Mike Enfield sat at his desk and looked out
across
the 21,440-square-foot plant floor of the General Dynamics assembly and
test
facility in the Navajo Nation. As plant manager, he knew that the
company was
in the middle of negotiations with the Navajo Tribe to extend the
company's
lease for another 20 years. Given his experience with the facility, he
wondered
if it was worth it. "I'd describe
us as a 'school bus'—a 1952 school bus! We continually put new engines
in so
that we don't have to buy a new body. We just never breakdown," said
Enfield, when asked to describe his operation. "Around here everybody
wears more than one hat. This is a utility vehicle. Maybe you can
afford a new
motor, but you can't afford the whole thing very often. I'm not a
Masarati and
I wouldn't want to be. That's for the snobs from somewhere else."
It
was late
1984 and lease negotiations with the Navajo Tribal Council had been
underway
for over a year. General Dynamics wanted to expand the building by
15,000
square feet and to extend the existing long-term lease. Enfield
continued:
"I think business can operate here very well—if people running the
business are willing to go into the Navajo culture and learn rather
than trying
to force the Navajo into our culture when they don't want to come in."
He
believed his Navajo employees, all 320 of them, could meet any trial.
In the mid-1960s General Dynamics needed to expand its electronic assembly capability to handle excess work at the Pomona Division Plant in California. New con-tracts with the Department of the Navy, the Department of the Air Force, and the U.S. Missile Command would require additional floor space and an expanded work force. Several sites were considered. For example, there were possibilities in Asia. Atari was moving a plant from California to the Far East to be more profitable, resulting in the loss of 1700 jobs in California. Mexico had a large available labor force. Canada seemed a possibility, but there were some problems with transportation.
After preliminary discussions with the Navajo
Tribe and the Bureau of Indian Affairs in 1967, General Dynamics
decided to
pursue the possibility of locating near Window Rock, Arizona. It
appeared to be
an attractive business opportunity and a
chance to play a positive role in Navajo economic development.
The
Navajo Nation is
located in the four comers area of the Southwestern United States where
the
borders of Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona meet.
THE NAVAJO NATION IN THE FOUR CORNERS REGION
Two factors seemed basic. First, General
Dynamics believed that a socially responsive company would have to be
committed
to a positive role in Navajo economic development, reservation life,
and the
well-being of the people living in the area. Second, the company would
have to
operate more profitably in the Navajo Nation environment than at
another
location. This second factor would be a primary factor in the decision
to open
a plant in any location.
William H. Govette, Pomona's Vice President of Fabrication and Assembly, who was responsible for the operation of the Navajo Facility in 1984, recalls that General Dynamics had four initial concerns.(1)
1. Was there a plant site that offered sufficient available labor, ample housing, and adequate transportation service?
2. What type of building would be required to manufacture the
product?
Was the required building available or would the tribe be willing to
build a
facility that suited the company needs?
3. Was
the Tribe willing to purchase the equipment necessary for production?
4. How
would the training of employees be provided?
In 1968, Navajo medicine men performed the traditional blessing ceremony at the dedication of the new General Dynamics Navajo Facility at Fort Defiance, Arizona. The blessing chants referred to beauty and harmony in an indefinite, intangible, time and space.
May it be delightful my house;
From my head may it be delightful;
To my feet may it be delightful;
Where I lie may it be delightful;
All above me may it be delightful;
All around me may it be delightful.
Enfield
and the first fifty Navajo employees could now pass beyond the
neat split rail fence and enter the new air-conditioned steel and
concrete
electronic assembly plant.
The Navajo Tribe had constructed a modem
building to General Dynamics' specifications. The lease agreement had a
15-year
term, with a guarantee that 75 percent of the construction cost would
be paid
back in 5 years and the remaining 24 percent over the next 10 years.
The tribe
had also agreed that major repairs and modifications would be
negotiated. To
equip the plant, the tribe agreed to purchase all required equipment.
General
Dynamics then leased the equipment and agreed to repay the cost of the
items
over a 10-year period.
The site was 5 miles from tribal headquarters
at Window Rock and 35 miles from Gallup, New Mexico, on interstate
highway
1-40. Major truck, bus, and scheduled airline routes pass through
Gallup.
Window Rock has a 6700-foot paved, lighted private landing strip.
