"Mollie's Job"

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the book "Mollies Job: A Story of Life and Work on the Global Assembly Line," by William M. Adler, about a black woman from the South who migrates to Paterson for a job as an assembly line worker in a Universal plant and how Universal is bought out by MagneTek. Specifically, it examines whether the company's metamorphosis from Universal to MagneTek was inevitable because of the global economy, the rush on Wall Street to make a quick buck and the free trade agreement that allowed companies to move operations to low-cost factories in Mexico. It shows how Universal was doomed as soon as it decided to move part of the operations to Mississippi due to costs ? it lost the allegiance of its employees, and then there was nowhere to go but down.

From the Paper:

"Management changed drastically from the early years of Universal to the buy-out by MagneTek, Inc. When Universal first began in the 50s, businesses were still small enough to think of their employees as family, and treat them as such. They paid decent wages and expected a decent product. By the 80s, when the buy-out occurred, companies were simply grist for the Wall Street mill. If they made enough profits to keep their stockholders happy, they were successful, and if not, they were sold off again and again in the quest for more money and a better bottom line."

More papers on "Mollie's Job":

• Analytical Essay # 41814 : "Marxism in "Mollie's Job"
• Analytical Essay # 41522 : "Labor and Globalization"
• Comparison Essay # 8374 : "The Global Assembly Line"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: