JIM BEAN CASE STUDY
Case Study: Jim Bean Fighting Citation for Bathroom-Break Policy
Maria Franco-Cortes
Liberty University
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JIM BEAN CASE STUDY
Abstract
Jim Beam is a famous bourbon whiskey brand from the United States that is sold worldwide.
However, the company is fighting a state citation criticizing its policy on bathroom breaks for
employees. The old policy allowed workers to rotate off the line for a short, unscheduled break
throughout the day, with no set number. After the company concluded that workers were taking
advantage of the liberal break policy, the company decided to implement a strict policy. Only
three restroom breaks were introduced in a nine-hour shift, one during lunch and two other times
during the day, usually before and after lunch. Although the company consulted with a urologist
to make sure the new policy was reasonable, the Labor Cabinet stated that Jim Beam is violating
a federal labor law requiring employers to provide restroom facilities to employees. The case
study will show the different identified key roles, organizational issues, and it will also integrate
theories to define the type of organization. Also, the study will have personal, biblical, and
theoretical perspectives on the case that could be best integrated to address concerns.
Keywords: leadership, rational system, scientific management, human relations,
contingency principle, management, wisdom
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JIM BEAN CASE STUDY
Case Study: Jim Bean Fighting Citation for Bathroom-Break Policy
Jim Beam’s main goals are to improve productivity and efficiency in the organization.
Therefore, the company decided to implement a policy regarding the number of bathroom
breaks, timing, and disciplinary actions if rules are violated to prevent time wastage by
employees when they take frequent breaks within a day. Line employees at the plant have only
been able to use the bathroom during lunch and two other times during the day since October.
The key roles in this case study are the management of Jean Beam and its front-line workers. The
Labor Cabinet released a citation to Jim Beam after instituting this program as they broke federal
labor law with their new policy. Therefore, the organizational issues in this organization are
management development. Management has a lack of poor planning organizing and lack of
direction towards the guidance of their employees. The lack of employee satisfaction with
management is the biggest challenge. Some workers feel the need to wear safe undergarments
due to the fear of breaking the policy and losing employment. For example, Jo Anne Kelley, who
has worked at the Jim Beam plant for 34 years, said the policy is degrading and that the company
has told some employees to get back on track by practice going to the bathroom every two hours
at home on weekends. Employees feel degraded in their workplace, and they feel like employers
are putting their needs ahead of their staff’s needs.
Specific Theories
Jim Beam pursues a closed rational system. Scott (2006) explains rationality is the degree
to which a set of actions is organized to achieve predetermined goals with the most outstanding
efficiency. Terms like authority, control, rules, and directives are employed by Jim Beam
management. These terms suggest individuals' cognitive and motivational limitations and the
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JIM BEAN CASE STUDY
constraints imposed upon their choices and actions within the organization. De Menezes and
Kelliher (2016) reaffirms that perceived unfairness in the allocation of work-life initiatives can
lead to counterproductive work behaviors, resulting in lower performance ratings. A formal
process such as the one adopted by Jim Beam may be more susceptible to unfairness perceptions
because it is likely to be more readily observable and may involve a more bureaucratic process.
The scientific management approach, a rational approach, is applied by Jim Beam to regularize
people's schedules as they are a mechanized system. A urologist has given the guidelines based
on standards phenomenon and employee's habits. Therefore, a schedule of breaks is designed,
and employees are forced to fit in the system. However, each person differs from the other, and
nature cannot be regulated. Creating a disciplined environment is the main advantage of
scientific management in this case (Schachter, 2018). However, it creates demotivation among
employees as well as high turnover and less employee participation.
In order to manage the case, Jim Beam should have taken an alternate approach. The
company should have applied the contingency principle, which is one open systems approach. A
leader should consider the strategy, objectives, staff, management style, and expectations of the
company to have more substantial success in achieving the organization's goals (Scott, 2006).