The partnership between General Dynamics and the Navajo
Nation was the
result of fortunate timing. In 1968, the Bureau of Indian Affairs was
encouraging industry to locate on Indian land, and Pomona needed to
expand its
electronic assembly capability to provide missile components to Navy
and Air
Force contracts. By 1984, the population of the Navajo Nation was
rapidly
approaching 200,000; 33.9 percent were unemployed, and about 18,000
Navajo
people were actively seeking work.(2)
Dennis Hardy, the Navajo superintendent of Standard Missile,
talked
about the early days of training the Navajo employees. "General
Dynamics
originally entered into an agreement with the Manpower Development and
Training
Act Federal Funding Program to train employees in electronic assembly
through a
6-week course. Later we moved to a 40-hour concentrated course. Did all
our own
screening and training." Hardy has his white shirt sleeves turned up at
the cuffs. The coat to his gray suit was draped over a chair and his
vest was
open. Outside the window of the Navajo facility a dog howled and an
answering
yowling seemed to come from nearby. Hardy stopped to listen. Then he
talked for
a while about the full-grown German shepherd he recently brought back
from the
Flagstaff Animal shelter for his 4-year old son.
After a detailed description of the Flagstaff trip, Hardy
straightened
his tie and returned to the discussion of training:
Employees are now given detailed training at the time of hiring—usually in basic soldering, welding, and assembly. On-the-job training lasts from a few weeks to several months, depending on the job complexity. Anyway, under the old Manpower Development courses we were producing 40 percent rejects. That had to change. With our own training program, rejects are now less than 10 percent.
By 1984, the facility was involved in assembly work all the way from insertion of electronic components into circuit boards to final assembly of the Standard issile and Phalanx Missile lines.
Art Stockdale, who conducted professional development activities both on-site at Fort Defiance and at the Pomona division headquarters, reported on the avajo facility trainees:
I have not found a more attentive and appreciative group. Each participant is willing to relate both work and cultural experiences to the concepts that are presented. I found that as a group they are dedicated employees. The mutual respect that they have for one another is something all organizations would do well to emulate.
"I was QA manager for years," said Enfield. "We're on a par with anybody. I'm a great believer in these Navajo people. I'm betting my butt on them. They have something going that doesn't go on anywhere else. That is, this isn't simply General Dynamics, this is The Navajo Facility!'
Over the years, the Fort Defiance, Arizona, plant generally
met or
exceeded established cost, quantity, and quality requirements for each
product.
The on-site managers consistently reported that quality control simply
wasn't
needed. This cut expenditures and made the product both high quality
and low
cost.
General Dynamics realized a definite affirmative action advantage through the employment of Native American Indians, who were underrepresented in the general work force. This gave the company an advantage in bids on U.S. government contract work. Additionally, with the high unemployment rate on the Navajo Nation, most of the company's new employees began work at federal minimum wage pay rates or only slightly higher than current rates. Job progression in the Navajo facility began with basic assembly and moved on to more advanced assembly techniques with increases in pay at each progression. In spite of minimum wage rates, Enfield believed the employees were the best in the aerospace industry. "I have never heard one person who works for me tell me 'you can't do it that way.' You give them the work, and they do it—they are superproductive. Our high productivity is related to the 90 percent acceptance rates."
Enfield reported that turnover rates were about the same as
in the
surrounding states, but he said he didn't count statistics. "If they
fail
school, that's not Job-related turnover." By 1984, nine of the
employees
had 15 years of service, thirty had 10 years, and thirty-three had more
than 5
years. Turnover rates had averaged about 10 percent per year. Enfield
insisted
that the average to low turnover rates were evidence of Navajo
employees'
satisfaction with both their wages and their jobs.
Mattie Singer, a Navajo production supervisor for Standard Missile, said that there was always the need to leam to operate new equipment. Singer started work at the Navajo facility about the same time as Hardy. "I like it when there's a lot of challenge," confided Singer. "In the 16 years I've been here, I've enjoyed every minute. There are so many things I have benefitted from. Dineh [the Navajo people] have a skilled crafts tradition. We take what someone shows us, and then we make it better." Mattie Singer's picture is in the entryway next to the perfect attendance chart. Her team recently won a trophy in the bowling tournament.
