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- jonesin, on 10/12/2007, -4/+32Our government does plenty of action. Let's see, there's oppressing the dissidents, tapping the phones, covertly allowing terrorist attacks, eating babies, legislating morality, and stealing from the masses to give to the rich.
That's a full time job, lemme tell you! - titlesaysitall, on 10/12/2007, -1/+21Worker: Hey boss I need to buy my wife a Viper for her birthday
Boss: Money is in the jar
Worker: Thanks, can I...
Boss: Yes just gotta work over time
Worker: Oh f**** you, i'm taking off early
Boss: Sure thing jerry - 4to15characters, on 10/12/2007, -0/+19that'd be funny if people had posters up in the building saying
"bob for management '06"
and had a whole little campaign so people would hire him :D - xavihax0r, on 10/12/2007, -1/+18one million isn't actually that much money these days
100 BILLION dollars! - MrBabyMan, on 10/12/2007, -2/+15"...and candy unicorns gallop through rainbow forests."
- Unbathed, on 10/12/2007, -0/+12Back in the 1970s, Yale's School of Organization and Management was investigating "Goal Congruence" as a principle for companies, contrasting with the everg popular "Coercion" and "Manipulation." There were laboratory studies showing it to be a more effective decision making process, and I keep hoping it will catch on. Open Source is a plausible example of a real-world endeavor operating under Goal Congruence. Ahh, jargon.
- randersontt, on 10/12/2007, -0/+10The reason the whole concept is so foreign to us is that as humans, especially Americans, we are born and raised and live our entire lives in an atmosphere of competition - trying to defeat someone else. Sports, politics, business, - in almost any arena we define success as defeating someone else or being better than them. Consequently, we have a somewhat twisted type of happiness, an unrelaxed kind that requires us to get continual fixes of "success" to maintain. One that keeps us looking over our shoulder in fear that someone's going to knock us off our perch and take what's ours.
I've often wondered what our society would look like if our foundation were cooperation instead of competition. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10That is why something like this wouldn't not work in the U.S. Peolpe would abuse the system and cause it to fail.
They would justify it by saying "Hey, it's not my fault, they made the system." when it is more like "Hey, it's not my fault they treated me like an trustworthy adult." - phobia2001, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8It's an incredible business theory that probably works excellently: put up a want ad, get a huge response, eliminate people who's salary demands are too huge, hire people willing and happy to work for a decent salary. If people are good workers and they demand more pay, it's provided.
I know if I was able to even *negotiate* a decent salary and if I could review *my* bosses... I might actually not be a bitch to customers, and sales would go up. Everybody wins! =O
I really hope that some greedy moron who works there doesn't ruin it for everybody else... - nofxjunkee, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8"wouldn't not work"
subtle, I almost didn't not miss that. now i'm confused. - JamesWilson, on 10/12/2007, -7/+15Yes, for my salary I'd like....
one MILLION dollars. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6"HR has been almost abolished"
- Unbathed, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Your co-workers will know your salary. All salaries in Semco are posted.
From page 127 of the hardcover edition:
"This time, I sent everyone at Semco copies of an e-mail that contained details of particular salary negotiations. Jose Alignani, the CEO of our Cushman & Wakefield business, was infuriated, insisting I should be more delicate with this kind of communication. E-mails containing salary discussions can create all sorts of problems for unit managers, Jose reminded me. They're too direct, too easily misunderstood, and too hurtful. Some people are not ready for such open communication, he cautioned. People need time to adjust, and sometimes they need to adjust more than once."
"Salaries are a sensitive subject, but open communication is important enough that it should be tested, even if there is a price to pay. It's at the very heart of a shared culture. If discussion of salaries is taboo, what else is off limits? The only source of power in an organization is information, and withholding, filtering, or retaining information only serves those who want to accumulate power through hoarding. Once an e-mail is not circulated, or if it is edited, then illegitimate pockets of power are created. Some people are privy to information that others don't possess. Remove those pockets, and a company remove a source of dissatisfaction, bickering, and political feuding." - Otto, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ricardo_Semler :
The company's units include:
* the industrial machinery unit, which now manufactures mixing equipment as opposed to pumps
* Sembobac, a partnership with Baltimore Air Cooler making cooling towers
* Cushman and Wakefield SEMCO, a partnership with Rockefeller property company Cushman and Wakefield managing properties in Brazil and Latin America
* Semco Johnson Controls, a partnership with Johnson Controls, managing large scale facilities such as airports and hospitals
* ERM, a partnership with Environmental Resources Management, one of the world's leading environmental consultants
* Semco Ventures, offering high technology and Internet services
* SemcoHR, a human resources management firm
* Semco-RGIS, an inventory control firm - kevyn, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6im tempted to read the book. I hope it shows the companies failiures and problems rather than just tossing over how wonderful the company is.
- geronimo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5We studied this company in my business class.
It combines a mixture of socialism and capitalism. In fact, it's the model that I try to use for my company, it just plain makes sense.
If one of their employees leaves to start their own business they help that person out. They decide who gets how much of a raise. Net effect? Brazillians trip over themselves trying to work for Semco.
That is I believe the next evolution of businesses. Ones that a) don't outsource b) screw over employees c) keep everything in the open d) trusts its employees. Google approaches that model, Semco exemplifies that model. How can you compete against such a company? Focus on costs, outsource everyone, quality goes down? I don't think so. - petroK, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4The turnover rate for Semco is 1%... Fancy that.
