*—- fivvr ‘ ' "II b ‘ 0-. . ‘ I THE HOUSE ORGAN FOH THE EMPLOYEES OF THE DIVISION OF OOHMTTOHTES & TOOO SERVICES. ‘ MTOHTOAH STATE OHTVEHOTTY ' Thesis for the Degree of MA. ' MICHEGAN STATE UNIVERSITY WALTER JOHN THOMPSON ' 1973 MSU LIBRARIES ._c_. RETURNING MATERIALS: Place in book drop to remove this checkout from your record. FINES will be charged if book is returned after the date stamped below. 1' ABSTRACT THE HOUSE ORGAN FOR THE EMPLOYEES OF THE DIVISION OF DORMITORIES & FOOD SERVICES, MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY By Walter John Thompson This study intends to examine the communications medium for the em- ployees of the Division of Dormitories and Food Services at Michigan State university, a magazine called Serving State. It will compare it as an information source with other university media and study it against the background of house organs in general. A descriptive report of Serving State will be given showing why it came into existence, what changes have taken place, how’it is produced, and what it contains. The role of the editor and the editorial proc- esses are examined. Little is formulated about the readership because of lack of data. A readership study is suggested. Other information sources for the university employees will be ex- amined, in particular a weekly newspaper for all staff areas, academic as well as non-academic and labor employees as well as administrators, and a magazine that was published a decade ago but is no longer in existence. A number of works by other authors will be studied to find some general ideas concerning house organs. These will show’the objectives and policies of other house organs, especially in their treatment of union relations and other controversial issues. The thesis suggests that a formal information source is beneficial for employee relations. It also suggests that there is no general functional information source for the employees of Michigan State Walter John Thompson University. (The house organ, Serving State, is published for one division of the university.) The area of controversial issues, especially in union relations, will be explored. It is suggested that the union newspaper is not in competition with the division house organ, but that it may be if a union-management controversy arose that would warrent the union news- paper to take action. It is recommended that the house organ be ready to meet such a challenge. Another recommendation is that the editor attempt to establish input from managerial personnel so that the house organ can be used for solving divisional problems. Accepted by the faculty of the Department of Advertising, College of Communication Arts, Michigan State University, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Arts degree. SMW (MM Climb“ Director of Thesis 6 H7513"? THE HOUSE ORGAN FOR THE EMPLOYEES OF THE DIVISION OF DORMITORIES & FOOD SERVICES, MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY BY Walter John Thompson A THESIS Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS Department of Advertising 1973 Dedicated to the men and women of the Division of Dormitories & Food Services, Michigan State University with whom I have worked the past 27 years 11 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Chapter I. THE DIVISION AND ITS HOUSE ORGAN ............... . ......... .1 Michigan State University Division of Dormitories and Food Services Organization Categories of Employees Background of Serving State The First Years Major Changes Features Production Printing Graphics Photography Covers Distribution Editorial The Role of the Editor The Magazine as a Management Communications Tool Readership Chapter 11. OTHER news souncss ran NON-ACADEMIC EMPLOYEES or usu....16 The State News The MSU Reporter 1959 Readership Study The MSU News-Bulletin News Space Allotments The Council 7 News Chapter III. INTERNAL HOUSE ORGANS IN GENERAL.. ......... . ........... 24 History Editorial Aspects House Organ Objectives What Employees wan: Controversial Subjects Union News The House Organ Editor Chapter IV. DISCUSSION AND SUMMARY... .......................... .....39 Management and Employee EXpectations All-university House Organ Union Relations Management Input Conclusions and Recommendations BIBLIOGRAPHY.. ......................... _ ............ . ................. 50 iii CHAPTER I THE DIVISION AND ITS HOUSE ORGAN The foundation of society is communication. It is the footing for the interactions of man as a social being. One of the major fields of interactions is where social man spends much of his waking time, his job. One device in the formal communications network of businesses is the house organs. These are periodicals published by managements for various purposes depending on the business. House organs fall into two broad categories -- external, published for people outside the organization, and internal, published for the em- ployees. It is the latter that is our concern here. The Division of Dormitories and Food Services at Michigan State university has for the past 17 years published an employees house or- gan, Serving State. This thesis is a descriptive analysis of that publication. Michigan State University Michigan State University, at East Lansing, Mich., has an enroll- ment of about 40,000 students on a 2,000 acre campus. About 18,000 of the students live in housing on the campus. The University has an aca- demic staff of about 3,000 and a non-academic staff of about 5,000. The Division of Dormitories and Food Services Organization The Division of Dormitories and Food Services handles the housing and auxiliary services of the university.' Within the division are six departments -- the central food stores and laundry, the student union building, the bookstore, the university conference center and guest house (Kellogg Center), married housing, and the department of residence halls. The department of residence halls includes 28 dormitories, a food processing center, an interior design section, an upholstery shop, concessions, the canoe shelter and a public dining room (Cross Roads Cafeteria). The table of organization of the Division of Dormitories and Food Services is in a typical pyramid form. The director at each level is titled some form of ”manager," e.g., manager of dormitories and food services, manager and assistant managers of residence halls, and mana- gers of the individual dormitories. The division has its own staff office for personnel administration, working with but not directly under the university personnel office. Categories of Employees Because of the varied natures of the units within the division, there are a variety of jobs, most of them within what is known as the service industry. The employees in the division are in three major levels: 1. Administrative-Professional (A-P): These are mostly management people with a few other staff people. The levels in this category range from the manager of the division down to the food service managers of. the various dormitories. There are about 60 A-Ps in the division, They 3 are represented to the University through their own organization, the A-P Association, which is not affiliated with any outside group. 2. Clerical-Technical (C-T): There are two groups of personnel in this category -- supervisory personnel with college degrees and most of the secretarial and clerical personnel. There are about 140 C-Ts in the division. Who is to be their bargaining agent is now being con- tested between the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and an on-campus, unaffiliated organization. 3. Labor: These include supervisors without college degrees, a few clerical employees and the general service employees -- kitchen workers, truck drivers, laundry workers, janitorial workers, sales workers, up- holsterers etc. There are about 850 labor employees in the division. All except the supervisors and clerical employees are represented to the university through an AFL-CIO local, Local 1585 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME). The supervisors have their own organization, unaffiliated, and the clerical employees will belong to the C-T bargaining agent when it is decided. Background of Serving State The First Years Serving State, the house organ of the Division of Ddrmitories and Food Services, began in January, 1956. Its purposes, according to its I first editor, were: 1. To explain and interpret policies as the department's mouthpiece. 1 Ernest E. Renaud, Let's Publish a House Organ, a report on starting a house organ for Dormitories and Food Services, Michigan State University (East Lansing, December 7, 1955), p. 5. 4 2. To build morale and prevent friction among departments and individuals. 3. To announce and maintain enthusiasm for social and recrea- tional events. 