Issues in Contemporary Management - Reasons for Suicide in Foxconn - Essay Example

? Reasons for Suicide in Foxconn al Affiliation: Reasons for Suicide in Foxconn Foxconn makes products for big markets in technology firms. Apple is one of the largest companies that purchase products from Foxconn. However, suicide cases have been reported in the company after many workers have undergone pressure and cut their lives short. The killings have ranged from jumping from top buildings to several other suicidal techniques. It has been reported that at least sixteen people have attempted to jump from huge buildings and twelve people have succumbed to death. On the same note, twenty people have been stopped by the firm from committing suicide (Argote, McEvily, & Reagans, 2003, 13). The reasons for these suicides have been unclear, but can be analyzed by considering theoretical models pertaining to a company’s management. Suicides committed by workers from Foxconn illustrate noticeable demographic and social attributes. An examination of several value-added terms to suicidal tide in Foxconn indicates that managerial tactics of fragmentation in interpersonal networks among employees stopped grievances from developing into collective actions like strikes (Chan, & Pun, 2010, 44). In the absence of interpersonal ties towards grievances comforting or protest mobilization, a generous compensation package can act as a temptation for the dismayed employees to utilize self-destruction as double-edged sword. Moreover, suicide by employees can expose brutality of the company’s management as well as evoke for global condemnation that fulfilled their quest to attain revenge (Mezias, & Starbuck, 2003, 34). Compensation for their deaths could also improve material standards in their families that fulfilled family duties on their behalf. Therefore, a series of personal suicidal incidents instead of collective mobilization occurred in the company. One of the theories supporting these evidences is the structural conduciveness theory. This explains high confidential standard, atomized workplace relationship and low-cost employment. Another theory is the structural chain theory that explains low-quality system of security, physical exhaustion, intensive overtime workload as well as a horrified spirit (Chu, 2012, 54). Most importantly, the generalized belief theory in social conditions explains several reasons behind the suicides in Foxconn. These include high pension contributions of the self-worth families that became desperate and this develops against their institutional and individual retaliation. There was also the participating factor theory that explains rumors concerning cancellation of offering pension to all suicidal attempters. On another note, mobilization theory explains prevention of employees from similar provinces from coming together in order to distract a smooth operation of production lines. In this case, Foxconn management broke down all possible networks among its workers. It is clear that without mobilization, it becomes difficult to develop people’s behaviors into one social movement. Another theory explaining reasons for suicides in Foxconn is failure to engage social control. Foxconn had a culture of ignorance of several first line supervisors altogether with security guards. An initial suicide in the company occurred due to the employee’s incapability to adjust to the new environment. He was required to follow all rules and codes of the company meaning that that could be hard for him. Looking at a value-added theory of conduciveness, an individual can either adapt or undergo challenges in new environments. In entering such a radical and different environment, a person’s way of understanding the world and their ways of working were to be rewritten (Chu, 2012, 58). This was especially in a new environment in Foxconn whereby every individual was required to operate machines, work with electronics in order to finish tasks as portions of assembly apparatus. The process can best be understood to be disciplined process. Discipline describes four major elements including individuation, manipulation, punishment and control over one’s body. Therefore, it appears that employees’ suicide incidences could have resulted from increased pressures of adapting to new environments where they had to engage in tasks that required high levels of caution. Employees were stressed by these tasks and assignments. Several critics point out those assignments in the company serve towards mapping an individual into a machine and engage an employee to even more supervisions from superiors. Unfortunately, space of superiors has been defined as separate and alienated from the rest (Mezias, & Starbuck, 2003, 22). Time factor is a key element in Foxconn life. Therefore, in case a rural peasant was to be a worker in the factory, they had to learn to operate within the stipulated time. In Foxconn, there seem to be two time functions that include mapping of a day as well as mapping of work. A worker in the factory explained that there was always a tight schedule making meals altogether with shifts of workers. This happens from a period when a worker arrives in the factory and when they returned to the hostels in the evening. These times became constantly calibrated having analysts coming from engineering sections down with stop watches in order to time every individual as well as return to