************************************************************* OCEANIA ORACLE - ISSUE #5 - 11/12/94 ************************************************************* ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To subscribe to this mailing list, send the message subscribe oceania-l to listproc@butler226a.dorm.tulane.edu. To unsubscribe, send the message unsubscribe oceania-l to listproc@butler226a.dorm.tulane.edu. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- INTERMIND IS WORKING (SORTA) I am able to read mail from my Intermind account although the account still isn't working perfectly yet. Assuming that there are no additional problems with my account, my next issue posted will be the last to Libernet. If you are a Libernet subscriber and wish to continue to receive this newsletter, send the command subscribe oceania-l to listproc@butler226a.dorm.tulane.edu. CONSTITUTIONAL ENTERPRISE I received the following from Rick Forschler: I've been getting your Oceania e-mail for some time now, and I thought you might be interested in the following message. Below is a copy of an e-mail note I'm sending to many of the people who are currently getting my newsletter--Constitutional Enterprise. To give you a brief introduction: I am working to develop a new business organizational structure, patterned after constitutionalism and free-enterprise. I feel it will be much more efficient than the traditional model of big bureaucratic businesses, where long range planning and top-down decision making governs production--much like a socialistic system. People often learn their organizational skills in businesses and then strive to apply those skills to solve social and political problems. Is it any wonder that our country continually struggles between free markets and socialism when many of our public leaders have learned collectivism in the workplace? There is nothing ethically wrong with structuring a business on a top-down decision making model. If a person wants to contract with employees to work in that arrangement he or she should be free to do so. However, there are usually undesirable consequences. Ask yourself, how efficient is a socialistic system? And what happens when business leaders try to extend the methods they are familiar with into the larger society? If you want Oceania to remain free from creeping collectivist ideologies you may want to recommend to the businesses that eventually locate there that they investigate CE. If you have any thoughts on this I'd be glad to hear from you. Best of luck in your venture! Rick *********************************************************** As many of you know I have been writing and distributing the newsletter "Constitutional Enterprise" for the past year. The purpose in doing so has been to help mature the constitutional enterprise (CE) theories to the point they are ready to test in an actual business. CE uses what we have learned about constitutional and free-market systems and applies these lessons inside businesses. Besides increasing the efficiency of businesses, and yielding higher profits for employees and stock holders, CE has the added benefit of educating employees in the principles of constitutionalism and free-enterprise. While there are still some loose ends, I believe I've reached the point that further progress in the theories will only occur through testing in actual businesses. Consequently, I'm looking for people who may be interested in implementing CE in their businesses. Because a CE structure would eliminate top-down management it is improbable the system will appeal to managers. The target businesses will probably be those in which the owners or major shareholders are dissatisfied with the existing structure and are willing to try an alternative. Another possibility would be a business in which the employees already own the company or are considering buying it. (Employee ownership, however, is not essential, and is possibly to be avoided.) I believe any business could benefit from CE; however, small businesses would probably benefit the least. Inefficient practices are naturally easier to spot and eliminate in a small business, and the checks and balances of CE could themselves appear onerous. The most significant improvements are likely to be found in large businesses with perhaps several thousand employees each. Unfortunately, large businesses are also the least likely to risk themselves on new and untested theories. Hence, to begin with, a candidate business will probably contain only a couple hundred employees at most. The ideal type of business is one that has many departments that rely upon the activities of other departments. Most manufacturing businesses would fit in this category. The efficiency of CE comes from an internal market system and making each department behave like a small business. The greater the need for exchange between departments the greater the potential for improvement. If any of you know of businesses that are likely candidates for testing CE I'd be grateful hearing about them. Feel free to forward this message to other people you think may be interested. Currently, my main goal is to test the CE theories. I am not trying to make a profit with the first implementations and I will not initially charge any consulting fees. However, I am not wealthy, and I may need to charge for expenses if travel or a great deal of time is required. I am also looking for people who can help package the ideas into a marketable set of products. This would include creating seminars, books, newsletters, audio and video tapes, etc. I'm still open to the possibility of a partnership. Thank you for your help! Rick Forschler Constitutional Business Consulting Inc. 13529 Military Road South SeaTac, WA 98168 freedom300@aol.com JOB WANTED I received the following from Jim Davidson: The company I am working for, Mission Critical Software, is being bought by a larger company, Legent. I've just been told that Legent will not be renewing my contract. They will provide me with 4 weeks severance, pay me for the vacation days I've accrued, and otherwise be nice about it. [...] Anyway, I'll be looking for work. Any word on job opportunities for a) software documentation specialists, b) business plan writers, c) market researchers, or d) instructors would be most welcome. Jim THE MILLENNIAL PROJECT Would any of our readers who own this book be interested in writing a review for publication in this e-mail newsletter or the snail mail new country newsletter? Excerpts typed in from the book would also be useful. LISTSERVER UPGRADE Tramm has given me additional tools so that I can modify the ftp, listserver, and world web sites. I will upgrade the files available on these sites over the next few days. Thanks Tramm! --------------------------------------------------------------------- CONTACT INTO --------------------------------------------------------------------- FTP: butler226a.dorm.tulane.edu/pub/oceania LISTSERVER: listproc@butler226a.dorm.tulane.edu E-MAIL: oceania@terminus.intermind.net WWW: http://saturn.uaamath.alaska.edu/~kane/oceania_start.html WWW2: http://butler226a.dorm.tulane.edu/oceania BOOK: The Atlantis Papers from After Dark Publications/ 73370.3046@compuserve.com The Millennial Project from The Atlantis Project/ oceania@terminus.intermind.net SNAILMAIL: The Atlantis Project 4132 S. Rainbow Blvd., Suite 388 Las Vegas, NV 89103 ----------------------------------------------------------------------