Iv talked about ownership on this very blog before but I believe the context was with respect to owning up your faults.
This post is a little different.
Human Resource is another subject of my interest. One such theory in the subject is the theory of ownership which goes along the lines that when an employee begins to feel that he owns the company,he would be motivated to act in the beneficial interest of the company. Agreed from the overview.Thus was born your ESOP(Employee Stock Option Plans)
On deeper thought Im forced to think from another perspective which raised one big question in my head-
1.In these times of recession where every person's job is feared to be at stake, is ownership still appreciated?
My reasoning is that it wouldn't be. With no practical experience in the corporate world, Im free to run my reasoning on my general knowledge and rationale. Assuming the theory is true, this would be a boon if it happens in the top management. My question is what if a middle or lower level employee takes to the ownership theory? Logic follows that the employee would perform better. If a junior performs better, the chances of the senior (especially under current scenarios) feeling that his seat is being threatened is higher. If this happens the possibility of the senior taking credit for the junior's initiatives and performance would be prevalent. This would, in turn, mean that the junior is not being recognised for his efforts. Its an accepted theory that recognition often means a lot in terms of motivating an employee.One may infer that thus, the employee loses his motivation to perform despite the feeling of ownership which had motivated him to perform in the first place. Or is it safer to say that when such a situation occurs, the theory of ownership dissipates and recognition as a factor of motivation comes into play? May this be interpreted to mean that recognition is a better motivator than the feeling of ownership?
