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Q: Egalitarian Service Business Models ( Answered 5 out of 5 stars,   6 Comments )
Question  
Subject: Egalitarian Service Business Models
Category: Business and Money > Consulting
Asked by: dancingbear-ga
List Price: $60.00
Posted: 20 Feb 2005 23:11 PST
Expires: 22 Mar 2005 23:11 PST
Question ID: 477894
I am looking ofr examples / case studies of current egalitatrian
business models.  I am open to any business that follows such a model-
and am open to broad interpretations of what this is - but i am
particularly interested in examples of consulting businesses that have
been successful at moving beyong the traditional Partner takes all
hiererarchical  modell.  ISome examples I aware of are Ben & Jerry's
Ice Cream - for a while they had a cap on the disparity between the
lowest and highest paid emmployees (I think it was 16 X).   I also
heard of a company that compensated their employees in units based on
demonstrated and needed competencies- creating scenarios where
Executives- newly hired or promoted- made less than the people who
provided them administrative support.  I am interested in not only
current examples - but also how long an example has operated in their
model.  If you feel doing due dilligence on this is worth more than
what i am offering let me know- I also tip well.

Clarification of Question by dancingbear-ga on 21 Feb 2005 14:15 PST
Since no GA researchers have bitten - yet- help me with what is
missing in my question.  I'm assuming that compensation is not it-
since that is negotiable.  I'm not looking for the "right" answer-
just some ideas to get creatively inspired as I move forward in
developing my own business ventures.  I have my own consulting firm-
which I may expand- but I am also pursuing a couple of other ventures.

Request for Question Clarification by czh-ga on 21 Feb 2005 17:35 PST
Hello dancingbear-ga,

Even with your clarification I?m not sure what would constitute a
satisfactory answer. Are you looking for companies that might fit your
description of somewhat egalitarian compensation models? Are you
looking for companies that are egalitarian in valuing worker input?
Are you interested in other corporate qualities? Here are two
companies and a case study that I think might be relevant. Please look
them over and see if I?m on the right track. I look forward to your
clarification.

~ czh ~


http://www.patagonia.com/culture/main_our_culture.shtml
Patagonia, Inc.

http://harvardbusinessonline.hbsp.harvard.edu/b01/en/common/item_detail.jhtml?id=703035
Harvard Business Case: Patagonia

----------------------------------

http://www.bdel.com/about/index.html
Black Diamond Equipment, Ltd.

http://www.connect-utah.com/article.asp?r=251&iid=20&sid=3
The Climb To Success: Black Diamond CEO Peter Metcalf

----------------------------------

http://www.wlrk.com/index.cfm
Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz

http://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~wstarbuc/mob/wachtell.html
Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz
STATISTICAL STUDIES OF LAW FIRMS

http://www.vault.com/companies/company_main.jsp?product_id=422&ch_id=242&co_page=1
Company Profile: Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz

Clarification of Question by dancingbear-ga on 21 Feb 2005 18:50 PST
Dear czh-ga-
First- thanks for at least taking a stab at my question.  Nothin
ventured nothing gained.  I did a quick perusal of the sites you
picked.  let me say- that i immediately saw why no one was jumping on
my question.  Since my background is in managment consulting- i come
across hundreds of case studies and stories about busiesses.  Every
once in a while I come across a story that would jump out and appeal
to my internal egalitarian' sensibilities.  Ben & Jerry's is a case in
point (which- by the way- if you accept this and come across examples
i have already mentioned- feel free to include them-pulling something
from my scary memory does not imply accuracy or documentation - both
of which would be nice to have) where their copmensation model seemd
novel and fair.  Now - due to my lack of organisation and joy at
encountering this site- I'm hoping to start collecting these examples
again- this time in a sustainable way.  So here are my thought on what
you have found so far:

Patagonia- Great company / culture and mission- and I appreciate the
HBR pointer.  In their own unique way they fit the bill- especially
since they have other companies who want to emulate their approach.

Black Diamond- Yes-this another great example of what I'm looking for

the Law firm took me a a little bit to figure out why you included
them- and then I saw the 1:1 partner associate ratio- that is truly
amazing!  For any profgessional services firm- I will be looking into
them more-.


the last Law firm- yes- and- I would never want to work there
personally- but it does seem to fit what I was asking for.


To sum it up- i would love it if you would continue to pursue this for/with me.

In your research results- i don't need a lot of explaining from you-
just the highlight of why you picked a result if it's not obvious
right away.

