RE: Canada Post Strike by Hiromi
Hi Hiromi,
Thank you for bringing up such a relevant topic to discuss with today’s current events! I’m with you on your quote where you state that typical barriers to government innovation are caused by “labour costs, a larger pension obligation, and most of all, their culture which is slow to change” (as cited in Hagesawa, 2018). Working in government myself, I also observe these tendencies first-hand. I just want to add that part of the reason why I think this may be the case is because of the lack of outside pressures to demand change from government.
As far as government agencies go, the accountability for their actions or spending habits really are in the hands of the people but I feel that the extent to people’s influence on government affairs are also limited because of the power and job security that comes with government jobs. Often for change to take place, we would have to see drastic efforts from the part of the people in order to get the changes we desire.
On the other hand, business creates conditions for innovation to take place due to the competitive nature that business breeds and the accountability structure that arises from natural business dealings. I would argue that businesses are more accountable for their actions than government because they’re held accountable by the values of their customers. Customers are what drives profit so when businesses aren’t meeting the needs and demands of customers, customers are often able to go elsewhere. Also, the fact that a free market allows for competitors to compete for market share means that businesses must continuously innovate for relevance in the market, or else run the risk of falling behind. This is where we start to see John Smarts’s IMF model come to play where in order for businesses to stay competitive in today’s ultra-competitive marketplace, leaders need to have foresight of the direction of their business and of the environment, must be able to innovate and adapt to change, and also possess a strong management team for the smooth and consistent operation of the business (Smart, 2015).
One of the key takeaways I learned from Jack Ma’s videos was his prioritization of whose needs to satisfy: first it was customers, then employees, and lastly shareholders (E-learning, 2016). His idea was unconventional to me because it was the first time I’ve heard a business prioritize in this manner but influenced me greatly nonetheless because of how sensical it seemed. Jack explained that customers were always number one because they are the people he serves and whom drive the business (E-learning, 2016). Employees were next on the list because they are what makes the business great and actually interact with the main revenue source, the people (E-learning, 2016). Lastly investors were the least prioritized because many won’t stay if things turn sour and they’re needed most, that’s the employees and the customers that the employees serve (E-learning, 2016). Because business leaders like Jack value the satisfaction and opinions of his customers, he ultimately holds himself accountable to them and is driven to innovate and meet their needs.
Going back to Canada Post, I imagine this is what led to their difficulty adapting to change. Because they’ve held a monopoly on postal services for so long, they had little incentive to connect with their customers’ thoughts, opinions, and values. When the technology allowed for other companies to distribute similar services, Canada Post had difficulty responding because they’ve lost touch with their customers’ values. Personally, I don’t feel that Canada Post will be able to recover the setback they’ve suffered from the hands of more efficient and innovative online retailers such as Amazon or Rakuten. Only time will tell if Canada Post is able to reinvent themselves in time to address the changing business environment.
-Ruiz
References
E-learning. (2016, June 23). Keys to Success from Jack Ma | Self-Made Billionaire and CEO of Alibaba [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WjHZ5wLe6w
Hagesawa, H. (2018, November 26). Learning Activity 2 [Blog Post]. Retrieved from https://create.twu.ca/papagena163/2018/11/26/learning-activity-2-3/
Smart, J. M. (2015, April 8). John Smart – Leadership of Tech Change – WFS2013 [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhdWqLNUJns
November 26, 2018 @ 3:57 pm
Hi Ruiz,
Thank you for your comment. Your deep insights always inspire me.
Thank you for sharing your real experience for Government, too.
I feel animals tend to stay in “homeostasis”. People hardly change without needs.
In terms Ma’s prioritize, maybe it is Asian way of thinking. There is a famous proverb ” Customers are god for business.” in Japan, too. It means we have to serve customers like they are our God. Recently I was surprised to know that the Westeast Airline prioritize their employees are the first. It was new for me. They make employees their main shareholders, too.
Now I am thinking which is good to prioritize customers or employees??
Hope to see you soon.
Hiromi