This part of the AGB2009 series (see the presentation)
AGB2009: democracy @ work
BACKGROUND
Over 20 years ago, I read an old book about “Democracy at work”, studying the attempts of evolving the business model, to bring the workplace into the XX century.
During the XX century all across the Western bloc multiple attempts tried to bring the workers into the business decision making, with various degrees of success.
Some approaches were direct descendants of XIX century “socialist” experiments, other based their module on the co-operative model or risk-sharing.
And other still were simply born out of necessity, to save companies by slashing salaries and benefits, while adding some power sharing to compensate for the immediate costs.
The last few decades witnessed technological innovations that had a side effect not only on business processes (e.g. BPR), but also on the approaches used to manage employee’s participation and representation.
Are the new technologies just another set of tools? Few examples and considerations seed the discussion.
ABSTRACT
Until not too long ago, innovations in technologies and business processes required capital investment.
Not only the acquisition, but also the training and use required further investment, and substantial resources to just study the impacts on everyday business activities.
In technical terms- trade unions and other interested parties representing the employees/voters did not have the same access to innovation.
Public funding of basic research “de facto” tried to create a level playing field, and the same approaches survive also with the post-industrial technologies.
There is a simple difference: often, the pace of innovation, and the integration between users and new uses does not require anything more than time, few books, and a willingness to share the learning experience.
Pervasive computing lowered also the cost of the tools required to access innovation.
As in any innovation, the balance is sought between costs and benefits, but as the source of innovation does not share the same line of reasoning, the cost/benefits/stakeholder model itself is creaking at the seems.
Twenty years ago, it was a single negotiation with some communication to show the value of the shared benefits to all the relevant stakeholders.
The new “crowdinnovation” approach changes the communication and negotiation model.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
The target is, obviously, how to get the best out of the innovation that you cannot control.
And how to motivate employees to contribute.
As this is the first AGB2009, I am afraid that I will have to stick to the “traditional” Web 2.0 material:
- James Harkin, “Cyburbia”, 2009 Little, Brown
- Chapter 4, “The Network Effect”, pagg. 72-93
the point: new social organizational structures created through the dynamics generated by aggregating people around common interests, instead than by design - Jeff Howe, “Crowdsourcing”, 2008 Random House
- Chapter 1, “The Rise of the Amateur”, pagg. 23-46; Chapter 11 “Conclusions”, pagg. 278-288
if you want, an updated version of “thinking outside the box” - Frederick Herzberg “How Do you Motivate Employees?”, Harvard Business Review
- Reprint Order 68108
(it is really old, but did human beings change since then?); some basic motivational rules that, in our technological world, are too often forgotten
Tags: AGB2009, democracy, employee, innovation, motivation, participation