SOC227H5 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Total Quality Management, Worker Cooperative, Industrial Democracy
Document Summary
Three degrees of employee power: minimal power: total quality management, subaru example, more substantial power: industrial democracy, most power: ownership and responsibility for the company. Key issues: organizational governance: how to manage the firm as a whole. Having employees vote on decisions, discussions/meetings, etc: technology: how to organize the work. Different types of ownership: grass roots collectives. Members: tended to be younger people (20s-30s) without family responsibilities: middle-class, motivated by desire to rebel against authority. Rejected the idea of getting a job at a large, bureaucratic organization. Three components of organizational culture: strong belief in equality, no set role; people can do any job, ways of payment: equality (everyone same pay regardless of job), equity (payment according to contribution), bargaining power (according to market), Example: mondragon: currently-existing, successful producer cooperative in spain, gave teams responsibility for their own work, representatives to overrule manager, conversions.
