Corp Unc & Philos

Renault : the meaning of meaning

Following the tragical events that took place in Renault, C.Ghosn declared :

"Renault does not have the right to fail, unlike one of its employees."

The meaning of these words is uncertain. When reading them, I understood that the suicide of a person is not important compared to corporate performance. I was wrong of course ; C.Ghosn meant the contrary. The coporate performance must be flawless whereas persons are allowed to make mistakes.

However, my reaction seems to be shared by others like this  Spanish blogger,  who strongly reacts.

This is a good example of the way words produce their meaning. The content is part of the clue, the context does the rest. A warning that the buzz around Renault may harm the corporate image, specially on the net.

Renault : suicides in search of a meaning

Within the past two years, five engineers working for Renault committed suicide ; four of them did it at their office. They were all employed in the R & D division (Le Technocentre) which is located near Paris.

The corporate management was more than cautious and immediately condemned the possible association between the facts and the working conditions. The unions on the contrary, point out the widespread feeling of anxiety among the personnel. They blame it partly on the workload and partly on the management style which too often consists in publicly humiliating the individuals.

Comments, specially on the net, focus the criticism on economic liberalism and on Carlos Ghosn, the CEO : the environment and the leader of the  firm are both seriously incriminated ; not the firm as such.

Yet, Renault has a long history which deserves attention. A french psychiatrist, known for his research on the causes of professional distress, gives us a clue in a few words : "Suicide is a signature. The place where it happens is meaningful, and says something to someone."

Precisely, the company follows a number of indicators of stress but as a human resource manager said :"We have not perceived the signals beforehand." It shows how dealing with the symptoms only, is inefficient, when it comes to human nature. Even worse, a global inquiry was conducted among all the employees of the firm, a few months ago, to check their involvement in the corporate strategy.

There is something missing obviously : the corporate unconscious is far more involved than liberalism or Mr Ghosn himself. Since it was created in 1899, Renault has always been a difficult working environment. Louis Renault, the founder, was a genius in mechanics but a very awkward manager diffusing anxiety across the company. Renault is an ideal case study regarding the mechanism fostering the duplication of personal behaviors, management style, organisation structures and corporate strategy, over the years. Changes in the environment, ownership and management, did not help.

The reality of corporate unconscious is all too obvious to be perceived, just like the letter sent to the queen in Edgar Poe's "The puloined letter". It is actually experienced by all those who work in the company ; what is missing is just talking about it.  The reason why it does not happen is the mystery of  the unconscious.

Five persons are dead, but as William Faulkner brilliantly wrote : "The past is never dead"

Renault, America and the return of the repressed

In the french newspaper Le Monde (July 18th 2006), I published a text, Renault, l'Amérique et le retour du refoulé about the Renault-Nissan-General Motors potential alliance. Going back into the past brings some light on the matter, and shows how the large corporations tend to repeat patterns of behaviour.

In spite of numerous attempts, Renault never succeeded on the american market. As to GM, the first bankruptcy took place in 1910, two years after its creation.

Obviously, it is the personality of Carlos Ghosn and his charism that are higly desirable in this potential deal, not the know-how of Renault as a firm. This is a sign that the Renault-Nissan alliance is not yet significant in terms of capitalistic links. It is as meaningful as the presence of the man who turned it into a success.