Employee relations types like to talk about how open communications
means happy employees. They probably didn't mean the type of
communications reportedly put out recently by Bob Lutz, former president
of Chrysler and now vice chairman of product development with General
Motors.
Forbes.com auto columnist Jerry Flint reports Lutz sent a memo to key GM
executives saying: "Happy, contented employees, and an environment where
nobody argues or disagrees, and everyone compromises because the other
person has goals too, is usually not the culture that produces great
shareholder value." Lutz went on to confirm: "A performance-driven
culture is often a difficult place to work, and it certainly isn't
democratic."
So we're guessing there will not be too many group hugs or Beer
Wednesdays in General Motors' design operations while Lutz is running
the show.
