Politics

Systems of Engagement: Technology for Social Organizations

April 13, 2011

Tweet “Systems of engagement.” Isn’t that an evocative term? The minute I read it, I knew that the term “systems of engagement” captured something important–but what? I searched the web, I even consulted Quora, but I found no definition of “systems of engagement” that incorporates all that the term evokes for me. So at the […]

Read the full article →

Facebook for Women vs. Facebook Designed by Feminists: Different vs. Revolutionary

October 5, 2010

Tweet What would Facebook be like if it were designed by women? In my earlier post, I proposed that Facebook would look, feel and function differently if it had been designed by “women”. [What I actually was writing about what what Facebook might look like if it had been designed by Feminists– but I used […]

Read the full article →

Is your organization flourishing or withering?

September 22, 2010

Tweet Organizations are organic things — they are born, they die, they suffer and they thrive. But very few organizations flourish. Organizations that flourish are rare creatures. We find them where business goals are tied to larger purpose, where larger purpose is linked to community needs, and where individuals’ authentic selves are nourished by and […]

Read the full article →

Fronting for “the Man”: Can BP disarm our anger by using a Black “Teddy-Bear” Spokesperson?

June 24, 2010

Tweet [Trigger alert: This post is about racism.] There is no more incendiary question than the implicit and unspoken question that often follows the promotion of non-white and/or non-male employees: Did s/he get the job because s/he’s qualified, or did s/he get the job because s/he’s (fill in the diversity criterion here)? Corporate American is […]

Read the full article →

Employee Branding at BP: Do snazzy uniforms protect the response teams?

June 16, 2010

Tweet Somebody at BP has been reading The Onion. BP has figured out that dressing their employees in groovy outfits can help build esprit, camaraderie and a even a sense of importance. Okay, I’m being snarky here… but I am wondering about the positive (and possibly negative) effects of the outfits these BP control center […]

Read the full article →

Misleading Image for Army: New York Times, PowerPoint and Complexity Fail

April 27, 2010

Tweet Was anyone else annoyed by the use of this image, below, on the front page of today’s New York Times? The image is being used to illustrate an article on “death by Powerpoint“, or the overuse of linear, bullet-pointed presentation methods in today’s information-drenched warfare. I have no quarrel with the reporting in the […]

Read the full article →

Corporations as Persons: Steven Colbert explains this bad idea

January 22, 2010

Tweet [Jan 21: In light of yesterday’s Supreme Court Decision, I’m re-posting this serious & pop-culture critique of the anti-democratic argument that Corporations Are People. Scott Klinger writing over at Alternet, sets out what it would/should mean for corporations really to be treated as “persons” and thus have the same responsibilities as people too. Me, […]

Read the full article →

When Brandividuals Violate Organizational Reputation: Ethics, NPR and Fox News

December 15, 2009

Tweet Media Watchdog Eric Boehlert blasts out of the gate this morning with an incisive critique of a longstanding, problematic relationship between NPR and Fox News. Please go to Eric’s post “According to its ethics code, NPR still has a problem” at MediaMattersForAmerica to read the entire story, which he has been covering for several […]

Read the full article →

The 10 Day Boycott: A S.M.A.R.T. response to Whole Foods’ CEO Mackey

August 27, 2009

Tweet Boycotts don’t work. Boycotts rarely, if ever, achieve the goal(s) set out for them, in large part because boycott organizers lack clear goals for what response the boycott is supposed to trigger and especially for what the boycotting action has to demonstrate in order to be seen as “successful”. So I’ve got a proposal, […]

Read the full article →

Reason #238 that we should have another woman on the Supreme Court

May 19, 2009

Tweet From Feministing. com Really, Ann Friedman nails it. No sense in trying to recap this… just head to the full article. (captioned photo from Feministing) Supreme Court: Pregnancy discrimination A-OK! “Today our nation’s highest court ruled in AT&T v. Hulteen that women who took maternity leave and were discriminated against by AT&T are shit […]

Read the full article →