4. To encourage personal ambition by recognizing and publicizing promotions and good performances. Emery Foster, who was manager of the division when Serving State began, was quoted as saying that the initial purpose of the magazine was to "help employees in the fast-growing dormitories and food ser- vices become better acquainted."2 It started as an 8 to 10 sheet bulletin, printed with mimeograph equipment on one side of each sheet, and gradually increased to about 15 pages. At first it was issued monthly during the school year, later was issued seven to eight times a year. By 1963 it was 20 pages in length, printed on both sides of the sheet, issued seven times a year. The first editor was the office assistant to the manager of the division. Starting with the fourth year of publication the editor was the secretary to the manager of the division (except for two issues in 1964 when a journalism student served as editor). During these years most of the material in the house organ consisted of social news about individuals in the division, such as who went where on vacation, who had a new car or a new baby, who had been hired, trans- ferred, promoted or had quit. 2 Gene Rietfors, "Serving State, Names make the News," MSU Faculty News, Vol. II, No. 20 (March 9, 1971), p. 2. Major Changes In January, 1968, the house organ was placed under the office of the division personnel administrator. A new editor was appointed, a food service manager of one of the dormitories who had a degree in ad- vertising. In 1969 the editor was transferred from his food manager's job to the newly created job of editorial assistant for the division. In September, 1968, the printing process was changed from mimeo- graph to off-set lithography. This allowed for more flexibility in lay- out, more use of color and the printing of half-tone photographs. In July, 1969, the division personnel administrator and the editor began planning to make the magazine less social-news oriented and more oriented toward personnel functions, i.e., to have more current news concerning employment, to have a means of dispelling rumors, to give a variety of opinions both by the employees and management, and to use the magazine as a teaching medium. Changes were also made in the maga- zine layout. Features The original features of Serving State, before its personnel ori- entation, were: 1. Unit news: This is the social news about the individual employees in the units, which made up the bulk of the magazine. 2. Sports: News about the division bowling league. (This has since been expanded to include other sports in which employees participate.) 3. Birthdays: A list of employees' birthdays for the month. 3 Report from Jack Thompson, editor, Serving State, to Bob Uhderwood, personnel administrator, Dormitories and Food Services, August 1, 1969. 6 These features were retained after the changes were made. However, the amount of unit news was reduced by giving the unit reporters guide- lines as what might and might not be considered of news interest (e.g., minor illnesses, new cars, short visits to near-by places, and the like were so common place that they should not be considered as of news value). A maximum amount of magazine space was alloted to each reporter, depending on the number of employees in his unit. The birthday lists which before took two pages to print were reduced photo- graphically to less than one page. The sizes of many of the headings were also reduced. All of this was to make more room for the new features. The features that were added at that time and in the 4% years since include: 1. A general news page: Information, on the first two pages of the magazine, on such things as employee benefits, policies, union elec- tions and contract negotiations, workshops, and the credit union. 2. An informative feature: A one or two page spread on such things as the Community Chest or university fringe benefits. 3. "Dealing from the Top:" An editorial written by a top management person on such subjects as standards, service and cooperation. 4. A financial column: Information on income tax, social security, insurance, etc., written by the division financial analyst. 5. A human interest feature: An article on non job related subjects, such as Christmas, Michigan Week, and historical items. 6. "Guest Spot:" An article written by some member of the division or of the university, on such things as a trip to Russia or Japan. 7. "Safety Center:" A one page poster on safety practices. The 7 ideas for the safety features come from the university safety engineer according to what he sees as current problems of safety. Using the safety engineer's copy, the editor designs the poster. 8."Rumor Buster:" Answers to rumors sent in by the employees. This idea was borrowed from the General EIectric house organ, G.E. Newsf' although it has been used by others as well. 9. "Feedback:" Answers to questions sent in by employees. This was an offshoot of the rumor column for questions sent in that were not really rumors. The answers for this column and for the rumor column are written by the appropriate person, usually a management person, who is knowledgeable in the area of concern. 10. "Point of View:" The ideas of three or four employees on topics of interest, such as how effective communications is in the division, the worth of the Community Chest, etc. The respondents are chosen hope- fully to get a range of answers. This type of feature had also been used in the General Electric house organ.5 ll. "Contrast:" A feature that gives two diametrically opposing views on a job related subject. The latest feature to be added to the magazine, it has been used only once so far, November 1972, with the subject: "Should the division promote people without college degrees to management positions if they are otherwise qualified?" 12. "People We Know:" A one page biography, with photograph, of an “Employee Communications (printed by the G.E. News, Employee and Plant Community Relations, General Electric Corp., New York, undated), Part 2, p. 37. 51bid., p. 36. 8 employee, to give recognition to the employee or to tell of an inter- esting person. 13. "Serving State Portrait:" A one page biography, with photo- graph, of a management person, to acquaint the employees with the managers. 14. "This Man Wants You:" A photograph, with a short article, of some person chosen as the friendly service employee of the month. The person is selected by a panel whose members are unknown to the readers. 15. "The Roving Photographerz" A two page picture story with seven or eight photographs, usually oriented toward employee related topics, such as a story showing a food preparation class or employees who received 25-year awards. 16. "Quarter Century Ago:" A short article on what was in the news 25 years previously, usually concerning the Division of Dormit- ories and Food Services or its departments. The information is re- searched from microfilm copies of the State News, the university news- paper. l7. "5 Years Ago," "10 Years Ago," "15 Years Ago": Reprints of news items from back issues of Serving State, about people still working in the division. 18. "Retirees Column:" Complete letters or excerpts from letters written to Serving State by retirees from the division. The retirees are on the mailing list for Serving State. 19. "Happy Anniversary:" Anniversary dates-of-hire of employees who have worked 15, 20, 25, 30 and 35 years. 9 20. "Important Dates to Remember (or Forget):" Special days coming up within the issue period. These include standard holidays, such as Valentine's Day and St. Patrick's Day, and special days of a more humor- ous nature, such as Millard Fillmore's birthday and Camel Wrestling Day. These are useful for dormitory managers in planning such things as special dinners around a theme. _21. "What's Coming Up?" Sports events, shows and other entertain- ment at the university, available for employees to attend. Some of these features appear only periodically although most appear in every issue. Production Printing Serving State is printed within the Division of Dormitories and Food Services, using AB Dick model 350 offset lithography equipment. The copy is typewritten, then pasted, along with any graphic mate- rial, onto layout sheets. Printing plates are made from the finished layouts, using a simple wet-copy process. Half-tone photographs have to be sent to the university's central printing shop to be transferred to printing plates. The half-tone plates are then used on the same print- ing equipment as the other plates. A run of about 1400 copies is printed each issue. A single-color page takes about 20 minutes to set up and run. Each additional color on a page takes an equal amount of time. The process of changing the ‘machine from one color to another takes an additional 20 minutes. The finished pages are collated into booklets, then stapled in the upper left corner. 