Ricardo Semler:

1. Take a realistic look at what makes sense in today’s world! Take a realistic look at what works! “Why haven’t we learned to go golfing on Monday morning when we’ve learned to take our work home on Friday night?” Semler Take a look at a democratic workplace and the rapid pace of change! Take a look at the cultural and values approach to work practices! Ricardo Semler: A NEW APPROACH TO BUSINESS AND COMPANY ORGANISATION.

2. Reasoning Behind Semler’s Approach The seven-day workweek robs people of passion and pleasure, destroys family and community stability, and sets up business to fail once they have “burned out their employees and burned through ever more manipulative and oppressive strategies.”

3. Semler’s Approach • A passionate advocate of bridging the gap between business success and personal fulfillment. • He advises business leaders around the world on how they can significantly improve business performance by restructuring relationships with their people.

4. Ricardo Semler and Values “Creating and maintaining a high-performance culture is not easy in today’s turbulent environment and changing workplace, but through words and particularly actions, leaders let everyone in the organisation know what really counts.” (Understanding Management, Daft & Marcic 2009) Family, leisure and sense of a person are given priority. With this sense of satisfaction, productivity within the workplace is achieved.

5. Take a Realistic Look at What Works in our World! JOB SATISFACTION versus DOING THE JOB BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO The seven-day weekend is a way of getting out of the control business and back to our central purpose. Avoiding repetition, boredom and aggravation A work week that is filled with joy, inspiration and freedom.

6. Balancing Act – Semler’s Approach • Semler puts forward the reality that there must be a balance between work and private passions.

7. Rapid Pace of Change What implications does a non-hierarchical and democratic business structure have for the work place? “Visitors need to learn that our economic success requires replacing control and structure with democracy in the workplace…” Semler explains that there is an absolute necessity for companies to give up control to cope with changes that are transforming the way people live and work.

8. Cultural Implications – Cultural Leaders • Modeling behaviours – words and actions - that focus on family and cultural values, is central to maintaining a productive and successful workplace. As educators, we too need to follow Semler’s approach of embedding cultural values based on positive work/life balance, in order to mould students to develop positive work habits and ultimately achieve success while valuing family time. Happy teachers = Happy students

9. Summary • It's about creating an atmosphere and culture that grants permission to employees to be men and women in full, for seven days a week. Why should the fun, fulfillment, and freedom stop first thing Monday morning and be on hold until Friday night? • Semler’s approach allows us to realise that, by giving people the opportunity for their gifts and talents to flourish, people will in turn understand that there is a core purpose to what they are doing. • Although Semler’s approach doesn’t instigate structural goals and future planning, people develop a sense of personal growth and direction, based on their values. This in turn is portrayed in their work and life balance. • Change the way work ‘works’ and improve the quality of life.

10. Semler’s mission is to change the habits of thought that lead to rigid and dehumanizing workplaces, to be replaced by engaging and productive ones, which regard people as whole human beings, seeing life and work as interrelated in a mutual commitment. http://www.leadershipworks.co.za/profile_semler.php

11. Bibliography • http://www.semco.com.br/en/ • http://mitworld.mit.edu/video/308/ • http://www.inc.com/articles/2004/03/7dayweekend.html • http://www.leadershipworks.co.za/profile_semler.php • Google books - Understanding Management, Daft & Marcic 2009