Doc (1).doc

Running head: WORKER SELF-DIRECTED ENTERPRISES 1

Worker Self-Directed Enterprises Student’s Name University Affiliation

WORKER SELF-DIRECTED ENTERPRISES

2

Introduction The democratic workplace is a working environment where the workers own and democratically make decisions in all the facets of the business. They decide what to do with the profit earned. Workers are called and encouraged to democratize the workplaces to achieve their satisfaction. Workers spend most of their time in workplaces where they are treated unfairly, paid low wages and have their rights as workers undermined. There are many advantages that are associated with worker cooperatives. First, they create employment for all the workers who are also the owners of the business. They also improve the workers’ satisfaction where the workers feel they are the bosses and get the authority to make decisions in the operations of the business; this gives the workers a sense of ownership (Ashton, 2017). Workers are also assured of their work security and have their fear of being kicked out of job eliminated. However, there also challenges that are faced when forming the workers’ self-directed enterprise. Lack of sufficient resources to start and maintain the cooperatives is one of the problems faced by workers as they democratize workplaces. The cooperative also suffers from poor managements since they are managed by all the workers. They also face stiff competition from other businesses due to poor leadership. Definition of WSDE Worker Self-Directed Enterprise (WSDE) is also referred to as worker cooperatives. It is a working environment in which the enterprises are collectively owned, run, managed, and directed by all the workers democratically. All the operations of the enterprise are spearheaded by the workers; they determine what to do, when, and how to do it. The workers also decide what to do with the profit generated by the business (Ashton, 2017). In this new organizing model in

WORKER SELF-DIRECTED ENTERPRISES

3

enterprises, the workers are the sole decision makers in all the facets of the business. It is through WSDE that economic democracy is achieved; workers are known to spend most of their lifetime in workplaces that are not friendly to them. It is for this reason that there has been increased advocacy for democracy in workplaces. Possibilities of Taking over the Workplace and Running it as a WSDE The possibility of the workers taking over the enterprise will be determined by the workers’ willingness, ability, and determination for self-governance in the workplace. The workers share a lot of commonalities, and thus it is possible for them to combine effort, expertise, ideas, thinking, and resources to take over the workplace and run it as WSDE. The workers share the same fate of losing their jobs, working in the same company and the same environment. There is a possibility for workers to agree to the proposal of converting the company to a self-enterprise because of the following reasons. Commonalities of Workers First, the workers face a common problem. The company has closed down terminating the jobs of all the workers in the company. The workers were earning a living from the job and losing it would mean a lot to them. For these reasons, the workers are likely to accept any idea that can restore their jobs and since they all face a similar problem they can unit and work as one to convert the company to self- directed enterprise. They would combine resources and create their jobs where every worker is a boss. Research has shown that success of a business is determined by the innovation to be employed in the execution of operations of business. Innovation comes from differences in thinking and involving more workers encourages innovation (Hollingsworth, 2017).

WORKER SELF-DIRECTED ENTERPRISES

4

Having worked in the same company and workplace, the workers have all the necessary skills to take over the workplace and run in their way. The experience they have gained from working in the company can propel them to converting the workplace into a democratic working environment. Increased Advocacy for Democracy in Workplaces The need for economic democracy would be another pushing factor for the workers to take over the company and run it as a worker cooperative. There has been increased advocacy on economic democracy where the workers would exercise democratic ownership of enterprises, govern themselves, make the decisions and be the bosses. They also decide on what to do with the profit generated by the business. It has been observed that adult workers spend most of their lifetime in authoritative work environments where their salary is not proportional to the work they do; this raises the desires for workers to govern themselves in workplaces ("Self-Managed Capitalism: Criticism of Richard Wolff and Workers Cooperatives", 2017). Flexibility of WSDEs WSDE are more flexible as compared to other businesses which operate on profit margins. Provided they have reached a break-even point; these cooperatives can reduce the prices of commodities so that they can compete favorably in the market. These worker-owned businesses can adjust the workers’ salary as per the profit gained. If the business raises more profit, the salary of the workers can be increased as well. Worker cooperatives are also able to pay workers even if the business does not make profit. In case of profit, the owners agree on what to do with it. Job Security and Satisfaction in Workplaces

