s a ba s i c d i s t r u s t of management's r o l e i n the settlement of employee oomplaints. Foremen are seen by the men as the major obstacle to the r e s o l v i n g of grievances. The workers suspect that man-agement's s i l e n c e i s a r e s u l t of the foreman's f a i l u r e to take a c t i o n or t o pass along the complaints. Because of t h i s the workers t u r n to the union to l e a r n the outcome of t h e i r com-p l a i n t s . Information about H o u r l y P a i d Employees D e t a i l s about f e l l o w workers, t h e i r hobbies and f a m i l i e s , appealed to only 33 per cent of those interviewed. I t s highest ranking came from non-tradesmen w i t h married men and members of the o l d e s t age group a l s o expressing an i n t e r e s t i n i t . The responses to t h i s question r e v e a l that non-tradesmen are I n t e r e s t e d In knowing more about the workers who a c t u a l l y produce the lumber. In t h e i r p a r t i c u l a r jobs they c o n s t i t u t e the end of the production flow and so they want t o know about the workers who a c t u a l l y produce the lumber. The older workers want t h i s i nformation because they have made a p r a c t i c e of g e t t i n g to know about the other workers and want t o keep up t o 72 date on new a d d i t i o n s t o the work f o r c e . Some expressed the opinion that i t i s important i n s o c i a l a c t i v i t i e s to know w i t h whom one works. This item was ranked l a s t by members of the youngest age group and second to l a s t by men w i t h over ten years s e n i o r i t y . F i f t y - s e v e n per cent of these workers claimed they were not i n t e r e s t e d i n i t . Many of them added they were not i n t e r e s t e d i n knowing about other people's t r o u b l e s and problems. Responses i n t h i s area i n d i c a t e that the workers i n t e r -viewed were a l i t t l e anxious about the p o s s i b i l i t y of p u b l i c i t y being given to t h e i r p r i v a t e l i v e s . I t appears that they want t h e i r l e i s u r e time a c t i v i t i e s to be kept separate from t h e i r jobs. Others suggested they a l r e a d y knew most of the men work-i n g In the M i l l . Information about B e t t e r Ways of Doing the Job D e t a i l s about b e t t e r ways of doing the job were ranked twenty-fourth and only 30 per cent of the workers wanted these. This item r e c e i v e d i t s highest ranking from p l a n e r m i l l workers and tradesmen. These people were i n t e r e s t e d p r i m a r i l y l n know-i n g \"how they stood\" w i t h the foreman. The tradesmen added that such information would h e l p them i n t h e i r work. The l a r g e s t percentage of those who r a t e d t h i s item low were not I n t e r e s t e d and a f u r t h e r 23 per cent f e l t they could f i n d out on t h e i r own i f they r e a l l y wanted to know about b e t t e r ways of doing the Job. In essence, t h i s k i n d of information 73 showed i t s e l f to be of l i t t l e importance to the majority of the workers used In this study. Information about New Changes in the Job Knowledge of changes on the job was wanted by 29 per cent of the Interviewees. Workers In the fi f t y - o n e to si x t y -f i v e year age group appeared to want th i s information more than any other group of workers. The main reason given by these men was that they wanted to be t o l d about these changes rather than having to f i n d out f o r themselves. Of the many who ranked t h i s low, i|8 per cent stated they were not Interested and 22 per cent said they were always t o l d about changes. Information about How the Job Affects the Production Process A t h i r d Item dealing d i r e c t l y with the job was rated l a s t by the entire sample. Only 19 per cent of the workers wanted to know how t h e i r Individual jobs a f f e c t the o v e r a l l production i process. Younger workers and those with less than two years s e n i o r i t y attached some significance to thi s itsm. Of those who did not want t h i s information, 66 per cent claimed lack of Interest and 11% per cent said they already knew. Hence, these r e s u l t s reveal a d e f i n i t e lack of interest regarding information concerned with the jobs these workers do. Possibly t h i s i n d i -cates a lack of interest In the work i t s e l f . Most Important Kind of Information In the f i n a l question, the workers were asked which information they considered most Important. Forty per cent mentioned information which had secu r i t y value f o r them; 28 per Ik cent had no preference; 19 per cent wanted to have information d e a l i n g w i t h various b e n e f i t plans; 8 per cent wanted general knowledge information which would be of value t o them i n t h e i r s o c i a l contacts; and 6 per cent wanted miscellaneous informa-t i o n . Appendix F contains a l i s t of the information i n each of these c a t e g o r i e s . Methods of G i v i n g Information to Employees 1. P u b l i c a t i o n s E i g h t y - s i x per cent of the workers f e l t that a p u b l i c a -t i o n such as a magazine was the best method of g i v i n g information to the workers. These men pointed out that a magazine could be used as a reference i n the home. They suggested that w r i t t e n information had a more l a s t i n g e f f e c t than Information given In l e c t u r e s . Of the lk per cent who opposed t h i s method, f> per cent f e l t that the workers would not read a magazine, 6 per cent suggested that l e c t u r e s given to the men would be more e f f e c t i v e i n passing i n f o r m a t i o n , and 