Another source - that I haven't even searched yet is Fast Company
(trendy hip business mag).  I'm a suscriber- (which I think gives you
special access)  if you don't use it - knowing some of how you found
what you come up with for me would allow me to search there later.

I consider this an open exploration on a very broad topic.  I'm also
happy to bump the intial amount up to $100 - or tip you the difference
(my preference since you keep all of it) if you accept to answer it. 
-also I'm in no rush for the answer.

let me know.

Request for Question Clarification by czh-ga on 21 Feb 2005 22:59 PST
Thanks dancingbear-ga. I'll continue my explorations now that I know
I'm on the right track. How many examples would you consider a
satisfactory answer? Thanks.

~ czh ~

Clarification of Question by dancingbear-ga on 21 Feb 2005 23:35 PST
I dunno- how about you just go for it- do what feels right to you and
let me know.   I'm interested in variety and real examples- have fun
with it- I'm sure I'll be happy- I'm pretty easy to please.  Thanks
for taking it on.

Request for Question Clarification by czh-ga on 22 Feb 2005 19:42 PST
Hello again dancingbear-ga,

I'm sorry about the delay in posting your answer but I'm having some
cable access problems. I should have it straightened out by tomorrow.
Thank you for your patience.

~ czh ~

Clarification of Question by dancingbear-ga on 22 Feb 2005 19:48 PST
No problem- thanks for letting me know.
DB

Request for Question Clarification by czh-ga on 24 Feb 2005 11:14 PST
Hello again dancingbear-ga,

Thank you for your patience. My computer problems are resolved and I'm
almost finished with the answer to your question but I will not be
able to post it until tomorrow because I have a prior commitment out
of town. I'm sorry for these delays and appreciate your forbearance.

~ czh ~

Clarification of Question by dancingbear-ga on 24 Feb 2005 12:36 PST
That's fine- safe travels.
DancingBear
Answer  
Subject: Re: Egalitarian Service Business Models
Answered By: czh-ga on 25 Feb 2005 21:16 PST
Rated:5 out of 5 stars
 
Hello again dancingbear-ga,

I took your statement, ?I consider this an open exploration on a very
broad topic.? as an invitation to take a variety of approaches to
exploring what could be examples of egalitarian business models. I did
not limit the research to services businesses only as the results
showed interesting practices in a variety of industries.

You can review the search terms I used to see some of the vocabulary I
found useful to discover different avenues for reviewing what is
available in the field. Egalitarian business models can be defined in
terms of benefits and compensation, management approach, employee
communications and a variety of other angles.

It is quite clear that there are diverse opinions about the importance
and relevance of equity in the workplace. I?ve collected information
about companies that consistently appear in the business and trade
press as being outstanding in some aspect of establishing an
egalitarian workplace. I also found some case studies and research
papers on the subject in addition to a variety of short articles.
Finally, I discovered that there are quite a lot of organizations that
are focused on some aspect of this issue so I?ve also included them.

I think the reason for including the link resources I?ve found are
self-explanatory in most cases. I included an explanation when I
wanted to call your attention to a specific point of interest. I hope
that the variety of resources I?ve found will help you explore this
topic in depth.

Best wishes for your project.

~ czh ~


=============
BEN & JERRY?S
=============

http://www.inc.com/magazine/20010401/22319.html
Can Business Still Save The World?

Meet the new breed of socially responsible CEOs. They share the goals
of activist pioneers like Body Shop cofounder Anita Roddick and Ben &
Jerry's Ben Cohen -- but are taking radically different approaches to
activism.
From: Inc. Magazine, Apr 2001 | By: Thea Singer 

The pioneers of socially responsible companies -- stars like Anita
Roddick and Ben Cohen -- had big hearts and even bigger mouths. They
hated capitalism but loved what it could help them do. Now they have
followers. Sort of. Meet the new generation of activist entrepreneurs

-------------------------------------------------


http://www.oligopolywatch.com/2003/04/15.html
April 15, 2003 
The real Ben and Jerry's story

By the year 2000, Unilever (a $45 billion multinational) was the
winner, buying the company for $326 million. All kinds of promises
were made, but Unilever has already taken a firm hand, putting a new
CEO, a Unilever veteran, in place, and ambitiously pushing the Ben and
Jerry's brand internationally.

