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WotD: Rank-and-file
These days the success of any organization depends on how well the rank-and-file are listened to, informed about and included in making major decisions.
Did you know that in North America, children play a significant role when families are choosing a new family car?
Rank-and-file refers to the general workers in a company, not those in management positions. It comes from the military and refers to the ‘ranks’ and ‘files’ privates and non-commissioned officers form when marching.
Yes, children are included in the new car decision-making process.
Now, if children have a say in what car their parents drive, how do you think they would feel once they are members of a company’s rank-and-file but have no say in the direction of that company?
That’s right, they would feel left out and that their opinions are not important.
When this happens, sometimes the rank-and-file revolt against company management.
For example, Google employees revolted out of concern the military was using their work to harm others.
Of course, Google still assists the military, but now they must consider the concerns of the rank-and-file.
If Japan wants to become more competitive on the international stage, companies here must add more foreign talent to their rank-and-file employees.
They must give their opinions and experiences more consideration.
Japan consistently ranks lowest in the G7 and among the lowest in the G20 regarding competitiveness, technical ability and gender equality.
I would say one cause of this is that upper management typically consists of elderly men who give little to no concern to the rank-and-file’s thoughts, feelings, and opinions.
Flesch-Kincaid Readability Test
This post is understandable by someone with at least a 10th-grade education (age 16).
On the Flesch-Kincaid reading-ease test, this post scores 49.
The easier a passage is to read, the higher the score on a scale of 0 – 100.