Note: hey beks! I know how much you hate corporations! Here's one you can REALLY hate!
I think it is incorrect to call the WTS merely a religious organization. It would be similar to calling Bernard Madoff an "investor." In fact, the WTS has many more things in common with a typically large corporation than it has with a typically large religion. In the early days JW Congregations were called "Companies", which was probably a military connotation from Rutherford, but nontheless is still fitting. Large Militaries have much more in common with corporations than they do with any other type of organization.
Remember, Rutherford called RELIGION a "snare and a racket." He wisely didn't call his CORPORATION that!
Corporations have the following characteristics. Note that EVERY characteristic mentioned is the same or a very similar characteristic that exists in the WT Corporation, too. The point here is that the WT is first and foremost a Corporation and only collaterally a "religion."
SIMILARITIES
They are hierarchical.
They are governed by a board of directors.
They are autocratic.
All decisions made by management are final and are non-negotiable.
Anyone can be dismissed with or without cause.
Loyalty is demanded and rewarded.
Disloyalty results in termination and expulsion.
Production is expected.
Non-production is punished.
Money drives policy.
Employee meetings are mandatory. No exceptions.
There are cutbacks when revenue is down.
Altruism is always secondary to monetary concerns.
Organized resistance to bad policy is often crushed.
They have hordes of attorneys to protect them from litigation. Lawyers often determine company policy. They monitor your every move while in their employ and sometimes even when you are not.
Often, incompetent people get promoted by back-stabbing, ratting out people, and even making false accusations against others.
Supervisors punish underlings if they make the supervisors look incompetent.
They want the best workers for the lowest wages and benefits. (The WTS wants the best workers for NO wages or benefits.)
There is a possibility that they will squander your retirement pension after a lifetime of your service. (There is a 100% probability that the WTS will do this.)
If you become too old in their eyes, or no longer productive enough, they will toss you away like a dirty dish rag without regret or apology.
Your friendly co-workers of many years will likely become strangers after you leave, whether you leave involuntarily or not.
Once you leave, you are not allowed back on the premises, except under extreme and limited conditions.
Often, unrealistic corporate decisions are made by people in ivory towers who have no idea what the real world is like.
When a disaster occurs, management always blames people below them for the problem, and demands that everyone else "work harder" and longer to get out of the mess.
It is not uncommon for a corporate big shot to fly first class to conduct a meeting telling rank and file employees that they need to make more "sacrifices."
They have a professional public relations department designed to put a spin on everything negative and bad they do.
They produce propaganda bragging about their accomplishments and they often lie about their financial position in order to keep investor money pouring in.
Big corporations often have holding companies comprised of many smaller corporations (including "shell" corporations) to hide their assets, activities and finances.
During bad times, they often promise their employees that things will get better in the "near future."
Their top management people live like and are treated like Kings, including first-class accomodations wherever they go. Upper management never suffer a change in their lifestyle when they make huge blunders that hurt their underlings.
-----------------------------------
HUGE DIFFERENCES
I'm sure people can come up with many more similarities, but now I'm going to state some of the huge differences between regular corporations and the WT Corporation.
Please note that all the similarities that I've just listed between a regular corporation and the WT Corporation are negative characteristics they have in common.However, all the differences I'm about to list are positive characteristics of a regular corporation but are negative characteristics manifested by the WT Corporation.
When a regular corporation is successful they often split their stock and people who invested in them reap huge dividends.
Regular corporations produce tangible (real) products or services that people want and need and often produce products that people feel they cannot live without.
If a regular corporation produces many products, people are free to select the ones they want and reject all the others.
People who take a risk to invest in a regular corporation stand a chance of getting a return on that investment while still alive or their relatives stand a change of reaping that return if they die.
When regular corporations fail, investors only lose their money.
If you get hurt on the job, regular corporations pay your medical costs.
If you get fired from a regular corporation, they have unemployment insurance to help you get by financially until you can find a new job.
If you are fired by a corporation, they don't force your children, family, friends and co-workers to punish you, too.
Regular corporations reward those who have taken the time and effort to further their education.
Regular corporations help the Government by paying taxes and often help people by setting up foundations and donating to or creating charities.
Shareholders of regular corporations can vote out the Board of Directors when the Board is incompetent or corrupt.
When an outstanding employee is acknowledged for excellent service in a company meeting, the audience is allowed to cheer and clap.
Sooner or later, you get to retire from a regular corporation.
If you engage in a contract with a regular corporation, your obligation to fulfill the contract is ended with impunity if they renege on their obligations. Regular corporations cannot unilaterally change the terms of a contract with impunity once you enter into one with them.
If a regular corporation fraudently promised a product or service they couldn't deliver, they could be sued.
Regular corporation do not make their employees pay for the corporate meeting facilities.
Regular corporations do not demand that all the children of its employees must also be employees of the corporation.
Regular corporations do not demand that kids start working for the corporation starting at age 5.
Finally, and maybe most importantly, when a regular corporation screws up peoples lives for decades and decades it finally has to go out of business and its leaders will end up in jail.
Farkel