Posted by
Patrick Bohan on Wednesday, May 16, 2012 8:04:03 AM
http://thetheoryofmediocrity.blogspot.com/
The government, organizations, and
companies would operate more efficiently using circular organizations. The key
to a circular organization is that no one person or group is placed at the top,
but there is one key group or person at the center (sun or nucleus). All
groups, organizations, and entities located in the circle are considered equal
and therefore, it allows information to flow in both directions. Take
healthcare for instance. One thing that is hard to find in the federal
government flowchart is the patient. In a circular flowchart, the patient
should be at the center of the circle, like the sun or the nucleus is the center
of solar system or matter. All players in the healthcare industry such as
hospitals, doctors, pharmaceutical companies, health insurance companies,
government entities, and so forth should revolve around the patient and have an
equal partnership in improving care and reducing cost. The information comes
from the patient to government entities to drive reform, not the other way
around. Conversely, corporations should place a project team at the center of
an organization with management entities revolving around them. This would
yield more power to the common worker and create an environment where the
desired information flow from workers to management is more prevalent.
Our school system would be another
excellent example of implementing a circular organization. In a circular
organization, the student is at the center with unions, administration, parents,
teachers, facilities, and curriculum groups revolving around the student.
However, that is not the way schools are organized. In fact, in many cases
unions and administrations act independently to drive curriculum and to push
their personal ideological agenda on students. In a circular organization no
one entity can act independently since they cannot pass their agenda without
consent of other organizations in the circle or the consent of the group
located in the nucleus. Another example would be our society in general. The
executive branch, legislative branch, judicial branch, state governments, local
governments, corporations, charitable groups, and so forth should have equal
power and revolve around the constituent. After all, without the constituent we
would have no governments, corporations, or other groups.
Circular organizations are much more
efficient because they eliminate waste since it is much easier to identify
redundant programs. They eliminate barriers by allowing information to flow
easier between organizations. In a circular organization there is no need for
titles, big offices, or other barriers if everyone is on the same level. Circular
organizations allow corporations and government entities to place the focus of
their business or program in the right place. In other words the focus for
healthcare is placed on the patient; the focus for our governments is on the
constituent; the focus for the school system is placed on the student; and the
focus of the corporation is placed on the people designing and manufacturing
the product. This means information flows from the focus entity to other groups
more prevalently. The focus entity of circular organizations should be driving
reform and policy and not the other way around. Most importantly, circular
organizations motivate workers, patients, and students because they have a
bigger say in the process. Hence, productivity is increased. Patients are
healthier, students are smarter, and companies are more profitable. Why don’t
businesses and government entities organize themselves in a circular fashion?
We live in a world with power hungry egomaniacs that want to make more than
they are worth and they want to dominate their peers and direct reports. Yes,
the human ego and greed are destroying the government and businesses by
creating organizations that emphasize their position and not the focus of their
job.