10 Before offset lithography was used, the printing of ServinggState was a major undertaking involving most of the division's central office staff for over a period of days -- cutting stencils, running the mimeo- graph equipment, collating, putting collated sections together, stapling, packing and tying. The whole process can now be done by one operator working about five half-days. Besides the more efficient lithography equipment, a new collator allows one entire magazine to be put together in a single operation, including the stapling. Previously sections of not more than six sheets were collated, the sections being put together in another operation. Stapling was a third operation in this process. The magazine probably could be produced by a commercial printer, using set type instead of typewritten cOpy, but the editor believes the employees feel more comfortable with the less professional looking maga- zine and that this may help its credibility. Graphics During the first 11 years of publication, most of the art work was done by the head of the produce department at food stores, one of the departments in the Division of Dormitories and food services. He was a recognized craftsman in mimeograph art. The local equipment distributor still has many of his works on prominent display. Following his death in 1967, the art work was done by different people; for two years it was done by a university art student, for two years by a residence halls housing office secretary with a back- ground in art. Meat of the art work now is done by the editor. Because of the limitations of the printing system, the art work all has to be line drawings. Most of it has been in one color, although some ll of it has been in two or more colors, especially the cover art. The major use of graphics is to fill in holes on the pages where there is no copy. It is also used for standing heads at the beginnings of the features. Photography Photographs are usually used in five places -- in the pictorial feature ("Roving Photographer"), the service employee of the month fea- ture, the two personality features, and the cover. Photographs of the peOple for the service employee and personality features are taken by the editor. Most of the pictures for the picto— rial feature are also taken by the editor although some come from other sources, in particular the university information services photography department. The cover photographs usually come from the extensive files of information services. The editor processes the photographs he takes. This allows him to crop the pictures as he wants and to make them the sizes he needs to fit the spaces required. When photographs were first used in Serving State a Polaroid camera was used. But compared with the processing of pictures outside the camera Polaroid had limited flexibility. The cost per Polaroid photo- graph was about four times the present cost of taking and processing photographs. Covers The cover each month is designed within a standard structure so that it is recognizable at a glance as the cover of ServingiState, that is, it has a consistent "personality." The standard cover is composed of a rectangular photograph centered 12 on the page with a wider margin on the bottom than on the top. The name of the magazine is at the top left, printed in a combination of 36 pt. and 60 pt. Futura bold and 120 pt. Old English type faces, with the divi- sion seal at the extreme upper left of the name. In the bottom left corner of the cover is the month, in 36 pt. Futura bold, and the year, in 24 pt. Futura bold. A small line drawing, related to the main illus- tration, is just to the left of the month. Another small line drawing in the same subject area is in the mid- dle of the back cover. Sometimes for variation exceptions are made to the standard; such as having the photograph bleed over all four edges of the sheet or using a drawing instead of a photograph as the main illustration. Distribution The issue dates of Serving State are planned so that they coincide with the labor paydays. These are every other Friday, so Serving Stage is issued in intervals of four or six weeks instead of on a cer- tain day of the month. This is so that the magazine can be given to the employees with their paychecks. The editor feels that mailing would be a better method of dis- tribution because the magazine would reach the employee at his home, allowing the rest of the family to see it. But the cost would be pro- hibitive. The magazine is mailed to retirees, numbering about 120, and to a few other interested people, such as housing officers at other uni- versities, the distributor for the printing equipment, people who have left the university, the local newspapers and the employees' union. The magazine is also sent to about 100 other people at Michigan State University outside the Division of Dormitories and Food Services, 13 such as the president, the personnel director, heads of various depart- ments and people who have transferred out of the division. During the first 13 or 14 years of publication the magazines were bundled and tied for distribution. They are now packed into large paper bags, a method that adds to the efficiency of operation and makes them easier to handle. W The Role of the Editor It is the responsibility of the editor to decide on the general theme of each issue, to contact the subjects to be interviewed and photographed, to contact people about writing features and suggest what they should write about, and to do much of the writing himself. Outside of the unit news sent in by the reporters, the sports news, the service employee of the month, the safety page subject and the questions from the readers, the decision as to what is to appear in the magazine has been mainly that of the editor. It is also his responsibility to supervise all phases of production right down to the distribution. The editor has little contact with the decision making processes of the division and its units. Much of what he finds that would be of interest for the magazine comes from other sources, such as the local or university newspapers. The editor doesn't avoid controversy in the magazine, but little that is printed could be considered controversial. 14 The Magazine as a Management Communications Tool A periodical issued regularly to employees, and assumedly read regularly, should be a good channel of communications between all levels 'of management and the employees. In any organization there are problems. Many of these may be solved through understanding (i.e., communications). The house organ and the editor are parts of the channel of communi- ° cations, not of the management processes. Not being on the management end, the editor does not always know what the employee relations problems are. 0f the management personnel, there are only two or three people.who offer ideas and direction for the subject matter of the magazine. For example, only a few times has there been a manager who suggested that one of his employees be given recognition in the personality or service employee features. On the other hand, the editor has done nothing to encourage input from the managers, nor let them know he would welcome suggestions for articles. Readership There have never been any readership surveys of Serving State and there is little direct feedback from the readers to the editor. Only indirectly is there any idea of how well the magazine is accepted. The unit reporters, during staff meetings, may say that the em- ployees enjoy the magazine; the payroll clerks who distribute the maga- zine may say the employees are eager to get it; if ever the magazine is late, a number of units may call asking about it; and if a unit doesn't receive enough copies for all the employees, the editor may be called to send more. 15 According to both the present division manager and the person who was manager during the first 15 years of Serving State, whenever it was debated whether or not to stop publishing the magazine there was enough protest from the employees that the decision was always to continue.6 In January, 1972, a group from the university's Department of Com- munication conducted a series of open-ended interviews with a small sample (14) of the supervisory staff (C-Ts and Labor) to determine their perceptions of communications problems. The supervisors were selected to cover a range of units, experiences, backgrounds and types of work. One of the findings was that Serving_State was widely read by these supervisors to keep track of friends in other units but not as a means of communication from the diviSion level management. The study also found that there was little communication between 7 these supervisors and management levels more than one above them. 6vRietfors, "Serving State, Names make the News." 7 Report from Hamish Russell, Wayne Crouch, Sam Betty and Vince Farace, MSU Department of Communication, to George Fritz, personnel ad- ministrator, Dormitories and Food Services, January 20, 1972. III-Ill: dl‘lulll mflFmRII OTHER NEWS SOURCES FOR NON-ACADEMIC EMPLOYEES OF MSU The State News The State News is the student daily newspaper at Michigan State University. Most of the campus news in the paper has to do with academ- ic matters or other concerns of the students. The newspaper does print employee related information that affects the students, such as labor contract negotiations. Many other items in the State News that deal with the university employees are in a