I like Mike Wagner's argument for dropping the metaphor of family when talking about organisations. Money quote:
You’re not Moses and employees are not your people.
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March 2, 2007
The "family" metaphor
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Hurray, someone who also cringes when business is described as 'family'. Mike Wagner takes the time to explain why:You’re not Moses and employees are not your people. You’re not responsible for their motivation or their happiness - they are adults. [Read More]
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Comments (1)
I agree! There seem to me to be so many owners and managers who have hijacked ‘family' as they realize that many of their employees come from dysfunctional families and are crying out for some place to belong … cynical, manipulative management in the extreme.
Given that modern business practices might actually have had some direct effect on the breakdown of family (e.g. long hours, extreme targets, unrealistic expectations, stress) wouldn’t it be a better approach for companies, instead of proclaiming that the company is/replaces the family, that the company supports YOUR family and actively reorganises itself to boot?
March 3, 2007 08:07 Permalink for comment