The idea is that organic, eco-active image of the brand will translate
into a European market where organics are growing rapidly. To that
end, Unilever has maintained the funky, privately-held image, barely
mentioning the parent company on the company's home page. It's also
continued contributions to socially conscious causes. But internally,
decisions are being made as in any other division of a big company by
people who think like Unilever. For example, layoffs are in the air as
Unilever tries to reduce overall staffing.  And payments to Vermont
dairy farmers are less generous than they used to be. Gone too is the
idea of making executive compensation have some ratio to assembly-line
worker pay,

-------------------------------------------------


http://www.rowanblewitt.com/newsresources/articles.stm
http://www.rowanblewitt.com/PDFS/ByHank/2003.09.10-CFI-Executive%20Compensation%20for%20Senior%20Managers.pdf

Executive Compensation for Senior Managers 
(Corporate Finance Review, September/October 2003 - Volume 8, Number 2) 
In ancient Greece, the philosopher Aristotle is said to have urged
that no citizen of the first western democracy be paid more then seven
times the wages of the lowest paid citizen. Twenty three centuries
later, the founders of Ben & Jerry's, the ice cream manufacturing firm
"with a social conscience," took this suggestion seriously and
established the 7-to-1 ratio within their young firm. Senior
executives' pay levels were not to exceed seven times that of their
lowest wage level employees. Social responsibility advocates and some
journalists cheered: few companies actually followed the example. (In
2000, the founders, Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, sold their company
to Unilever for $326 million and Mr. Cohen received $39 million for
his interests.)

***** This is a 5-page article. 



=====================
EGALITARIAN COMPANIES
=====================

http://www.world-dynamics.com/LeadershipRoundtable.htm
The Blu 2003 Leadership Roundtable

***** This site provides an excellent list of innovative companies,
many with egalitarian approaches to management and compensation. Below
I?ve collected the home pages and associated articles about many of
these companies.

-------------------------------------------------


http://www.thunderbird.edu/pdf/about_us/case_series/a15980024.pdf
Ricardo Semler and Semco S.A. 	 
Thunderbird Case #: A15-98-0024 
Fields: Organizational change, general management 
Author(s): Kelly Killian, Francisco Perez, & Caren Siehl 

Abstract
This case introduces Ricardo Semler, CEO of Brazil's Semco S.A., one
of the world's most respected champions of organizational change. The
case portrays the internal turmoil Semoco faces as ownership is passed
from father to son, and the company reaches the decline stage of its
business cycle. The radically changing Brazilian economy serves as the
backdrop and provides a compounded sense of environmental chaos as the
company evolves from a culture based on paternalistic,
command-oriented management to a highly democratic, participative
management structure.

***** You can download the complete 12-page case study.

------------------------

http://www.cioinsight.com/article2/0,1397,1569009,00.asp
April 1, 2004 
Ricardo Semler: Set Them Free
By Brad Wieners, ExtremeTech
For nearly 25 years, Ricardo Semler, CEO of Brazil-based Semco, has
let his employees set their own hours, wages, even choose their own
IT. The result: increased productivity, long-term loyalty and
phenomenal growth. Can his radical approach work for you?

------------------------

http://www.mondaymemo.net/030512feature.htm
Lessons from Semco on Structure, Growth and Change

***** The Resources at the end of the article might be very helpful.

------------------------

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,6903,944138,00.html
Who's in charge here? No one

-------------------------------------------------


http://www.gore.com/en_xx/index.html
W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc.

Today, our enterprise is comprised of approximately 6,000 associates
in 45 locations around the world. Annual revenues top $1.5 billion.
Our fluoropolymer products provide innovative solutions throughout
industry, in next-generation electronics, for medical products, and
with high-performance fabrics. We've repeatedly been named among the
'100 Best Companies to Work for in America,' and our culture is a
model for contemporary organizations seeking growth by unleashing
creativity and fostering team-work.

------------------------

http://www.gore.com/en_xx/careers/benefits/compensation.html
Compensation
Unlike companies which base an employee's pay on the evaluations of
one or two people - or supervisors' opinions alone - Gore involves
many associates in the process. Our goal: internal fairness and
external competitiveness.

------------------------

http://www.huizenga.nova.edu/5012/cases/WlGore.html
CASE 6-13 W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc.

***** This is an 18-page case study that will give you excellent
insights into WL Gore?s management style.

------------------------

http://www.personneltoday.com/Articles/2004/06/08/24027/Simply+the+best.htm
Simply the best

Picture this: an employer without chains of command or instruction,
where there are no managers, directors or secretaries. A company that
has 'associates' rather than 'employees', and 'sponsors' instead of
'bosses', who guide the workforce through a general work area rather
than a job description. Furthermore, envisage a firm where employees
have no opportunity to be promoted or demoted but, as an alternative,
are given an equal share of the organisation's profits, which changes
in line with their salary.

