Open Letter to my Community

Dear Cardinal Glass employees,

As most of you know, as most of you have been hounded for personal opinions, during the past few weeks or so I have been working on an assignment for my Understanding Communities course and as most of you know I choose all of you to base my research on. As the conclusion to this project reaches the deadline I look back at everything I have learned about my community. From how the community was born to how it maintains itself during this economic struggle. A lot of my thinking has changed in terms of how I view my community now versus when I first began this assignment. Before this assignment I did not truly see certain aspects of how my community functions as a whole.

Before I started this class I really thought I knew what a community was and what it meant to be a part of one, but boy was I wrong. It wasn’t until after I started this project that I realized just how much I wasn’t seeing. As I moved forward in my project I began to realize just how much of a family type structure this company is. We are all looking out for each other’s best interests and I am truly grateful to be a part of this community. I have learned that a community is more than just the people that make it up; it is the root of the source of what defines it.

It is also amazing to see that even though we have faced economic hardship it has not derailed us from moving forward as a community. With our most recent accomplishment of beginning to produce laminated glass that will better hold up against server weather conditions such as those seen following hurricane Katrina and more recently hurricane Sandy.

I would like to conclude this letter by expressing my greatest appreciation to those that helped me during the process of finishing this project. I want to thank those that took the time out of their days to sit down with me and have thoughtful conversations about what this community means to them as well as those that answered my questions with thoughtful responses. I really do look forward to at least a few more years with this community before moving on to bigger things and I hope that as we move forward we continue to grow and thrive as a community.

 

Sincerely,

Christoper Cutchall

Critical Analysis

As my community mainly revolves around a business its current biggest challenge is finding a way to maintain itself during an economic hardship. Since about 2007 Cardinal Glass has been losing smaller customers due to businesses going “under” during this economic struggle. Cardinal however has maintained a stand against the economic strain all while still maintaining the things that matter most to its employees. Of these things, some include its healthcare coverage and its overall sense of family togetherness, and because Cardinal Glass lacks a bureaucratic undertone to its business; it is a lot easier for it to make decisions that benefit the people rather than the shareholders. Over the past few weeks I have attempted to get a better look at how this has affected the community; the following is what I have discovered.

For my first interview I decided to speak with the “head honcho” and get his take on how the economy has not only affected us as a community but also the company as a whole. Though he had more than a few good and bad things to discuss, I was faced with weeding out what was most important versus the not so important. The following is what I found to be most relevant to the topic at hand. I had asked how the loss of smaller business has affected us as a community as well as how it affected him on a more personal level. At first he discussed the financial aspects of how loss of business affects how well a company can thrive in this type of an economy and he mentioned how being a specialized type of company that is still needed throughout the world on a daily basis helps keep us from going “under”. In addition, not only did he discuss this but also that we are a specialized company that is considered the number one supplier due to its emphasis in the quality of its product. As for the financial aspect, he discussed how Cardinal Glass was more of a business that promotes morale within its employees. He also discussed how profit sharing works within the company and how even though the company is still making a positive profit it has not reached a point in which it would need to consider laying its employees off or cutting benefits like some other big companies have decided to do.

For my second interview I decided to speak with my supervisor, a 10 year employee who has been with the company long enough to know how it used to be versus how what it has become. I asked him how he viewed Cardinal then versus now and though he was mainly concerned with the lack of profit sharing the company has been able to reach he did maintain that the company for the most part is still thriving. With the introduction of new products such as it new storm resistant laminated glass and the perseverance of the community it has lead him to ultimately stay with the company despite other job offers. I also asked how he felt the community has benefited and suffered from the current economic struggle. He discussed how even though the company has suffered during the past few years it has not lost sight of where it is going. One thing he said that really stuck in my head was, “We all have to work to maintain a living, you know, some people work at a desk in offices and some people work out on production lines, but as long as we don’t keep secrets about how the business is doing we will continue to maintain a good morale throughout the plant, and that is a huge part of what is keeping this company moving forward through these tough times.”

For my third interview I decided to speak with a new employee to get a fresher outlook on how this community may or may not have a hindrance on people looking for employment in this current economic time. I asked him what he thought of the company so far and how the atmosphere felt to him as an individual. The following is what he had to share. As we spoke I got the feeling that he really felt comfortable in this community and he gave the impression that he really enjoyed the people he worked with. He told me that at a previous employer he was treated with no respect and eventually laid off due to higher ups wanting to get a higher pay raise. He spoke with great resentment toward the previous employer due to the fact that he spent 5 years working for the company and was hardly praised for any of the work he did as well as hardly recognized for any accomplishments he achieved. However, in the short time that he has been a part of our community he has learned a lot and I really think it has helped him get over being laid off by his previous employer.

All in all we are in n economic struggle but we are doing everything in our power to maintain what we as a community have always maintained, and that is our shared communal atmosphere. We truly do work together as one to maintain the best morale possible and with a great deal of personal effort on everyone’s part we will overcome this economic struggle together and hopefully in the end we will come out better than we did before the economy began to fall.

           

Community and Place

A Brief of Cardinal Glass and the Importance of Location

 

 Tempering Plant:

At Cardinal Tempering Plants, employees gather to produce large quantities of tempered glass products. Tempered glass products go through a special heat treatment process. This process includes processing each piece of glass through a large furnace and then super cooling it to increase its overall durability. A tempered product is designed to reduce the risk of serious injury in the event that the glass breaks and it is commonly used in commercial and residential applications.

