Communicating Many Levels Above

In a large organization, it is difficult, to communicate to someone who is much above one's level. Even meeting up with one's manager's manager is rare, and meeting up with someone who is higher up than that is almost impossible.

I've heard in many companies the "Open door policy" that CEO's have with all their employees, and wonder if anyone has actually used the policy with any efficacy. It would seem strange, if not downright weird, for an average employee to walk over to the CEO's office, even if the matter is relevant. The "standard" procedure is to talk to one's manager and never higher up than that. But apparently, IBM's Open Door Policy was indeed used by several workers who were dissatisfied with their immediate manager for some reason or another.

More than Friends at Work

Is it possible to be "more than friends" with a co-worker in a company? I've heard and read about couples who met each other at the workplace, and then converted that friendship into marriage.

To socialize at work is a doube-edged sword: it is good if the relationship works, but can lead to dangerous conflicts if it doesn't. In one situation, a lady at work apparently spread false rumors about the man she broke up with. The guy discovered this quite late, and his reputation was ruined before he knew what was happening. He had to leave the company for this reason. Some employees saw this as a reason to never seek a relationship at work.

Organizational Hierarchy

One of the most difficult things to get a feel for in a democratic organization is that of Hierarchy. By definition, a Democracy is where all members are treated as equal. However, hardly any organization, including a democratic one, is sans Hierarchy. What does it mean to say that everyone is equal, but the leader is higher up than others? In my opinion, true Democracy will work if and only if the leader fully understands that he or she is in the role of serving the organization, instead of living under the illusion that the leader is "superior" to the rest of the organization.

Trivia on President-elect Barack Obama

(A small break from the regular weekly blog to bring you some trivia)

Question: Who was the single most influential person to help elect Obama the President of the USA?

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Answer: George W. Bush.

Why else would "Change" resonate so well with Obama's presidential campaign?

Better Than Democracy

The democratic election tomorrow got me thinking about whether democracy is really the best form of Government. There is now an apparent consensus in the world that Democracy is indeed the "best" form of Government, because most countries have adopted a democratic government. There are undoubtedly problems with democracy - one oft-quoted flaw is the rule of the majority over the oppressed minority.

The philosopher Plato considered all the forms of Government - Democracy, Oligarchy, Monarchy - and rejected all of them as less than ideal. His disciple Aristotle actually believed that Aristocracy - Rule of the Best People - is the best form of Government.
There are other ways around these, such as Mixed Government, which consists of all the different forms of Government in different measures.

Party On!

One way towards team-building in companies is to permit and even encourage parties at work. A Seinfeld episode pokes fun at how regular partying drives some people nuts (due to what Elaine calls "Forced Socializing" or "acting like friends"), but occasional partying may be necessary for employee team-building and morale.

It is quite amazing that companies will pay little towards small parties that go a long way into essential employee team-building, but a lot towards executive parties that cost hundreds of thousands. The incident I have in mind is the recent scandal involving AIG executives partying after an $85 Billion bailout by the Feds. The executives were so exhausted after they received the $85 Billion that they decided they needed a $440,000 party, $23,380 of which was just for spa treatments! Talk about partying in style!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081008/ap_on_bi_ge/meltdown_aig

AIG execs' retreat after bailout angers lawmakers
By ANDREW TAYLOR, Associated Press Writer – Tue Oct 7, 11:15 pm ET