Students in Prof. Anderson’s Organizational Communication (COMM 330) have been taking annual field trips to Trans-Matic, a deep draw and metal stamping company on the south side of Holland, since 2006. The company gives us a tour of the shop floor, tool room, CAD design room, calibration lab, and office spaces, to show us how production tasks are planned and coordinated across work units.
Students not only learn about this industry (which supplies metal parts for auto manufacture, boating manufacture, and home-building) but also practice doing field research. We observe how space is organized, how workers interact face-to-face and virtually, what management systems are currently used, how work is evaluated, and how the company’s culture has developed over time. Students then use these observational skills to research a different organization of their choice for their term project in the course. We so appreciate Trans-Matic’s hospitality and long-term relationship with the Communication Department.