When the Business of Business is
School
In April 2002, the Pennsylvania
Governor’s Commission on Education decided to
privatize a group of public schools in the city of
Philadelphia. This is simply a recent example of the
movement to transfer the work of the public sector into
the world of profit. One of the leading for-profit
ventures is the Edison Project, a business created to
prove that the private sector can run primary and
secondary schools more effectively than the public school
system.
On the day these public schools in Philadelphia
were being turned over to private business, a memo from a
sixth-grade student in an existing for-profit school
mysteriously arrived on my desk. This memo from a
12-year-old student might be a sign of things to
come.
Interoffice
Correspondence #72939
To: Top management leadership team
From: Sharon Wilkes, sixth-grade student, AOL Time
Warner School #443
This memo serves as partial fulfillment of my
accountability contract with the sixth-grade leadership
team.
Executive Summary
Knowing how busy the leadership team is, the following
executive summary of accomplishments in each area of
study is respectfully offered. This report is also
available on PowerPoint.
+ History: I have learned the history
and succession of presidents of four leading U.S.
corporations. Special emphasis has been given to
ExxonMobil and its legacy as one of the successors to the
original Standard Oil Company. For your information, the
first four presidents of this company were: John D.
Rockefeller, John D. Rockefeller Jr., John D. Rockefeller
III, and John D. Rockefeller IV.
My research on this company shows that the current
leadership has managed to restore the fine tradition of
industry domination originated by the Rockefeller family.
The Exxon and Mobil merger has been a major step in
putting back together a good portion of what the early
20th century antitrust laws tore apart.
+ Math: Our math project is to develop a
business plan for a new product launch in the candy
sector of the food and entertainment industry. I have
completed my study of the gross margin on six leading
candy brands, all calculated with an eye toward assessing
product profitability. The business plan includes
estimates of market share, competitive price analysis,
and geographic early adoption statistics for this
sector.
+ Social Studies: Market testing of a
new video game entitled, “You Gonna Die,
Sucker” has been completed. The product tested
highest for 12-year-old white males living in idyllic
suburban surroundings. Focus group interviews were
completed, blind tests were conducted, and
the demographics for high-violence videos are included in
the attachment. This video looks like something
big.
+ Science: We have begun research to
demonstrate that the environmental damage caused by dying
mollusks on the Delaware River wetlands is a greater
hazard to local air quality than the combined emissions
from motor boat traffic and Coleman outdoor cooking
stoves manufactured after 1998.
+ Geography: We no longer spend time
studying the major crops and exports of countries in the
Western Hemisphere, but have joined the
“Globalization Learning Project.” Our current
effort is to survey labor costs, environmental
regulations, and tax concessions in Latin and Central
America with an eye to finding the most advantageous
locations for offshore manufacturing. We have identified
three regions in Paraguay that offer interesting
potential. In analyzing these regions, we include in our
assessment that the current dictatorship should provide a
stable political environment to warrant a major
investment.
+ Language: Since “spell
check” eliminated the need to learn to spell, our
focus is now in two areas: acronyms and instant
messaging. We are conversant in financial terms such as
EBIT, ROI, DCF, and plan to move into telecommunication
acronyms next. We each have an SN and now speak IM,
increasing our efficiency. Our first vocabulary lesson
was: wasup, g2g, u, r, bbl, brb, lol, and
hihi.
+ Performance Management: Our class has
developed a plan for students who are underperforming and
not living according to the corporation’s stated
vision and values. We have developed a six-month program
to deal with the dead wood in our classroom and hope that
this will serve as a model for other classes. This
program includes probation, special training, 360-degree
assessments, and, if needed, an outplacement process to
return these students to the public schools. Our early
estimates are that 35% of the students may fall in this
category.
For those of us who are high achievers in the system, we
look forward to the day when the lack of skills and
motivation of the lower performing members of the class
will not impede our learning.
+ Art and Music: Last year the
leadership team determined that learning art and music
does not fit with the long-term strategic objective of
the school. This decision was based on a study that
showed only 1% of all students who graduate college with
art and music degrees ever actually make a living in
their field. Given this fact, investing in art and music
does not provide the leverage that can compete with other
curricula. As a result, those interested in art and music
have been encouraged to study the entertainment industry
as part of their social studies and math
portfolios.
+ Technology: It has taken a while to
get used to having a teacher in the classroom only part
time and to take full advantage of self-managed
instruction. I have adjusted to the self-paced nature of
the learning, and being able to learn while watching
television has been nicely distracting. The commercial
breaks are certainly more under control than in the
beginning. I look forward to increasing use of technology
as a way of automating all aspects of my learning. It is
certainly breaking down my dependency on a teacher and
speeding my maturation process.
Career Direction: As part of the career counseling
I have been receiving, my life goals are coming more into
focus. My goals have been significantly informed by my
behavioral strengths as indicated by my scores on the
“strength employment inventory” which each
student is required to take.
My life goal is: To become a second-level supervisor
in a market-leading cleaning and hospitality services
firm operating in the northeast United States.
This career would seem to best capitalize on my obsessive
need for cleanliness and my love of nice hotel
rooms.
As a result of this career path decision, I plan to
specialize in the seventh grade on the services sector of
the economy. As a result of my focus and my school
performance, I have already been offered a summer
internship at a Red Roof Inn. While the work may be less
than challenging, it should indicate on my resume that I
am willing to work hard for little or no economic or
intrinsic rewards. My career counselor and the Red Roof
student liaison officer indicated that this kind of
beginning would put me in a competitive position at the
end of high school when I seek a work co-op program in
what could be a difficult economic environment.
Recognition: I would like to thank the
leadership team for nominating me for membership in the
President’s Club. This award is given to the top
10% of the class as recognition not only for above
average academic performance, but also for the
willingness to put in long hours after school and on
weekends in support of the overall goals of the
institution. In my case I was particularly commended for
taking personal responsibility for keeping the locker
rooms and teachers lounge clean and attractive.
Receiving this honor has given me the motivation and
drive to excel for the next few years. Also, I really
enjoyed the fine meal at the recognition luncheon held at
Mickey Rooney’s Downingtown Inn in the beautiful
and affordable Pocono Mountains, a short 60-minute drive
from the school.
I can only hope that the leadership team will continue to
find me worthy of such an honor and will always know that
I am constantly grateful for the opportunity to attend
AOL Time Warner School #443.
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June 2002 News for
a Change Homepage
Peter Block
is author of the best selling books, The Empowered
Manager, Flawless Consulting, Stewardship, The Flawless
Consulting Fieldbook and Companion, The Answer to How Is
Yes: Acting On What Matters and Freedom, and Accountability
at Work: Applying Philosophic Insight to the Real World
with Peter Koestenbaum. Peter Block can be reached at
High Impact Consulting— Getting Real
Results