1 per cent proposed that Company information should be inc l u d e d i n the union paper because the workers would b e l i e v e I t more r e a d i l y than a Company-sponsored p u b l i c a t i o n . In d i s c u s s i n g the best method of d i s t r i b u t i n g magazines t o the men, 56 per cent thought that m a i l i n g the magazines t o the homes would be best, w h i l e 17 per cent f e l t t h a t they should be given out w i t h the paycheque. Having the men p i c k up the 75 magazines at the P l a n t appealed to k per cent and 2 per cent wanted them d i s t r i b u t e d by the foreman. One of the most popular reasons f o r wanting to have a magazine mailed to the home, i s t h a t t h i s a f f o r d s the whole f a m i l y an opportunity to read about the Company. In a d d i t i o n , t h i s method ensures that a l l workers r e c e i v e copies. With reference to t h i s l a t t e r p o i n t , i t was suggested to the i n t e r -viewer that workers are sometimes pressured by t h e i r f r i e n d s , not t o p i c k up a Company p u b l i c a t i o n l e f t l y i n g at the Time-O f f i c e . Others were of the o p i n i o n that by m a i l i n g i t to the home, the worker i s given more time to read about the Company. A number of workers added that magazines given out on the job or i n the P l a n t run the r i s k of being l o s t or thrown away. Magazines r a t e d h i g h w i t h a l l sub-groups. They f e l t , however, that such p u b l i c a t i o n s should contain m a t e r i a l about the l o c a l p l a n t as w e l l as the Company as a whole. I I B u l l e t i n Boards S i x t y - n i n e per cent of the workers considered b u l l e t i n boards to be an e f f e c t i v e method of passing i n f o r m a t i o n . Of these 67 per cent s t a t e d that b u l l e t i n boards were read f r e -quently w h i l e another 2 per cent claimed that more people would read them i f they were t i d i e d up. In c o n t r a s t , 23 per cent of the workers claimed that b u l l e t i n boards were never read, and 1+ per cent h i n t e d they d i d not have time to read them because they were not l o c a t e d close 76 to t h e i r work areas. Others f e l t t hat they were not read by the non-English speaking workers. The content of the informa-t i o n given by the b u l l e t i n boards a l s o r e c e i v e d c r i t i c i s m . I t was f e l t t hat very l i t t l e personal and i n t e r e s t i n g information was posted on these boards, only r o u t i n e d e t a i l s about jobs and Company r e g u l a t i o n s . I l l Foreman Meetings Meeting w i t h the foreman as a means of g e t t i n g information appealed to only 1+1 per cent of those interviewed. The pro-ponents of t h i s method f e l t t hat i t gave the workers an opportun-i t y to s t a t e t h e i r p o i n t of view and a f f o r d e d them a chance t o get t o know t h e i r foreman. The m a j o r i t y of the workers opposed t h i s method and blamed the foremen f o r I t s i n e f f e c t i v e n e s s . Twenty-five per cent s a i d the workers d i d not t r u s t the foremen. They thought the foremen would not t e l l them the t r u t h and would \" t a l k down\" to them. I t was a l s o h i n t e d that the foremen would not e x p l a i n information p r o p e r l y because they a c t u a l l y wanted t o keep the men ignorant about the Company. Others f e l t t hat the foremen would pay no a t t e n t i o n to the Ideas put forward by the men. These comments i n d i c a t e that the foremen are looked upon w i t h considerable m i s t r u s t by the men and ther e f o r e the foremen are not acceptable as communicators to the m a j o r i t y of the workers. F e e l i n g s Towards the Company An examination of how people f e e l towards the Company 77 reveals that the e n t i r e sample has a r a t i n g of -.]?. This i n d i -cates that the workers, taken as a whole, e x h i b i t e d more negative than p o s i t i v e f e e l i n g s towards the Company. Married men, workers between s i x t e e n and t h i r t y years of age, sawmill workers and non-tradesmen, a l l r e g i s t e r e d the highest h o s t i l i t y r a t i n g . In c o n t r a s t , however, p l a n e r m i l l workers showed l i t t l e h o s t i l i t y toward the Company. The reason f o r t h i s can be explained by the f a c t that a large number of the o l d e r employees i n the p l a n e r m i l l , manifested favourable f e e l i n g s or appeared t o be completely n e u t r a l . The a n t i p a t h y d i r e c t e d toward the Company, p a r t i c u l a r l y by o l d e r workers, seems to be caused by a l l e g e d Company mal-p r a c t i c e concerning t r a n s f e r s and promotions. These workers claimed that i t was necessary to have contacts i n order to get a t r a n s f e r and they f e l t that s e n i o r i t y agreements were not adhered t o . In a d d i t i o n , i t was as s e r t e d that management moved people In from outside the departments t o f i l l the best jobs. This sentiment was most n o t i c e a b l e among tradesmen and sawmill operators who added that promotions were often l e f t to the whims of the foremen. A great deal of c r i t i c i s m was aroused by the foremen. Many of the workers f e l t that foremen had no respect f o r the men and only used them to increase production. I t was h i n t e d that some foremen even swore at them. Others suggested that the foremen wanted to keep the men Ignorant about the Company. 