Musk To Work On Tesla Assembly Line To See Worker's Issues First Hand

Musk is going to work next to the icky poor people building Teslas?

Even if you are not a Tesla fan (like most on this site), you have to respect this sort of attitude. It is a really good management philosophy and rarely seen in large companies. While I don't agree with all of Elon's management practices, managers should not ask people to do things they are not willing to do themselves.

Musk is just doing PR bull$hit and nothing more. If Musk truly cared about the workers, he would have been on the line talking to workers about the assembly process. Instead, it gets out that Tesla is an unsafe work environment and so Musk throws some tokenism toward the workers hoping they will buy it.

Oh Nonsense - San Jose Driver - I have no respect for this because if Musk was really really interested - the "problem" would never have happened to begin with. He does not need to see it first hand (And he won't) - he has a management structure that is not responding properly - and management stinks from the head.

So they overlooked it - or were too scared to report it to him - and some reporter brought it up - when HE should have known a long time ago - and already started to fix it - the first day it happened. There should be a review of every injury big enough to require medical attention beyond a stubbed toe or a small cut. And corrective action should be automatic.

AS far as what managers should do - they are not supposed to have the ability to do every job that their charges do - that idea is ridiculous (and I am surprised you even THink that too) . Their job is to manage people. For example - there are a lot of IT managers who do not even know the computer language that is currently being used - having learned what WAS being used when they coded. THey CAN"T do the job of their staff - yet they get their jobs done. And if there are a lot of injuries that are not reported - then they are not doing their job. After all - injuries have to affect production - something they should have an eye on.

Continued to San Jose Driver -

If you ever had a business - you would know that there are very specific requirements on how to report injuries - even small ones - for SS Disability and Workman's Compensation. . Both workers and managers have forms to fill out - They must remain on file - and failure to do so is a real problem if a worker ends up needing medical care. This is among the first things a new manager is TAUGHT to do - and if they did not do it - they are at fault

Management by walking around is an old but valuable practice. Many times line management filter the information that goes up. Senior executives are blind / uniformed to some specific challenges business units may be having and or the solutions available to deal with them. San Jose Driver is correct in applauding the efforts of Mr. Musk to experience life on the factory floor. Disagree with his business model or decisions, but this one is a check mark in the correct column.

"AS far as what managers should do - they are not supposed to have the ability to do every job that their charges do - that idea is ridiculous (and I am surprised you even THink that too)"

Managers should not be able to do everything their subordinates can, that would be very inefficient. But they should pick be willing to pick up a shovel now and then and do jobs that are unpleasant but within their capabilites. Disney forces executives to spend one day a year as Goofy as an example (at least according to the show Silicon Valley). Chipping in and doing work that might be beneath you helps build rapport and helps you make process changes for the benefit of the team. Managers should not get too detached from what their teams do day-to-day, especially with work that is challenging, dangerous, or unpleasant.