s the back of his hand. He felt sure this ploywould land him a few days off (Hamper pg.43). ConclusionIt is clear that the industrial assembly line is amanufacturing process that requires the complete servitudeof the workers to the machine. The whole arrangement equalsnothing more than lousy prostitution (Hamper pg.233). Noneof the workers were the least bit happy to be working in theGM factory because they viewed it as their only option, afamily legacy passed down from generation to generation.By being involved in only one very small aspect of thecompleted vehicle the workers felt disconnected from the jobbecause they had no sense of who they were making the trucksfor or where they would go. Never had I encountered onehuman soul who had either purchased, ordered, leased, oreven hot-wired a General Motors Suburban (Hamper pg.158).Beyond feeling disconnected to the completed vehicle, theworkers felt (rightfully so sometimes) that GM was so hugeand that they, as workers, were such an insignificant partof the organization that they couldnt affect any change.[It] went along with being just another cog in such amammoth flywheel (Hamper pg.72).Ironically the Saturn car company, a division ofGeneral Motors, was one of the first auto makers to try tosolve the inherent problems of the assembly line. Instead ofeach worker doing the same thing all day long, Saturncreated a system where lineworkers are organized intoworkgroups which combine to complete a major, visibleportion of the car. Saturn also informs the lineworkersspecifically who they are making each individual car for andwhere it will be sent whenever possible. These small changesalong with many other recent advances have proven to make atremendous difference in worker satisfaction and loyalty andcontinue to help humanize an inhuman job....