78 The Company's a t t i t u d e towards the o l d e r employees, as seen by the men themselves, came i n f o r c r i t i c i s m . I t was claimed that long s e r v i c e workers were not recognized even upon l e a v i n g the Company. One worker s a i d \" . . . not even a hand-shake i s given when you go.\" Further, the men f e l t that the older workers should be given the l e s s d i f f i c u l t jobs. M i s t r u s t of the Company's motives i s apparent i n the workers' comments about p r o f i t s , promotions, t r a n s f e r s and production. They are of the opinion that the Company gives only i n f o r m a t i o n which best serves i t s own ends. These f i n d i n g s do i n d i c a t e a c e r t a i n amount of h o s t i l i t y towards the Company. Nevertheless, they are based on one i s o l a t e d study and u n t i l other c o r r o b o r a t i n g evidence i s a v a i l -able caution must be used i n making broad g e n e r a l i z a t i o n s from these data. In g e n e r a l , these r e s u l t s show tha t the greatest amount of h o s t i l i t y Is generated by items r e l a t i n g d i r e c t l y t o the s e c u r i t y of the workers. By the same token, i t can be seen that groups which emphasized s e c u r i t y a l s o expressed the h i g h e s t h o s t i l i t y r a t i n g s . I n c o n t r a s t , those workers who appeared to have low s e c u r i t y needs expressed the lowest h o s t i l i t y towards the company (e.g. p l a n e r m i l l workers and ol d e r workers w i t h considerable s e n i o r i t y ) . 79 P s y c h o l o g i c a l Aspects The \"need h i e r a r c h y \" constructed by Mas low (191+3) can be used to analyze the l e v e l of p s y c h o l o g i c a l m o t i v a t i o n at which these workers are operating. The h i e r a r c h y Is composed of f i v e needs ranging from the basic p h y s i o l o g i c a l needs through s a f e t y needs, belongingness needs, esteem needs, to the needs f o r s e l f - a c t u a l i z a t i o n which are the highest of these. An examination of the order of preference f o r the t o t a l sample r e v e a l s that eleven of the s i x t e e n items of information wanted by more than j?0 per cent of the workers, had s a f e t y over-tones. Of the remaining f i v e , two had both s a f e t y and esteem value. The items that were wanted by l e s s than j?0 per cent of the men include o n l y two items that can be c l a s s i f i e d as s a f e t y ( I . e . Information about the l i f e insurance plan and Information about the pension p l a n ) . W i t h i n t h i s general p a t t e r n , however, d i f f e r e n t l e v e l s of s a f e t y needs can be discerned. For example, non-tradesmen In r a t i n g information about l a y o f f s h i g h , expressed a b a s i c s a f e t y need. These n o n - s k i l l e d workers are i n immediate t h r e a t from l a y o f f s . Older workers, on the other hand, who are pro-t e c t e d by t h e i r s e n i o r i t y , were not so concerned w i t h l a y o f f s but showed more i n t e r e s t i n information about company p r o f i t s and markets — t h e f u r t h e r removed i n f l u e n c e s on job s e c u r i t y . Thus, i t can be s a i d that the o l d e r workers w i t h s e n i o r i t y 80 d i s p l a y a h i g h e r l e v e l of s a f e t y needs than do t h e i r co-workers, the non-tradesmen. Another of Maslow's need l e v e l s — that of esteem, i s seen operative i n these f i n d i n g s . Tradesmen express a d i s -t i n c t i n t e r e s t i n information about o p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r promotion. They f e e l t h a t , because of t h e i r t r a i n i n g and s k i l l s , t h e i r jobs are r e l a t i v e l y secure. Hence, the need f o r s e c u r i t y does not dominate t h e i r a t t i t u d e s and behaviour and they express a h i g h e r l e v e l of p s y c h o l o g i c a l m o t i v a t i o n . CHAPTER VI CONCLUSIONS, IMPLICATIONS, AND SUGGESTIONS Conclusions One of the most meaningful conclusions to be drawn from the f i n d i n g s of t h i s study i s that the same k i n d of i n -formation i s wanted by most of the workers in t e r v i e w e d . There are some d i f f e r e n c e s i n emphasis given by the various sub-groups but these are minor and are not s t a t i s t i c a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t and, u s u a l l y , are the r e s u l t of v a r y i n g needs and circumstances. The most obvious trend shown i n t h i s study i s the d e s i r e on the part of the workers f o r informat i o n r e l a t i n g t o t h e i r job s e c u r i t y . I t can be deduced from t h i s t h a t , t a k i n g the sample as a whole, and according to Maslow's (I9I43) theory of m o t i v a t i o n , the workers are operating at a low l e v e l of mo t i v a t i o n . Close examination of the sub-groups w i t h i n the sample, however, r e v e a l s the existence of some \"high\" l e v e l needs w i t h i n them. The most popular medium f o r r e l a y i n g t h i s information i s the magazine, as i t i s t r u s t e d by the employees as the o f f i -c i a l voice of the Company. Magazines are accepted because the men f e e l t h a t information seen i n black and white cannot be d i s t o r t e d through a f a i l u r e to supply f u l l d e t a i l s or through 82 the i n d i v i d u a l biases that q u i t e n a t u r a l l y accompany word-of-mouth communication. The current use of b u l l e t i n boards, on the other hand, f o r p o s t i n g b a s i c r e g u l a t i o n s and r o u t i n e n o t i c e s l i m i t s them, i n the minds of the workers, t o t h i s f u n c t i o n . Foremen are not accepted as a medium of communication because the men f e e l they cannot be depended