DonaldFG
VIP Member
- Jan 4, 2015
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Older citizens like me may remember reading professional magazines back on the 1970s and 80s in which occasional articles discussed the advantages of a corporate business model with an all powerful CEO. Blunt statements were made regularly about how much more efficiently companies operated when all "important decisions" were decided by one person - essentially a dictator. Yes, the term "dictator" was actually used to describe this! All debate was eliminated allowing the decision to be made and the company could move on with its business. At the time, I could not help thinking of the nerve and arrogance of these articles, especially considering that just a few decades earlier we fought a world war against fascism, a government where a dictator controlled everything.
Well, with the growing financial resources of huge companies, we have now witnessed what happens when these "dictators" gain such power. Not only do they completely dominate their own companies, but they also gain political power. And with this political power, we see the government being taken over by corporate agendas and leaving the people without representation. This is a picture of government not of the people and of dying democracy.
Is this type of corporate organization really accomplishing what corporations were formed to do? By their own admission, they were formed to serve the public. Let's take a little time to consider a different corporate structure - a structure that already exists and is doing well I might add. What happens when, instead of a few people at the top making the big decisions, these decisions are made by the employees themselves?
An inspirational example of what I am referring to is the Mondragon Corporation. Mondragon is a conglomerate of worker owned business cooperatives (originating in Spain) that are managed bottom-up, meaning the important decisions are made by the workers themselves. Management basically handles the details of what the majority of employees decide. Of course, this business model has to deal with much the same problems as any corporation; it just takes a little longer since the decisions are not made by one person. This business model has been so successful that it has grown into a multi-billion dollar industry that includes manufacturing, service, retail, and its own banking system. This has become a classic example of democracy at work. People can cooperate to do great things!
So, what are the advantages of the majority of employees making the important decisions? Consider this:
Economist Richard Wolff discusses these things in this 10 minute video. Professor Wolff has a way of clearly, concisely and bluntly stating economic truth.
Well, with the growing financial resources of huge companies, we have now witnessed what happens when these "dictators" gain such power. Not only do they completely dominate their own companies, but they also gain political power. And with this political power, we see the government being taken over by corporate agendas and leaving the people without representation. This is a picture of government not of the people and of dying democracy.
Is this type of corporate organization really accomplishing what corporations were formed to do? By their own admission, they were formed to serve the public. Let's take a little time to consider a different corporate structure - a structure that already exists and is doing well I might add. What happens when, instead of a few people at the top making the big decisions, these decisions are made by the employees themselves?
An inspirational example of what I am referring to is the Mondragon Corporation. Mondragon is a conglomerate of worker owned business cooperatives (originating in Spain) that are managed bottom-up, meaning the important decisions are made by the workers themselves. Management basically handles the details of what the majority of employees decide. Of course, this business model has to deal with much the same problems as any corporation; it just takes a little longer since the decisions are not made by one person. This business model has been so successful that it has grown into a multi-billion dollar industry that includes manufacturing, service, retail, and its own banking system. This has become a classic example of democracy at work. People can cooperate to do great things!
So, what are the advantages of the majority of employees making the important decisions? Consider this:
- Would an employee controlled company manufacture a product containing ingredients that are toxic for its workers, its customers, or the community? No!
- Would this company decide to move its manufacturing plant to Mexico or some other country for cheap labor? No!
- Would this company have a major layoff? No!
- If a manufacturing step was risky or dangerous, would this company fail to properly inform and protect employees involved? No!
- Would this company design products with planned obsolescence (inferior on purpose)? No!
Economist Richard Wolff discusses these things in this 10 minute video. Professor Wolff has a way of clearly, concisely and bluntly stating economic truth.
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