Welcome to WL Gore & Associates, winner of the Sunday Times' 100 Best
Companies to Work For 2004.

-------------------------------------------------


http://www.geae.com/index.html
http://www.geae.com/aboutgeae/facilities/manufacturing.html#durham
GE Aircraft Engines

http://www.fastcompany.com/online/28/ge.html
Engines of Democracy

The General Electric plant in Durham, North Carolina builds some of
the world's most powerful jet engines. But the plant's real power lies
in the lessons that it teaches about the future of work and about
workplace democracy.
From: Issue 28 | October 1999, Page 174 By: Charles Fishman 

-------------------------------------------------


http://www.motek.com/
http://www.fortune.com/fortune/smallbusiness/managing/articles/0,15114,389874,00.html
Is This the Best Company to Work for Anywhere?
Motek's employees get housing subsidies, earn travel bonuses, and are
forbidden to work after five.

-------------------------------------------------


http://www.atlascontainer.com/md_home.html
THE ORGANIZATION 
   
In our marketplace, there are few if any corrugated box companies who
provide continuous training to every employee in accounting and
finance. Few in any manufacturing businesses, public or private, shut
down their operations once a month to review the company's income and
cash flow statements with everyone in the organization. Atlas
Container is an open book company. The process by which the Atlas
organization is managed is called Open Book Management (OBM). With OBM
as the foundation, the people at Atlas are learning to think, act and
make decisions like owners. In February 2000, the company sold stock
to Atlas Employees. Today there are over 100 people working at Atlas
who are no longer employees, they have become owners.

------------------------

http://www.inc.com/magazine/20030301/25206.html
The Power of Listening
How does an old-line manufacturer in a stagnant industry manage to
grow 25% a year for 10 years? By taking its employees seriously.
From: Inc. Magazine, March 2003

-------------------------------------------------


http://www.southwest.com/
Southwest Airlines

http://www.crmguru.com/features/2002c/1010jc.php
Southwest Airlines: Service for Smiles and Profits
10.Oct.2002	

-------------------------------------------------


http://www.containerstore.com/
The Container Store

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FXS/is_3_80/ai_71836861
Thinking Outside the Box at The Container Store - human resource management awards
Workforce,  March, 2001

The company has become so respected for its commitment to employees
and their creative input that it has catapulted itself into a position
of leadership in the HR field. The reason is simple. "A funny thing
happens when you take the time to educate your employees, pay them
well and treat them as equals," company president and CEO Kip Tindell
declares. "You end up with extremely motivated and enthusiastic
people."

------------------------

http://www.workforce.com/archive/feature/23/49/61/index.php
Hiking with the Honchos at The Container Store

Swanky dinners, trips and everyday praise are part of The Container
Store's culture.

------------------------

http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/business/10762164.htm?1c
The name of the compensation game at many companies is changing from
tenure to value, employee-management relations expert Leigh Branham
writes in "The 7 Hidden Reasons Employees Leave: How to Recognize the
Subtle Signs and Act Before It's Too Late."

"At The Container Store, for example, consistently ranked among
Fortune's '100 Best Places to Work in America,' it is not unusual for
a sales associate to make more than a store manager," Branham says in
his follow-up to his best-selling "Keeping the People Who Keep You in
Business."


-------------------------------------------------


http://www.celestialseasonings.com/index_nofl.php
Celestial Seasonings -- The Hain Celestial Group

http://www.celestialseasonings.com/whoweare/corporatehistory/belief.php
Our Employees

We believe that our employees develop a commitment to excellence when
they are directly involved in the management of their areas of
responsibility. This team effort maximizes quality results, minimizes
costs, and allows our employees the opportunity to have authorship and
personal satisfaction in their accomplishments, as well as sharing in
the financial rewards of their individual and team efforts. We believe
in hiring above average people who have a "hands on" approach to work
and quest for excellent results. In exchange, we are committed to the
development of our good people by identifying, cultivating, training,
rewarding, retaining and promoting those individuals who are committed
to moving our organization forward.

------------------------

http://www.time.com/time/insidebiz/article/0,9171,1018090,00.html
Time Bonus Section February 2005: Inside Business
Can Granola Grow Up?
IRWIN SIMON HAS BUILT HAIN CELESTIAL INTO AN ORGANIC-FOODS GIANT

-------------------------------------------------


http://www.greatharvest.com/default.htm
Great Harvest Bread Company -- Great Harvest Franchising, Inc.  