WORKER SELF-DIRECTED ENTERPRISES

5

WSDE provide economic security and stability. In other businesses, workers lack job security, and they live in fear of losing their jobs. Sometimes they work in poor environments while earning low wages. With worker cooperatives, a worker cannot get sacked out of the job since he is the owner and a decision maker in the business. Even if the business does not make big profit, the workers are assured of their job security unlike in other businesses where jobs of some workers can be terminated if the business does not make enough profit. Workers are forced to perform as per the expectation of their managers to keep their work in other businesses which is not the case in worker cooperatives. With WSDE, workers will have their rights respected. A worker has a right to a better wage which reflects the work they do in business. They also have a right to work in a friendly environment which does not undermine their safety. Workers also have a right to off-duty days as required by the law. Workers should not be overworked and have a right to be off the work during public holidays. However, in most business environments, these workers’ rights are undermined which is unfair to the workers. Challenges of Taking over the Workplace and Running it as a WSDE Taking over the workplace and running it as WSDE would not be easy for the workers for it has its challenges. Though WSDE has numerous advantages; there are challenges that the team is sure to face and should address them accordingly to ensure the success of their journey to democracy in workplaces. Some of the main challenges are explained below. The first challenge that the workers are likely to encounter is lack of organization resources. Being their first initiative, the workers are likely to suffer from insufficient resources to start and run the enterprise. Lack of adequate structural resources, financial resources and human resources might hinder the development of the worker cooperative (Cheney et al., 2014).

WORKER SELF-DIRECTED ENTERPRISES

6

Leadership is exercised by all the workers since they are the managers and directors of the business, therefore worker cooperatives are associated with poor leadership which might hinder their development. All the workers have the same capacity and ability to make decisions. In case of any disagreement of workers in the decision-making, the operations of the business may be greatly affected. Excessive freedom in WSDEs is likely to affect the commitment of some workers. A worker is likely to neglect work since there is no boss to question him, a thing which can lead to poor performance of the business. Due to lack of focus and commitment of worker cooperatives, they are likely to face stiff competition from other businesses. Since all the workers are the managers in the self-directed companies, the management might end up being very poor resulting in poor performance and unfavorable competition from other enterprises. Worker cooperatives usually have problems in solving conflicts (Cheney et al., 2014). For conflict solving, leadership skills are required to arbitrate the warring parties. Workers in WSDE lack these skills since every worker is a leader in the business. Since all the workers are the owners of the business have an equal capacity, no worker has authority over the other. This would result in difficulties when solving conflicts that might arise in the working environment. Lack of unity and continued disagreement among the workers can lead to termination of a self-directed cooperative. If the workers lack unity while executing the operations of the business, there might arise disagreement which might lead to collapsing of the enterprise. Since every worker is a manager, some workers may take this one as an excuse of slackening in performing the work they are supposed to do; this might lead to disagreement and finally the collapsing of the business.

WORKER SELF-DIRECTED ENTERPRISES

7

If a worker makes a mistake that leads to a loss, the loss is shared by all the workers regardless of who initiated it. This is a disadvantage since one worker may make others to incur losses that they are not responsible for. If there is a careless worker, the business might make continued losses to the point of closing down, terminating the jobs of all the workers. Since there is no worker with authority to kick a fellow worker out job, these WSDEs are likely to be affected by continued loss from reckless workers.

Conclusion Adoption of self-directed enterprises can pave the way for democratic economy where the workers are free from authoritarian bosses. Apart from creating jobs, the workers will improve their satisfaction in workplaces. They will have security of their jobs as well as have their rights respected. They would also enjoy profit raised from the business as they make decisions on how to run the business and use the profit earned. Though adoption of this new management model comes with its challenges, workers should join hands, combine efforts, resources and ideas to democratize workplaces. For smooth running of worker cooperatives, the workers can come up with a constitution to govern them when carrying out operations of the business. This would eliminate the cases of some workers lacking commitment and unity in the workplace.

WORKER SELF-DIRECTED ENTERPRISES

References Ashton, J. (2017). The Worker Self-Directed Enterprise: A "Cure" for Capitalism, or a Slippery Slope to Socialism?. HuffPost. Retrieved 16 June 2017, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jerry-ashton/worker-self-directedenterprise_b_2385334.html Hollingsworth, J. (2017). The Foundation of a New Democratic Economy Is Worker SelfDirected Enterprises. Truthout. Retrieved 16 June 2017, from http://www.truth-

8

WORKER SELF-DIRECTED ENTERPRISES

9

out.org/news/item/13823-the-foundation-of-a-new-democratic-economy-is-worker-selfdirected-enterprises Self-Managed Capitalism: Criticism of Richard Wolff and Workers Cooperatives. (2017). Machete 408. Retrieved 16 June 2017, from https://machete408.wordpress.com/2013/03/28/self-managed-capitalism-criticism-ofrichard-wolff-and-workers-cooperatives/ Cheney, G., Cruz, I., Peredo, A., & Nazareno, E. (2014). Worker cooperatives as an organizational alternative: Challenges, achievements and promise in business governance and ownership (pp. 594-595). Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/270685300_Worker_cooperatives_as_an_organi zational_alternative_Challenges_achievements_and_promise_in_business_governance_a nd_ownership