There is no question that we crave more decent-paying factory jobs in this country. But to keep things in perspective, most of us (and our students) would probably not enjoy making our living with these jobs. Today’s Fortune (Feb.7, 2011, pp. 80-81) lists the “100 Best Companies to 
Work For”, with Hasbro ( the toy and game maker) ranked #59. In a world of ruthless outsourcing, the Hasbro plant in Springfield, Mass., is an anachronism. Even though more of its Monopoly, Scrabble, and Mousetrap games are now made in Southern China, Hasbro employees are deeply loyal to a company that just committed to $40 million in capital upgrades to keep their US plant’s assembly lines going.
But in a humorous article (not as yet on-line), Fortune reporter David Kaplan goes to work at Hasbro to see why the company is so beloved. He lasts a day, as a sort of George Plimpton in overalls– a cog in the assembly line for Monopoly boxes. Here is his tale:
“I’m at the back end of the assembly line, doing quality control. On a conveyor belt that mercilessly keeps advancing to my left comes open Monopoly box after Monopoly box. My dual task–every 1.81 seconds–is to place a plastic bag of dice and game tokens in a tray, while also ensuring that each box includes a container of 12 hotels and 32 houses, instructions, and a shrink-wrapped stack of money. I know just how Lucy and Ethel felt when they couldn’t keep up with the chocolates at the candy factory–except I can’t stuff the accumulating boxes in my bra….Who knew you could get motion sickness on an assembly line?”
Kaplan last only 4 minutes before vomiting. But Hasbro’s 600 employees, with average seniority of 21 years, seem to have mastered the manual dexterity, automatous concentration, and the need for a refined inner-ear. How many of us could do so for 21 years? The Fortune piece provides a good chance to discuss job enrichment and enlargement in Ch.10.