Our mission statement: 
 -- Be loose and have fun,
 -- Bake phenomenal bread,
 -- Run fast to help customers,
 -- Create strong, exciting bakeries,
 -- And give generously to others.

------------------------

http://www.greatharvest.com/whatsaid.htm
Articles

------------------------

http://www.winningworkplaces.org/library/success/success.php?sid=9
Great Harvest Bread Co.
Healthy community relationships benefit local franchisees and national brand 

-------------------------------------------------


http://www.pella.com/about/default.asp
Pella Corporation

http://www.pella.com/about/profile.asp
For the sixth consecutive year, Pella has been honored by FORTUNE
magazine as one of the nation?s "100 Best Companies To Work For."
Pella earned this recognition for providing exceptional benefits,
development opportunities, and a quality work environment for its
employees.

-------------------------------------------------


http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/
http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/company/philosophy.html
Whole Foods Market

------------------------

http://news.surfwax.com/biz/files/Whole_Foods_Market.html
News Articles On Whole Foods Market

------------------------

http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/stories/2005/01/10/daily9.html
January 10, 2005
Whole Foods, National Instruments move up on list of best employers
Two Austin-based companies are among the country's 100 best employers,
according to Fortune magazine.

Fortune's eighth annual "100 Best Companies to Work For" list,
released Monday, places Whole Foods Market Inc. (NASDAQ: WFMI) at No.
30 ? Of Whole Foods, the magazine writes: "It's all about equality at
this natural-foods grocery chain: A wage disclosure report lists
everyone's gross pay (execs included), and a salary cap limits
compensation to 14 times the average total of all the company's
full-timers." Whole Foods has appeared on every list since 1988.


-------------------------------------------------


http://www.hermanmiller.com/
Herman Miller, Inc.

-------------------------------------------------


http://www.tauck.com/index.html
Tauck World Discovery 

-------------------------------------------------


http://www.dancingdeer.com/LoadFrameset.asp?page=aboutus.asp
Dancing Deer Baking Company

The Deers
All Dancing Deer employees are stakeholders in its profitability and
share in the rewards of a well run, growing company. We believe that
if people love what they're doing, it shows in the food. We developed
this philosophy from the earliest days when we observed that baking
"angry" would ruin a cake.

-------------------------------------------------


http://www.egonzehnderknowledge.com/knowledge/content/articles/index.php?article=1582
Aligning Marketing Strategies with Culture 
Egon Zehnder International?s Culture of Collaboration

4. Enacting open-book compensation.
Every EZI partner knows every other EZI partner?s compensation. For
that matter, anyone who cares to ask will be told about EZI?s open
approach to compensation.



======================================================
EGALITARIAN COMPANIES -- CASE STUDIES, RESEARCH PAPERS
======================================================

http://www.nd.edu/~mbloom/amj_3.pdf
Pay equity and managerial turnover  [PDF File] (An article on this
research appeared in the 4/6/00 Wall Street Journal. The research
article will be published in the Academy of Management Journal)

***** This is a 29-page research report.

------------------------------------------------


http://www.nd.edu/~mbloom/baseball.pdf
Pay equity in baseball [PDF File] (Articles on this research appeared
in the Wall Street Journal, Business Week, New York Times, LA Times,
Dallas Morning-News, Kansas City Star, Washington Post, & Toronto
Globe. The research article was published in the Academy of Management
Journal)

***** This is a 10-page research report.

-------------------------------------------------


http://www.bus.umich.edu/Positive/
University of Michigan, ROSS SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
Positive Organizational Scholarship?

http://www.bus.umich.edu/Positive/WhatisPOS/
What is Positive Organizational Scholarship?

At its core, Positive Organizational Scholarship investigates
?positive deviance,? or the ways in which organizations and their
members flourish and prosper in extraordinary ways. Indeed, the
discipline?s name embodies the core values of the movement. ?Positive?
addresses the discipline?s affirmative bias. ?Organizational? focuses
on the processes and conditions that occur in organizational contexts.
?Scholarship? reflects the rigor, theory, scientific procedures and
precise definition in which the approach is grounded.