their offices to make decisions on time to allocate to every job. This was pressuring many employees. In attempts to achieve the calibrated calculations of the production speed, meticulous control of a worker’s body was required. On the other hand, maximizing efficiency required working out all movements taken into assembly by engineers, and then taught to workers (Mezias, & Starbuck, 2003, 65). This way, employees’ bodies were subjected to demands of machines making them exhausted. Moreover, issue of suicides in Foxconn can be attributed to a business. In this case, the company has several difficulties. For instance, when Lu Xin committed suicide, the company had a large number of employees. However, they lacked the kind of psychological comfort, effective observations and affection among themselves. The generation involved young people meaning that working in a foreign location posed challenges. Their resilience alongside the ability to cope with hardships seemed weaker than their previous generations. Most importantly, their self-esteem appeared more fragile than that of past generations (Mezias, & Starbuck, 2003, 44). They felt more pressured regardless of their high dreams in life. Therefore, considering the pressures and exhaustion at the workplace, employees became desperate and some considered suicide as a solution to their problems. According to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory, every person works hard to achieve different goals up the ladder. The highest level in the ladder is self-actualization. Once an individual is able to acquire basic need such as food and shelter, they strive to achieve the next level of need until they feel themselves in a situation of self-actualization. For instance, a painter will only feel good whenever he is painting and earning big money. This way, employees in Foxconn entered with big expectations only to find the pressure and discomfort (Feldman, & Pentland, 2003, 99). It was not only striving to achieve their dreams that made them desperate, but also the difficult and involving tasks that required long working hours. Low wages were also reasons for stress among employees in Foxconn. There was no collective mobilization detected in the factories from China’s mainland by the year 2011. Therefore, threats to commit suicide in Wuhan factory became rampant as workers went on strike demanding for higher payments as well as better working conditions. This was a reflection of undisputed fact stating that migrants were being forced to go back to their old homes. In this case, employees realized that the company had not protected its solidarity by fighting against structural barriers. There were also increased security threats in the region. It has become evident that employees’ issues are not addressed by the labor unions since the management of Foxconn occupies top levels in the labor union (Ibeh, Young, & Lin, 2004, 34). This way, the rights of employees in Foxconn are not considered. It is clear that Foxconn’s management plays prominent role in increased suicide cases from its factories. As much as employees in Foxconn would wish to enjoy the facilities provided by the firm, life has become difficult for them since time to enjoy the facilities is limited. The company has provided many recreational facilities, but most employees complained that time had been limited for them to enjoy the facilities. According to Maslow’s theory of needs, recreation is a major concern in that human beings want to feel loved and appreciated. This is part of psychological needs. However, employees complained of lack of time to do their personal chaos. They only engaged in company operations for long hours and returning to their hostels at night. Most of them were not able to meet their families (Flynn, 2011, 15). This deprived them of their social needs in social development. Most employees also complained that they had been turned to machine structures and most of them worked for long overtime hours up to 120 hours every month. Therefore, the company should consider solving issues affecting employees in order to reduce deaths in the factories. References Argote, L., McEvily, B., & Reagans, R. (2003). Introduction to special issue on managing knowledge in organizations: Creating, retaining, and transferring knowledge. Journal of Management Science, 49(4) Chan, J., & Pun, N. (2010). Suicide as protest for the new generation of Chinese migrant workers: Foxconn, global capital, and the state. The Asia-Pacific Journal vol. 18 no. 37/2. Chu, J, (2012). Mainland Chinese Marriage Migrants in Taiwanese Workplace: A Contact Zone Approach to the Citizenship Issue. International Conference on Dynamics of Marriage/Divorce-related Migration in Asia, Tokyo: Tokyo University Feldman, M. & Pentland, B. (2003). Reconceptualizing organizational routines as a source of flexibility and change. Administrative Science Quarterly 48 (1) 94-118. Flynn, S. I. (2011). Value-added Theory in Sociology Reference Guide: Theories of Social Movements, the Editors of Salem Press, California & New Jersey: Salem Press. Ibeh K., Young S., & Lin H. C. (2004). Information technology and electronics firms from Taiwan Province of China in the United Kingdom emerging trends and implication. Transnational Corporations vol. 13 no. 3, pp. 21-52 Mezias, J., & Starbuck, W. (2003). What do managers know, anyway? Harvard Business Review, 81(5), 16-30 Read More