Because the Navajo Nation is located within U.S. borders, the temptation was to adopt a business and management model appropriate to California, or Michigan, or Georgia. It was difficult to think of the Navajo Nation as a foreign country. Shouldn't companies here be able to operate as they would in any domestic location? General Dynamics said "no," and the General Dynamics management team adjusted to the customs of the host culture as in an international setting. A smile appeared across Mike Enfield's suntanned features when he talked about cross-cultural considerations.
Corporate life for most means that if you're not in the intensive care
ward, you're not a success. You've got to be able to scream and
intimidate. The
Navajo will simply refuse to do it if you order them around. I get just
bristling mad cause I can't force my will upon them. Pretty soon when
you get
beat up as much as I have you say, "maybe if I just ask them to do it,
they'll do it."
We're going for a twenty-year lease right now and expanding the building, but none of those things would have happened if we didn't produce our way, the Navajo way. Our philosophical way. I lean toward the Navajo peacefulness not toward the traditional corporate grind, not toward U.S. business practices.
Enfield believed that without knowledge of, and respect for, the Navajo culture the General Dynamics operation would have collapsed. To avoid this, General Dynamics took great care to ensure that the culture was respected.
First, before making the decision to locate in the Navajo Nation, the company made extensive studies of Navajo culture and traditions. Table 1 contains a Navajo adaptation of Edward T. Hall's cultural primary message systems researched by Bill Strasen at General Dynamics in the mid-1960s and made available to General Dynamics staff.
The company's Industrial Relations Educational Services
produced a
thirty-page monograph to assist personnel who visited or worked in the
Navajo
Nation The monograph, with an extensive bibliography, contained
information on
geography, history, economy, religion, social structure, belief system,
and
education
Second the company took pains to assure respect and acceptance of Navajo traditions by careful screening and briefing of non-Indian employees before visits to the Navajo facility. Candidates for positions had to show a willingness to relocate to a totally different type of environment.
Third non-Indian candidates for managerial positions spent several days in the Fort Defiance area with their families. They met members of the Navajo tribe with whom they would work on a regular basis. Housing, schools, and employment of the entire family were discussed. Frequently, non-Indian candidates decided they might not enjoy, or even tolerate, being a visible, white European American minority person within the dominant American Indian culture.
Fourth General
Dynamics continued the screening process until suitable non-Indian
candidates
were found. In the Navajo culture, family and religious
responsibilities truly
predominated and were respected by the organization even when those
customs
were at odds with traditional U.S. business practice. A balance had to
be
achieved between the company's production needs and a unique tribal
culture.
| Interaction | Very precise language in description and meaning. All communication is face-to-face, verbal, with unanimous agreement of everyone a vital requirement. |
| Association | No formal "tribe." Family organization based on "clan" of wife's relatives. Richer men may have more than one wife (in separate hogans). |
| Subsistence | Primarily an agrarian culture. Sheep are very important to the Navajo. |
| Gender Status | Women are equal of men, and often are the key decision makers. |
| Territoriality | Within hogan women sit only on south side, men only on north side. Grazing land and "sacred" salt areas are shared by all. |
| Temporality | Time is measured by the season or task to be accomplished, not by whiteman's minutes and hours. |
| Learning |
All teaching is verbal; learning is by mimic and rote. Instructors are the oldest, hence wisest, members of the clan. Until 1960 there were no Navajo writings from which to learn. |
| Play | Navajo enjoy humor. Recreation is geared to noncompetitive games. |
| Relationships | The "medicine man" is the supreme authority. The entire "clan" is responsible for a wrong doing by one of its members. |
| Resource Exploitation | Hogans constructed of mud, grass, and logs. Adapts to environment. |
| Source: Adapted from a framework of Edward T. Hall by Bill Strassen, General Dynamics Corporation, Pomona. CA, 1976. |
"In California or Arizona you would discipline someone who was gone nine days, but here we put them on leave of absence. You've got to recognize their right to go to the nine-day Yeibichai healing ceremony, and you've got to recognize that their job is second to that—not first," said Enfield when asked about absenteeism. The Yeibichai healing rite is only one of many ceremonials.
Dennis Hardy agreed, "You know, we have no separate word for 'religion.' The white man turns his religion on and off. With us, each and every daily act is influenced by the supernatural."
