John Linton .....in Australia in the second decade of the 21st century?
Perhaps the more realistic question should be does it make any difference whether a company is good or bad providing it continues to deliver its shareholders their expected return on their money invested which is the first, and largely, only 'duty' of any commercial company or, more correctly, the management of the company. I can pretty much say, after many years experience, that few if any of the companies with which Exetel deal could be described as 'good' companies to deal with; though many of them deliver a decent dividend to their shareholders. Personally I find many aspects of the companies we deal with to be appalling but that doesn't stop us dealing with them nor does it stop those companies from growing and prospering based on their published financial results.
Most of the companies we deal with have some 'slogan' (a hang over from the 1970s) or a 'mission statement' (a hang over from the 1990s) that 'encapsulates their raison d'etre. Whenever I see such nonsense I am reminded of the four LA cops viciously beating Rodney King to near death on that endlessly shown film clip with the police car in the near back ground clearly showing the LA Police 'motto' - "To Protect And To Serve".....not a lot of protecting and serving going on that day. I think the NSW police 'motto is far more appropriate and far less cringe worthy "Culpa Poena Premit Comes" which at least is suitably aggressive and ominous for what police are supposed to do - no hint of "protecting and serving" by the police in this State. I also have always been amused by the fact it is in Latin when the education standards of the majority of the NSW police force do not give any indication that they can actually understand simple English.
So the PR departments of most companies (not just police departments) provide some sort of meaningless slogan as epitomising the objectives of most commercial companies in Australia - but none of them alludes to making as much money as possible - which is fairly symptomatic of their overall attitude to telling the truth throughout their organisation and to 'outsiders'. All that illustrates is that a company/organisation begins to lie to all and sundry from its inception. If your 'motto' is a lie then what hope is there for anything you do or person you employ being any better related to your stated base reason for existing?
No company can be 'good' without having good managers of people - yet how many companies do - I had one in the almost 20 years I worked for NCR, IBM and Fujitsu. No company can be 'good' unless their basic hiring definitions and hiring skills are fully thought through and adhered to - again, how many companies have those people and processes in place - none in my experience with the same three companies over the same period. No company can be 'good' that doesn't plan with each of its personnel for them to develop long agreed lines that both benefit the employee and the company equally within agreed time frames - in my experience in working for some of the best multi-national companies in the world who aspired to doing that- it never happened other than by lip service.
How do you develop a culture in which the overwhelming majority of people employed in a company do care more about the development of other people and the satisfaction with the company's 'products' by the customers than they do about their own interests? Is it possible at all?
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PS: How's this for irony:
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/in-depth/stephen-conroy-pledges-lower-prices-to-come-as-nbn-trial-is-launched-in-nsw/story-e6frgaif-1226104271083