upon to give accurate, o b j e c t i v e Information. This can be seen as a break-down of i n t e r p e r s o n a l t r u s t . In the opinion of the workers the foreman i s a block t o communication i n that he withholds i n f o r m a t i o n , g i v i n g only that which he deems necessary f o r them to r e c e i v e . He Is a l s o suspected of d i s t o r t i n g f o r h i s own b e n e f i t , the information he passes along. The f i n d i n g s a l s o suggest t h a t there i s a r e l a t i o n s h i p between the amount of h o s t i l i t y generated by c e r t a i n groups and the emphasis which these same groups placed on Information about s e c u r i t y . Groups showing the greatest need f o r t h i s type of information a l s o showed the g r e a t e s t h o s t i l i t y toward the Company. Therefore i t can be concluded that the h o s t i l i t y expressed by the men i s a symptom of t h e i r i n s e c u r i t y . I m p l i c a t i o n s The most s i g n i f i c a n t p s y c h o l o g i c a l i m p l i c a t i o n emerging from these f i n d i n g s i s the f a c t that the workers In t h i s study are f u n c t i o n i n g at a p r i m i t i v e l e v e l of m o t i v a t i o n . This i s seen i n t h e i r d e s i r e f o r Information r e l a t i n g to the s e c u r i t y 83 of t h e i r jobs. This preoccupation w i t h job s e c u r i t y i n f l u e n c e s t h e i r a t t i t u d e s and behaviour. While the need f o r s e c u r i t y dominates, they w i l l not e x h i b i t the more c o n s t r u c t i v e behaviour a s s o c i a t e d w i t h the higher order needs. I t can be expected that these workers w i l l not i d e n t i f y c l o s e l y w i t h the Company nor share I t s goals and o b j e c t i v e s . They cannot be expected to d i s p l a y d e s i r e f o r personal advancement. F u r t h e r , there Is a good p o s s i b i l i t y t h a t , as long as t h i s need f o r s e c u r i t y e x i s t s , they w i l l show only l i m i t e d i n i t i a t i v e i n making c o n s t r u c t i v e suggestions that could be of value to the Company. Too, i t i s h i g h l y probable that these men w i l l c l i n g to t h e i r present jobs even though they may be capable of coping w i t h more i n -volved ones. T h i s , i n t u r n , can lead t o worker f r u s t r a t i o n , poor workmanship and general i n e f f i c i e n c y . B a s i c i n s e c u r i t y may a l s o present I t s e l f as a f a c t o r i n future employee demands. The v o i d of information t h a t e x i s t s as i s demonstrated by t h i s study can have at l e a s t two seriou s i m p l i c a t i o n s f o r the workers and f o r management. F i r s t , i t provides f e r t i l e ground f o r the fomentation of rumours concerning Company p o l i -c i e s and a c t i o n s , rumours that may d i s c r e d i t management and nurture f e e l i n g s of a n t i p a t h y toward the Company. Second, employees' a c t i o n s , i n so f a r as they are guided by these rumours, may jeopardize t h e i r jobs and harm the futu r e s t a b i l i t y of the Company. The i l l w i l l p r e s e n t l y shown toward foremen may a l s o have grave repercussions and could lead t o even more 8k misunderstanding as w e l l as c u r t a i l the e f f e c t i v e n e s s of the foreman as a leader. In a d d i t i o n , i t may tend t o widen the g u l f between management and the workers even f u r t h e r . Suggestions f o r Further Research 1. The f i n d i n g s of t h i s study i n d i c a t e that i n general these workers are operating at a low l e v e l of m o t i v a t i o n . This r a i s e s the f o l l o w i n g hypothesis: Workers i n the lumber i n d u s t r y , because of the work c o n d i t i o n s , the nature of the markets, and the type of work, are more i n t e r e s t e d i n informa-t i o n r e l a t i n g t o t h e i r job s e c u r i t y than i n any other k i n d of information and are f u n c t i o n i n g , t h e r e f o r e , at a low l e v e l of m o t i v a t i o n , i n keeping w i t h Maslow's (1943) theory of motiva-t i o n . 2. This study does not embrace the non-English speak-ing workers i n the Plant and, because of t h i s , the f o l l o w i n g hypothesis i s made: A l l workers i n the same work s i t u a t i o n want the same k i n d of information regardless of the language d i f f e r e n c e . 3 . Results of t h i s study i n d i c a t e that some of the workers tend to m i s t r u s t the f i r s t - l i n e s u p e r v i s o r s . This advances the hypothesis t h a t : a) f i r s t - l i n e s u pervisors i n t h i s p l a n t are not aware of t h e i r r o l e as communicators; and b) these foremen r e q u i r e t r a i n i n g i n the p r i n c i p l e s of i n t e r -personal r e l a t i o r s and employee communications. 85 i t . C e r t a i n items of information appeared t o generate more h o s t i l i t y than others. These r e s u l t s give r i s e t o the f o l l o w i n g hypothesis: a) much of the h o s t i l i t y Is caused by l a c k of information about the Company; and b) a broader o r i e n t a t i o n program at the beginning of the employment p e r i o d and f o l l o w e d up throughout the worker's stay w i t h the Company, w i l l h e l p t o d i s s i p a t e unfavourable a t t i t u d e s toward the Company. 5. 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APPENDIX A This appendix contains a l i s t of the questions that were asked In the i n t e r v i e w s . 91 Area 1; \"What kind of Information do you want about your j o b F ~ 1. \"How about information on better ways of doing your job?