Is perfection possible?

Question

Can we build a highly productive workplace where people are truly treated as an organization's more important assets?

Answer 1

"Perfection" is going to be different things for different people, so I'll say yes in the sense that people are treated well in the work environment.

We used to live not too far from the headquarters of Celestial Seasons, the Zinger tea company, in Colorado.  I often heard that people loved working there.  Suggestions from the floor were taken seriously, and the corporate philosophy was that people need time for home to be happy at work.  In fact, at the  time we lived there, people were rarely asked to come in on weekends or to stay too late.  

It may have changed over the years, but the reputation it had leads me to believe that a highly productive workplace where people are truly treated as the organization's more important assets is possible.  Not common, but possible.

Answer 2

No it isn't.

Unless you use robots!

Answer 3

It seems to me that the larger an organization becomes, the more problems there are and the individual workers become less valued.  This problem is offset to a large degree when employees have ownership of their own company or are rewarded by sharing in the profits.  The standards and values of a team of workers changes dramatically if they know that they will be rewarded for cutting down on waste and for increasing productivity.  

My own favorite work situations were small family owned businesses.  Everyone pulled together and had a lot invested in making sure that they made a profit while delivering a good product.  

I also experienced a great work environment while working in a marine biology laboratory at the University of Washington.  It was fun working with smart people and doing work which was stimulating mentally.  There was very little in the way of supervision once everyone was trained.  The work was fairly easy and working conditions were ideal - nice music playing (we brought in our own favorite music to listen to), pleasant conversation, no dress code, and no real stress.  But nobody took unfair advantage of the situation and they worked really hard when they had to because the workers were highly motivated to give back for having such an ideal setup.  Nobody took extra time for breaks or gave anything less than 100% effort.  

Still, I marvel at the productivity of workers involved in communal religious groups.  The Shakers of America were amazingly productive and happy at their work.  They saw work as being a spiritual discipline.  They worked steady and for long hours, but they were in an altered state as they worked - they were worshipping and they were happy.  I would loved to have had the opportunity to visit and work with them.  They certainly took their work to a new level.  

Just a few thoughts to answer your interesting question.  Hope it was helpful.

Answer 4

yes