Lack of time and commitment usually prohibits organized teams in food manufacturing plants. However, high-performance self-directed work teams have achieved sweet success in a few plants.
In Food Engineering's 1998 State Of Manufacturing report (September '98), 33 percent of respondents reported that their companies had organized self-managing work teams, slightly up from 30.5 percent in '97. Nearly two-thirds of these (65 percent) said the concept is working; 35 percent reported it is not working.
According to FE research, the major reason for failure of self-directed work teams in food manufacturing plants is lack of management commitment. Management is reluctant to relinquish its traditional authoritarian role.