Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Two SoCal Companies Make List of World's Most Democratic
photo by ansik via flickr
()
photo by ansik via flickr
Does your company encourage leadership, transparency, democracy and creativity in the workplace? Do your co-workers participate in company decisions on an ongoing basis? WorldBlu -- a social enterprise that champions the ideas of "organizational democracy" -- compiled its list of the forty most democratic companies in the world based on questions like these.
Two Southern California companies made the list this year: Dreamhost, the popular web hosting company, and DaVita, the largest independent provider of dialysis services in America. Both companies celebrate their second year in row on this list, and DaVita is the first Fortune 500 company to break into this top forty ranking.
DaVita states that the company oversees 1,400 dialysis clinics in the United States and encourages decentralization and uniqueness in the leadership and rules for each clinic. Each employee is called a teammate, and they contribute ideas to and vote on important decisions for the company. Even the name DaVita, which means "He/She Gives Life" was chosen by democratic voting by "teammates".
Support for LAist comes from
At Dreamhost, every employee is also a part owner. In the office, the company provides "ask us anything" boxes for employees to hold each other and the organization accountable. And Dreamhost techs are afforded creativity and choice in regards to which tech requests they develop solutions to.
A quick peek at the About Us section of the Dreamhost website highlights the values of organizational democracy...
DreamHost is owned by its employees. We're a tight-knit family and we're not looking to sell out to investors or media conglomerates or other gigantic companies who care more about the bottom line than providing solid web hosting. Believe us, there's plenty of those in the hosting industry already and you probably don't want to get mixed up with them.
The guys who work at those companies are crazy. They earn sales commissions. They dress in 'business casual' attire. Some of them might even wear suits! They'll toss around fancy words like 'monetizing' and 'ROI'. They attend hosting 'conferences'.
They wear cologne.
Wearing cologne in the DreamHost office is grounds for a firing. Or at least a solid 8 hours of harassment.
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
With less to prove than LA, the city is becoming a center of impressive culinary creativity. -
Nearly 470 sections of guardrailing were stolen in the last fiscal year in L.A. and Ventura counties.
-
Monarch butterflies are on a path to extinction, but there is a way to support them — and maybe see them in your own yard — by planting milkweed.
-
With California voters facing a decision on redistricting this November, Surf City is poised to join the brewing battle over Congressional voting districts.
-
The drug dealer, the last of five defendants to plead guilty to federal charges linked to the 'Friends' actor’s death, will face a maximum sentence of 65 years in prison.
-
The weather’s been a little different lately, with humidity, isolated rain and wind gusts throughout much of Southern California. What’s causing the late-summer bout of gray?
Best of LAist