Ben Compton wrote:
>=20
> Bill, there are two aspects to human beings: First is what they actuall=
y
> are at present; second, their potential to become something more. This =
to
> me suggests that humans are much more than resources. They are an
> organization's potential to increase profits, market share, and longevi=
ty.
> People make organizations function. What should they be called? How abo=
ut
> "the company"? When I a CEO says, "I'm going to send a message to the
> company" he's not referring to inanimate objects owned by the company s=
uch
> as a desk, computer, or telephone. He's talking about the people.
Which people are we referring to when someone writes to the company? Per=
haps someone in=20
customer service or shipping. Yet I think this concept misses the real m=
eaning I place=20
in this discussion. The "human resources" often don=92t feel human. Inde=
ed they view=20
themselves as less than full humans since, unfortunately, in many organiz=
ations, their=20
are two classes of individuals: the decision- makers and the others. =20
So, you might suggest, isn't it impractical for everyone to be involved i=
n making=20
decisions? True yet I don=92t think that is the only issue that contribu=
tes to employees=20
lack of worth. And there will always be components of employee worth tha=
t management=20
cannot affect. Given these realities, there are some things that can be =
structured more=20
holistically.=20
Unlike the small business, in the corporate (read "huge") business place=
, the average=20
Joe doesn=92t have access to the true decision- makers. Combine this wi=
th a lack of=20
policies which develop a sense of worth and belonging and it is easy for =
workers to be=20
alienated. =20
Policies which are mandated such as discrimination and ADA are important =
yet these=20
policies are aimed at preventing the loss of worth in a catastrophic way =
for selected=20
groups of employees. This is why team building, distributed management, =
employee=20
newsletters, quality circles are effective in many cases. They may not i=
mprove=20
throughput or gain more customers but they do build the "human resources".
--Stephen Weed <slweed@cyberhighway.net>
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>