Teamwork and Concertive Control

Some ambiguities are associated with the introduction of teamwork into contemporary workplaces. On the one hand, teamwork is often celebrated as a way to empower workers. On the other hand, workers may feel this type of organization to be even more repressive than classical forms of control. Use the material from chapter six and Laurie Graham’s article on Subaru-Isuzu to discuss why this is so. The concept of “concertive control” is especially important for discussing this issue.

Teamwork and enthusiastic involvement is very important to Subaru-Isuzu workers. Actually, these goals are found everywhere throughout the company and they are the base of the worker’s positive and productive attitudes. Workers are asked to put all of their effort into the overall success of the company. They company plea asks workers to “establish a workplace where creativity comes naturally” (Graham, 95). Also they work “with each other as a team, trying to eliminate all possible waste, looking for ways to improve, and keeping each one’s own work area a clean, happy place” (Graham, 95).

The positive attitudes that are present in the plant are unlike other job attitudes. The trust that workers have between one another is an integral part of the work life. It encourages enthusiasm and better production on the job. It is easy to see how happy employees would increase production and overall increase profits for the company.

Subaru-Isuzu runs on teamwork. The individual worker’s self discipline is supposed to keep them working hard and producing as much as possible. If individual motivation fails for some reason, then peer pressure might be put on the worker from others. Also, the other workers could support the worker that is not being as productive as he or she should. Finally, a supervisor or manager would be available to turn the production lull around if self-discipline and peer pressure did not work. Compliance through one of these three ways is likely to occur and get the production back on track.

SIA controls its workers on a cultural level as well. The team structure is used on the floor level where they work in small groups. These groups encourage “solidarity and support” (Graham, 107). When all members of the team realize the company’s goals, then they are understanding the company better and also being more productive and dedicated. In addition to teamwork, SIA has a campaign to shape organizational culture. They try to eliminate the fear that exists between workers and management so that everyone feels like a part of the team. This cooperation occurred because special language was used, ideology, rituals, and symbols. Equality was repeated many times because everyone was part of the SIA team.

Not all of SIA’s production tools were team builders. The computerized system that they use would focus on any team that fell behind in their work. When a team was behind or had some sort of problem, that team’s music would play over the loudspeaker system so everyone could hear. This put a great amount of pressure on teams because they did not want their music played over the speaker, displaying their troubles.

Overall, Subaru-Isuzu relies heavily on teamwork and individuals being responsible for their own discipline and work ethic. This is similar to concertive control. “Concertive control occurs when employees police themselves, developing the means for their own control” (Eisenberg, 177). Workers decide together what is appropriate and what values and rules should apply to them. This allows workers to control themselves and they do not need supervisors. When something goes wrong under this type of system, individuals are not blamed. Rather, the system is the reason for any problems. However, a system cannot be held accountable for problems. When something happens, the entire company, or system is then in trouble and not just an individual or a group of people.

In my previous working experience, the teamwork model was used. In theory it was supposed to make everyone feel like part of the group and like they had a say in what was going on throughout the company. However, this was not always the case. It was obvious that the owner and manager made all the decisions and that the workers really had no say in anything at all. Though this was obvious to the workers, management still insisted that we were a team, and even called us a family. Management tried to use the teamwork model as a way to keep the employees happy and motivated in their working by making it seem like we were all working together. While they believed that we were a family and that their teamwork ideal was being implemented, everyone basically avoided it. Employees were not always happy to work there and the false teamwork mentality was really work the opposite of the intended purpose. Though the teamwork strategy was supposed to empower the workers, it really made most employees feel repressed and worthless, which was evident in their work ethic.

It seems as though a balance must be made between teamwork and concertive control in order to make workers motivated. The teamwork model cannot be over used so that employees do not believe it, as was the case in my previous job. Also, concertive control can be very beneficial because it inspires employees to get their work done and be positive and motivated throughout the workday. However, when it is taken to the extreme, individuals are not held accountable for their actions. It is the entire system that is blamed if anything goes wrong. This is also a problematic structure because people may begin to feel like a part of nothing, just a company. When people are so a part of a team and a company that they are not held accountable for their actions, then they may feel uninspired by that as well. Companies need to find a balance in their management decisions so that employees feel like a part of the company, but also an individual.



Eisenberg, Eric M., H.l. Goodall, Jr., and Angela Trethewey. Organizational Communication Balancing Creativity and Constraint. 5th ed. Boston, New York: Bedford/ St. Martin's, 2006.

Laurie Graham, On the Line at Subaru-Izusu: The Japanese Model and the AmericanWorker. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1995.