The Small Company with a Big-Time Motivation Program

Question 1 – How strong was the overall employee motivation program at Badger Mining? On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the best, Badger Mining gets a 10! The company focuses on employees needs, is flexible with scheduling lets employees take off for family matters, matches 401k, generous profit sharing program, and a good health care package. This touches upon every aspect of a good employee motivation program. Question 2 – What evidence of participate management can you detect in this case?
One key example was the example of the expansion to the Taylor plant. The company V. P. Dan Valiquette made sure to consult with the employees who would be affected by the expansion. He wanted the guys having to run the equipment involved in the redesign of the process, thus promoting employee buy-in, and the employees felt valued. He also included contractors and vendors involved with the change, which made everyone involved with project feel part of the process and take ownership.
Question 3 – How well do you think open-book management would work at Badger Mining? I think it would very well at Badger Mining. The level of trust between upper management and their workforce is extremely high; they have a very cohesive group that is committed to excel. They already have several of the key blocks in place to be successful using OBM; trust and empower employees and profit sharing. Question 4 – Keys to successful employee participation programs.

The examples of successful employee participation programs in this case are 1) Profit sharing, 2) long term security of employees working for Badger Mining and the company’s history, 3) the training programs and culture within the company, and 4) the protection of the individuals who work for the company by letting them have flexible schedules and take time off for family. These examples make Badger Mining perfect for participative management.
The employees want to participate because they feel valued and that they have ownership in the company, in short they feel like they matter. Question 5 – Would you like to work for a small company like Badger Mining? Yes I would love to. Working for public education has its rewards, but they’re not financial, but I do feel very lucky to love what I do. However, it would be good to work for a company that I could work hard and e rewarded for the effort.