Mother-daughter team help bring GM's electric vehicles to life
Building electric vehicles has become a family affair for Evetta Osborne, 47, and her daughter, Monique Watson, 28. They see each other daily because they work side-by-side at General Motors' Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Plant. The mother-daughter duo have installed nearly every lithium-ion battery pack for GM's plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. That means they've helped give life to more than 80,000 electric vehicles, a fitting tribute as Mother's Day approaches. Their relationship improves GM as well, said Thomas J. Naughton, associate professor at Wayne State University's School of Business Administration. "From a larger perspective, we need more 'family' or 'clan' type cultures in our organizations," Naughton said. "There has been so much disruption and focus on cost-cutting and profits that many companies have lost sight of the importance of the fact that many employees want to contribute to their employer if given a chance."