negative light, such as letters to the editors or editorials complaining about the services of the university and, indi- rectly, about the people who supply those services. For example, a fav- orite target is the food service. Often the cartoons in the newspaper depict the cooks as sloppy and dirty, cooking something unappetizing; e.g., in the Nov. 16, 1972 issue, a cook showing something to three gag-- ging students says, "In honor of the Chinese year of the rat..." The MSU Reporter For 4% years, January 1957 to May 1961, the university published a house organ, the MSU Reporter, "for those who work at Michigan State 8 University and their families," according to the mast head. A 16 page 8bfifllReporter, Vol. I, No. 1 (January, 1957), p. 2 16 17 slick-paper magazine, it contained many photographs, mostly of university employees. The articles were varied, from scholarly papers written by faculty members to stories about social events. The first issue had, among other things, stories on the employees' annual Christmas party, zodiac murals on the walls of dormitories, and food service operations around the university (the last article was titled "Serving State”). Almost every issue had a feature on the operations of different campus departments, e.g., the photo lab, union building, placement bureau, mail room, library, hospital. There were also a number of short articles about individuals. Each issue had a one page feature with pictures and thumb-nail biog- raphies of people who worked for the university. The subjects for the first issue were the head cataloger of the library, the head of the uni- versity ticket office, the university historian, and an assistant pur- chasing agent. The second issue had a groundsman, a museum technician, a secretary and a professor of administration. These first stories were typical of the series in later issues. Some of the sketches revolved around the indivdual, some around the job, and some around the depart- ment where the individual worked. The editor of the Reporter was Betty McGuire who later wrote her master's thesis on house organs. The magazine was issued eight times the first year, seven times a year in succeeding years. It was discontinued after the May 1961 issue and in its place another magazine was published, called Format. The 9Betty E. McGuire, Types of Industrial Editors and the Content of Thei£_Publicgtion§ (Master's Thesis, School of Journalism, Michigan State University, 1963). l8 layout, appearance, design and content of the new magazine were entirely different from those of the Reporter. The higher administration of the university felt that a more prestigious publication was needed, according to the director of information services.10 He said that Format was not designed as a newsmagazine per se. The scholarly articles and public relations articles of the Reporter were kept in the new magazine, but the employee orientation was gone. 1959 Readership Study A readership survey of the Reporter was conducted in 1959 by a university class in public opinion (Sociology 451).H The survey was limited and seemed to be designed more as a training device for the students -- the subjects were chosen from three sectors of the univer- sity community, three different selection methods were used, and three different methods were used in gathering the information. The 154 non-academic personnel interviewed, the ones we are con- cerned with here, were chosen by random sample from the magazine's mail- ing list. The information was gathered through personal interviews. Among the results were: 89% said they thought the magazine was worthwhile 65% said they read the magazine regularly Employees with longer service tended to be more favorable toward the magazine and were more apt to be regular readers. 1C)Conversation with Lowell Treaster, director of information ser- vices, Michigan State University, January, 1973. 1' Donald W. Olmsted et. al., An Opinion Survey of the Readership of the 'MSU Reporter' (East Lansing: Department of Sociology and Anthro- pology, Michigan State University, 1959). j -mrm- ‘. 3.9 If...’ -N' '- 19 The types of articles liked best were: 1. People and their jobs (75%). 2. Work of departments (71%). 3. University research (49%). 4. Athletics (37%). S. New instructional developments (36%). 6. Social articles (6%). The most read feature was "It's My Job," the feature with the short ” sketches of different people working with the university. Among the suggestions made by the non-academic respondents were: ma :- .. | 18. an increase in news about people and their jobs (8%), expanding size or content coverage (7%), more pictures (4%%), more information about functions of various departments (3 l/3%), and less faculty news (2%). The MSU News-Bulletin On Sept. 30, 1969, Faculty News began publishing, replacing two other administrative organs, Format, already mentioned, and MSU News Highlights, a bulletin. Although the main story of the first issue was "The work stoppage: settlement without hostility," concerning an eight day "work stoppage" (strike) by the university labor employees, the paper was geared mainly toward the university faculty, as the name suggests. On April 1, 1971, the name of the newspaper was changed to the MSU News-Bulletin. The change was to reflect a change in format and 20 content, with an orientation not just toward the faculty but toward the non-academic staff as well.‘2 News Space Allotments The first ten issues of the News Bulletin (April 1, 197l-June 4, 1971) had the following breakdown of news space: Oriented mainly toward the faculty 65% Wm4 Oriented mainly toward non-academic personnel 13% E I Non-academic, general 7% E A-P employees 3% 3 C-T employees 2% Labor employees 1% All-university 17% Student affairs 5% In the first ten issues there were nine stories of primary interest. to labor employees: an awards dinner, minority employment, 3 two page picture story on people who work at night at the university, waste dis- posal, tree spraying, and four on individual departments -- ground main- tenance, park and planning, messenger service and the University Services Division. During the same period there were 14 stories concerned with C-T employees and 19 about A-P employees. These included two stories about individual ArPs and one about an individual C-T. There were none about individual labor employees. There were a number of items and pictures about individual faculty members, 16% of the space in the 10 issues. ‘2 Conversations with Gene Rietfors, editor, MSU News-Bulletin, and with Robert Perrin, vice president for university relations, Michigan State University, March, 1971. 21 The 10 issues of the News-Bulletin, Nov. 2, 1972 - Feb. 1, 1973, showed similar patterns (a new editor had been appointed starting Nov. 2). In the non-academic area there were four stories of individual units of the university, three of them within the Division of Dormitories and Food Services -- the food processing section (including a number of photographs of labor employees), the interior design section, and the Serving State section. During the period of these latter issues, the C-Ts were in the process of holding elections to decide which of two organizations would be their bargaining agent. There were five articles in this area; one was a full page feature giving the views of each organization. There were also sketches of two individual C-T people in these 10 issues. Also at this time the university was conducting a study on A-P classifications. There were two stories in this area. There were two A-P people featured in sketches during this period. A new feature had been added to the newspaper between the time of the first 10 issues and the last 10, a listing of A-P and C-T positions available at the university. In these last 10 issues there were seven stories about employment benefits -- insurance, sick leave, retirement -- that were of interest to all levels, academic and non-academic. There were three stories on the Community Chest and two listing recent retirees from all levels of employment. Most of the rest of the space concerned academic matters. There were no stories aimed mainly at the labor employees. 22 The Council 7 News The labor employees union, AFSCME Local 1585, doesn't have its own periodical. There is a newspaper published by AFSCME Council 7, the division of the union over all the state employee locals in Michigan. This paper, the Council 7 News, is an eight page, 8% in. by 11% in. monthly. I l?