Replying to LO24879 --
[Host's Note: I believe Juan is forwarding to the list a private reply he
received. ..Rick]
Juan,
Thanks for the note. It is interesting. I would like to venture a bit of a
reply that you might forward to them, if you wish.
The concept of "ownership" is an illusion both for most employees and
senior management. The latter are as much employees as most of us but
with many more perks. I agree with all of Jan's remarks.
But "real ownership" may not make all that much difference. Years ago I
worked for many years as a consultant to the kibbutz movement in Israel
and , in particular , their industries and services. It dawne dupon me
that real owners can democratically decide to enslave themselves to their
machines and the market.
The conditions for a democratically run and owned business that might hold
people central to its economic future might be summarized in three
elements: humanized work which has been the domain of sociotechnical
systems design for many years, democratic management which does not mean
committees. It means that managers function before informed employees.
We do not have to formally vote. We vote with our feet and with our
indifference much more effectively and frequently. That has surfaced
recently in the form of open book management and "The Game of Business"
approach at Springfield Rebuilding Company, Jack Stack.
However, that is not enough , as my kibbutz experience taught me. As long
as we attribute profit to capital and not work, we will always be
"expenses" while the machines are "assets." And in the efforts to
economize, we are the variable costs to be minimized while the assets are
preserved.
We are deep in to the knowledge economy. The critical assets of firms are
walking around on two feet. Already, stock options and the like are
necessary to keep good people. The physical assets are no longer the
heart of many businesses.
We might as well treat capital as a fixed cost, to be paid for at current
rates, and attribute profits to where the action is - people. Then
empowerment will have feet, investments in human capital become
meaningful, and we will need to evolve shared visions with all of our
people instead of getting pseudo commitment in the form of "determined
head nodding."
I am hopeful.
--Juan P. Robertson PhD 21937 7th Avenue South #216 Des Moines, Washington 98198 206-824-3616 juant@wolfenet.com
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