Float Glass Plant:

The largest of all plants, float glass plants produce large sheets of glass at various thicknesses ranging from 1.6 millimeters to 7 millimeters. This is accomplished by the use of large mechanical racking machines that handle large sheets of glass which requires little to no human handling thus providing a safer working environment for employees.

Research and Development:

At Cardinal’s research and development sites various technological advances are made that provide better products. In order to maintain Cardinals top of the line products new strategies and ideas are implemented each day in order to stay on top of the market and keep Cardinal Glass the gold standard for glass products.

Coated Glass Plant:

At coated glass plants, special metals are fused to glass to create more energy efficient glass products. Primarily used in residential applications, coated glass products provide better heating and cooling efficiency within commercial and residential buildings. The coated process is possible due to a specially designed machine that uses metal particles to coat glass. These machines are closely monitored for various complications and potential out of specification defects that may occur during the coating process.

Analysis:

The definition of “place” to my community is better understood through a business viewpoint because my community essentially revolves around a business, the two go hand-in-hand. It is no secret that much the same as real estate, location is the key for any place to thrive. This is why Cardinal Glass has built various plant locations in strategic locations to provide the most beneficial effect for the area. By integrating area needs with business needs, Cardinal Glass has erected many plant locations throughout the country. All of Cardinal Glass’ facilities work with each other to provide the best product possible for the consumer, and though Cardinal Glass does ship products across the globe it is a relief to know that this company has no intention of shipping jobs.

The loss of place for my community would be detrimental to the growth of the business. Without a business’s employees it is nothing. In our current economic struggle lots of businesses have taken hard hits. Some even so much that they have been wiped off the map all together. Though Cardinal Glass has taken a hit in the amount of product it is selling that has not stopped it from running. The need for top of the line glass products is still in demand on a smaller scale yet since the construction of new residential areas have all but stopped the volume of the demand has decreased. Less than a decade ago Cardinal Glass was setting up to produce solar energy products. However, since the decline in the market for this type of advancement has decreased the ongoing production of the product has as well.

Community in a Global Society

Since it was founded by M.L. Gordon in 1962, Cardinal Glass Industries has been leading the way in technological advances in the distribution and manufacturing of glass products across the United States. Cardinal Glass Industries is the perfect example of globalization from a production stand point. At Cardinal Glass we strive to produce the best quality product we possibly can, shipping to both foreign and domestic customers on a daily basis. At Cardinal we are constantly looking for new ways to become more energy efficient in our production as well as through our products. Because our success is greatly dependent upon the satisfaction of our customers it is our daily concern to remain highly competitive in the marketplace through producing the best possible quality products and maintaining the best customer service we can every day.

Cardinal Glass has a large spread of connectivity throughout the country and even into foreign lands. Cardinal Glass Industries is grounded in multiple locations throughout the United States. From Florida all the way up to Washington State. Each plant distributes a specific type of glass product ranging from insulated glass to tempered glass production plants. Around 1968 Cardinal Glass began expansion from its single factory in Minnesota and built six new factories throughout the Midwest to meet growing supply demands throughout the country. (www.cardinalcorp.com) This pioneered Cardinals growth for the future. Since its expansion Cardinal Glass has become the gold standard for glass production throughout the world, and since the early 90’s has even begun supplying foreign companies with its excellent product. As of today, roughly 20% of Cardinal’s profits come from foreign business. (www.cardinalcorp.com)

Becoming the global leader in glass production and distribution and in response to the rising demand to become more energy efficient and in an effort to produce a more energy efficient product Cardinal Glass began production of its LoE coated product. However, during the time of its development Cardinal was unsuccessful in finding a company to buy coated glass products from. This left Cardinal with a decision that began an even further advancement throughout the company. In the 1980’s Cardinal built its own coated glass production factories. As of today, Cardinal Glass currently has nine Coated Glass (CG) factories placed throughout the country. Of those nine, one happens to be the factory that I am currently employed by. My community is solely based out of this location, but shares a similar community with all other CG plants.

Over the course of 50 years Cardinal Glass has grown from a single factory to a billion dollar industry. A large part of Cardinal’s success is in its employees. Showing that part of globalization is also at a local level. The term globalization is often times confused in its meaning. Often people misconstrue the meaning of globalization to be something large, hence the term global.  Cardinal’s employees drive its business, and because of the lack of bureaucracy within the company it is really to each his own as to one’s personal advancement within the company.

 

Works Citied:

http://www.cardinalcorp.com; Date Accessed, October 14, 2012

An Introduction to a Community

 

 

Introduction:

          Here at Cardinal Glass we have a large community that is structurally designed with each employee in mind. There is an extreme lack of bureaucracy within our community and that allows us to be more structured as a family type of community rather than a business type. Of course our main goal here is making money that does not take precedent over working together for a common goal. Our managerial staff is devoted to making this the best place for everyone that has chosen to be a part of this community.

Social Network Map:

          The social network map, found on the proceeding page, shows how our community operates on a communication stand point. Communication for this community is one of the most important forms of contact we have with one another. The map shows how each job communicates with every other job as well as the amount of communication each job has with one another. As this is a production line that relies on everyone to do their job in order to make the best quality product possible, it is very important that each job stays within its necessary communication with every job. Members of this community are specifically identified by the jobs that they perform on the production line.