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02 July, 2020

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Human & Social capital is produced when An Organization experiences its existence as a CITIZEN

Article by Mr. Lolis G. Ioannis, Business Consultant, Economist, MSc - MBA, President & CEO of SIGMA S.A.

The article was published in the February STIGMA magazine entitled "Today's Social & Business Actions"

The greatest challenge in an organized social system (from a business to a sports team) is to ensure the spontaneous cooperation of its members in conditions of authoritarian relations between them.

This challenge can be answered by establishing a mentality that will result from the transformation of the company into an ORGANIZATION which consists not of managers, superiors, executives and workers but of CITIZENS. This is how what is called a corporate anthropocentric society takes shape.

This process, which requires a fundamental change of culture, gives birth to the CITIZEN ORGANIZATION, which develops a common system of values, a common mission, a common vision and a clear framework of structures and functions.

Such an organization in terms of result and efficiency is characterized by the following:

Collective orientation: The relationship of the individual with the organized social system in which he belongs is defined by the willingness of each citizen to sacrifice, voluntarily, his narrow individual interests for the common good, while at the same time the organization continues to encourage the pursuit of the highest possible excellence. The citizen always wonders what he can do to benefit the organization and at the same time nurtures the expectation that, if the organization thrives, he will also.

Open-minded: The organization allows "foreigners" to come and go, but at the same time is ready to embrace talents and ideas from everywhere. Being that mature, an organization easily discerns that the risk of being "robbed of its secrets" is less important than the power they derive from access to innovative ideas and influences from others, as well as from the open exchange of knowledge between them.

Receptive leadership: Leaders remain citizens, accountable to the organization. They take leading positions based on the Aristotelian saying "both to rule and to be ruled" (partly to rule and be ruled). They cooperate with the whole organization for the formation of the collective action and have a deep sense of responsibility and are accountable to the judgment of the fellow citizens.

Innovation: Citizens increase their potential for new ideas and leverage any technical advances they have made as a basis for new experiments and new successes. So, they are always one step ahead of their competitors.

Entrepreneurship: The organization is always looking for something more, using creativity and energy to seize opportunities. It does not "close in on itself" nor is it compatible with what it already has. It wants to expand and is willing to take risks.

Durability: Citizens refuse to lose their morale from adversity, even from major defeats. They stand up and go on the counterattack. They endure, year after year without exception, even in the worst periods of recession. They show perseverance when striving for success and enduring failures.

Agility: Citizens are flexible and ready for change. The body can change direction quickly and adapt dynamically to changing conditions. Success is not only based on strength but also on agility and quick adaptation to new conditions.

Such an organization model can be an example and inspire any Business of the Age of Technical Intelligence that struggles, like everyone else, with the paradox of managing and adapting human skills.

A crucial role in the creation of such a business model is played by the leader / s who imposes the formal coordination of individuals in the pursuit of the common good in the undertaking they have undertaken. This is authoritarian coordination. But this coordination brings the maximum benefits only if it exceeds its authoritarian character and becomes self-motivated. For this to happen, coordination must be rooted in a climate of trust and cooperation, which requires time, effort and authoritarian self-restraint. Trust and a collaborative culture develop as the business diminishes the character of the entity, developing a distinct identity, becoming an institution - a community of collaborating individuals-citizens.

The company exists to the extent that it meets social needs. If purely economic criteria prevail over social ones, the company behaves as an individual (in the ancient Greek meaning of the term) not as a citizen and will sooner or later draw the social outcry. Individual units, whether we are talking about individuals or businesses, are defined by the wider context of the community in which they operate. In this ever-expanding and globalizing community, businesses are accountable, or at least their policies and actions are becoming more and more publicly visible and debatable, pushing (companies) to act as RESPONSIBLE CITIZENS according to the standards set by society as acceptable.

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