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Jim Bean Case Study
Abstract
Jim Beam is a US based bourbon-making company with a plant in Bullitt County,
Kentucky. The plant and its leadership are currently at odds with line workers over the current
bathroom break policy. Per the new policy, employees are only allowed to use the restroom
during lunch, once before lunch, and once after lunch. Workers are also allowed one additional
unscheduled bathroom break throughout the day and can be disciplined for any violation of the
policy, beginning with a warning and ending with a dismissal after six incidents. Workers with
specific needs are allowed to use the bathroom more than others. Jim Beam has analyzed that the
old policy was being taken advantage of by employees and is the reason why they implemented a
new policy. Looking at past and current topics learned in this course, I decided that rational
systems perspective can be applied and help cut the tension throughout the company.
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Jim Bean Case Study
Summary
Jim Beam has a bourbon-making plant in Bullitt County that seeks to improve efficiency
and productivity through a restructured bathroom break policy. Jim Bean’s old bathroom policy
allowed workers to rotate off the line for short, unscheduled breaks throughout the day, with no
set number. Upper management of the company looked into changing the policy after it
concluded that workers were taking advantage of the liberal break policy. Jim Beam recognized
employees were taking frequent visits to the restroom and determined by a urologist that they
hired that breaks were not motivated by need but mostly motivated by smoking habits.
Jim Bean ended developed a new policy, with the help of a urologist, that had timing and
frequency standards, as well as disciplinary actions. Jo Anne Kelly, the union local present
whose been there for 34 years said it’s a degrading policy and is fighting to have them change
their mind on the policy. This new policy has caused a lot of tension throughout the company but
the director of publications for Jim Bean, Stephanie Moritz stated they are sticking to the policy.
Specific Theory: Rational System
Jim Beam’s management team could provide better results to their employees by
adopting the rational system approach. Rational systems are the most rigid and formal structures
(Scott & Davis, 2016). When you break down rational system perspective, its main focus is on
the formal structures of an organization where its seen as a group of people who work together to
pursue specific goals. Which leads to two specific characteristics to rational systems which is
goal specificity and formalization. Colombo & Mella (2021) states, the “rational view” sees
organizations as closed systems, in the sense that their behavior is completely determined by the
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Jim Bean Case Study
interaction of their subsystems in order to interact with the environment and guarantee
predetermined, regular, and constant outputs.
When a company determines their goals, they have to be clear and specific. Successful
organizations also have to have to have set group of rules that mimic their governing
organizational behavior and formal structure. A strong and balanced formal structure key to
organizational operations because it defines the roles of each organizational member and what
tasks they have to perform. Jim Beam has established rules around not wasting time within their
formal structure of operations. Whereas the implementation of bathroom standards is example of
Jim Bean’s organizational behavior.
Rational systems stress the need for specialization, and this is validated in selecting a
team specialized in certain roles to ensure maximum efficiency (Al-bawaia et al., 2022). This
model emphasizes distinct goals and cooperative interactions between those who may differ in
knowledge, opinion, and experience. Rational systems perspective will fill this gap between
workers and Jim Beam leadership where both ends are not on agreeing sides.
As much as this system has the potential to point an organization to a successful path, just
like anything there are some downfalls to this perspective that could cause the system to fail.
Merchant and Simons (2019) assert that the system is simplistic and overlooks the inherent
complexity of human behavior within organizations. The strong emphasis on efficiency could be
a hurdle in an environment where employees want to express themselves and bring their
creativity to an organization. The hope is that the rational thinking and systems should empower
the employees and make them feel more a part of the organization.
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Jim Bean Case Study
Personal Perspective
The guidelines established by the Jim Beam organization seem fair due to the fact they
are based on standard occurrence and habit of employees. Jim Bean went above and beyond by
hiring a urologist to monitor and do the science behind it, so employees had factual information
that backs their managerial decision. Therefore, the break schedule designed for the employees
seems fair and employees should abide by it. Spraggon and Bodolica (2018) states, to address the
participants concerns, the scientific approach could be implemented in order to regularize
various schedules of individuals as they are associated with the mechanized system. Jim Bean
did this exact thing by bringing in a urologist to back up their claim of bathroom breaks
throughout the organization. The company should counteract this policy by focusing on
rewarding their employees for work initiatives and goals. This will boost morale and shed a
positive light in a negative light situation that’s brewing currently.
Biblical Perspective
The bible offers principles that are relatable to everyday situations and can specifically
can relate to this Jim Beam case study. In the bible it states, in the morning, ‘It will be stormy
today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky,
but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. (English Standard Version Bible, 2001,
Matthews. 16:3). Jim Bean has a reputation to uphold and has to run an organization that’s
favorable for their customers and most importantly their employees. This change in policy has
made it gloomy at the workplace for their employees but Jim Bean has to remember God’s
message and treat others with love and respect. Jim Bean’s best option is to hear out their
employees to make them feel heard and provide a positive that the employees can rely on to feel
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Jim Bean Case Study
References
Al-bawaia, E., Alshurideh, M., Obeidat, B., & Masa’deh, R. (2022). The impact of corporate
culture and employee motivation on organization effectiveness in Jordanian banking sector.
Academy of Strategic Management Journal, 21(2), 1-18.
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Raed-Masadeh/publication/356695020
Colombo, C. M., & Mella, P. (2021). “Organization.” A Multi-Facet Concept. Economia
Aziendale Online 2000 Web, 12(4), 487–506. https://doi.org/10.13132/2038- 5498/12.4.487-506
English Standard Version Bible. (2001). ESV Online. https://esv.literalword.com/
Merchant, K. A., & Simons, R. (2019). Research and control in complex organizations: an
overview. Management Control Theory, 469-490.
Scott, R. W, & Davis G. F. (2016). Organizations and Organizing: Rational, Natural, and Open
Systems Perspectives (1st ed.). New York, NY: Taylor and Francis Books. ISBN:
9780131958937.
Spraggon, M., & Bodolica, V. (2018). A practice-based framework for understanding (informal)
play as practice phenomena in organizations. Journal of Management and Organization, 24(6),
846-869. https://doi-org.ezproxy.liberty.edu/10.1017/jmo.2018.30