-------------------------------------------------


http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/02_18/b3781703.htm
MAY 6, 2002 
SPECIAL REPORT -- THE CRISIS IN CORPORATE GOVERNANCE 
Executive Pay 
As the market cratered, executives went right on raking in the
dough--as nearly 200 companies swapped or repriced their stock options


=================================================
EGALITARIAN COMPANIES TRENDS, ARTICLES, RESOURCES
=================================================

http://www.kee-inc.com/article.htm
Organizational Transformation and the Changing Role of the Human Resource Function

Seven companies--Oticon, Eastman Johnsonville Foods, The Canadian
Imperial Bank of Commerce, W.L. Gore, Semco, and Williams
Technologies--have journeyed down the path of organizational
transformation, and in each case there has been a significant shift in
the role of human resources. The experiences of these companies
illustrate the fact that transformation takes as many shapes as there
are companies. But if we compare their experiences, a number of themes
emerge that will be helpful to those whose organizations are just
beginning to change.

-------------------------------------------------


http://busmovie.typepad.com/ideoblog/2004/04/selling_envy.html
Selling envy

Yesterday's WSJ $ reports on companies that have Ben & Jerry's - type
ceilings on executive pay based on a ratio to what the lowest-paid
employees are getting, featuring Whole Foods. WF's founder and highest
paid executive, John Mackay, explains, "when [executive] pay is
excessive, you're demoralizing the employees," he says. "You're
causing envy and resentment." 

The story reports that this idea is being pushed through proxy
proposals by social justice organizations such as Interfaith Center on
Corporate Responsibility, Responsible Wealth and Catholic Knights. The
story also sees this as consistent with company interests in promoting
a communitarian and employee-empowerment approach to employment
relations.

I won't dwell on operational details, like the fact that that Mr.
Mackay is consoled by his $45 million stake in the company and
substantial stock options that don't figure in the cap. The story
reports that some employees, at least, see through all this and are,
well, resentful.

-------------------------------------------------


http://www.hrzone.com/articles/justice_leadership_OCB.html
Going Beyond 
Employees respond to their supervisor's fairness quotient  

It has long been thought that employee satisfaction is the key to
employee work motivation and participation. It is inescapable logic:
If an employee is happy, satisfied and likes to perform job duties, he
or she is more likely to volunteer to perform beyond what is merely
required. Yet more recent research points to organizational justice
(the way employees feel about the fairness of the organization they
work for) as the true key to employee motivation.

-------------------------------------------------


http://c2.com
Cunningham & Cunningham, Inc.
http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?EgalitarianCompensation
Egalitarian Compensation

------------------------------------------------


http://www.oligopolywatch.com/
Steve Hannaford ? Blog

Are oligopolies sinister? Very possibly. But I think it's more useful
to see how and why they work than simply rail against globalism and
greed. While there are hatefully crooked businessmen (take any set of
former Enron or Tyco executives for a start), most oligopolies are
based on struggles for survival, not a result of innate evil. Like
those proverbial sharks moving forward, businesses either grow or
fail, and since most mature markets have limited growth potential,
companies often grow by buying other companies. If nothing else, it's
fascinating to see how they do it.

-------------------------------------------------


http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-0405090003may09,1,2099143.story?coll=chi-business-hed&ctrack=1&cset=true
SPECIAL REPORT: CEO COMPENSATION PAY GAP WIDENS
Rank and file left out of recovery
No real wage rise; some show a loss
Published May 9, 2004

-------------------------------------------------


http://students.law.umich.edu/mjlr/volume36.htm#stabile
Volume 36, Issue 1
Fall 2002

One for A, Two for B, and Four Hundred for C: The Widening Gap in Pay
Between Executives and Rank and File Employees

-------------------------------------------------


http://www.winoc.org/newsletter187777.html
Is Open Book Management Dangerous?

Open-book management firms enjoy the tremendous benefits of having
everyone watching the same scorecard. For example, Physician Sales and
Service, a national distributor of medical supplies, racked up an
annual 50% growth rate for 15 years; Southwest Airlines has been
tremendously successful operating in a niche where other airlines
failed; SRC, which started as a money losing division of International
Harvester, increased its stock value by 20,000 percent over 10 years.
Inc Magazine reported that open-book management firms outpace their
industry in sales and employment growth.

-------------------------------------------------


http://www.shrm.org/hrmagazine/articles/0598cov.asp
HR Learns How to Open the Books

Creating companies of business people
In open-book companies every employee is trained, empowered and
incentivized to understand and pursue the company?s business goals.
The movement started about 15 years ago, led by a handful of pioneers
such as Springfield ReManufacturing Corp. (SRC), Physician Sales &
Service (PSS, now PSS/World Medical) and AES Corp., a worldwide
operator of power-generating plants. Today, hundreds of companies in
virtually every industry practice open-book management in one form or
another. The majority are small to mid-size. But several larger
organizations, such as Donnelley, have been dipping their toes in the
open-book waters.

