Information Sharing

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Information sharing is a key principle of human sustainability based on my definition. The degree of presence of information, among other factors, either enhances or discourages human sustainability in an organization. This depends primarily on whether the organisation treats its people always as ends in themselves, and never as means only [1]. Treating employees always as “ends in themselves” despite the situation and the efficiency of the outcomes, is also related to the fact that organizations should provide sufficient information to their employees about major organisational policies and issues.

Senior managers can build “empowered” workplaces to involve staff and support them in achieving their goals by making sure that there is access to certain opportunities, information, “support” and resources [2]. “Information sharing” is a fundamental element of “high-performance work systems” which means that employees need to know the main information of an organization such as main financial information, investment plans [3].

Pfeffer (1998) [4] explains two key reasons regarding this matter. First, information sharing on issues like “financial performance” shows that the organisation trusts its staff. Second, even capable and trained persons cannot encourage “organisational performance” if they don’t receive information regarding significant aspects of performance. In this case, extra training is necessary regarding how to utilise and explain this information. However, information sharing on certain issues in organizations is not very extensive primarily because “information is power and sharing information diffuses that power” [5]. Furthermore, information sharing could encourage information to seep out to other organisations, generating a weakness for the organisation. This means that organizations keep secrets from their employees which is counterproductive. When persons are not aware of what is going on and do not comprehend the main issues regarding the organisation, they cannot be expected to influence performance in a positive manner. Numerous organisations seem “paranoid” regarding sharing information [6]. Various of them are also confident that their employees cannot comprehend the information that is accessible, which is a “self-fulfilling prophecy.” Furthermore, frequently other organisations know more about an organisation than its own staff. Some information needs to be “classified,” but a lot of information that is classified does not need to be so [7].

Case (1995) [8] claims that when this information is available, employees view themselves as “partners” and are “empowered” in the sense that they want to do a better job. Having access to the main information in general, and to financial information in particular, provides employees with a better understanding of the finances and helps them realise how the organisation operates as a whole. Consequently, staff become more responsible and work more effectively, without too much supervision and orders from their managers.