when an industry defines a state

My family moved to Michigan shortly before my junior year of high school. I didn't know much about the state, except that the U.S. automakers were there. Like horse racing is to Kentucky, automobiles are to Michigan. The decline of the auto industry has decimated the Michigan economy. So many jobs are directly linked to the auto manufacturers and every job is affected by the fate of the Big 3 automakers.

I was reading the Detroit Free Press this morning, the paper my brothers delivered when we lived in Mt. Pleasant, a small college town in the center of the state. The cover story on GM highlighted the key roles the company has played in Michigan as well as U.S. history. It's a fascinating article, particularly the insights into the power of GM to shape U.S. politics and policy. For example:

In 1953, Eisenhower named Charles Erwin Wilson, then-GM president, as secretary of defense. Asked during Senate hearings if the defense secretary could make a decision against the interests of General Motors, Wilson answered yes, but famously added he could not imagine such a case, "because for years, I thought what was good for the country was good for General Motors and vice versa."

But even in Michigan, some question whether the U.S. government should try to save the company. Should the taxpayers pay for executives' bad decisions? A recent poll suggests that taxpayers aren't too keen on this idea. Or is GM simply a victim of the country's recent economic near-collapse?

As an organizational communication scholar, I hope that Michigan's government officials learn their lesson and make a concerted effort to diversify the state's economy. For too long the U.S. automakers have held hostage the state's economy and for too long the politicians representing Michigan have listened to the automakers and ignored the pleas of other industries.

Whatever happens with GM, the case will provide important insight into how people should organize--or not--in the 21st century.

~ Professor Cyborg

organizations and the new economy

This morning I sent out the welcome message to the students enrolled in COMM 144 for the summer. Although the class doesn't officially start until Monday, getting an early start tends to reduce some of the ambiguity and anxiety students new to online classes often feel.

I'm in Michigan for the first 10 days of the summer session visiting my folks. The effects of the world-wide economic collapse are evident here with so many houses for sale, boarded up businesses, and less traffic on the roads. The headlines of the Detroit Free Press are all about GM's impending bankruptcy. For me, the saddest part is the impact on people's daily lives, especially those who retired from GM with promised benefits and pensions. That deferred compensation now may never reach the workers who depend on it, or at least the amount will be reduced. GM breaking its promise with retired employees provides support for Eisenberg et al.'s observation that there's a new social contract between employers and employees in which employers are not loyal to their employees, and employees are not loyal to their employers.

As I mentioned in an earlier blog, the turbulent economic climate will provide many examples of how organizations cope, change, survive--or don't.

~ Professor Cyborg

ending/begining

The department graduation is tomorrow evening and will mark the end of the semester for me. What began with about 40 graduates and 250 audience members is now 85 graduates and 750 audience members. It's become an important ritual for the department, although I'm wondering if we shouldn't scale it back next year. Go with the trend of living more simply and reducing our carbon footprint.

Graduation marks the beginning for the students as they leave the university and launch off on their career paths--which may involve additional time in school, traveling, or turning an internship into a full-time job. These are difficult economic times; I hope the university has given students what they need to succeed.

The end of the spring term also means I need to turn my attention to the summer session. So I'll start checking my class email regularly and post a few time to this blog before the session begins.

I didn't teach any classes at SJSU in the spring, so I'm looking forward to getting back in the classroom.

~ Professor Cyborg