_7 Because the newspaper covers many locals little is written concern- ing any one local. The bulk of space in the issues of the last half of 1972 (Vol. 20, No. 16, July 28 - No. 21, Dec. 22, 1972) contained material concerned with partisan politics. There was also much infor- mation about financial issues at the state and national levels, the state Civil Service (Michigan State University isn't under the Civil Service system) and Council 7 meetings. There was little that could be called anti-management in these issues; management, in this case, being the various units of state gov- ernment and education that have locals in Council 7. At the local level, there were a few articles about pending or completed grievances, none with MSU. References to MSU in these 10 issues included articles about state educational appropriations, a contract settlement between the local and the university, a proposed revision of job classifications at the uni- versity, and wage negotiations between the MSU skilled trades local and the university. There were two articles on the union's organization drive for C-T employees at MSU. The rest of the MSU news concerned the business of the local; the 23 chief steward's job being vacant while he was in the hospital, 1585 sending $100 to another local to help in a labor dispute and a photo- graph of members of Council 7's Finance Committee which included a representative from Local 1585. The newspaper is mailed to members at home. The central office of the Divison of Dormitories and Food Services is not on the mailing list. rmflfl_‘ ' Cn‘r'v-"_.".- CHAPTER III INTERNAL HOUSE ORGANS IN GENERAL History House organs were around prior to World War I but, according to McGuire, the big boost in internal house organs came during the war as tools of morale building. She said that after the war many were discontinued. She found a similar pattern during World War II and following it.‘3 According to a Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. survey, during the late 19408, in attempts to correct what they considered misinformation about their industries, employee magazines began to furnish information about topics that were not directly employee related. This was especial- 1y true with the railroad industry (through the use of such subjects as why freight increases were needed) and the oil industry (to try to change the view that the industry was not competitive or that it was controlled by a few large companies).] ‘3 Betty E. McGuire, Types of Industrial editors and the Content of Their Publications (Master's Thesis, School of Journalism, Michigan State University, 1963), p. 1. 1“ Contents of 399 Employee Magazines (New York: Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., 1948), p. 47. - 24 25 C.J. Dover divided the history of the house organs into three periods:ls 1. He said that before World War II the vast majority of house organs dealt with mediocre affairs, such as company gossip, employee birthdays and social events. He called this the era of entertainment. 2. With the start of World War II there were pressures on industry ¥~w to produce for the war effort. Reasoning that an informed employee was 2 I a productive employee, publishers of many house organs began to balance i the social gossip with articles of company plans, operations and poli- . cies. Dover called this the era of information. 3 H 3. Starting in the 19503, Dover said, information was not enough. The publications began to interpret the information. Soon after this they began to use the interpretations to try to persuade the employees to the company's (or the writer‘s) points of view. This he called the era of interpretation and persuasion. 4 It has been 14 years since Dover's book was published and whether or not he would consider the present time to still be part of the last era we do not know. Dover said that there is a continued trend toward more interpret- ation and persuasion. He gave as reasonsr‘6 l. The prestige of many businesses is declining because they have not Spoken up on controversial subjects. I ‘5 C. J. Dover, Effective Communications in Company Publications (Washington D.C.: BNA Corp., 1959), pp. 4-13. “mm. 26 2. Labor is increasing its strength as a major political factor. 3. The economics of running a business, the increase of federal power, and international tensions have made it more necessary for busi- ness to tell its side. Editorial Aspects Internal House Organ Objectives These are objectives of house organs as given by four different sources: Bentley gave these management objectives for house organs;‘7 1. As a company mouthpiece, to explain and interpret policy. 2. To build morale, prevent friction, create loyalty, and human- ize the employer. 3. To tell of social and recreational areas of the employee relations program 4. To encourage personal ambition by publicizing performances, promote conformity to rules, safety, economy drives and sales drives. Seybold, in a survey of 248 publications, found the following objectiveszl8 1. To promote unity within the organization 2. To promote understanding, good will and better morale. I7Garth Bentley, Editing the Company Publication (New York: Harper Bros., 1953), p. 2. 18Geneva Seybold, Employee Magazines and Newspapers (New York: National Industrial Conference Board, Report no. 136), p. 21. t‘ 27 3. To create two-way communications. 4. To entertain. 5. To recognize the employee as an individual and to recognize groups of employees. 6. To inform the employee about the company 7. To inform the employee of activites, interests and safety. 8. To give the employee economic information (about 1/6 mentioned free enterprise in this category). 9. To give management a means of communication with the employees. I Reddick and Crowell listed the following purposes: 9 1. To acquaint employees with new products 2. To help employees understand their jobs and how they fit in the company. 3. To promote safety 4. To help employees understand fringe benefits. 5. To give recognition to individuals and groups. McGuire polled 343 internal house organ editors on the purposes of their publications. The results were: Team spirit 32% Sales and advertising 21% Education 19% Morale 16% Building company image 15% ‘9Dewitt Reddick and Alfred Crowell, Industrial Editing (Albany: Matthew Bender & Co., 1962), pp. 43-44. 20 McGuire, p. 32. 28 What Employees Want From the other viewpoint, these are what employees would like in their house organs, according to Cort, from readership studies of inter- 21 nal house organs. He said that the employees of Pitney Bowles wanted these subjects (ranked in order of popularity): 1. Company plans for the future. 2. How the company operates. 3. Information about the competition. 4. Employee benefits. 5. Policies. 6. People. U.S. Steel News readers wanted stories about: 1. Plans for the future. 2. Company products and how they are made. 3. Policies that affect the employees. 4. Competition. 5. Benefits. 6. Safety. 2‘Robert P. Cort, Communicating with Employees (Waterford, Conn.: Complete Management Library, Vol. XVII, 1963), p. 36. 29 Controversial Subjects The new Jersey based Opinion Research Corporation asked 97 company presidents what were the most important problems facing industry. The five ranked highest were: 1. Government intervention 2. Taxation 3. Inflation 4. Government spending , 5. Adequate profits It next analyzed 100 different employee magazines and found that 81% ignored the first subject, 78% the second, 93% the third, 90% the fourth, and 53% the fifth. The conclusion was that many employee publications are not used to give employees information on issues which top executives think are the most vital in the industry, therefore vital to job security.22 C.J. Dover, in a speech at the 1956 National Conference of the Public Relations Society of America, said that management had a conspic- uous "zone of silence" with issues of a controversial nature.2‘3 First, he said that management is afraid that their stories will be called propaganda, which, he said, was selling short the employees' sense of fairness. He said that management is afraid of losing credibilrty; but he 22C.J. Dover, Management Communications on Controversial Issues (washington, D.C.: BNA Corp., 1965), pp. 9-10. 23CLJZ Dover, "Silence -- An Employee Relations Pitfall," repro- duced in Vital Speeches of the Day, Vol. XXIII (February 1, 1957), pp. 9.10. _W .3414“: 4“- .a '.'- 3O questioned whether 100 per cent credibility.should be the goal. He said that management also is afraid of losing prestige and that it felt the attempt to be too risky. To which he answered that, by saying nothing at all, management is liable to stand convicted. Foy and Harper listed these reasons that management had for avoid- ing controversy:2h 1. The employees would not read articles on controversial subjects. 2. The employees would not believe them if they did read them. 3. The employees would resent them. McCloskey said that many companies think that such matters only t disturb the employee. ”There still clings to many of them that nostal- gic aura of the happy family, into whose life no harsh truths, no con- ' 25 troversy musE ever be allowed to intrude." "The view that the publications' major purpose is to print employee names and pictures must be questioned," McCloskey said, "for it seems a 26 primitive concept of industrial journalism." He pointed out that for a house organ to be effective as a com- munications device during a time of stress it must establish itself as 27 a media that discusses controversial subjects prior to that time. 2" Fred C. Foy and Robert Harper, "Round One, Union v.3. Company Publications," Harvard Business Review, Vol. 33, No. 3 (May-June, 1955), pp. 59-67. 