[This is an open source sort-of work in progress which I'll be adding to continually as my thoughts crystallize through other discussions. I'll take any critiques, but realize that my phrasing and argumentation is still very much in draft form.]
I think the danger of corporate structures is that too many of them shut out criticism from the people who do the actual work, many are organized as a series of mini-dictatorships. As an interactive designer/programmer in the advertising industry, I’ve been mostly tertiary to this decision making process, but I have on occasion seen how the authoritarian nature of corporate hierarchies can be harmful on a number of levels.
This post is heavily influenced by the documentary, The Corporation (below), as well as my own personal experience in and about the corporatocracy.
First and foremost, I’m quite simply someone who hates to do something that I find to be illogical or pointless, or the worst reason of all “because I say so”. Over the years, though, I’ve conditioned myself to know what battles to fight in order to maintain a career and “go along to get along”, but my battles usually consisted of merely having to “make the logo bigger”, change this button from blue to red, etc–nothing I’ve ever “gone to the mat” over.
But now that I’ve been on my own freelancing for the past year, this self-conditioning process looks more and more like collective insanity to me.
For instance, a old college friend of mine is now a data-analyst for a major pharmaceutical company. On many occasions he has casually explained how his job is essentially to participate in a highly sophisticated system of targeted payola aimed at getting doctors to prescribe his company’s drug. Never once does it occur to him that his drug may be less effective than his competitors and that it is (in my opinion, at least) fairly amoral for such an aggressive system of coercion of professional medical opinions to be implemented at all. Unfortunately, it’s all about his “team”, not the positive or negative effects of his job upon society.
Of course, I’ve been acutely aware of my personal relationship to authority figures and a keen observer others' ever since reading Bob Altemeyer’s long-term psychological study of authoritarian tendencies, The Authoritarians (available as a free pdf). In a super-small nutshell, we all must struggle against our desire to grant certain authorities unquestionable fealty. Authority can be defined as just about anything, a parent, an idea, a religious leader, hell a can of soup. It’s been one of the most enlightening reads I’ve had in my ongoing struggle to understand our ongoing struggles, and everyone I’ve recommended to has tended to agree that the book changed the way they see their enemies. Ironically, the book has become my authority on the value of questioning authority, especially of my in-group.
So while I do agree with the fundamental critiques of the film “The Corporation”, I would not necessarily personify them as BEING insane, but rather they condition people to working against their own interest, often without ever realizing it. This is largely accomplished by the mere fact that most large corporations prevent honest and pointed criticism at the bottom from rising to the failing leadership at the top (something that most people would call democracy).
They seem to forget that unions exist merely to get the bosses to sit at a table listen. It's only their fevered egos that require us to amass such great numbers just to attain their presence, but usually not their respect. I don't know why this is, other than some people just didn't have the experiences necessary to understand the value of and invite criticism. When someone says you suck, just see it as an opportunity to either improve, or justify your actions when questioned. Don't just tell them to shut up.
Perhaps a good regulation would simply be for every employee to be required by law to read independent analysis of their corporation's behavior. I do believe that we can all only be expected rise to the level of our awareness. Unfortunately, many corporations take an active roll in propagandizing from within and to without.
[UPDATE: prompted by a comment by Iamyouareme I deliberately chose "amoral" and here's why.
The people who are contributing to this disruptive behavior, like my college friend, are not necessarily "immoral". To me that word means that you know what the right thing is, but you do the opposite deliberately. My faith in humanity is not so shaken as to believe that even a super majority of the people working in corporations are immoral. That would be too painful a world to imagine living in.
I choose to believe that they are merely misguided by people whom they, reasonably or not, consider to be an authority. This creates the means for one bad decision to go VERY FAR, often to fruition, and all because no one had the means or the motivation to say "NO". It is our job to provide them with the motivation and remind them that they have the means to stand up and put an end to this madness.
We are seeing examples of this now with Scott McClellan stepping forward, and even in great Britain, somewhat reasonable people are displaying the courage it takes to admit they were wrong and vocally challenge the people they previously considered an authority. Stop and think for a moment how hard that can be if it took you a LONG time to realize that you'd been led astray by people you trusted dearly. People like your own parents, or perhaps a church you belonged to, or perhaps even a spouse who steered you towards believing a lie. People who loved you, and whom you loved back dearly. They all were following the same lie. It was you're job to stand up and say, "Sorry, this goes too far. I have to go with the evidence."
Many people like these were simply never exposed to the means to question authority fully. More importantly, they hadn't practiced the art of criticizing their leaders. It is part of the conditioning of submission that we all are subjected to, at least those of you who endured a school system, public or private. I was diagnosed with ADD, but believe I was just bored and liked to be free to follow my interests. This led to many many clashes with authority figures with whom I disagreed or was the victim of their dislike towards class clowns. It took me a while to learn how to form an argument and gain the respect I needed to make it in the world and continue my own education once free from the confines of arbitrary assignments that ignored the roots of my arguments.
So back to my point of using amoral. I have been given the gift of understanding the value of criticism in my life. Some have not been so lucky. They are either paralyzed from offering it to their authority figures, or they are loathe to accept it from anyone. It is our job to refine our criticisms so that they are accepted. It is our job to offer them with love. I can love an immoral person even if that love is hated, but I can change an amoral one by creating understanding.