+

Ricardo Semler:A NEW APPROACH TO

BUSINESS AND COMPANY ORGANISATION.

“Why haven’t we learned to go golfing on Monday morning when we’ve learned

to take our work home on Friday

night?” Semler

Take a look at a democratic

workplace and the rapid pace

of change!

Take a realistic

look at what works!

Take a realistic

look at what makes

sense in today’s world!

Take a look at the cultural and values approach to

work practices!

+Reasoning Behind Semler’s

Approach

The seven-day workweek robs people of passion and pleasure, destroys family and community stability, and sets up business to fail once they have “burned out

their employees and burned through ever more manipulative

and oppressive strategies.”

+Semler’s Approach

A passionate advocate of bridging the gap between business success and personal fulfillment.

He advises business leaders around the world on how they can significantly improve business performance by restructuring relationships with their people.

+Ricardo Semler and Values

“Creating and maintaining a high-performance culture is not easy in today’s turbulent environment and changing workplace, but through words and particularly actions,

leaders let everyone in the organisation know what really counts.” (Understanding Management, Daft & Marcic 2009)

Family, leisure and sense of a person are given priority. With this sense of satisfaction, productivity within the

workplace is achieved.

+Take a Realistic Look at What

Works in our World!

JOB SATISFACTION versus DOING THE JOB BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO

The seven-day weekend is a way of getting out of the control business and back to our central purpose.

Avoiding repetition,

boredom and aggravation

A work week that is filled with

joy, inspiration

and freedom.

+Balancing Act – Semler’s Approach Semler puts forward the reality that there must be a balance

between work and private passions.

+Rapid Pace of Change

What implications does a non-hierarchical and democratic business structure have for the work place?

Semler explains that there is an absolute necessity for companies to give up control to cope with

changes that are transforming the way people live and work.

“Visitors need to learn that our

economic success requires replacing

control and structure with

democracy in the workplace…”

+ Cultural Implications – Cultural Leaders

Modeling behaviours – words and actions - that focus on family and cultural values, is central to maintaining a productive and successful workplace.

As educators, we too need to follow Semler’s approach of embedding cultural values based on positive work/life balance, in order to mould students to develop positive work habits and ultimately

achieve success while valuing family time.

Happy teachers = Happy students

+Summary It's about creating an atmosphere and culture that grants

permission to employees to be men and women in full, for seven days a week. Why should the fun, fulfillment, and freedom stop first thing Monday morning and be on hold until Friday night?

Semler’s approach allows us to realise that, by giving people the opportunity for their gifts and talents to flourish, people will in turn understand that there is a core purpose to what they are doing.

Although Semler’s approach doesn’t instigate structural goals and future planning, people develop a sense of personal growth and direction, based on their values. This in turn is portrayed in their work and life balance.

Change the way work ‘works’ and improve the quality of life.

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Semler’s mission is to change the habits of thought that lead to rigid

and dehumanizing workplaces, to be replaced by engaging and productive ones, which regard people as whole human beings, seeing life and work

as interrelated in a mutual commitment.

http://www.leadershipworks.co.za/profile_semler.php

+Bibliography

http://www.semco.com.br/en/

http://mitworld.mit.edu/video/308/

http://www.inc.com/articles/2004/03/7dayweekend.html

http://www.leadershipworks.co.za/profile_semler.php

Google books - Understanding Management, Daft & Marcic 2009