Malcom Burson asks:
>What is the impact on organizational learning (and particularly on
>nurturing the five disciplines) when even relatively well-paid front line
>workers and supervisors perceive that their labor is, in part, making a
>very few people in the company incredibly wealthy? or don't we think
>anyone notices..........?
It's a legitimate question, but a somewhat dangerous one. Yes, I think
people do notice ... and I also think that most people who do notice draw
the wrong conclusions.
First, please let me say that I believe there is too much disparity
between the highest paid and lowest paid people in many, many companies.
I do not support it. However ...
I've learned to be very careful about "socialistic" reforms of a
"capitalistic" system. Take away too much of such kinds of disparities
and you destroy the ability of the system to succeed. What we (all too
easily) call "unfair" or a "disparity" is actually the incentive that
makes the whole system work! I often don't like the unintended side
effects of providing higher rewards to certain people and lesser rewards
to others, but until we come up with a better way of running our economic
system I think we ought not to take away its fundamental engine.
It helps me to think about this situation in its converse way. Suppose
you took more risks, worked harder, sweated more blood, sacrificed more of
your family life -- and, when the enterprise succeeded, got no more than
someone who just showed up every day. Would you feel that was fair? Or,
what if you devoted yourself to a field of endeavor for many years and
achieved a high level of expertise and experience which you contributed
daily to an enterprise, helping it succeed -- how would you feel if
someone fresh out of school got the same reward as you?
Or (and this was the one that made me rethink things many years ago) -- I
discovered that a certain salesperson in my company had earned more than
$500,000 the previous year and I challenged the CEO to justify such
compensation. He smiled and put a proposition to me: "John, what if I
asked you to give me $50 and in return I'd give you $500? Would you give
me the $50? Well, the salesperson to whom I gave $500,000 last year
generated company profits of more than $5,000,000."
Is it "fair" that the salesperson earns $500,000 and I was earning about
$35,000? Perhaps not. Did I want the CEO to stop paying the salesperson
the $500,000? Absolutely not!!!
--"John Gunkler" <jgunkler@sprintmail.com>
Learning-org -- Hosted by Rick Karash <rkarash@karash.com> Public Dialog on Learning Organizations -- <http://www.learning-org.com>