An excerpt from my most recent
little project. Hey, sometimes you have to go where the inspiration takes you.
Convergence describes the degree to which an organization prioritizes social justice. There are five stages of corporate convergence:
Convergence describes the degree to which an organization prioritizes social justice. There are five stages of corporate convergence:
1.
Infiltrated. The corporation has been entered by people devoted
to social justice, but they do not have any significant influence or authority
within the company. Employees are hired, fired, and promoted on the basis of
either merit or connections. The marketing tends to reflect the company's
products and services.
2.
Lightly Converged. The social justice infiltrators have begun to
move into their preferred areas, such as Human Resources and Marketing, but
they don't have any real influence over the corporation's policies or corporate
strategies. The company starts to make occasional noises about
"outreach" and "diversity", but doesn't actually change its
employment practices. The marketing is still mostly about the company's
products, but now features improbably diverse scenarios.
3.
Moderately Converged. Social justice advocates now control Human
Resources, which is used as a corporate high ground to exert influence over
other departments as well as the executive team. The corporate marketing begins
to devote more attention to signaling corporate virtue than selling its
products. Managers are encouraged to hire diverse candidates and to stop
holding low-performance employees accountable. HR begins holding mandatory
awareness sessions and hiring diversity consultants. The corporation's customer
service begins to go downhill.
4.
Heavily Converged. Social justice advocates now control the
corporate high ground and the strategic centers. Significant elements of the
executive team and the board are devoted to social justice, often in a very
public manner. Implicit hiring quotas are imposed and it becomes almost
impossible to fire anyone for anything short of murder in the workplace. HR
openly dictates corporate policy to employees, often without consulting the
executives. The marketing materials not only signal corporate virtue, but
openly advocate various social justice issues. The corporation shows
indifference to its core customer base and begins to obsess over new markets
that mostly exist in its imagination.
5.
Fully Converged. The corporation devotes significant resources
to social causes that have absolutely nothing to do with its core business
activities. Human Resources is transformed into a full Inquisition, imposing
its policies without restraint and striking fear into everyone from the
Chairman of the Board on down. The CEO regularly mouths social justice
platitudes in the place of corporate strategies and the marketing materials are
so full of virtue-signaling and social justice advocacy that it becomes
difficult to tell from them what the company actually does or sells. The
corporation now shows open contempt for its customers.
I could
use some help in identifying various corporations at each of these stages. For
example, I would consider the NFL and ESPN to be at Stage Four, whereas Marvel
Comics is at Stage Five. Apple is in transition from Stage Three to Stage Four;
they've historically done a good job of talking the social justice game without
actually believing their own BS, but Tim Cook appears to have changed that.
UPDATE: Bruce Charlton adds a
few thoughts:
"Managers are encouraged
to ... stop holding low-performance employees accountable."
This is correct in terms of accountability for employee performance in what is advertised as the institution's core business activities (products, services or whatever).
But does not seem to capture the whole picture, in the sense that my impression is that increasingly even the slightest degree of complaint, dissent or disobedience often seems to be enough to provoke sanctions from HR (legal sanctions, entrapment/ dirty tricks, and full-on psychological threats and harassment) - even when that employee contributes greatly to the core business.
So, as with most tyrannies, in the modern institution obedience to (the real) authority is the primary virtue, and disobedience the only sanctioned sin.
This is correct in terms of accountability for employee performance in what is advertised as the institution's core business activities (products, services or whatever).
But does not seem to capture the whole picture, in the sense that my impression is that increasingly even the slightest degree of complaint, dissent or disobedience often seems to be enough to provoke sanctions from HR (legal sanctions, entrapment/ dirty tricks, and full-on psychological threats and harassment) - even when that employee contributes greatly to the core business.
So, as with most tyrannies, in the modern institution obedience to (the real) authority is the primary virtue, and disobedience the only sanctioned sin.
