Open Business Model 2005-11-23 contest submission

Notes

I submitted the following text to the SinceSlicedBread contest on 2005-11-24, and then realized I should probably post it here in Issuepedia as well. Entries to the contest were limited to 175 words; I think I managed to squeeze the entry down to 174 words, with some rather painful editing of things I would much rather have explained or clarified. I am posting an expanded version in Corporate Brainstorming. --Woozle 10:19, 24 Nov 2005 (CST)

Text

Today's economy is increasingly owned by extremely large corporations, with increasing focus on the near-term bottom line at the expense of the communities and individuals upon which such corporations depend. Terrible mistakes are made and often magnified by ill-conceived cover-ups, resulting in losses for everyone.

My proposal is to create and promote an Open Business model wherein employees and even customers have knowledge and input regarding the business's practices and decisions, with a goal of minimizing destructive corporate behavior and ensuring that generated wealth works towards sustaining communities.

Using modern data-processing tools, businesses can now expose every recorded detail of what they do. Summaries and analyses can be done internally or by third parties. Wiki-style web sites and online forums allow anyone to post suggestions, criticisms, or praise. Meetings can be held online, either with open participation or simply to create (instantly!) a record of what is said.

Obviously we can't force anyone to adopt such a model, but by encouraging it today we can help it take root and become common practice tomorrow.