Sustainabillity

Equitable business

I wasn’t sure whether to attack this in light of how the costs of recycling and other green measures can be equitably shared among the businesses that share in the profits made from the product contained in the package; or see it as an opportunity to present an idea I have long had for equitable business sharing of the wealth with the working man who produces the profits. Don’t think this is some form of communism. It is not. It potentially is capitalism at its best, since efficiency, productivity and employee moral are simultaneously and substantially increased. Not an easy thing to do is today's business world.

Here’s the quick picture. Each permanent employee of the company will own his or her station for the shift or time period he or she works. Not only does he or she receive a wage, but also quarterly when dividends are distributed he or she will receive the dividend corresponding to his/her share of the company.

The business share is not free. A portion of the business, that equates to the labor costs calculated as a percent of gross sales, is sold. That portion is divided equitably into stations based on the number of permanent employees and the importance of each position.

The new owner/employee is required to purchase his/her station, but this is done with an affordable payment plan via a payroll deduction. Generally, a raise accompanies the ‘hiring on’[1] of a temporary worker. The payment would correspond to a part of that raise so that the new worker does not feel the pinch of the payment.

If a worker leaves the company, the ownership share becomes a severance package. If he/she fails to stay with the company long enough to pay off the station, the payments made to that point are returned as the severance package. (...or a part of the package if circumstances warrant a larger severance.)

The aspects of this program that assist sustainability are:

Ø That all employees become cost conscious. Any waste of time or resources directly affects each employee’s bottom line. Efficiency is increased and waste is reduced.

Ø Complacency is replaced by ambitious attitudes promoting an increase in productivity.

o   Productivity increase is a consequence of each person doing a better job due to both pride of ownership and a desire to increase one’s bottom line.

Ø Increased productivity translates to increased profit share as a larger percent of the gross sales. Thus while owning a smaller portion of the actual business, the main owner potentially receives a greater profit.  

This adds to the sustainability of the city in at least three ways: 

Ø Satisfied and empowered employees create stable and efficient organizations, efficiency and stability assist sustainability.

Ø Sustainability of the organization/company helps stabilize the community ... a community of sustainable companies provides a powerful base for a sustainable community

Ø Less waste being created relieves City waste management facilities. 
Ø It’s fun to work when you know you get a piece of the action.

 

Use of Social Media: For this idea to work effectively social media needs to be employed to push this principle. The more people become aware that there is a viable alternative to the current employee/employer condition (an alternative that is potentially is lucrative for both employee and employer) the more people become dissatisfied with the current system. This in turn can create a movement for experimentation and change where the idea can emerge, be developed, and tested.



Using Social Media, results of the experimentation can be disseminated to a far wider audience. Each member of this far wider audience can interact with the others in the system submitting ideas, relating experiences, and making suggestions that contribute, not only to the body of knowledge, but to the improvement of the system on a sustainable basis.

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[1] The process of making a permanent employee out of a temporary one.