25 James McCloskey, Industrial Editing Today (New York: Harper Bros., 1959), pp. 5-6. 26 Ibid., p. 47. 27 Ibid., pp. 4-5. 31 Reddick and Crowell made these points in telling how to treat controversial subjects:28 1. Present the facts which underlie the situation. 2. Summarize the charges. 3. Credit managements response to an authoritative spokesman. 4. Opinions of management must be labeled as such. The first use of what might be called controversial subjects was in the 19403. Business, much concerned with what were considered social- istic influences undermining the American way of life, began to put mat- . I erial in their house organs to counteract this. A most elaborate method of producing such "free enterprise" stories appeared in a 1948 issue of the Harvard Business Review. The author gave a plan of selling free en- 29 terprise to employees as if he were selling soap. One of the first house organs to write on a real controversial issue, economics, was du Pont's Better Living. Since then others have 30 followed. Max Bass, who was publications manager of Caterpillar Tractor's News and Views, ran articles with such titles as "Our Competitors are ..31. Capitalizing on our Failure to Produce. 28 Reddick and Crowell, p. 292. zSEdw'ard C. Bursk, "Selling the Idea of Free Enterprise," Harvard Business Review (May, 1948), p. 372. 3°"How to Play the House Organ," Fortune, Vol. XLVI (October, 1952), p. 147. 3‘1b1d., p. 184. 32 General Electric had an approach to controversial issues with a feature called the "Plant Panel." A topic would be picked ranging from what is gained or lost in a strike to what constitutes fair pay. Four employees would be asked to write on the subject. Their uncensored con- tributions, along with a frank statement from the management, would be printed in the column. A survey showed that the employees saw this as a two way educational device and that they welcomed the chance to learn the views of management.32 This idea was borrowed by Serving State for its "Point of View" feature, without the statement from management. The G.E. News ran another feature called the "Rumor Clinic." Readers would submit rumors they had heard and the Nggg would publish answers to them. The page that carried this feature had a form that could be used for sending in the rumors. Although they needed not be signed, most employees did sign them. According to G.E. one plant an- 33 swered 10,000 rumors with none being evaded. This idea was also bor- rowed by Serving State. However, compared with the G.E. News, few of the rumors to Serving State are signed. Union News One of the most controversial areas is in labor union relations. Biklen and Berth, writing in 1945, cautioned editors not to express any opinions on labor organizations. They said that any statement by 32 Employee Communications (General Electric Corp.), p. 36. 33 Ibid., p. 37. 33 management giving its side to labor questions would be greeted with H II 3" catcalls and jeers. But Fred Foy, president of Koppers, was quoted in Time as saying: "Union publications are fighting with both fists -- fighting in unity and sometimes with complete lack of regard for the Marquis of Queens- berry rules ... The question is whether management will get in the ring too or lose the battle for the minds of its employees on an edit- Fmfi orial TKO."35 MeC103key said that labor editors are not afraid of "sermonizing" . and aren't concerned about "propaganda" when they say that wages can be E raised without raising prices or that profits are too high.36 ,{_ Reddick and Crowell found these things typical of union public- ations:37 1. The content stresses the offensive. 2. Union goals are stated explicitly. 3. National labor news is predominant over local labor news. 3“Paul Biklen and Robert Berth, Successful Employee Publications (New York: MeGraw Hill, 1945), p. 161. 35 "Telling the Emplbyee," Time, Vol. LXVI (September 19, 1955), p. 98 36 MCCIOskey, p. 5. 37 Reddick and Crowell, p.59. 34 Dover gave the results of a study of 15 company publications on the numbers of times certain economic words were used, comparing them to the use of the same words in union publications (from a previous study). In the company publications he found no use of the phrases: arbitration, Guaranteed Annual Wage, organized labor, open shop, wage agreement, wage scale, wage stabilization, wage standards, wage struc- ture, and Pr°f1t3° These appeared a number of times in the union EEEE publications.38 Dover said, "With scholarly restraint, the study comes to the following conclusions:39 , L "1. Economics concepts in all categories appear much more fre- u—fi' quently in union publications than they do in company pub- lications. "2. Union papers deal with very concrete and specific issues, while company papers are more prone to talk in economic generalities. Among the very few terms used more in company papers than in union papers were 'production,‘ 'market,‘ 'promotion,’ and 'free enterprise.’ "3. union-management relationships are not so frequently treated in company papers (as they are in union papers)." In another area of unionvmanagement relations and company pub- lications, Seybold surveyed 199 house organs on whether they ran news about union activities. These were the results: 38 Dover, Effective Communications in Company Publications, pp. 101-102. .39 Ibid. 35 Yes 76 Occasionally 14 Rarely 6 No 100 No, but willing 2 No, never submitted 1 She explained that some editors feared being accused of financial . 1 contributions to the union. Those that ran union news said that it was a large part of the workers' interest and also that it should be 40 handled objectively. Of union news that was used she found these types, ranked in order of use: 1. Social and recreational 2. Elections 3. Contract signings 4. Contract negotiations There were also a few stories of interviews, conventions and 41 explanations of contract clauses. In the area of union relations, Goodyear's Wingfoot Clan ran a "weekly Review of Labor Relations" cqumn which reported, objectively, the results of negotiations with the union, according to Seybold. To “0 Seybold, p. 50. “‘ Ibid. 36 be included in the colmmn items had to pass two criteria: “2 1. They had to be wholly true. 2. They had to be of interest. The (Green Bay) Wisconsin Public Service Company's Contact News published an article called "How we Negotiate a Labor Contract." It gave step by step negotiations, describing the procedures in detail. The idea behind it was to convince employees, who thought the company f“ sold out to the union, that the negotiations were fair. The magazine tried to keep the story unbiased, according-to Newcomb and Sammons. Union officials were said to have praised the article.“3 f . The House Organ Editor While many people think that the house organ editor should be an objective reporter, McGuire quoted Dean Detwiler, then president of I the International Council of Industrial Editors, as saying that the editor should be a spokesman for management.““ Even if he is to be a spokesman, he is still basically a reporter. As MCCloskey pointed out, the editor can not (or should not) make company policy, only report it.“5 “2 Seybold, p. 50. . “3 Robert Newcomb and Marg Sammons, Employee Communication in Action (New York: Harper Bros., 1961), pp. 101-103. A” McGuire, p. 1. 5 McCloskey, p. 46. lfll'lll 37 Mccuire said that the average editor, charged with interpreting the company to its various publics, is pretty well left on his own with little or no contact with top management. According to Fortune, too often the company news has to be published by others before the company magazine can mention it."7 Reddick and Crowell said that the house organ editor should be privy to management's restricted information."8 F“? Dover said that most editors are inclined toward forthrightness. The lack 0f 1t. he said, is due to top management. On the other hand, according to Dover, even if most editors are in favor of interpretation ' of such news, a minority are willing to use it for persuasion. 1‘9 Em? McGuire did extensive research on types of editors based on whether or not they would approve the use of controversial issues in their magazines. She divided these editor types into three categories: 1. Editors who accepted controversial material and union news. They were mostly with large companies, were more experienced and better educated, had higher status and higher salaries than the other editors. 2. More conservative editors. They leaned toward emphasis on em- ployees, fringe benefits, personal instead of company problems. “6 McGuire, p. 62 1. 7 "How to Play the House Organ." “8 Reddick and Crowell, pp. 256-257. [‘9 Dover. me tisefisuuunmatisnmmanyflbiimtms. p. 103- 38 They were with the smallest companies, had the lowest budgets and their company executives suggested more topics for articles than those of other companies. 