\" 2. \"How about information on new changes in the job?\" 3. \"How about Information on how your job af f e c t s the o v e r a l l production process?\" i+. \"How about information about promotions i n your job?\" Area 2; \"What kind of information do you want about Company p o l i c i e s ? 1 1 r \" 5>. \"How about the working of the pension plan?\" 6. \"How about the l i f e insurance plan?\" 7. \"How about p o l i c i e s concerning transfer to other jobs in the M i l l and in other m i l l s ? \" 8. \"How about information on the handling of employee complaints?\" 9« \"How about information on how wages are figured out?\" 10. \"How about Information on sick leave policies?' 1 11. \"What about information about safety?\" Area 3: \"What kind of information do you want about people who work f o r t h i s Company?\" . 12. \"How about information about management people?\" 13. \"How about information about other workers who work f o r the Company?\" Area It: \"What kind of information do you want about the money the Company makes?\" r~~ 1J+. \"How about information on Company p r o f i t s ? \" 92 Area h: (cont.) 15* \"How about information on how much i t costs to run t h i s M i l l f o r a set period of time?\" 16. \"How about information on the cost of new machinery and new buildings in thi s M i l l ? \" 17. \"How about information on the p r o f i t s of t h i s M i l l compared to other m i l l s ? \" Area f>: \"What kind of information do you want about Company production and Company products?\" 18. \"How about information on new products being made by the Company?\" 19« \"How about information on where most of the lumber Is sold?\" 20. \"How about information on how much lumber Is produced each year?\" 21. \"How about information on thi s M i l l ' s production compared to other m i l l s ? \" Area 6: \"What kind of information do you want about the Company's future expansion and plans f o r the future?\" 22. \"How about information about new jobs available because of Company expansion?\" 23. \"How about information on the number of orders the Company has on hand?\" 21+. \"How about information on the chances of a la y o f f ? \" Area 7: \"What kind of information do you want about the Company's development?\" 25. \"How about Information about Company his t o r y ? \" 26. \"How about information about the Company i n general?\" 93 Area 8; \"What Is the best way of g i v i n g information about the Company t o the workers?\" ~ 1. Magazines ? 2. Notice-Boards ? 3. Meetings w i t h the Foremen ? i | . Others ? \"WHAT KIND OF INFORMATION IS THE MOST IMPORTANT TO YOU PERSONALLY?\" APPENDIX B This appendix contains the order of preference f o r twenty-six information items f o r workers in three age groups: (a) sixteen to t h i r t y years (b) thirty-one to f i f t y years (c) f i f t y - o n e to s i x t y - f i v e years 95 Order of Preference of 26 Information Items f o r Workers Between Sixteen and T h i r t y Years of Age ( N - 21 ) ORDER ITEM OP INFORMATION ^J^^SiP* THIS ITEM 1. Cost of operating the M i l l 90 New products being made by the Company 90 3. Information about the Company In general 86 Information about l a y o f f s 86 New jobs a v a i l a b l e through Company expansion 86 6. Cost of new machinery and new b u i l d i n g s i n the M i l l 81 S i c k leave p o l i c i e s 81 8. S a f e t y 76 P r o f i t s 76 Information about Company h i s t o r y 76 11. Information about M i l l production 67 Company p r o f i t s compared to p r o f i t s of other companies 67 Information concerning promotions 67 Information concerning the l i f e insurance p l a n 67 15. How wages are worked out 62 M i l l production compared t o other m i l l s 62 Number of orders the Company has on hand 62 18. Information concerning the pension plan 57 Information about management personnel 57 20. P o l i c i e s concerning t r a n s f e r s t o other jobs 52 Where the lumber i s s o l d 52 22. Information about the handl i n g of employee complaints 1+8 23. Information about b e t t e r ways of doing the job k3 2I4. Information about new changes In the job 38 How job a f f e c t s o v e r a l l production process 38 Information about h o u r l y p a i d Company employees 38 96 Order of Preference of 26 Information Items f o r Workers Between Thirty-one and F i f t y Years of Age (N = 1+1) ORDER ITEM OF INFORMATION % REQUESTING THIS ITEM 1. Cost of operat i n g the M i l l 90 2. Information about the Company i n general 83 New products being made by the Company 83 1+. New jobs a v a i l a b l e through Company expansion 80 5 . Information about l a y o f f s 78 6. P r o f i t s 76 Cost of new machinery and new b u i l d i n g s i n the M i l l 76 8. M i l l production compared to other m i l l s 71 9. Company p r o f i t s compared to p r o f i t s of other companies 68 Information about M i l l production 68 11. How wages are worked out 66 12. Information about Company h i s t o r y 63 13. Safety 51+ Where the lumber i s s o l d 51+ 15* P o l i c i e s concerning t r a n s f e r s t o other jobs 52 16. Information concerning promotions 1+9 Information about management personnel 1+9 18. S i c k leave p o l i c i e s 1+6 19. Information concerning the l i f e insurance p l a n 1+1+ Number of orders the Company has on hand 1+1+ 21. Information concerning the pension plan 1+1 22. Information about h o u r l y p a i d Company employees 32 Information about the ha n d l i n g of employee complaints 32 21+. Information about b e t t e r ways of doing the job 27 25. Information about new changes In the job 21+ 26. How the job a f f e c t s the o v e r a l l production