Certainly different kinds of organizations offer different ways to meet the different needs of society. That is why we will continue to see both large and small companies, and also mid-sized ones, “fighting” to deliver different products and services for different, and sometimes the same, social cohorts.

 

That said, such organizations must be adaptable to changing social needs, and priorities, as to the importance and value of products and services. Over the past half century we have seen dramatic shifts in society’s perception of the strengths, and weaknesses, of these different organizations. I would suggest that recent events in the business and financial world have deeply tainted people’s mindset as to the trustworthiness of large organizations, and that the concentration of “power” within the business world is actually leading to a deeper mistrust of such organizations, with predictable backlash.

 

Big business too often have organizations that marginalize their employees into “zombies”, leading to office politics to insure promotions, to yes-men who are too scared to think on their own and voice their opinion no matter the consequences, to just plain lazy people who only want a regular pay check for the least amount of effort.

 

SMEs on the other hand must hire people who can wear more than one hat as they “move about” the company, leading them to continue to be motivated by quality of work, product and/or service, to be more concerned with the customer (and fellow workers) rather than promotions or losing their job because they question the boss.

 

That is why I suggest to large organizations that they look to Magna International’s organizational strategy when one of their units becomes too big, that is achieving an HR contingent over 100 strong. They then “break off” the growth unit as an independent self-sustaining sub-entity.

 

As to recent discussions on statistics and/or “experts” advice on deciding which is better for society, I would say people need to take these with a grain of salt. Certainly one should listen to, and understand, most of the sage counsel available, but SME business “leaders”, or wannabe’s, should “listen” first and foremost to their “gut feeling” about an issue or some other concern, as their main guide on “W5h” to do (what, where, when, why, who & how).

 

That is what makes such people different from the majority. Not “better than”, but rather unique to undertake the challenges of working for oneself, in creating their vision, and thereby giving society alternatives to existing choices, and even offering new thinking that leads to a Global Village Mindset.