3. Editors who stressed products, the surrounding community and the history of the company. They were against emphasis on em- ployee, union and company problems. They were the least col- lege trained, least certain of top management's backing of the house organ. Compared with the other two groups, this one had the most part-time editors. 5° McGuire, pp. 51-60. u;—.._ “_- CHAPTER IV DISCUSSION AND SUMMARY Management and Employee Expectations A glance at the bibliography of this paper will show that during the late 19503 and early 19603 there was a spate of information about house organs. This period was well into what Dover called the "era of interpolation and persuasion" when many house organs began to be vehic- les of explication, not just of information as they had been earlier, nor of causerie as they had been earlier still.5h ServingiState, the house organ of the Division of Dormitories and Food Services at Michigan State University, began during this period (1956); but not as an explicatory vehicle. Its purposes were more of the social nature of Dover's earlier era house organs. A closer look at the four purposes of Serving State as outlined by its first editor (company mouthpiece, morale, social events, recognition) shows that they are paraphrases of the purposes given by Bentley in his 1953 b001655 (which was a revision of a 1944 book by the same author). As we move from Bentley through the purposes given by later authors 5"Dover, Effective Coununications in Company Publications, p. 4. 55 Bentley, p. 2. 39 Frn 40 51 52 53 (Seybold , Reddick and Crowell , McGuire ), we find that the impor- tance of social news decreases and information and interpolation in- creases. A summation of the purposes given by these authors can be put into six general categories: 1. Information about the job and the company 2. understanding the company, management personnel and employees 3. Recognition of the employees 157 4. Unity ' 5. Morale 6. Entertainment For a number of years Serving State was a magazine of entertainment _Hj and morale and unity building. It has been only recently that it has moved into the first three categories. To facilitate the editorial changes bringing the magazine more into the "era of interpolation and persuasion,” it was streamlined, mostly by cutting down on social news. A number of different produc- tion changes also were made, making the operation.more efficient. The addition of photographs and more use of color and art within the mags- zine have supported the editorial changes. The present features of Serving State can be classified as follows: 1. Answers to employee questions 2. Opinions of employees 3. Opinions of administrators ‘51 Seybold, p. 21. 52 Reddick and Crowell, pp. 43-44 53MbGuire, p. 32. 7. 41 . Teaching . Recognition . Information Entertainment and social news But there are two sides to the question of content. One is, as was just discussed, what the organization wants to print. The other is what the employees want to read. Collateral to what the employees want from their house organ is what they want from their jobs. Reddick and Crowell list six employee expectations: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 56 :0 wages Security Sense of belonging Work satisfaction Opportunity Knowing what is going on wages, including fringe benefits, may be discussed in such stories as,how'the university compares with other organizations, what the fringe benefits are and why the university pays what it does. Security may be shown by featuring long-time employees or writing of the history of the division and its years of continued success. The retirees column and the fact that the retirees are on the mailing list add to this security, for, as MCCloskey explains, an organization paying attention to employees no longer working gives the active employees a feeling that it is concerned about them as people. 57 5" Reddick and Crowell, p. 210. 57 McCloskey, p. 54. 42 A sense of belonging may be expressed in writing about a lot of people and about the enjoyment they are getting from being a member of the organization-family -- the social news. Mere important in this area would be the personality features which give recognition to a number of individuals. WOrk satisfaction as a subject may be found in the personality stories which may include something about "why I like my job," or with 5.1 employees' statements in the "Point of View" column. Opportunity may be shown by items on promotions or, more obliquely, when writing about individuals of some status in the personality fea- ; tures, telling of their more humble beginnings with the university. t Knowing what is going on may include such things as ball games, fund drives and safety campaigns. But information of social events and fund drives isn't really telling the employee "what is going on." The employee is concerned with what the new“machinery being installed is for. Will it put him out of a job? Or why an efficiency expert has been called in. Are there going to be cut-backs? If they are not told, they will make guesses, start rumors, and by the time it is known that the machinery was needed because production increased and the "effi- ciency expert" was an engineer deciding where to put the new'equipment, the damage has been done. If the correct information is circulated before the event, the problem would be solved before it started. This would be done through the news page or, if the employee brings up the question, through the rumor column. 43 Cort gave the results of studies of what employees wanted in two other house organs. First, they wanted to know what the company planned for the future. This was for the security the eXpected from their employment. Second, they wanted to know about the company, how it operated and what it produced. Information about the competition was also important. Then they got down to the things that effected them more directly, company policies and the benefits of employment. Lastly came items about people. What the readers of Serving State want from the house organ can be only conjecture. In fact, it is only through indirect means that we know if it is read at all. In the 17 years of its existence there has been no measurement of the magazine. So one of the major recom- mendations is that a readership study be made. It is the good fortune of this magazine to be part of a university where there are people knowledgeable in this field. Such a study was made in 1959 by a sociology class for the no longer published MSU‘RS- porter. The readers of Serving State would be similar to the non- academic readers of the Reporter. The results of the Reporter survey followed pretty much the re- sults of other surveys mentioned in this paper. Social articles took last place with the readers. Information about people, jobs and depart- ments had more importance. However, there was nothing said about con- troversial issues, nor did the magazine run much that could have been called controversial. 58 Cort, p. 36. 44 All-university House Organ The university publications MSU Repprter, Format, Faculty News, and MSU News-Bulletin followed each other in sequence. But only with the last two was the sequence anything more than chronological. The Reporter was an employee oriented magazine, Format was a showPiece for the university, and Faculty-News was a newspaper for the academic '“fi staff. The News-Bulletin supposedly was to be a newspaper for all levels of staff at the university, academic and non-academic. But there has been very little in it for the labor employees and not much more for iv the clerical-technical and administrative-professional employees. Most of the news is for and about the faculty. This is explainable. The News-Bulletin, from the start, was to be a ”newspaper of record," according to Robert Perrin, vice president for 59 university relations. That is, it is a "news" paper; and the staff people who are of news value are the faculty -- they write books, run experiments, give lectures, act as government consultants -- not someone who sweeps floors. The conclusion is that there is no general news source for the non-academic, especially labor, employees. Serving State may serve this purpose for the employees of the Division of Dormitories and Food Ser- vices. Some other departments also put out their own newsletters. The resource material suggests that an informational vehicle is beneficial for employee relations. A recommendation here is that a vehicle be established for all university non-academic employees, with 59 MSU News-Bulletin, Vol. II, No. 21 (April 1, 1971), p. 1. 