You can get away with treating your employees like that if they only need to do menial work. But still, I wonder how sustainable was the increase in productivity? Because one explanation for that increase could be the fact that the employees felt they were being punished and were afraid to lose their only source of income, thus having to show work. Otherwise they would have left immediately under those conditions.
Another question is, could your father had had the same increase in productivity, or even more, if he had used other strategies, like productivity bonuses for the team?
Being nice and respectful is not something that you try to do despite the relentless market competition. It's something that you must do precisely because of that competition. The reason being, unless you can have a good working culture, you'll end up with a group of desperate people that have no where else to go. Good luck trying to come up with any creative work or idea with a company full of desperate people.
Another question is, could your father had had the same increase in productivity, or even more, if he had used other strategies, like productivity bonuses for the team?
Being nice and respectful is not something that you try to do despite the relentless market competition. It's something that you must do precisely because of that competition. The reason being, unless you can have a good working culture, you'll end up with a group of desperate people that have no where else to go. Good luck trying to come up with any creative work or idea with a company full of desperate people.