Hovertec plc is a large public company which has been manufacturing civilian and military helicopters for nearly 50 years. The company is very successful in its field and during 19xx/19xx achieved total sales of over £280 million. Profits before taxation exceeded £16.5 million. Hovertec plc employs over 6000 people, most of whom work in three manufacturing plants which are situated in South-West England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The company has developed two main types of helicopters since the Second World War. These are the 'Falcon' range of small helicopters, which are sold to civilian operators, and the 'SX/Hawk' range of small and large military helicopters which are produced for government defence projects. Some export orders of 'SX/Hawk' helicopters are manufactured for NATO countries and other friendly countries. The precise number and size of Ministry of Defence contracts is not published and is regarded as classified information by Hovertec plc. Nevertheless, it is possible to gain some insight into the close relationship between the Ministry of Defence and the company from the details of the research and development (R&D) expenditure which is published in the Hovertec plc Annual Report and Accounts. During 19xx/19xx, the R&D expenditure exceeded £43 million, of which £13 million was 'raised from private venture expenditure', £2.5 million was 'funded in civilian helicopter sales prices' and £28 million was 'covered by classified research contracts'. All the research and development projects, as well as all the military and some civilian contracts, are undertaken at the largest plant in South-West England. The remaining civilian helicopter contracts are shared between the two smaller factories in Scotland and Northern Ireland. The manufacture of a helicopter Without going into technical details, the manufacture of a helicopter can be divided into five interconnected processes:
1 The power unit, which 'drives' the helicopter like an engine drives a motor car.
2 The helicopter loom, which is an inter-woven collection of between 1200 and 2000 insulated copper wires and electrical cables, connecting the power unit with the various 'control' switches, dials, buttons and levers in the cockpit and passenger/ crew compartment, and can be compared, in human terms, with the function of the spinal cord in linking the brain with the arms and legs, etc.
3 The external rotor blades, which are mounted over the cockpit and passenger/crew compartment, and also above the tail of the helicopter.
4 The cockpit and passenger/crew compartment, which has a different layout, services and accessories (viz. electronic weapon systems), depending on whether the helicopter is intended for civilian or military purposes.
5 The superstructure or 'shell', which encases the helicopter in a similar manner to the 'bodywork' on a motor car.
Although the latest technology is used in these production and assembly processes, the manufacture of a complete helicopter is a relatively slow process, taking three weeks for a civilian unit and four weeks for the larger, more sophisticated military helicopter.
The main 'bottleneck' in the process is the long time taken to assemble the helicopter loom and complete the 1200-2000 connections between the power unit and the numerous helicopter systems and services.
Assembling a helicopter loom
Because of the complexity of the task and the high risk of error, the assembly of each helicopter loom is normally carried out by one loom technician who takes up to two weeks (ten working days) to assemble a complete loom unit. Production output is maintained by a team of 24 loom technicians who work in two shifts of 12 technicians per shift. The loom technicians are all qualified maintenance fitters who have received extensive training from the company in loom-assembly procedures. They are the highest-paid section of the workforce after the supervisors and management, and they receive other benefits, such as membership of the company pension scheme, free BUPA medical insurance and additional holiday entitlement which is related to length of service with the company.
All of these technicians are men, aged between 36 and 50 years with between 8 and 15 years' serv ice with the company. Many were recruited from either the Royal Navy or the Army Engineering Corps, where they received their basic training as maintenance fitters. This form of recruitment is adopted, first, because the loom technicians help to assemble both civilian and military helicopters and possible security risks have to be minimised on Ministry of Defence contracts. Second, the majority of Hovertec plc managers possess Army or Naval backgrounds and strong links are maintained with the armed services.
Perhaps the one striking difference between the working conditions at the Hovertec plc factory in South-West England and those at their previous employment in the Armed Services is that all the loom technicians belong to a trade union which is recognised by the company, although in practice the Hovertec plc management frequently circumvent the union representatives by informing the workforce directly of changes in procedures, policy, etc., using 'briefing' procedures.
An improved helicopter loom-assembly method
The 19xx company Corporate Plan concluded that:
'Because of the constricting squeeze on defence projects and on the finances of civilian helicopter operators, which appears likely to continue until the world recession ends and general demands picks up, future activity in the three factories will be at a lower level during the next two to three years than seemed likely a few years ago'.
A detailed cost-cutting exercise was introduced on the strength of this plan, with particular emphasis on the helicopter loom workshop. For example, all overtime working was withdrawn in September 19xx. Meanwhile, the Research and Development Laboratories had devised a radically new method of assembling helicopter looms which, under pilotscheme conditions, reduced the assembly time from two weeks (ten working days) to two working days.
The new method had the added advantage of allowing unskilled labour to be employed and resulted in a saving of assembly costs.
Instead of one technician assembling a single loom, by following a blueprint in a painstaking way, the new method relies upon a team of five operatives working together and following a sequence of 'instructions' provided by a computer. The 1200-2000 insulated copper wires and electrical cables are previously
'colour coded' in terms of the ten main helicopter operating systems. Each operative is given responsibility for two sets of colour-coded wires and cables and is required to thread the leads of one colour through the loom, one at a time, by following a 'map' which is set out on a personal visual display unit.
The total computerised layout, which appears on a separate large screen, resembles a coloured map of the London Underground system. For example, as one operative threads each blue electrical cable through the loom, a blue light flicks on as each correct
'station' is reached. If an error is made, the appropriate light fails to appear and a buzzing alarm sounds continuously until the mistake is corrected and the correct 'route' is re-established. At the same time, the computer-directed system can also be used for the other 'colour-coded' electrical connections and the team is therefore able to assemble the loom simultaneously, without slowing down or interfering with each other's work.
Further trials conducted by the Research and Development Laboratories indicated that small groups of five female workers achieved, on average, 40 per cent higher productivity than similar teams of male operatives. The highest productivity was consistently achieved under laboratory conditions by a team of 16- to-17-year-old female school-leavers, who were permitted to choose their working partners and were also allowed to change from one 'colour code' to another whenever they became bored with one colour or started to make errors. This team was given ten-minute 'rest pauses' every hour to change 'colour codes' and was supervised by a member of the Research and Development Laboratory team, who also collected data on the group's productivity, etc.

Questions

(a) Using your knowledge of different approaches to organisation and management, comment on the Research and Development Laboratory trials carried out by Hovertec with the team of young, female workers.
(b) Discuss the conditions which contributed to the cohesiveness of the loom technicians as a work group.
(c) What factors might explain the difficulties between the group of loom technicians and the team of female workers?
(d) What action would you propose should be taken by the management of Hovertec?