Totalitarian management
The larger the business, the more clearly the similarity of the company with the state. “Corporate values perform the same function as that of morality in society, allow the company to develop, — said the former head of the Russian office of Microsoft Nikolay Pryanishnikov. Company where corporate values exist only formally, in the long run unsustainable”. Instilling employees with “patriotism” (to use a corporate language — loyalty), management sometimes gets excited and turns the company into a kind of totalitarian society. “The secret” gives a few impressive examples.
“Russian milk”: If you work in our company, should know the Scriptures
In August 2010, the owner of the company “Russian milk” Vasily Boyko-the Great all over the Internet appeal to its employees under the title “For spospeshestvovat of repentance in our people”.
In this document, an odious businessman ordered every employee to go through during the year, the course “Fundamentals of Orthodox culture”, banned abortions and in addition was punished to marry anyone who was married. Violators of the corporate code Boiko-Veliky promised to dismiss. On the other hand, employees who are on maternity leave, “Russian milk” guaranteed the payment of the average salary up until the child turns a year.
According to Boiko-Veliky, such measures should not be construed as coercion to faith. He explained that the person sometimes needs a “nudge in the right direction” and the new corporate policy is such a “push”. Later it became known that married all to lay off employees “Russian milk” was not necessary.
“If you work in our company, must know the Holy Scriptures”, — says the entrepreneur. The company is ready to take on the work and professional atheist, but he, too, will have to take the course “fundamentals of Orthodox culture”, which takes an hour and a half work time a week.
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Amazon: Everyone with whom I worked, crying in the office
In August 2015 The New York Times published an investigation on corporate values Amazon. Turned out, staff require not only work to the limit, but also incline them to the most rigid criticism of colleagues and whistleblowing.
In 1997, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos argued that the company did not survive the competition if you turn into country-club like Microsoft.” Regardless of the quality of their work, the employees are forced to endure accusations and rude remarks. According to an employee of the company, quoted by The New York Times, one day the boss called him, to chastise, literally, for each assigned task, called incompetent, and at the end of this conversation, suddenly said: “Congratulations, go on increasing!”
“Almost every person with whom I’ve worked, I even once saw weeping at her Desk,” admits a former employee of Amazon Bo Olson. He lasted in the company for about two years and, according to him, also shed during this time, many tears.
Reacting to the scandal caused by the publication of The New York Times, Jeff Bezos, however, said that doesn’t know his own company of negative reviews.
URALSIB: Universal love, something mystical and spiritual
In may 2015, “statement” looked into the reasons for the extinction of financial Corporation “URALSIB”. As it turned out, one of the causes of the crisis of corporate values expressed in the “pursuit of the highest ideals: trust, creation, love.”
In 2009, workers were obliged to sign a contract according to which they must adhere to a healthy lifestyle and positive thinking, as well as to share the company’s values. Those who fail to meet accepted norms, promised to dismiss. The company spared no expense on “the personal growth” and various non-traditional seminars. All this for the sake of “implementation of personal parameters in managerial thinking”, “higher level development” and “hold the focus on noble motives”.
The result left the company, many talented people who painfully had to endure the imposition of “universal love” and “something mystical and spiritual.” But in 2015, according to an investigation by Russian Forbes, the company continued to follow the chosen course.
X5 Retail Group: Forward, 5, forward!
“Work is our strength! X5 invincible! Job is our stronghold! Forward, X5, forward!” — leaked to the media, the corporate anthem X5 Retail Group became a meme. Ideologists and authors of the text called ordinary employees of the company, but the company’s management strongly supported this initiative, and later beginning to jealously watch over the observance of the tradition to sing the anthem at the beginning of each working day and even prior to each Board meeting.
I remember when the former CEO of X5 Retail Group Lev Khasis was interviewed in the presence of one of PR-managers and decided to demonstrate a new hymn to the company. “Listened Khasis standing, broke into a smile, he told Russian Forbes. — Not changing the complacent expression on her face, he told about sitting next to the PR: “Gennady, we employee young and does not know that we are listening to the national anthem standing up. Next time you get up, you get fired.” Gennady and true long after that, he worked in X5″.
Abercrombie & Fitch: the Nails are not longer than a quarter inch
The company Abercrombie & Fitch in advertising campaigns often presented a daring and rebellious, but it was strongly reglamentary, what hairstyle, makeup and even the length of your nails can afford the employee. For example, nails should not be longer than quarter of an inch from the fingertips.
The company explains such claims by the fact that the way employees for the manufacturer of youth clothes is one of the important factors that influence buyers. One of Abercrombie & Fitch fired the employee is a Muslim, because her hijab did not fit into the requirements of the corporate code.
The dismissal threatens all employees whose nails are painted in varnishes or unnatural colors whose makeup contrasts with the color of the skin. While the store Manager sets what colors are acceptable for his subordinates. Women are forbidden to wear more than two earrings in one ear, in men, the punctures in the ears, in principle, unacceptable. Jewelry should be “simple” and “classic”.
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Different stores brand their own rules about tattoos. As a rule, they are allowed to demonstrate if they didn’t attract attention. But if the figure refer to the brand Abercrombie & Fitch is, on the contrary, a plus. These tattoos can be shown off.
EFKO: Here you biorobot
Valery Kustov, founder and co-owner of EFKO, Russia’s largest importer of palm oil, was in a special rating of the Russian Forbes, devoted to the most unusual, extravagant and eccentric Russian businessmen.
Kusov took a job in the personnel service professionals in “psychotherapy” and “mindfulness”. In addition to the regular tests, each candidate for a place in the company goes through a mandatory interview on a lie detector and system and test for compliance with “moral principles”.
The employee must write a letter to service personnel, if he wants to get him promoted. A man undergoes a medical examination, professional certification, and “psycho”, and then it is sent to the training center “Liman”, where he lives for a month. Life goes on in the military: lights out at 22:00, the rise is 6:00. Each day is devoted to lectures on psychology and Humanities, visits to the corporate Museum of the Scythian culture, which is a typical Scythian burial mound with a burial chamber.
One of the employees complained online that EFKO “kill all human” turns people into “biorobots”. But it’s a rare case when someone complains about this company, it is known that in EFKO good pay.
Cover photo: Jetta Productions / David Atkinson / Getty Images