process 12 97 Order of Preference of 26 Information Items f o r Workers Between F i f t y - o n e and S i x t y - f i v e Years of Age ( N « 18 ) ORDER ITEM OF INFORMATION % REQUESTING THIS ITEM 1. Cost of operating the M i l l 78 2. Information about M i l l production 72 3. P r o f i t s 67 Safety 67 New products being made by the Company 67 6. Cost of new machinery and new b u i l d i n g s i n the M i l l 61 M i l l production compared to other m i l l s 61 Information about the Company i n general 61 9. Number of orders the Company has on hand 56 Information about l a y o f f s 56 11. Information concerning the pension plan kk P o l i c i e s concerning t r a n s f e r s to other jobs kk Where the lumber i s s o l d kk 15. Information concerning the l i f e Insurance plan 39 Information about Company h i s t o r y 39 17. How wages are worked out 33 Information about management personnel 33 Company p r o f i t s compared to other companies 33 20. Information about new changes In the job 28 Information about the handling of employee complaints 28 Information about h o u r l y p a i d Company employees 28 Information concerning promotions 28 2l+. Information about b e t t e r ways of doing the job 22 25. S i c k leave p o l i c i e s 17 26. How the job a f f e c t s the o v e r a l l production process 11 APPENDIX C This appendix contains the order of preference f o r twenty-six information items f o r workers i n three l e n g t h of s e r v i c e categories (a) l e s s than two years s e r v i c e (b) between two and ten years of s e r v i c e (c) more than ten years s e r v i c e 99 Order of Preference of 26 Information Items f o r Workers With Less Than Two Years Service ( N = 19 ) % REQUESTING ORDER ITEM OP INFORMATION THIS ITEM 1. New jobs a v a i l a b l e through Company expansion 95 Cost of operating the M i l l 95 Information about l a y o f f s 95 1+. New products being made by the Company 89 Cost of new machinery and new b u i l d i n g s i n the M i l l 89 Information about Company h i s t o r y 89. Information about the Company i n general 89 8. Information about M i l l production 79 9. P r o f i t s 74 10. S i c k leave p o l i c i e s 68 How wages are worked out 68 M i l l production compared toother m i l l s 68 13. Information concerning promotions 63 Information concerning the pension plan 63 Information concerning the l i f e insurance plan 63 P o l i c i e s concerning t r a n s f e r s to other jobs 63 Safety 63 Information about management personnel 63 19. Company p r o f i t s compared to p r o f i t s of other companies 58 Number of orders the Company has on hand 58 Where the lumber i s s o l d 58 22. Information about h o u r l y - p a i d Company employees 1+2 Information about the handl i n g of employee complaints 1+2 21+. Information about new changes i n the job 32 25. How the job a f f e c t s the o v e r a l l production process 26 26. Information about b e t t e r ways of doing the job 21 100 Order of Preference of 26 Information Items f o r Workers With Between Two and Ten Years of Service (N =•31) ORDER ITEM OP INFORMATION ^m55SU52SHG THIS ITEM 1. Cost of operating the M i l l 81 Information about the Company i n general 81 3. New products being made by the Company 78 1+. New jobs a v a i l a b l e through Company expansion 76 Information about l a y o f f s 76 6. P r o f i t s 73 7 . Cost of new machinery and new b u i l d i n g s i n the M i l l 70 8 . Company p r o f i t s compared to p r o f i t s of other companies 68 9. Information about M i l l production 65 10. M i l l production compared t o other m i l l s 62 How wages are worked out 62 12. Safety 59 Information about Company h i s t o r y 59 11+. Where the lumber i s s o l d 57 15. Information concerning promotions 51+ S i c k leave p o l i c i e s 51+ 17. Information concerning the l i f e insurance p l a n 1+6 P o l i c i e s concerning t r a n s f e r s to other jobs 1+6 19. Information about management personnel 1+1 Number of orders the Company has on hand 1+1 21. Information about b e t t e r ways of doing the job 38 Information concerning the pension plan 38 Information about the ha n d l i n g of employee complaints 38 21+. Information about h o u r l y - p a i d Company employees' 35 25. Information about new changes i n the job 30 26. How the job a f f e c t s the o v e r a l l production process 22 101 Order of Preference of 26 Information Items f o r Workers With More Than Ten Years Service ( N = 2k ) % REQUESTING ORDER ITEM OP INFORMATION THIS ITEM 1. Cost of operating the M i l l 92 2. , New products being made by the Company 79 3. P r o f i t s 75 k* Cost of new machinery and new b u i l d i n g s In the M i l l 71 M i l l production compared to other m i l l s 71 Information about the Company In general 71 7. S a f e t y 67 Information about M i l l production 67 9. Number of orders the Company has on hand 62 10. Information about l a y o f f s 58 11. New jobs a v a i l a b l e through Company expansion 54 12. Company p r o f i t s compared to p r o f i t s of other companies 50 13. Information concerning the pension plan J46 P o l i c i e s concerning t r a n s f e r s to other jobs J46 Information abouti management personnel I4.6 Information about Company h i s t o r y 1|6 17. Information concerning the l i f e insurance plan 42 How wages are worked out 42 19. Where the lumber i s s o l d 37 20. Information concerning promotions 29 21. Information about b e t t e r ways of<\"doing the job 25 Information about new changes i n the job 25 Information about the ha n d l i n g of employee complaints 25 S i c k leave p o l i c i e s 25 25. Information