How to bring capitalism back socially to the US?

Posted by XenokRoy 9 years, 8 months ago to Ask the Gulch
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This subject came to me as something useful to have discussion about based on the thread in the link.

I have some ideas and some things I do within my teams I am a director over, but would love to hear what others are doing to overcome an entitlement social conditioning in the US.

My teams in India (and in past companies China) are very committed to getting the task done. It is not so much the same way here in the US.

I have some entry level technical jobs here in the US. I hire out of college, and often a year or two before they finish college. The kids I hire, many of them for their first Job are generally good workers. In the 22-25 range they often do not even care about making more money, they want to work 40 hours and leave work behind. Getting the job done has far less meaning to them than the time away from work.

In contrast my India team will get the job done but lack the creative minds to tackle problems on there own. If I give them a great procedure they get it done, but they seem to lack the creative capability of US staff.

How do you get the US staff to work like the India staff, and the India staff to be creative like the US staff?

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  • Posted by ewv 9 years, 8 months ago
    Find the best people you can from what is available. You can't change a culture overnight.
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  • Posted by Herb7734 9 years, 8 months ago
    Like anything else, creativity needs to be taught. Much of it is thinking out of the box. A trite phrase but in this case true. I would find a person who could teach a course in creativity and make it a bonus situation for those who take it and pass. Not everyone will. If they do, you've got the wrong teacher. In the USA, the work ethic has diminished to the point where it is as hard to find as a diamond bracelet on the beach with a metal detector. You might create a job application that tests work ethic, but be careful, you might get sued.
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  • Posted by blackswan 9 years, 8 months ago
    In the US, it's no longer chic to be outstandingly successful. It's not longer the age of the nerds. Steve Jobs is no longer "in." What's "in" now is Occupy Wall Street, and the "right" to have a living without effort. You need to create an environment where the 1% is the ideal, and the 99% is the also ran. BTW, cronies don't qualify for the 1%, even if they have the money. The Asians (and other foreigners) come from a society where the nail that sticks up gets hammered. They are outstanding when they work in groups (a la the Japanese), but they get blown out of the water alone, which is why they aren't as creative as Americans. If you're going to hire an American, hire as many as possible who've traveled overseas, especially if they've been to third world countries. That exposure should have given them some insight into what's great about America, and probably have given them a bit more ambition than your typical youth. Being multilingual also helps. With both groups, it helps to start as early as possible (in diapers) to head off the cultural imprinting that negatively affects one's innovation and work ethic.
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  • Posted by wiggys 9 years, 8 months ago
    CAPITALISM: is a social system based on the recognition of individual rights, including property rights, in which all property is privately owned.
    AR "what is capitalism?" CUI, 19 LP discuses in Capitalism as the only moral social system, " OPAR, 380.
    I do not believe it will come back anytime soon based upon the above definition.
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  • Posted by $ Snezzy 9 years, 8 months ago
    At the bottom of this is the concept of the zero-sum game. If every gain by one person results from a loss to someone else, then it's pointless, overall, to engage in any economic activity. We have spent about 150 years believing that the rich get rich on the backs of the poor. "If you have money, you stole it from that poor guy over there. If you're poor, your money was stolen by the rich."

    With that as the background, why bother trying? You're immoral if you win, and only moral if you lose. And you're also immoral if you suggest things could be otherwise.
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  • Posted by strugatsky 9 years, 8 months ago
    Not everyone can be creative. Most cannot. And we are all affected by our surroundings. Indian culture is very much family based and tightly packed, so the youngsters grow up just like their parents and siblings - as a family, not as individuals. Creativity is hard to incubate in that environment. Another feature of the Indian culture is to take maximum advantage of others. That may help them survive, or just get ahead in a queue, but, again, it does not build self-reliance and individualism that are needed to be creative.

    As to the US staff, hire children of recent immigrants (not anchor babies) who still have a work ethic.
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  • Posted by ObjectiveAnalyst 9 years, 8 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Sad. In my shop, I have reduced my workforce and gone on strike as much as is possible. I have only the best most motivated workers left. They are all older now. Aren't we all? So that may be why it still works for me. If the government wasn't robbing me blind, I would love to expand again and leave someone else in charge, but nobody wants to be in charge. What is wrong with young people? It seems they have been given too much and have it too easy... no fear of tomorrow... no planning for the future...
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  • Posted by XenokRoy 9 years, 8 months ago in reply to this comment.
    I too have done bonus structures based on performance.

    I am finding that the latest generation no longer are motivated by the ability to earn more, They are satisfied with less money and shorter work hours more so than more money, doing a better job and taking more time to get it done.

    I have always done salary positions with a bonus program based on achievement. It has provided for a good work and life balance. You take care of the work and you take care of your family and do it each as it needs to be done. I may move things back to an hourly position because of some of the attitudes I see in the new work force. Its a bit frustrating.
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  • Posted by ObjectiveAnalyst 9 years, 8 months ago
    Hello XenokRoy,
    It would help if we stopped handing out participation awards to the youth just for showing up... I have turned to paying commissions/bonuses as apposed to only hourly pay to some that are motivated as an option. It also spurs others when they see the example. For too long in this nation we have been fostering the idea of entitlement without effort. This is no way to inculcate an entrepreneurial spirit and proper motivation to excel.
    Respectfully,
    O.A.
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  • Posted by j_IR1776wg 9 years, 8 months ago
    This used to be called the work ethic or the protestant work ethic. The influence begins at home as a child and is reinforced, or not, by the educational system. The Jesuit maxim applies "Give me the child for seven years,
    and I will give you the man." https://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question...
    My experience in having done business in Asia is that they teach in concepts, not factoids, and there is much more devotion to family among young people. Largely the opposite of what is occurring in America.
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  • Posted by Mamaemma 9 years, 8 months ago
    I am fascinated by this post. I don't have an answer, but I look forward to reading other people's suggestions.
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  • Posted by $ jbrenner 9 years, 8 months ago
    To help people become creative, I use a tool I invented called a questions and issues sheet. It is brainstorming, followed by organization into categories (environmental, safety, health, economics, quality, social impact, technical/engineering, legal, and regulatory). For an example, see

    http://www.galtsgulchonline.com/posts...

    I actually taught this in today's class.
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