I apologize for my
late post this week, but as I have now explained to Dr. Pade there are
mitigating circumstances I am dealing with, so I appreciate any and all
understanding as I am going through a rough time at the moment.
Now, back to the
reason I am here and the fun stuff:
I really enjoyed the
study of Gore and Associates for this week.
I think the entire argument behind being a “team player” in this model
of business is fascinating. The
structure of the organization and the way workers are encouraged to work for
rewards is a unique system in my view and one that other companies should adopt
as a model if they had the sense to do so.
This
discussion reminds me of a friend of mine, his name is Mike and he works for
Cablevision in New York. He is a manager
in the organization and oversees a sizable tech based staff. I was talking with him the other day and I
usually discuss how I’m doing in my studies and we got to talking about the
Gore model for business and the articles I have read about it.
He
was really taken with this because he told me that at Cablevision they promote
a similar work model as the one that I was discussing from Gore. Especially, workers having autonomy and being
rewarded for a job well done.
We both
wondered if it is possible that Cablevision may have even copied its practices
from Gore because of the really unique amount of similarities.
Even
if it is a unique business structure unto itself at Cablevision with it not
having anything to do with Gore at all, I still think it is relevant to point
out in our discussion of this week’s topic because of the compelling nature of
it.
Mike
and I both agreed this type of business model really works very well, and he
has the happy employees to prove it. So,
all in all, it was a nice opportunity to talk to someone who is a high ranking
manager at a large company located in New York City who not only could relate
to what I am studying but he was able to provide first hand insight into it as
well.
Glad to hear from you, and I hope your circumstances continue to improve, Jayson.
ReplyDeleteYour interview with the gentleman from Cablevision sounds like an interesting one. I'm interested to hear how an organization has integrated certain elements of the Gore model into their structure, particularly the team autonomy, which I think is really the center of Gore's approach. How does Cablevision balance this desire for autonomy and emphasis on cooperation with the demands of shareholders? Do teams have control of their own finances like Gore or is it managed separately?
Integrating these core principles is of particular interest of me, and I look forward to the discussion!
Jayson,
ReplyDeleteRecently, an employee at Valve Corporation (a video game developer based in Seattle) publicly released the company's employee handbook, cheekily titled "Handbook for new employees: A fearless adventure in knowing what to do when no one's there telling you what to do." It is a stylish little piece of communication and well worth a read. If nothing else, I encourage you to read pages 4-6. This section, titled "Welcome to Flatland," includes five different organizational charts that describe Valve "as envisioned by employees." It also explains that every employee sits at a desk on literal wheels, facilitating easy migration to and from different groups and locations. In recognition of the downside of such a system -- the difficulty of finding your colleagues at any given moment -- Valve employees use a real-time map that shows each person's location based on where his or her machine is plugged in.
Your conversation with Mike led you both to wonder if CableVision's organizational structure might have been influenced by that of W. L. Gore & Associates. I thought the very same thing when I read the Valve handbook! I am very curious to know if you guys observe the same structural similarities. Even Valve's principles seem to mimic those of Gore.
http://newcdn.flamehaus.com/Valve_Handbook_LowRes.pdf
http://kotaku.com/5903955/read-valves-employee-company-handbook-its-amazing
http://www.flamehaus.com/bbs/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=163319&p=3637282#p3637282