about h o u r l y - p a i d Company employees 21 26. How the job a f f e c t s the o v e r a l l production process 8 APPENDIX D This appendix contains the order of preference f o r twenty-six information items f o r workers i n f o u r work categories (a) sawmill workers (b) p l a n e r m i l l workers (c) tradesmen (d) non-tradesmen 103 Order of Preference of 26 Information Items f o r Sawmill Workers ( N = 32 ) ORDER ITEM OP INFORMATION ^THTS^TEM^ 1. Cost of operating the M i l l 91 2. Information about l a y o f f s 81 Information about the Company in general 81 4. New products being made by the Company 78 5. P r o f i t s 75 Cost of new machinery and new buildings In the M i l l 75 7. Information about M i l l production 66 8. Company p r o f i t s compared to other companies 63 M i l l production compared to other m i l l s 63 New jobs available through Company expansion 63 11. Safety 59 12. Where the lumber i s sold 56 13. How wages are worked out 53 Number of orders the Company has on hand 53 Information about Company h i s t o r y 53 16. Information concerning the pension plan 47 Information about management personnel 47 18. Information concerning promotions 44 Information concerning the l i f e insurance plan 4U 20. Sick leave p o l i c i e s 41 21. P o l i c i e s concerning transfers to other jobs 38 22. Information about new changes in the job 31 Information about the handling of employee complaints 31 Information about hourly-paid Company employ-ees 31 25. Information about better ways of doing the job 22 How the job af f e c t s the overall production process 22 Order of Preference of 26 Information Items f o r P l a n e r m i l l Workers (N = 19) % REQUESTING ORDER ITEM OP INFORMATION j g j g 1 T m 1. New products being made by the Company 81+ 2. Cost of operating the M i l l 79 3. New jobs a v a i l a b l e through Company expansion 74 Information about the Company i n general 74 5. Cost of new machinery and new b u i l d i n g s i n the M i l l 68 M i l l production compared to other m i l l s 68 Information about M i l l production 68 8. P o l i c i e s concerning t r a n s f e r s t o other jobs 63 Safety 63 P r o f i t s 63 11. Information concerning the l i f e insurance p l a n 58 Company p r o f i t s compared to p r o f i t s of other companies 58 Where the lumber i s s o l d 58 Information about l a y o f f s 58 15. Information about Company h i s t o r y 53 16. Information concerning the pension p l a n 47 How wages are worked out 47 Information about management personnel 1+7 19. Information about b e t t e r ways of doing the job 42 Number of orders the Company has on hand 4 2 S i c k leave p o l i c i e s 1+2 22. Information concerning promotions 37 23. Information about the ha n d l i n g of employee complaints 32 24. Information about new changes i n the job 26 Information about h o u r l y - p a i d Company employees 26 26. How the job a f f e c t s the o v e r a l l production process 21 Order of Preference of 26 Information Items f o r Tradesmen ( N = 16 ) % REQUESTING ORDER ITEM OP INFORMATION THIS ITEM 1. Cost of operating the M i l l 88 New products being made by the Company 88 Information about M i l l production 88 New jobs a v a i l a b l e through Company expansion 88 Information about Company h i s t o r y 88 6. Information about the Company In general 81 Cost of new machinery and new b u i l d i n g s i n the M i l l 81 P r o f i t s 81 9. Safety 75 M i l l production compared to other m i l l s 75 11. P o l i c i e s concerning t r a n s f e r s to other jobs 69 How wages are worked out 69 13. Information concerning promotions 63 Company p r o f i t s compared to p r o f i t s of other companies 63 Number of orders the Company has on hand 63 Information about l a y o f f s 63 17. S i c k leave p o l i c i e s 56 18. Information concerning the l i f e insurance p l a n 50 Where the lumber i s s o l d 50 Information about the handling of employee complaints 50 21. Information about management personnel \\\\\\\\ 22. Information about b e t t e r ways of doing the job 38 Information concerning the pension plan 38 2l|. Information about new changes i n the job 25 Information about hourly-paId Company employees 25 26. How the job a f f e c t s the o v e r a l l production process 6 106 Order of Preference of 26 Information Items f o r Hon-Tradesmen ( N = 13 ) ORDER ITEMS OP INFORMATION ^THIS^ITEM^ 1. Information about l a y o f f s 100 2. Cost of operating the M i l l 92 3. New jobs a v a i l a b l e through Company expansion 85 4. New products being made by the Company 77 P r o f i t s 77 Information about the Company i n general 77 7. How wages are worked out 69 S i c k leave p o l i c i e s 69 Cost of new machinery and new b u i l d i n g s i n the M i l l 69 10. Information concerning promotions 62 M i l l production compared to other m i l l s 62 Information about Company h i s t o r y 62 13. Information about management personnel 54 Information about h o u r l y - p a i d Company employees 5 4 Company p r o f i t s compared to p r o f i t s of other Companies 5 4 Information about M i l l production 5 4 Safety 5 4 Information concerning the pension plan 5 4 19. Information concerning the l i f e Insurance pl a n 46 Number of orders the Company has on hand 46 21. P o l i c i e s concerning t r a n s f e r s t o other jobs 38 22. Information about new changes i n the job 31 Information about the handling of employee complaints 31 Where the lumber i s s o l d 31 25. Information about b e t t e r ways of doing the job 23 How the job a f f e c t s the o v e r a l l production process 23 APPENDIX E This appendix