"According to the article, the co-op screened out over 90% of applicants."
I don't see how that's relevant. Eventually, all the "gig economy" startups will also need to be selective of their applicants. Uber also screens their drivers, for example.
As for not generalizing to the scale of an "economy"... as someone who's done a fair share of hiring, screening 90% of applicants is par for the course for any business in this economy. And profit distribution, democratic workplaces, and flat hierarchies are totally normal in tech.
I don't see how a worker cooperative model wouldn't scale. In fact, as technology democratizes many of the functions we've historically relied on C-levels for -- decision-making, organization, contract negotiations, partnerships, hiring, firing, etc. -- I see this as an inevitability.
Let me put it another way: Why would Joe Developer work for firm A, where a significant percentage of revenue goes to compensating an unaccountable mob of MBAs when I could join firm B and increase my share?
At this point, the only remaining valid function of most executives is to cozy up to capital. But as capital continues to trickle up, I feel competition here will get fierce and people will find more creative ways of funding businesses. Either way, downward economic pressure is going to force executive suites to slim down -- in numbers and pay -- or face elimination entirely.
Manual pre-screening is an interesting model, but one which is not really modern.
The assumption is that the pre-screening personnel are able to second-guess the market's wants.
A more modern approach would allow the individuals seeking reward to try different strategies to address the market directly, thereby removing the artificial middle-man of manual pre-screening.
I don't see how that's relevant. Eventually, all the "gig economy" startups will also need to be selective of their applicants. Uber also screens their drivers, for example.
As for not generalizing to the scale of an "economy"... as someone who's done a fair share of hiring, screening 90% of applicants is par for the course for any business in this economy. And profit distribution, democratic workplaces, and flat hierarchies are totally normal in tech.
I don't see how a worker cooperative model wouldn't scale. In fact, as technology democratizes many of the functions we've historically relied on C-levels for -- decision-making, organization, contract negotiations, partnerships, hiring, firing, etc. -- I see this as an inevitability.
Let me put it another way: Why would Joe Developer work for firm A, where a significant percentage of revenue goes to compensating an unaccountable mob of MBAs when I could join firm B and increase my share?
At this point, the only remaining valid function of most executives is to cozy up to capital. But as capital continues to trickle up, I feel competition here will get fierce and people will find more creative ways of funding businesses. Either way, downward economic pressure is going to force executive suites to slim down -- in numbers and pay -- or face elimination entirely.