It helped that a worker could actually package the hotplate up knowing that the customer would be the next person to see it. 3. What were the major changes in the situation? Which changes were under the control of the manger? Which were controlled by workers?

There were several major changes in the situation, including changes in employee training, and changes in personal responsibility for the success of the project. Furthermore, the major changes in the situation can be split into what was under control by the managers and what was under control of the workers. For the managers, the changes were training the employees in the whole process of assembling or inspecting the hotplate and understanding that even though the industrial engineers had defined assembly work steps that were most efficient, human behavior is just as important. For the workers, the changes included taking...

What might happen if the workers went back to the old assembly line method?
If the workers reverted to the old assembly line method, the workers would likely do well at producing the hotplates since they had been doing a very good job prior to the switch. Additionally, because they understood the entire process of how the hotplate was made, the controllable defects would be minimized. However the workers would likely lose their feeling of individuality and pride in their work over time and the workers might leave the job, resulting in higher turnover rates. Eventually the operation would return to the original state.