45 some of the features of the MSU Reporter, or that Serving State be ex- panded to include the rest of the university employees. Union Relations In any aspect of employee relations, including the house organ, the activities of the union and other employee organizations must be taken into consideration. The labor employees' local, 1585 of the : American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), began organizing in 1960 but has been recognized by the university only the last seven years. Now organizations for the other two categories of non-academic employees are active. The administrative-professionals formed their association in 1969, with most of the Dormitories and Food Services A-Ps as members. The clerical-technical employees are waiting for a decision as to which of two organizations will represent them. Serving State prints information about union activities, similar to the categories given by Seybold. She found that news about unions in company house organs was about social events, elections, and contract negotiations and signings. Most of this type news isn't controversial in nature, as it has little to do with conflict between the union and management. Telling about a union social event, giving the results of an election or of contract settlements are pretty much statements of facts. When union news becomes controversial is when, for example, the company magazine gives the management side of a conflict with the union. There has never been stories of this sort in Serving State. 5° Seybold, p. 50. 46 A publication of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce stated: "Keep up with what the other side is saying about your company and/or business system. Correct misinfor- mation quickly and forcefully." 6‘ The "other side" is usually the union. And union publications, unlike company publications, do not avoid controversy: In fact, they seem to thrive on it. This may be from the nature of unions and management. Management, concerned with keeping things running smoothly and the employees happy, would be reluctant to introduce controversy. The union on the other hand exists basically as a champion of the employees. If the employees are too happy there is nothing for the union to champion and no reason for its existance. It must, therefore, try to make changes to the em- ployees' advantages, which is of course what it is getting paid for. And what is to the employees' advantage may be to the company's dis- advantage, thus controversial. Foy and Harper mentioned that union periodicals tend to be biased in their reporting. 62 It may be wise for company publications to take advantage of this. If the company presents just its one side as the unions may do, it will be greeted with "catcalls and jeers." But if it presents both sides, it would still be giving the company viewpoint with the added advantage of perhaps being considered objective. The employees might then take more credence in the company viewpoint. Management would lose nothing by telling what the union said because the employees would be hearing it from the union anyway. 6' Better Business Relations through Company Publications (U.S. Chamber of Commerce, undated), p. 7. ' 62 Foy and Harper, p. 59. —-.— m2. “)1 47 For example, if the viewpoint of a union official is given in Serving State, what he says would be expected. What would not be ex- pected would be that the company magazine would present his viewpoint. The union is on the Serving_State mailing list, although the Divi- sion of Dormitories and Food Services doesn't receive the union news- paper, Council 7 News. A suggestion would be that the division ask to have the paper sent to them. 5‘7 Council 7 News offers little of local, grassroots interest to the p employees. Most of its pages are filled with political and union related 3 news at the state and national levels. So if the news is "hard-hitting" E it is not the university that is being hit. The conclusion is that, at this time, the union newspaper offers no competition to the division house organ; that is, the two periodi- cals are working in two different fields. However, if a situation arose where the union and the university were in more opposition to each other, such as a strike situation, this probably would be reflected in the union newspaper. As McCloskey said, the house organ must establish itself as a media that discusses contro- 53 versy to be ready for such a situation. Management Input There have always been controversial areas in management-employee relations. But for years these questions were avoided in Serving State, probably from a philosophy of not rocking the boat. Serving State now’has moved somewhat into controversial issues, 63 MeCloskey, p. 15. 48 or at least doesn't avoid them. The difficulty is that there is little management input of problems needing discussion and, without any front line knowledge of these problems, the editor makes decisions of what to write about. This results in the magazine not being used as it should be for solving employee related problems. (In contrast, the safety engineer does input advice on current problems in his area.) On the other hand, the editor has made few overtures to have input from management. It is suggested that the editor make an effort to correct this. Conclusions and Recommendations 1 ‘l . l 1. Serving State has been in existence for 17 years. But no measurement has ever been made on such things as what the employees like about the magazine, how well it is read, or even if it is read at all. The recommendation is that a readership study be conducted, using the help of one of the academic departments knowledgeable in this area. 2. The employee wants to know what is going on, not so much in the area of social events, but of policies, proposed changes and personnel affairs. There is no general news source for the non- academic employees, although Serving State acts in this capacity at the divisional level. A recommendation is made that an all-university vehicle be established. 3. The union newspaper offers no competition. But should a union related controversial situation arise, this may change. Serving State should involve intself more in the discussion of controversial subjects so that it would be ready to counteract the union newspaper. Also, the 49 division should be receiving the issues of the union newspaper, as the union receives Serving State. 4. There has been little management input into the magazine. There also has been little encouragement from the editor for this input. The editor should attempt to correct this situation. ‘3’“ :ILQBAI' ‘1 14— q——.— BIBLIOGRAPHY Books Biklen, Paul, and Robert Berth, Successful Employee Publications (New York: McGraw Hill, 1945). Bentley, Garth, Editing the Company Publication (New York: Harper Bros., 1953). ii“. 1 Cort, Robert P. Communicating with Employees (Waterford, Conn.: Complete Management Library, Vol. XVII, 1963). Dover, C.J., Effective Communications in Company Publications (Wash- ington, D.C.: BNA Corp., 1959). , Management Communications on Controversial Issues (Wash- ington, D.C.: BNA Corp., 1965). McCloskey, James, Industrial Editing Today (New'York: Harper Bros., 1959). Newcomb, Robert, and Marg Sammons, Employee Communication in Action (New York: Harper Bros., 1961). Reddick, Dewitt, and Alfred Crowell, Industrial Editing (Albany: Matthew Bender & Co., 1962). Seybold, Geneva, Employee Magazines and Newspapers (New York: National Industrial Conference Board, Report no. 136). Pamphlets Better Business Relations Through Company Publications (U.S. Chamber of Commerce, undated). Contents of 399 Employee Magazines (New York: Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., 1948). Employee Communications (New York: General Electric Corp., undated). Thesis McGuire, Betty E.,_Type3 of Industrial Editors and the Content of Their Publications (Master's Thesis, School of Journalism, Michigan State University, 1963). 50 51 Magazine Articles Bursk, Edward C., "Selling the Idea of Free Enterprise," Harvard Business Review (May, 1948). Foy, Fred C., and Robert Harper, "Round One, Union v.3. Company Publications," Harvard Business Review, Vol. XXXIII, No. 3 May-June, 1955), pp. 59-67. "How to Play the House Organ," Fortune, Vol. XLVI (October, 1952) p. 147. 7 3‘.“ "Telling the Employee," Time, Vol. LXVI (September 19, 1955), p. 98. Newspaper Articles Hayes, Janice, "'Serving State' Serves State," MSU News-Bulletin, Vol. IV, No. 16 (February 1, 1973), p. 4. Perrin, Robert, statement on reasons for changes in newspaper, MSU-News Bulletin, Vol. II, No. 21 (April 1, 1971), p. l. Rietfors, "Serving State, Names make the News," MSU Faculty News, Vol. II, No. 20 (March 1, 1971), p. 2. Speech Dover, C.J., "Silence -- An Employee Relations Pitfall": reproduced in Vital Speeches of the Day, Vol. XXIII (February 1, 1957). Reports, Michigan State university Olmsted, Donald W., et al., An Opinion Survey of the Readership of the 'MSU Reporter' (Department of Sociology and Anthropology, 1959). Renaud, Ernest E., Let's Publish a House Organ (Division of Dormit- ories and Food Services, December 7, 1955). Russell, Hamish, et al., Report on supervisory communications study, to George Fritz, personnel administrator, Dormitories and Food Services (Department of Communication, January 20, 1972). Thompson, Jack (Walter J.), Report on proposed 'Serving State' changes, to Bob Underwood, personnel administrator (Division of Dormit- ories and Food Services, August 1, 1969). [I’ll-Ill! 1‘ ll'illll. ll [I'll-I 11' llllilllllwl'lllll "1111111111 111111111111“