- checkraise, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4I think the key word is employees with an "s". The employees are going to take care of a selfish employee who is going to ruin it for everyone with stupid demands.
The only time I see stuff like this is when its a single owner. Corporations would never let this stuff happen. The stock holders are me! me! me!. The management is me! me! me!. And then the Employees are me! me! me!. - pacifico555, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Where can I short the stock?
- kozie, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Yeah, do you really just want money? Then you should be in the porn industry. Don't like that? Well then you must want something more than money...
- dacyac, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I think that the thing to keep in mind is that the system we currently have promotes sociopaths and nurtures greed, backstabbing, and being two-faced. Open communications and flatten the organization and that changes the dynamic. Despite what Ayn Rand said, rational self-interest can and does work well in group settings. Community barn-raising is one example.
- supergwiz, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3this would seem to favor more socially adapt employees who are able to gain the most popularity and influence
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5/me breaks off a chunk of candy unicorn horn. Yummers.
- ddev2000, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Awesome. I use LOL rarely, but for this case L O L
- Unbathed, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3http://observer.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,6903,944138,00.html:
Yet Semco has surfed Brazil's rough economic and political currents with panache, often growing at between 30 and 40 per cent a year. It turns over $160 million, up from $4m when Semler joined the family business two decades ago, and it employs 3,000. $100,000 invested in this barmy firm 20 years ago would now be worth $5m.
-- April 27, 2003 - JonForTheWin, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Where may I buy stock?
- Protonz, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Communism? How does a private company who does not force anyone to 'share' or enforce equality qualify as communism?
If anything this is a democracy vs. dictatorship debate.
You could think of it as slashdot (dictatorship of what appears on site) to digg (democracy, even with its problems). Although many may not have believed it, which one is more successful? - ChileanGoD, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Yeah, it just sounds too good to be true. I mean, how can you make a whole company of people that want to be happy? What people want is money, its cuturally genetically engineered in people's DNA after more than a century of capitalism.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I have an uncle that used to work in the SAP offices in Palo Alto, wasn't quite as extreme as this but they had a free restaurant, fridges and things dotted around filled with sandwiches and other tasty morsels, and were all given laptops to work on, which they could take up to the roof of the building to do their days work on a sun lounger
- ChileanGoD, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Having ease with social relations is a working skill by itself. If a person who has less technical, profesional or whatever competency has really good social skills, It can help things workout between teams, groups. etc... It also helps. I wouldnt like to have a novel price winner as a boss or manager if he's a complete *****.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3I wonder if the only profit generated by Semco is from the sale of semi-retarded (I'm speculating) how-to books. They never mention if the company is even moderately sucessful.
- wjw75, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Sounds all well and good, but what does Semco actually do?
- Sukino, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Government and the parliament come to my mind...
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -5/+5Two words:
Atlas Shrugged - crazyjimsmith, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Well I still cannot believe that this guy is still around, let alone still thriving!
I remember reading his first book Maverick way back when.
I love the idea of empowering employees, and trusting them to do the right thing.
A lot of people have studied his set up and as yet I haven't come across any companies that have followed his lead. - nx01, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1No HR dept in the US = trouble. Sexual Harassment suits alone would kill companies off so fast. Just ask the dot coms that were crushed due to this kind of thinking. They felt HR was not needed, and a number of them were sued into non existence. You most likely would not be able to find an insurance company to take you. Maybe the laws in Brazil are different, but the lawyer run, lawsuit happy US would not tolerate things like this for long.
- tomerb, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1This is a real-world, awe-inspiring, implementation of anacrho-syndication! I'm impressed!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarcho-Syndicalism
Some more research on the company:
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,6903,944138,00.html
If you want to read a little about the CEO, go to:
http://edition.cnn.com/2004/BUSINESS/06/29/semler.profile/index.html
And if you want to read some more about how this company works in practice (with examples), go to:
http://www.cioinsight.com/article2/0,1397,1569009,00.asp
Enjoy! - jakeh, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0They are still in competition with people outside of their company. They have just unified their goals within the company. All business transactions by necessity involve both competition and cooperation.
- Butros, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Dude your post was awesome, and it made me feel like *****. Thanks!
- sjetha, on 10/12/2007, -4/+3So, in reality, someone IS in charge: HR.
- cody50, on 10/12/2007, -7/+5"As a result, on of Semco’s top management’s most important leadership tools is… inaction. Not to do anything. To not interfere and to let the organization work out an issue on its own. To trust the process they’ve defined and see where that takes them."
our current Administration, anyone? - friend18, on 10/12/2007, -4/+2Sounds like communism. Woot
- classifieds, on 10/12/2007, -4/+1Sounds like the world of Anne Rand from "Atlas Shrugged"
- StephenZhai, on 10/12/2007, -4/+1Cool!
- delinka, on 10/12/2007, -8/+3"BWAHAHAHA!! ... It's like saying I want a kajillion bajillion dollars."
- mayhemt, on 10/12/2007, -13/+7Is porn allowed in the office? if not, its a waste...
- hosvos, on 10/12/2007, -10/+1This is comunist... ittle never work. They tried this in russian and now look what happend
im JP
it sounds like a good idea... kinda
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