Work Place Democracy ... A Utopian Dream?

I remember well the late 1970's and the 1980's. The landscape was full of experiments ... Quality of Work Life (QWL), quality circles, autonomous groups, self-directed groups, you name it, organizations tried to outdo one another with these workplace experiments.

The search for the ideal organization and job design was fueled by the ever increasing success of the Japanese model which included higher worker participation. From Scandinavia, experiments in socio-technical job design, captured the imagination of HR practitioners. Management gurus all over the Western world promoted the notion that increased worker participation in the traditional functions of management such as selection, pay program design, and work organization would improve employee satisfaction and, as a consequence, productivity. Some Northern European countries went much further by imbedding the notion of worker participation in their labor laws, and they mandated the worker council -- including representatives of the employees in all strategic and operational decision making of the organization.

We have not heard much about this subject in the past ten years or so. Although the worker councils still exist, they are more or less relics of well intended social experiments. I have seen no empirical studies that show a significant benefit to the bottom line or to the job satisfaction level of employees.

THE MONDRAGON MODEL

There is one experiment that is worth noting here. The Mondragon Model. It is an experiment dating back to 1954. I first read about it in the book "The Organization of the Future" published by the Drucker Foundation, editors Frances Hesselbein, Marshal Goldsmith and Richard Beckhard. In chapter 11, Joel Barker summarizes the history, driving force, and success of this model. The setting is a poor region of Spain beset by high unemployment, poor education, and no positive outlook for the future. A young Jesuit priest by the name of Don Jose Maria Arizmendiarreta set out to change all of this. First by starting a vocational school and later embarking on an entrepreneurial experiment that created a mushrooming number cooperatives. The group by the early 1990's had a revenue volume of $ 2.6 billion and employed more than 21,000 people.

The principles of Mondragon included democracy, worker ownership, innovative financial management, pay equity, and self-funded retirement schemes.

I have not followed the success of this model in the latter days. However, I remain impressed to this day with the notion that worker democracy and ownership can be a powerful alternative to the stockholder model. I also admire the community building benefits the model created for the affected region.

I invite the reader to comment on this subject. At a time when jobs are scarce, communities are suffering from high unemployment and overall decline, the Mondragon Model can be a source of inspiration for job creation by stimulating communities in joint, collaborative initiatives.

Enjoy the ride on the learning curve!

Thinking Outside the Box

Thinking outside the box has become a cliche'. We use the expression often, but, I wonder, how well we know what it means. It is easy to get trapped into a pattern of thinking, to get stuck in a standard way of looking at things, to fit the mold, so to speak. We humans are easily lulled into a business as usual way of thinking and acting.

In the late 1980's I met Joel A. Barker in the lobby of Tektronix, in the State of Oregon, where we were both doing consulting projects. I asked Joel what type of consulting he did. He responded that he was in the paradigm consulting business. Afraid to admit that I had no idea what he was talking about, I kind of nodded and moved along. My curiosity drove me later to look into Joel's background. I learned that he was a futurist and the well-known author of the widely popular video "Discovering the Future". I immediately ordered a copy of the video. I have used this video often during the past 25 years to illustrate the power of paradigms. I have also relied on the video to examine my own patterns of thinking and my own limitations.

Joel teaches us, that a vision without action, is merely a dream. That action without vision just passes the time. And that vision with action can change the world. 

I saw and experienced the power of these words during my work with the CEO of Zain, Dr. Saad Al-Barrak. Recognized as a truly transformational leader, Dr. Al-Barrak had such a powerful vision that he was able to change the Arab world's view of its capability by creating one of the top telecom brands in the Middle East and Africa.

We all carry a bag full of paradigms with us. Unexamined, these paradigms limit our creativity and ability to think outside the box. Some of the paradigms are generational, others academic, cultural, geographical. Regardless of where they come from, unless we are able to make the necessary shifts at the appropriate time, we risk falling behind, of falling into the dustpan of obsolescence.

Let me list some well known paradigms:

JOB SECURITY. Depending on your age, you might have grown up thinking that if you join a good company, do good work, and behave loyally, that you will have a job for the rest of your working life. In the early 1990's we were shocked to find out that this way of thinking was no longer valid. We were admonished by our leaders that the only job security we will have comes from the quality of our skills. Some folks never got the message. Most got laid off as companies began to restructure or as companies began to move to maintain or enhance their competitive advantage.

MOBILITY. Again depending on your age, geographical location or culture, you were taught that you are born in a town, you go to school there, you marry a local person, you join the local workforce, and you stay close to your extended family. Guess what? As companies moved, you too had to consider moving. You too had to examine the notion of living elsewhere far away from close family members.

LEARN A TRADE. We assumed growing up that if we learned a trade or a profession that our future would be secure. That is what our forefathers told us. Unfortunately, some of the trades or professions have been on the decline or have disappeared all together as new technologies have made them obsolete or in lesser demand. The notion of continuous learning was not part of our box yet.

There are other paradigms that impede our success in more subtle ways. Take the role of HR. In most organizations HR is the butt of jokes, criticisms, and scorn. Why? Because HR seems to be stuck into an administrative, policy-driven role, acting more as a police force rather than a force for change. In the functional context, HR is often trapped into a one-size fits all mentality when it comes to pay schemes, learning strategies, and role definitions. More out-of-the box thinking is needed to align the approach we use to the needs of the organization we serve and the people who work there.

It is easy to say that HR is a business partner, but it is another thing to become one. In my view, business partnering is not a job title, but the description of how line management might see HR. Business partnering is more than doing what line management is asking us to do, it includes providing expert advice to solve complex organizational and human issues, and to implement the needed changes that make HR relevant and an integral part of the management process.

I welcome your thoughts! Good luck on your journey along the learning curve. There are many paradigm shifts that will be required of us in order to survive and prosper in the 21st century.