Section Four
The efficiencies made possible by technological innovation
and human resource flexibility also are evident in the
experiences of Frost, Inc., a small manufacturer in Grand
Rapids, Michigan. Frost wanted to diversify its product line and
decided that it needed greater flexibility in both its production
facilities and its employees and managers. At the time it had
machinery and employees who could perform only very limited
numbers of functions. Frost replaced outdated machining
equipment with robots and numerically controlled machine
tools, introduced an automated inventory control system, and
automated its office functions. Specific managerial and human
resource changes included broadening employees’ skills and job
responsibilities, making each employee a stockholder of the
company with options to purchase additional stock through its
401(k) plan, moving all hourly employees to salaried status,
educating its employees on the new technology, eliminating
perks such as reserved parking places, and eliminating several
layers in the management hierarchy. Other changes included
wide dissemination of company information, adding quarterly
bonuses driven by the company’s productivity, and increasing
the level of employee participation in decision making. The
productivity increases made possible by these changes, and a
reduction in the number of employees to approximately 120,
enabled the company to increase the level of sales per
employee from $80,000 to $200,000.^7
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