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CNN Saturday Morning News
Two Senators Are Calling for an Investigation into Some Motivational Methods Used by U.S. Postal Service
Aired May 03, 2003 - 07:48 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ROBIN MEADE, CNN ANCHOR: Two senators are calling for an investigation into some of the motivational methods used at the Postal Service.
Congressional correspondent Jonathan Karl explains this one.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JONATHAN KARL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This mock striptease is said to be part of a department bonding session conducted by the U.S. Postal Service's inspector general. According to current and former employees, it's part of the unusual management style of Karla Corcoran, the Postal Service's internal watchdog charged with rooting out waste, fraud and abuse.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We work on quality products and services.
KARL: Tapes shot by current and former employees of Corcoran and obtained by CNN from a former employee show team building retreats where Corcoran allegedly requires some of her 750 employees to do things like dress up as cats, sing songs like The Village People and work on group activities like building gingerbread houses. This photo shows employees lifting Corcoran up with strings during a team building session.
One former employee who asked to remain anonymous said she and her colleagues were forced to participate.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She had made these activities 50 percent of employees' ratings. So employees have to do them. It's like a gun to their head.
KARL (on camera): Corcoran now finds herself under fire from law makers, including Senators Byron Dorgan and Ron Widen, who say that she has wasted more than $3 million on her team building retreats. They want her fired.
(voice-over): But Corcoran says the charges are unfair and misleading. She says the team building sessions cost $73,000, not millions. In a written statement, Corcoran, who was appointed by Bill Clinton in 1997, said, "I have no plans to resign and I stand by the performance of my agency, which has identified more than $2.2 billion in savings and cost advances to the U.S. Postal Service and rate payers over the past six years.
Corcoran says the kind of team building exercises she uses are unusual in government, but are common practice in corporate America. In fact, the consultant she hired to work with her employees has also done work for dozens of Fortune 500 companies, including American Express and IBM.
Jonathan Karl, CNN, Capitol Hill.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Motivational Methods Used by U.S. Postal Service>
Aired May 3, 2003 - 07:48 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ROBIN MEADE, CNN ANCHOR: Two senators are calling for an investigation into some of the motivational methods used at the Postal Service.
Congressional correspondent Jonathan Karl explains this one.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JONATHAN KARL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This mock striptease is said to be part of a department bonding session conducted by the U.S. Postal Service's inspector general. According to current and former employees, it's part of the unusual management style of Karla Corcoran, the Postal Service's internal watchdog charged with rooting out waste, fraud and abuse.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We work on quality products and services.
KARL: Tapes shot by current and former employees of Corcoran and obtained by CNN from a former employee show team building retreats where Corcoran allegedly requires some of her 750 employees to do things like dress up as cats, sing songs like The Village People and work on group activities like building gingerbread houses. This photo shows employees lifting Corcoran up with strings during a team building session.
One former employee who asked to remain anonymous said she and her colleagues were forced to participate.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She had made these activities 50 percent of employees' ratings. So employees have to do them. It's like a gun to their head.
KARL (on camera): Corcoran now finds herself under fire from law makers, including Senators Byron Dorgan and Ron Widen, who say that she has wasted more than $3 million on her team building retreats. They want her fired.
(voice-over): But Corcoran says the charges are unfair and misleading. She says the team building sessions cost $73,000, not millions. In a written statement, Corcoran, who was appointed by Bill Clinton in 1997, said, "I have no plans to resign and I stand by the performance of my agency, which has identified more than $2.2 billion in savings and cost advances to the U.S. Postal Service and rate payers over the past six years.
Corcoran says the kind of team building exercises she uses are unusual in government, but are common practice in corporate America. In fact, the consultant she hired to work with her employees has also done work for dozens of Fortune 500 companies, including American Express and IBM.
Jonathan Karl, CNN, Capitol Hill.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Motivational Methods Used by U.S. Postal Service>
