Lately the news about the automobile manufacturing crisis has made me think about the unintended consequences of employee identification (p.117, Communicating Identity, Cheney et al). A majority of the employees that keep the car companies running are union employees loyal to their company and their history. The automobile has brought many conveniences to Americans over the last 80 years. American car companies experienced years of profitability and the employees identified with the pride of creating machines that were romanticized in print and movies. The sounds of large engines burning fuel and screeching down the highway were a symbol of success and status for many years. When the nation experience the Oil Embargo in the late 70's the American car companies had to retool and think about making smaller cars. The Japanese car companies were already making small fuel efficient cars so they began to outsell the domestic models.
Did the strong employee identification with the American car companies allow them to see that they needed to change? Were employees strong enough to challenge their companies' vision for building the right automobile for the future. Were they thinking of harnessing alternative fuels to eliminate the effects of volatile oil prices? The oil crisis (hostages) was resolved, the price of gas came down and the car companies sighed with relief. That was over 30 years ago. We have read stories of the automakers scrapping vehicle designs that relied on alternate fuels and consumed less fuel. Now they want a bailout? A loan? Who was questioning their values and practices? Someone needed to be the "devil's advocates".
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This is an interesting view of identity. Is it true that the workers identified with the manufacturing process? It may be true, but it may also be identification in the form of pride in work, and a job well done. This is the rhetorical picture of American Industrialism, and especially the theme of making things out of "Detroit Steel." I think that, given the political and cultural climate, the real devil's advocate position would be to examine what extent the unions played in creating large expenses. Now, the devil's advocate position can sometimes be irksome, but necessary in showing other sides. In this case, there is a sense that employees began to identify just as strongly with Teamster Union, and AFL-CIO. That culture is also very strong, and idea of identifying as a union member is very influential. I think in the end, the identification with being a union man as opposed to a company man is much stronger. So the question is, what part did heavy overhead play in the financial state of the company? The current financial crisis is as much about fiscal management as about political maneuvering. What caused the divergence between profitability and collapse? Was it really a misunderstanding of the demand for smaller, fuel efficient cars? Or were there other internal factor (such as the reason for outsourcing in the first place)? Just some thoughts about identity from the devil's advocate.
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