contains the order of preference f o r twenty-six information Items f o r married workers and s i n g l e workers 108 Order of Preference of 26 Information Items fo r Married Men (IT = 5 D % REQUESTING ORDER ITEM OP INFORMATION QJJJS HEM 1. Cost of operating the M i l l 82 2. Information about l a y o f f s 78 3. Information about the Company In general 76 k. P r o f i t s 75 New products being made by the Company 75 6. Cost of new machinery and new buildings in the M i l l 73 7. Information about M i l l production 69 New jobs available through Company expansion 69 9. M i l l production compared to other m i l l s 63 10. How wages are worked out 6 l Safety 61 Information about Company h i s t o r y 61 13. Company p r o f i t s compared to p r o f i t s of other Companies 57 II4. Number of orders Company has on hand 53 15. P o l i c i e s concerning transfers to other jobs 49 16. Information concerning the l i f e insurance plan 47 Information concerning the pension plan 47 where the lumber i s sold 47 19. Information concerning promotions 45 20. Information about management personnel 43 21. Sick leave p o l i c i e s 1+1 22. Information about hourly-paid Company employees 33 23. Information about new changes in the job 31 2J+. Information about the handling of employee complaints 29 25. Information about better ways of doing the job 25 26. How the job a f f e c t s the o v e r a l l production process 18 109 Order of Preference of 26 Information Items for Single Men ( N = 29 ) % REQUESTING ORDER ITEM OP INFORMATION IRIS ITEM 1. Cost of operating the M i l l 96 2. New products being made by the Company 93 3. New jobs available through Company expansion 83 Information about the Company in general 83 5 . Cost of new machinery and new buildings in the M i l l 76 6. M i l l production compared to other m i l l s 72 P r o f i t s 72 8. Information about M i l l production 69 Information about l a y o f f s 69 10. Safety 65 Company p r o f i t s compared to p r o f i t s of other companies 65 12. Information about Company h i s t o r y 62 Sick leave p o l i c i e s 62 Where the lumber i s sold 59 Information about management-'personnel - 5 5 Information concerning promotions 55 Information concerning the l i f e insurance plan 52 P o l i c i e s concerning transfers to other jobs 52 How wages are worked out 52 20. Number of orders the Company has on hand US 21. Information about the handling of employee complaints 1+5 Information concerning the pension plan 1+5 23. Information about better ways of doing the job 38 2l+. Information about hourly-paid Company employees 31 2 5 . Information about new changes in the job 21+ 26. How the job affects the o v e r a l l production process 21 APPENDIX P This appendix contains a l i s t of the information used i n e v a l u a t i n g the r e s u l t s of the f i n a l i n t e r v i e w q u e s t i o n . SECURITY INFORMATION P r o f i t s Costs Production Company Products New Jobs Promotions Orders L a y o f f s General Company Information BENEFICIAL INFORMATION Job-centered Safety Pension Plan L i f e Insurance Plan Transfers GENERAL KNOWLEDGE INFORMATION Company Personnel Company H i s t o r y General Company Information M i l l Production MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION Company Organization Reasons f o r S t r i k e s APPENDIX G This appendix contains s p e c i f i c information wanted by some of the workers about: (a) production (b) p r o f i t s (c) l i f e insurance plan 113 I . PRODUCTION a. What k i n d of lumber i s produced In each department i n t h i s M i l l and throughout the Company? b. What i s made from the lumber produced here? c. How much i s produced i n t h i s M i l l : 1. each year 2. each month 3. each day d. How much i s produced i n each department each month? e. What i s the annual production f o r d i f f e r e n t species and d i f f e r e n t grades of lumber? f. I s there a d i f f e r e n c e i n p r i c e f o r d i f f e r e n t c o u n t r i e s ? I f so, what i s i t ? g. What new products are being developed by the Company? How are they developed? I I . PROFITS a. Who gets the p r o f i t s ? b. How much do the shareholders get? c. How many are there? Who are they? d. How many shares are there a l t o g e t h e r ? e. What i n f l u e n c e do the shareholders have i n running the Company? f. How much p r o f i t i s made at each p l a n t ? g. What percentage of the t o t a l investment i s considered a f a i r p r o f i t ? h. How much of the p r o f i t i s r e i n v e s t e d each year? X X I * I I I LIFE-.INSURANCE PLAN a. How much i n t e r e s t does the worker's p o l i c y earn? b. How much does the worker pay f o r the plan? c. I s I t p o s s i b l e to keep t h i s plan a f t e r l e a v i n g the Company? d. I s i t p o s s i b l e t o keep t h i s plan a f t e r retirement? e. What b e n e f i t s does the worker get from the plan? f . When are the b e n e f i t s p a i d by the plan? g. How much does the worker pay f o r M. S. A.? h. Why are M. S. A. dues increased? "@en ; edm:hasType "Thesis/Dissertation"@en ; edm:isShownAt "10.14288/1.0105945"@en ; dcterms:language "eng"@en ; ns0:degreeDiscipline "Psychology"@en ; edm:provider "Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library"@en ; dcterms:publisher "University of British Columbia"@en ; dcterms:rights "For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use."@en ; ns0:scholarLevel "Graduate"@en ; dcterms:title "An exploratory study of information needs of workers in an industrial organization"@en ; dcterms:type "Text"@en ; ns0:identifierURI "http://hdl.handle.net/2429/39578"@en .