-------------------------------------------------


http://206.83.107.11/career/docs/Phasing%20Out%20the%20Annual%20Raise.htm
Phasing Out the Annual Raise: More Firms Opt for Bonuses
By Jeff D. Opdyke 
From The Wall Street Journal Online

Millions of people are looking toward 2005 with hopes of a getting a
raise, but many employers are sending this message: You will have to
earn it as a bonus.
Increasingly, companies are moving away from the traditional annual
pay raise in favor of beefing up the amount of money earmarked for
employee bonuses. The bonuses are largely based on performance,
meaning only the most productive employees -- or those lucky enough to
be in a profitable company or division -- will reap the bounty.


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EGALITARIAN COMPANIES ? ORGANIZATIONS, ASSOCIATIONS, CONSULTANTS
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http://www.world-dynamics.com/
Blu (formerly World Dynamics) is a business design studio pioneering
organizational democracy and designing the evolution of business.

We are dedicated to creating freedom-centered organizational
environments and designing a more generative, adaptable and
sustainable world through the principles of organizational democracy.

-------------------------------------------------


http://www.responsiblewealth.org/
Responsible Wealth is a national network of businesspeople, investors
and affluent Americans who are concerned about deepening economic
inequality and are working for widespread prosperity. Our three
primary areas of work are tax fairness, corporate responsibility and
living wages.

-------------------------------------------------


http://www.inequality.org/index.html
Inequality.org is a nonprofit organization based in New York City. Our
mission is, first of all, to illuminate the causes and
multidimensional consequences of the growing inequality of wealth,
income, power and opportunity in America; and second, to move this
critical national problem onto the front burner of American politics
and public discourse.

-------------------------------------------------


http://www.workplacefairness.org/aboutwf.php
Workplace Fairness is a non-profit organization that provides
information, education and assistance to individual workers and their
advocates nationwide and promotes public policies that advance
employee rights. Our goals are that workers and their advocates are
educated about workplace rights and options for resolving workplace
problems, and that the policy makers, members of the business
community, and the public at large view the fair treatment of workers
as both good business practice and sound public policy.

-------------------------

http://www.workplacefairness.org/paywatch.php
Corporate Pay Watch

The latest news about salaries, bonuses, and stock options of CEOs and
other corporate officials.

As reporters comb proxy statements for the otherwise-hidden details of
executive compensation, we compile the results here. Please note that
some articles may no longer be available on the source?s website, or
may not be accessible without payment of a fee, as different sites
have different archive policies.

-------------------------------------------------


http://www.fairlabor.org/2004report/index.html
Fair Labor Association

The FLA's Year Two Annual Public Report provides the public with an
impartial, detailed look into what 25 diverse companies have done in
the past year to improve the working conditions in the factories where
they produce around the world.

------------------------

http://www.fairlabor.org/2004report/companies/participating/index.html
Participating Companies
Participating Companies (PCs) commit to implement FLA Standards in
factories throughout their supply chains. Reports on the following
companies seek to provide the reader with information about their
efforts to comply with FLA requirements.

The Participating Companies included in the FLA's Year Two Report are:

adidas-Salomon
Eddie Bauer 
GEAR for Sports 
Liz Claiborne 
Reebok (including Reebok footwear, an FLA-accredited compliance program)
Nordstrom
Nike 
Patagonia 
Phillips-Van Heusen 
Zephyr-Graf-X

------------------------------------------------=


http://www.pay-equity.org/
National Committee on Pay Equity

The National Committee on Pay Equity (NCPE), founded in 1979, is a
coalition of women's and civil rights organizations; labor unions;
religious, professional, legal, and educational associations,
commissions on women, state and local pay equity coalitions and
individuals working to eliminate sex- and race-based wage
discrimination and to achieve pay equity.

-------------------------------------------------


http://www.beysterinstitute.org/index.cfm
The Beyster Institute 

WHO WE ARE
The Beyster Institute is a non-profit organization dedicated to
advancing the use of entrepreneurship and employee ownership
nationally and internationally, in both the public and private
sectors, as a way to build high performing enterprises and improve
corporate performance.

WHAT WE DO
By providing practical information and assistance to help
organizations implement and sustain equity-based compensation and
broad-based participation programs, we work to enhance economic and
social development through broader ownership and involvement in the
free enterprise system.

-------------------------------------------------


http://www.greatplacetowork.com/
The Great Place to Work® Institute, Inc. is a research and management
consultancy based in the U.S. with International Affiliate offices
throughout the world.

