MACMILLAN Shared Entrepreneurship: A Path to Engaged Employee Ownership

Today's views of leadership and management have significantly expanded to incorporate a variety of elements such as rewards, visions, and worker participation. However, most perspectives still view leadership as something that is assigned to a designated person who then exercises influence downward toward subordinate followers. In many ways the persistent top-down command and control theme that supports established leadership thought and practice prevents organizations from fully tapping into their human resources, in turn limiting their flexibility to meet the challenges of increasingly dynamic, complex, and competitive environments. Shared Entrepreneurship replaces the top-down approaches of the past with a new framework that draws strengths and innovation from collaboration and sharing. This book is divided into two main sections. The first section consists of six chapters which provide an in-depth overview and discussion of shared entrepreneurship. The second section consists of eight original case studies commissioned by the authors, featuring such companies as Herman Miller, Inc., SRC Holdings, and W.L. Gore & Associates. Review "The authors of Shared Entrepreneurship have provided an informative model of how employee-owned firms have had long-term success by sharing the responsibility for innovation among all employees, the resulting financial outcomes and rewards, and the leadership to make a difference. They also provide details that could be used by start-up and established companies to improve their performance through intensive employee engagement concepts. Business students and managers would benefit from reading the examples of shared entrepreneurship in this timely book." - Mary Ann Beyster, President, Foundation for Enterprise Development, USA; Executive Producer, We the Owners "Employee-ownership and profit-sharing are on the radar screen of every businessperson with a moral vision, every conservative who wants to spread property ownership, every progressive who is interested in economic justice, and anyone interested in how American business can address economic inequality through business successes. Shared Entrepreneurship tells the stories of companies where ownership and profits are broadly shared by empowered workers and managers. Furthermore, it portrays what the future business world can look like." - Joseph R. Blasi, J. Robert Beyster Professor, Rutgers University, USA; Author, The Citizen's Share "A majority of the literature highlights the heroic leader, the lone genius, and the brilliant entrepreneur that created successful innovation. This book is more realistic and insightful. It highlights how entrepreneurial activity really unfolds in organizations. You will learn a lot about what works, and how to make it work for yourself, by learning from companies that unleash the entrepreneurial potential in their workforce." - Kim Cameron, William Russell Professor of Management and Organizations, University of Michigan, USA "Shared Entrepreneurship examines a number of companies that have implemented principles underlying organizational democracy. When these principles are implemented employees have greater freedom at work. In the companies that are examined as well as in other such companies, both humanistic and financial results ensue, such as greater engagement and higher returns. This examination is very timely and informative, and is strongly recommended for current and futures leaders looking to develop a sustainable competitive advantage." - Traci Fenton, Founder and CEO, WorldBlu, USA "This book is an excellent exploration of various types of employee ownership and its astonishing economic success. It strikes a great balance between the provision of evidence and discussion. It is essential reading for anyone genuinely interested in the long term future of global economies." - Iain Hasdell, Chief Executive, Employee Ownership Association, UK Book Descript