Their bonuses, which are tied to the company's profits, are shared out as they choose. Everyone, including factory workers, sets his own working hours, and groups of employees set their own productivity and sales targets. There are no controls over travel or business expenses. There are no manual or written procedures. Workers choose their own boss and then publicly evaluate his performance.
All employees have unlimited access to the company's books and are trained to read balance sheets.
Everyone knows what everyone else earns, and some workers can earn more than their boss. Big corporate decisions, such as diversifications and acquisitions, are made by all employees. Budget controls are not only transparent, but strict. As owner of the firm, Mr. Semler demands healthy dividends. At Semco we had several months of zero sales.