In such circumstances, absenteeism can easily become a
problem. Enfield
said he planned for absenteeism by overstaffing. There were then enough
people
on hand to perform day-to-day tasks, and there were no large
fluctuations in
the work force. Nevertheless, a major
concern was a work force unaccustomed to coming to work every scheduled
work
day.
The long-range goal of General Dynamics was to adequately train Navajos to take over the operation of the facility. Navajos identified as having management potential were brought to the Pomona, California, plant for management and technical training. Management training was also carried on at Fort Defiance. The Navajo Nation facility opened with a management team of 26 non-Indians. By 1984 the facility had over 300 employees, and 14 of the 22-member management team were Navajos. Enfield said:
Amy Alien is a Navajo in production control being trained by Carl Gentry. Edna Yazzie, Donald Young, Ernest Tso—they're all being trained for various disciplines. All we've got to do is be smart enough to put them to work. That's what I'm doing. We now have two production superintendents, and both are Navajos. The personnel and cost person is a Navajo being trained for all the finance administration. . . . What do you do with a guy like me who's been here 15 years. My wife's a Navajo. Throw me out? You've got three of us like that. I think we consider ourselves Navajos. We're probably closer to that than our own society. But, we have a neat thing in that we recognize both. We prefer one over the other, but we know how to deal with both.
While alcohol-related problems exist in industry located in all areas, such problems have been extensive and acute on American Indian Reservations, where high unemployment has exacerbated an already serious alcoholism rate. General Dynamics needed to be informed in detail in order to cope with the situation adequately. With tribal agency cooperation, plant management worked with families to reduce or correct alcohol-related difficulties. General Dynamics looked upon their relationship with the tribe as a partnership. They were partners, working together to solve mutual problems and improve local economic and social conditions.
An industrial environment demands that all employees, regardless of position, keep current with the "state of the art" in their occupation. In 1984, continuing-education facilities in the Navajo Nation were minimal or non-existent. The Navajo Tribe was considering this factor and moving toward consensus to create the necessary educational facilities so that their employees could advance and ultimately move into management. However, to date nothing concrete had been done.
Because all land belongs to the tribe, neither Navajo nor non-Indian employees could simply go out and buy a lot and build a house. There were no apartment complexes, townhouses, or condos until you reached Gallup, New Mexico, 35 miles to the southeast. Housing for Navajo employees was not readily available, especially if the employee was from another part of the reservation. Navajo Indians were accustomed to waiting 6 years to get a home site lease. The limited housing provided for Indians was not available to non-Indian personnel.
Medical help for non-Indians on the Navajo Nation was almost non-existent. The large Indian Health Service hospital at Fort Defiance was for Indians only, since Indian hospitals are operated as part of Indian treaty agreements with the federal government. For non-Indians, the closest medical facilities were in Gallup. General Dynamics managers felt this was a serious problem, especially for non-Indian families with children. (In 1984, only eight non-Indian families with children remained on the Navajo Facility staff.)
The Navajo Tribe was governed by a Tribal Council composed of
seventy-four
elected members and presided over by a chairman and vice chairman. The
seventy-four delegates represented the number of districts, called
"chapters," spread across the Navajo Nation. Meetings were held every
three months, and unanimous decisions were preferred. Consensus
building took
time. Everyone had to approve or disapprove, so things moved slowly.
Fourteen
different committees with from three to eighteen members advised the
Tribal
Council on matters such as health, education, alcohol, resources and
welfare.
Chapter officers and grazing committees also advised the Tribal Council
as did
the judiciary.
Tribal officers had an "official" vested interest in encouraging business investment and development. However, nonofficial people, both Indian and non-Indian government bureaucrats, displayed a greater diversity of opinions about such investment. Corporate representatives needed to seek out a variety of people to gain a fuller comprehension of the total environment. Bureau of Indian Affairs officials, local business persons, teachers, editors of local newspapers, and other members of the Indian population needed to be consulted.
Lease negotiations were frustrating and time-consuming because tribal officials sometimes could not reconcile the needs of industry with tribal needs. "If it's a question of Janie Tso's sheep grazing on a particular corner lot versus an electronic assembly facility employing a hundred people, those sheep are probably going to have first priority," said Dennis Hardy. "And, maybe they should have priority. The dineh have been here a long time. We'll still be here when the industries are gone."
