Michael Landa, MA, CHRP. Principal Consultant, Organization Assessment and Change.

The worst impact of the current recession is not the loss of share value of corporations, not the loss of value of real estate, but the erosion of good jobs from the shrinking (North) American economy. These jobs are gone and will not be coming back unless (North) American Business/Industry modifies its current management model as the key to increased productivity.

Productivity! With apologies to economists, productivity cannot be achieved unless it is understood that it is the individual worker behaviors that comprise it. Productivity is achieved through a chain of human behaviors that produce different outcomes in different cultural contexts throughout the world.

Ninety eight percent (98%) of the world’s employers, including those in America, operate a compliance management model in their workplace. That is, the management system is hierarchical, and workers are encouraged to “do as they are told”. This model is responsible for the adversarial labor relations context in (North) America, for strikes, work to rule campaigns and for the “check my brain at the door” attitude of many, if not most front line workers.
Two percent (2%) of the world’s employers employ a management model that is based on employee participation. That is, the individual worker is invited to participate in the ongoing management of his/her area of the enterprise, promoting innovation and worker engagement.

Culturally homogeneous work environments, such as those found in Japan, have held a competitive edge in quality, continuous improvement and innovation because they use a participative management model. The same model hasn't worked well in urban communities in western industrialized cultures such as those in (North) America because they are much more culturally diverse.

This cultural diversity is neither good nor bad, but requires a different approach for growing a participative management style. The inherent cultural preference for compliance management is the primary reason for America losing market share in major manufacturing industries such as automotive and home entertainment and indirectly also accounts for the majority of recent job losses in the manufacturing sector.

The primary obstacle to broad based economic recovery in North America is the empowerment and enrichment of the workforce through increased productivity, of the workforce—the economic engine of America. There is a simple method to achieve the empowerment and enrichment:
Dr. Tom Barker (, a senior member of the American Society of Quality (ASQ) and certified Black Belt Six Sigma consultant) and Tom Davis (an entrepreneur and management innovator) have developed a new employee cooperative management model that works in conjunction with the conventional “compliance management model” to produce levels of quality, innovation and continuous improvement competitive with employee participative environments. Furthermore, it neutralizes the negative effects of workplace factors such as diversity and the impact of organized labor. Through the use of associated “special tools” an organization can modify its current compliant

model in less than ninety days. The resulting productivity improvements are substantial and sustainable in terms of quality, innovation and continuous improvement in the workplace.
Barker and Davis have also produced an “e-book” as a guide that can assist front line employees in understanding the international game of productivity. In it, Dr. Barker provides a basic understanding of the theories and teachings of management experts like W. Edwards Deming and Dr. Kaoru Ishikawa, to support the management innovations and tools developed by Davis over the past twenty-five years.

The eBook is designed to provide employers/managers with a framework to understand and change their management culture, and also to provide direct support to employees in that change. Along with the book, they provide a number of free tools to support the change process and provide a basis for ongoing workforce innovation.

This approach constitutes the first substantive paradigm shift in management science in (North America) since the development of the assembly line. As such, it has the potential to establish the foundation for high quality, sustainable, direct and indirect job growth into the future, where understanding and managing “Human Factors” will become the focus of innovation in management.

For more information go to www.eliteworkforce.com.