Over time, contingency theory has become extensively elaborated as factors like size,
technology, geography, uncertainty, resource dependency, cultural differences, and scope are
included in the decision-make process (Otley, 2016). Therefore, it remains the most widely
utilized contemporary theoretical approach to the study of organizations. The decision to develop
a bathroom break policy will cause a loss of image, personnel, and negative evaluation of its
management style. Jim Beam should have done a study of whether they noticed any lack of
efficiency before placing a policy in place. They should also have carried out testing and surveys
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JIM BEAN CASE STUDY
to ask the employees why they take frequent bathroom breaks to find the cause of the problem.
This could have prevented the scandal due to the line workers from feeling disrespected and not
valued.
Jim Beam could have also used the human relations approach. Under this approach, Jim
Beam should focus on a people-oriented approach and make friendly policies. Scott (2006)
explains that the human relations school has also given rise to much activity directed at changing
organizations like modifying and improving social environments. One approach involved
introducing a set of personnel counselors, distinct from the line hierarchy, whose task is to listen
sympathetically to workers’ complaints. This approach then increases employee engagement
while turnover will be lower. Therefore, employee’s fulfillment of needs could have been
attached to organizational productivity. The desire to achieve the reward that comes due to higher
productivity will motivate employees to focus on work rather than on breaks. It will solve the
problem without regulating employee’s bathroom break schedules.
Own perspective
Jim Beam's management needs to refocus on its goals and strategies. It is essential to
understand that employees are an essential part of any organization. No one except the own
employee can control employee's bladders. Therefore, Jim Beam should reorganize its structure
to get ahead of other organizations. Merida et al. (2015) mention that wisdom has a discernment
dimension that helps a person read a situation and make the right decision. Wisdom also has a
moral and justice dimension that allows leaders at a particular organization to praise God by
doing justice. If Jim Beam's management uses wisdom in the decision-making process, they will
understand every situation and give an effective solution to it without causing damage to anyone.
Human resources deal with job definitions, training, benefits, and skilled labor, so
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JIM BEAN CASE STUDY
process improvements should be implemented to make line workers confrontable at the
workplace (Budd et al., 2017). A communication strategy that promotes feedback between
managers and employees will promote better performance. Jim Beam's management should
incorporate strategies into their organization to better understand employees and effectively
communicate decisions and strategies. For example, Mayo and the Human Relations School
emphasize the importance of worker participation in decision-making within the organization,
particularly in decisions directly affecting them (Scott, 2006). Thompson's levels model explains
that each of the three perspectives is suitable to a different level of the organization (Scott, 2006).
In this case, the managerial level must mediate between the relatively open institutional and the
artificially closed technical levels. To do so effectively requires the flexibility associated with the
less formalized and more political activates depicted by natural system theorists. It is also
managers' power and status linked to the organization's fate and seek to secure the organization's
survival. Finally, Luke 22 teaches people that leaders should be among their people, just as Jesus
did when he walked among humanity on Earth (King James Bible, 2017).
Word count: 1091
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References
Budd, J. W., Colvin, A. J., & Pohler, D. (2017). Advancing Dispute Resolution by Unpacking the
Sources of Conflict: Toward an Integrated Framework. SSRN Electronic Journal, 1–27.
https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3045937
De Menezes, L. M., & Kelliher, C. (2016). Flexible Working, Individual Performance, and
Employee Attitudes: Comparing Formal and Informal Arrangements. Human Resource
Management 56, (6), 1051–1070. https://doi.org/10.1002/hrm.21822
King James Bible. (2017). King James Bible Online. https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org
(original work published 1769).
Merida, T., Platt, D., & Akin, D. L. (2015). Exalting Jesus in 1 & 2 Kings (Christ-Centered
Exposition Commentary). Holman Reference.
Otley, D. (2016). The contingency theory of management accounting and control: 1980–2014.
Management Accounting Research, 31, 45–62. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mar.2016.02.001
Schachter, H. L. (2018). Labor at the Taylor Society. , (1), 7–Journal of Management History 24
19. https://doi.org/10.1108/jmh-06-2017-0031
Scott, R. W. (2006). Organizations and Organizing: Rational, Natural and Open System
Perspectives (1st ed.). Routledge.
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