Building improvements and modifications were extremely complex because many tribal and government committees had to give approval. Both the Navajo Tribal Council and the Bureau of Indian Affairs must approve all lease agreements. In the years between the mid-1960s, when General Dynamics began operations at the Navajo Facility, and the mid-1980s new layers were added to both of these bureaucratic structures. Each of these new offices had to supply its approval, and what little centralization had existed in the past became nonexistent. Lease agreements requiring 10 years of negotiation were not infrequent. Enfield estimated that the lease agreement necessitated that a company representative be at tribal headquarters in Window Rock almost daily to complete the sixty-seven-step site lease process and receive archaeological clearance and governmental assessment under seven separate federal laws.(3)
Additionally, tribal elections, which were conducted every four years, could bring lease negotiations to a standstill. In the past, negotiations that had been under way for as long as three years and were Hearing completion had been scrapped when the election of a new tribal chair put things back to square one. Historically, a new tribal chair changed tribal government personnel completely. Everyone was replaced—from top administrators, to clerical staff, tojanitorial services. Long-standing animosities frequently developed among tribal political factions, preventing implementations of planned development.
In 1972, the Navajo 10-Year Plan for industrial development on the Navajo Nation was promulgated by Tribal Chairman Peter MacDonald. The following were the objectives of the plan.
1. What is rightfully ours, we must protect; what is rightfully due us, we must claim.
2. What we depend on from others, we must replace with the labor of our own hands and skills of our own people.
3. What we do not have, we must bring into being. We must
create for
ourselves.(4)
The original General Dynamics lease negotiated in 1967 required a year for initial approval under Tribal Chairman Raymond Nakai. However, as the original 15-year lease neared completion in the early 1980s, the corporation seeking a new 20-year lease and expanded plant, found itself dealing with officials who could not reconcile the corporation's and tribe's needs. Unrealistic demands were made and time was lost. In addition to renegotiating the original lease, the General Dynamics Pomona Division was seeking to expand to a second off-site assembly facility in the Navajo Nation.
The Navajo Tribe had land, a highly stable, dedicated work force, and a proud heritage of craftsmanship, productivity, and quality. However, the tribe also had a multilayered bureaucracy that was slow to respond to private industry.
The federal government's Overseas Private Investment Corporation encouraged economic development programs in foreign countries through direct loans, loan guarantees, and insurance against political risk, but these programs were unavailable to private industry seeking to locate on sovereign American Indian nations.
Back
in the
Navajo facility at Fort Defiance, Arizona, Mike Enfield wondered how
the tribe
could achieve government centralization and stability to facilitate
economic
development. He wondered whether or not General Dynamics should
continue with
negotiations for the second facility in the Navajo Nation. Even the
needed
approval for lease extension and expansion of the present plant was
still
circulating through the layers of Navajo bureaucracy. He sat down to
list both
the advantages and the disadvantages of operating on the Navajo Indian
Reservation. How long could he keep the old 1952 school bus going? How
should
General Dynamics react to the objectives in Peter MacDonald's 10-Year
Plan?
Certainly there were some concessions General Dynamics might try to get
from
the tribe after 16 years of successful operation. A mutually beneficial
partnership
forged from respect and understanding now existed. Enfield wanted to
keep that
partnership alive and growing, but it was an ethical dilemma. Were
employee
pride and favorable public image enough? Should a company seek to
establish a
viable business operation for purely ethical reasons?(5)
(1) William H. Govette. Address at the American Indian National Bank Enterprise and Resource Development Seminar, Albuquerque, New Mexico, March 22, 1983.
(2) Edward T.
Hall. The Silent Language, Fawcett Publications, Greenwich,
Conn., 1959.
(3) Navajo Economic Development Program 1988 Annual Progress Report, The Navajo Tribe, Window Rock, 1988.
(4) "Business
Site Lease Procedures," Navajo Reservation and Tribal Trust Land, final draft, August 23, 1991
(5) A study to Identify Potentially
Feasible
Small Business of the Navajo Nation, vol 2.
Center for Business and Economic Research, Brigham Young
University,
Provo, Utah, 1975.