Abstract
Harvey Samuel Firestone, the founder of the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, developed a unique management style to govern his employee relations and urban investment strategies. This study defines his model and labels it, “industrial collaboration.” The model’s dualistic goal aimed to improve workplace efficiency and maximize employee well-being through a series of benefit programs that addressed the most pressing needs of the community. Harvey formed his model as a reflection of his own values and as a hybrid of previous industrial relations concepts. The company implemented industrial collaboration in its hometown of Akron, Ohio and in Liberia where it operated a series of rubber plantations. A comparison of Firestone’s Akron and Liberian operation reveals several cultural and structural differences between the sites, which altered the appearance of industrial collaboration. Identifying these differences provides an understanding of the impact of Firestone’s operations and highlights the company’s ability to alter the lives of its employees.
Advisor
Baumgartner, Kabria
Department
History
Recommended Citation
Carano, Marcus, "The Rubber City’s Other Export: Harvey Samuel Firestone’s Urban Investment and Employee Management Policy in Akron, Ohio and Liberia" (2016). Senior Independent Study Theses. Paper 7304.
https://openworks.wooster.edu/independentstudy/7304
Disciplines
Arts and Humanities
Keywords
The College of Wooster, Senior Independent Study, Firestone, Harvey Firestone, industrial collaboration, urban investment, employee management, Akron, Liberia
Publication Date
2016
Degree Granted
Bachelor of Arts
Document Type
Senior Independent Study Thesis
© Copyright 2016 Marcus Carano