I was at a local Target store and I noticed the area near the front of the store is called 'Guest Services', as if they are a hotel or something. Hmm, I didn't really feel like a guest as I was scanning the aisles looking for lightbulbs. Thats when I heard PA announcements calling for certain Target 'team members' to report somewhere or do such-and-such.

I've heard of and dealt with team concepts in the workplace. I suppose management wants to instill a sports spirit and camaraderie in its 'team'. Maybe studies show its good business to rename employees and customers, but for some reason I don't like it. I enjoy being an employee who works well with others, but I bristle at being called a team player.

Maybe its just me, but why not just call things what they are?

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1985 380SE Blue/Blue - 230,000 miles
2012 Subaru Forester 5-speed
2005 Toyota Sienna
2004 Chrysler Sebring convertible
1999 Toyota Tacoma

It a way for management to control their "team".

My guess is that if you work at a place like Target, it gives you a sense of your not alone in working at this $8./hr job. You're "part of the team".
So you can fantasize about being on the Patriots or the Yankees while you're working for managers who make $12/hr.

Not sure but just a guess.

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'87 924S
'81 280SEL

Sold ->

81 300SD -
93 300E w/ 3.2
85 300D-
79 300SD
82 300CD
83 300CD - CA
87 190E 5 spd
87 Porsche 924S

"..I'll take a simple "C" to "G" and feel brand new about it..."

Well, in Meriter Hospital, they called the people who watched the patients and made sure they didn't do anything to hurt themselves "Sitters". Well, they still had patients who were semi-consious do bad things like pull out their tubes and what not. Suddenly, they had a brilliant flash. They changed the names of the Sitters to Personal Safety Assistants. That should fix it all. Now nobody will do unsafe things.

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01 Ford Excursion Powerstroke
99 E300 Turbodiesel
91 Vette with 383 motor
05 Polaris Sportsman 800 EFI
06 Polaris Sportsman 500 EFI
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Red
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Yellow
04 Tailgator 21 ft Toy Hauler
11 Harley Davidson 883 SuperLow

I think that the addition or hint of a team gives them a sense they belong to something great. Look at the people who have "Team this, that and the other" stickers on their ricemobiles so they can think they are part of some race team. It is part of this mealy mouthed crap that they think will inspire people instead of money. Like my old boss used to say "Words only go so far." When he made a good bonus from our work, he would take us out for dinner and built loyalty to him and not to the company.

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01 Ford Excursion Powerstroke
99 E300 Turbodiesel
91 Vette with 383 motor
05 Polaris Sportsman 800 EFI
06 Polaris Sportsman 500 EFI
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Red
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Yellow
04 Tailgator 21 ft Toy Hauler
11 Harley Davidson 883 SuperLow

I never promoted anyone without feedback from he team. The only way to excel is to teamwork. Unless you're a really strong individual who can clean out the fryer and keep an eye on all the labels in the fridge and serve 200 customers at the same time I didn't see how you can not depend on the rest of the team. Bonuses were awarded based on individual performance, overall performance, and sales. You got feedback from the team and you gave feedback on the team. I got feedback from other departments on my employees and ours provided feedback on other employees from other departments. By the time the third year came around, our bonuses were almost a month's paycheck.

Teamwork works. Individuals can go into business for themselves.

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You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows - Robert A. Zimmerman

at mcdonalds we are a crew.. so i pretend to be like a sailor and say.. i need to rig the mizenmast capt.. and my boss looks at me all funny..

I like 'associates', as if the clerk at KMart is on the track to become a senior partner.

I do think that words are important and this kind of bullsh** is a victory for corporate power over labor. It's partly rooted in the managment 'quality' movement which set out to turn labor into teams and delude them into thinking they actually held corporate power. All of this in order to reduce levels of management by making workers self-managing without real power.

I think unions need a direct front attack with a public relations effort to rename associates and team members, Wage Slaves.

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

Fight propaganda with propaganda.

Poor soul. I used to work at McDonalds. I liked how everything had Mc in front of the name. The Soap for god sake was McSoap or something like that. I alway tell people I leaned all that I need to know to work there in one week. But it brought in money.

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But can the team fire a lousy captain?

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1985 380SE Blue/Blue - 230,000 miles
2012 Subaru Forester 5-speed
2005 Toyota Sienna
2004 Chrysler Sebring convertible
1999 Toyota Tacoma

Mutinity in the Kuan Shop? Set the offending Captain adrift with minimal supplies. Remember Captain Bligh?

__________________
01 Ford Excursion Powerstroke
99 E300 Turbodiesel
91 Vette with 383 motor
05 Polaris Sportsman 800 EFI
06 Polaris Sportsman 500 EFI
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Red
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Yellow
04 Tailgator 21 ft Toy Hauler
11 Harley Davidson 883 SuperLow

Howdy All,
When I started working for the company I'm with, all the janitors were called ........well, janitors. A few years later the janitors at company headquarters were called enviromental services techs. The facility where I worked they were called...... janitors. Finally that got changed.

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Frank X. Morris
17 Kia Niro
08 Jeep Wrangler 4 door unlimited

Not directly but if nobody liked you and you were difficult to work with you got lousy raises and bonuses. People like that have a tendency to move on.

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You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows - Robert A. Zimmerman

Once I accidentally got a glob of grease from my greasegun on my finger. I nonchalantly wiped the glob on the chassis, and instantly became a chassis lubrication technician instead of a messy greasemonkey.

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It is a truism that almost any sect, cult, or religion will legislate its creed into law if it acquires the political power to do so. Robert A. Heinlein


09 Jetta TDI
1985 300D

garbage men are sanitation engineers..