At the Great Place to Work® Institute, we have been listening to
employees and evaluating employers since 1980, to understand what
makes a workplace great. We know that the foundation of every great
workplace is trust between employees and management. Our ongoing
research, measurement tools, and educational services have made us
leaders in helping build high-trust workplaces.

-------------------------------------------------


http://www.winningworkplaces.org/index.php
Winning Workplaces is a not-for-profit providing information,
training, ideas, consulting, and easy-to-use, affordable tools to help
small and midsize organizations create great workplaces. The business
experience of our founders and evidence from other companies prove
that people-friendly workplaces produce better business results.

http://www.winningworkplaces.org/library/success/index.php
Success Stories

***** You can browse the list of companies under a variety of categories.


===============
SEARCH STRATEGY
===============

egalitarian business models
egalitarian compensation
egalitarian compensation models
Egalitarian companies
"compensation practices"
Organizational justice and compensation
ben & jerry's executive compensation
executive compensation
"pay gap" executives "rank and file"
Egalitarian companies
limit "executive compensation"
open book compensation
dancingbear-ga rated this answer:5 out of 5 stars and gave an additional tip of: $100.00
Wow- Thank you- i can't wait to dive in and dig through everything
that you found.  I may have a question or 2 later as I take time to
read through everything- but on first glance I am very happy that you
took this on.  Thank you!

Comments  
Subject: Re: Egalitarian Service Business Models
From: frde-ga on 21 Feb 2005 06:54 PST
 
You might look at the UK's John Lewis Partnership
- not exactly 'egalitarian' - but an interesting and surviving model

There is also the UK's Neal's Yard whole food operation
- I have only got word of mouth about what happened there

Remember what Snowball painted on the wall of the barn
  'All animals are ...'
Subject: Re: Egalitarian Service Business Models
From: dancingbear-ga on 21 Feb 2005 09:04 PST
 
Thanks for the 2 tips- i lived in London for 2 years- and was never
aware of the structure John Lewis operated in.  I also stay right next
to Neals Yard when I go over for work- and I always wondered how the
food shops there worked together.  And yes- maybe Egalitarian is too
much- I'm interested in non hierarchical and distibuted ownership /
compensation /accountability  models.  For example -3M used to have a
model whereby if you came up with a new product you were passionate
about- you were able to set yourself up as a mini copmany- and as long
as you met cretain periodic criteria through peer reviews etc. , you
were allowed to grow.
Subject: Re: Egalitarian Service Business Models
From: frde-ga on 21 Feb 2005 10:06 PST
 
Oddly my Father once worked for 3M 
- he resisted the temptaion to become American

If I remember correctly their major triumph was the Post-It Note
- that requires digging ( I think there is some dirt there )

If you are really interested in company organization then take a look
at the German 'Mittelstand' - small companies like BMW

Also look at Venture Capitalists that keep their victims
- simple objectives decomplify things for 'top management'

Today I was looking at stuff about Warren Buffet and it looked similar
to what Arnold Weinstock was doing with GEC (UK) many years ago.

Egalitarianism is not that productive
- stable and competent management with an overseer might be optimal
Subject: Re: Egalitarian Service Business Models
From: dancingbear-ga on 21 Feb 2005 11:22 PST
 
Thanks-
I actually did a consulting gig for BMW in Germany once-  amazing
culture internaly- but VERY hierarchical, political and somewhat
bureaucratic.  I don't know how 3m works today- my expample was from a
case study I read that was later confirmed by a colleague I know who
worked for them for a few years.  Having lived through a software
startup - the world of VC's is painfully familiar to me.

You said:
:Egalitarianism is not that productive
- stable and competent management with an overseer might be optimal

Hmmm....I believe that if you really do have competent managment- then
what needs to be overseen?
Subject: Re: Egalitarian Service Business Models
From: frde-ga on 21 Feb 2005 22:17 PST
 
In my opinion, borne of observation, even 'competent management' has
its blind spots - and needs an arbiter.

Interesting that you should have been inside BMW, I once spent six
months in Schweppes Germany and have 'worked for' a couple of German
Banks, and found them rather interesting.
Subject: Re: Egalitarian Service Business Models
From: czh-ga on 26 Feb 2005 01:42 PST
 
Hello dancingbear-ga,

This was a very interesting search project and I'm glad you're happy
with the results. Just post a clarification if you need further
information about my findings. Thank you for the five stars and the
very generous tip. I'd love to work with you again.

~ czh ~

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