Ok, a lot is said in the title, but allow me to explain.
I have been doing a lot of thinking about my career in the past few months. I have recognized that there are some fundamental flaws with the way 95% of American businesses are run. People wonder why the Japanese are kicking the Big 3's butts year in and year out. Mmmm, probably because they don't pay some turd $19 and hour to blow compressed air into water jackets of a big block as it rolls by on an assembly line. My point is, what ever happened to people being proud of their job, working hard because it is the right thing to do, leaving work with a sense of accomplishment, pushing yourself to the limits?
If American businesses were run like a college basketball program I guarantee we would not be in the economic bind we seem to be in right now (Michigan especially).
Lets compare the facts. I will use my job as an example of how the health care field is ran. I am assuming there are many other companies out there ran the same way.
If I show up late to work, I get a point, 7 points makes a step, 3 steps I'm fired.( I can show up late 21 times per year before I lose my job)
If Show up late to practice, I don't play the first half of a game. I don't know what would happen if I were to show up late consistently because it never happened more than once, with any players.
If I work really hard at work and help 10 more patients than the therapist next to me, I get nothing, no one knows if I don't tell them.
If I score ten more points in a game, we win. I become more valuable to the team, I get the ball more, I am trusted by teammates, I am recognized in the paper, classmates give me a pat the back, etc.
At work I get a yearly evaluation that takes about 10 minutes, if I meet my goals I get 2.5% raise. (are you fricking kidding me, that doesn't even keep up with the cost of inflation!)
On a college team I am evaluated everyday; practices are recorded, every drill is monitored, points are tallied, tests are taken, grades are given, playing time is issued according to performance and hardwork. The rewards are true motivation to try hard.
At work I compete against no one, as long as I don't punch a patient in the face or set the carpeting on fire, I have a job.
In college I had to prepare for the next opponent every day. Eat or be eaten. If you don't take your role seriously, someone else out there is, and he will kick your butt when you go head to head with him. I was in constant competition with my teammates to hold my starting position, if I take a day off or perform poorly for a few days, there is someone else that is chomping at the bit to take my place.
At work there is a 3 inch thick hand book on rules and regulations to hold people accountable. If there is not a section in that book about coming to work drunk, then by all means, bring out the scotch.
In college we had three rules, 1. Do your best 2. Do what is right 3. Treat others the way you would want to be treated. We had one motto: Constant And Never-ending Improvement (CANI). People were held accountable for their actions, we didn't need a rule book to tell us what was right and wrong. If you did not know how to follow those 3 simple rules, you don't deserve to be on a team or attend a respectable college.
These are just a few examples, but I hope this illustrates the ridiculous lengths businesses go to to be counter-productive. I think Ross Pero said it best "If I see a snake I kill it, I don't form a committee on snakes". So true, how much productivity do businesses lose because problems are not nipped in the bud right away?
Now I know what a lot of you are saying. There are "workers rights" and other rules that managers have to abide by. I believe a major reason a lot of companies cannot run the way a college team is ran is because of unions. Principles of unions are out dated. In the 30's unions were necessary to protect workers. Now, all they do is protect lazy, undeserving workers. I believe if we do away with unions American business will grow once again.
Ok, I am getting off the original subject. I think you folks get my point though. Give workers a challenge and a feeling of self worth, and they will be productive, happy, a part of a team, reliable, and hard working.
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6 comments:
I couldn't agree with you more!! i think the business world would be better off if it were ran that way!!
Thank you honey, but it is kind of sad when my wife is the only one posting on my threads :(
Q, this would drive everything into competition, mostly pay, which like you said is ridiculous for some of the jobs we have seen. I haven't seen much out our teacher union here except complications. Good luck on the job search.
RJ, would you care to elaborate more on your last post? I want to know what you think. good or bad? you want comp? you don't? I didn't quite get it.
Sorry about that, i get to thinking and not writing. I think that the competition for jobs would stay the same, but the pay would decrease dramatically. Like for the factory jobs that pay $20/hour, that wouldn't exist since people would be coming in saying they could do the same job for $15/hour and so on. I like the idea that i am not evaluated every single day, the pressure would kill me. I am for the constant rewards/incentive programs and such. Not in favor of somebody looking over my shoulder every single minute. Hope that cleared some things up.
yes, that did clear it up. I agree, it is not for everyone. I didn't think It would be for me either, but after i have worked at Borgess for three years i truly miss the competition and constant growth of a team atmosphere. I am not saying I want someone breathing down my neck, just someone, like a coach, to tell me when i did good or when i need to kick it in gear. I miss constantly pushing myself, I want my job to be like a sport, constant competition and challenges.
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