Real reasons why rbc was disolved? (page 2)

Marie33

The youtube videos I've seen showing inside of all these half empty Kingdom Halls, I couldn't figure out why they were even needed? Watchtower's GB has been making some weird moves of late...wondering what's really going on?

Finally Left

On the broadcast a month or two ago, Tight Pants said there were 3 - 4 Million, yes, Million empty seats in the Kingdom Hall. Why would they build more?

waton

They could have converted the RBC into the LDC, but choose to remove another power level in the process. The RBC was top heavy.

Magnum

OneGenTwoGroups:
LDC programs that were already in place in other countries. They work much better. Trying to build multimillion dollar buildings on the evenings and weekends just doesn't work very well. The full time, during the week LDC folks make things 10 times smoother.
No conspiracy theories about money/power grabs needed.

I agree that things might work better/smoother with the LDC arrangement, however, I feel that the "conspiracy theories about money/power grabs" are justified for the following reason: The org proclaimed with fanfare that a great construction work was to be carried out. It basically emptied congregation accounts and put them on a plan of what amounts to perpetual mortgage payments (even for congregations that didn't have mortgages), and then just went silent about the construction and nothing happened.

That is suspicious and it justifies the opinions about money grabbing. The whole thing doesn't smell right. The org used to say that we should avoid even the appearance of wrongdoing and not provide justification for suspicion. It needs to follow its own counsel. Be open about finances. Tell people who have given it and are giving it their lives what is going on. With so much invested, they deserve to know.

My personal opinion is that the org ended the RBC arrangement so it could have better control* and to hide from the rank and file the fact that there is no (or not much) construction going on. Without the RBCs, the locals don't really have a way of knowing the situation. They probably just assume that there is construction going on, but that the LDCs are handling it.

* It's, to me, kind of similar to the their declaring in the last few years that only the members of the GB make up the faithful and discreet slave - not the thousands of other partakers. That, I think, was a way to have better control - more centralized power.

konceptual99

I have spoken in the past to a member of the WDC I know and have formed an opinion based on things those conversations.

Over the past few years the org have been undertaking a large scale reorganisation and have employed various consultants to develop strategies. They also had a very open policy of encouraging out of the box thinking where nothing was off the table.

In terms of construction this was being manifest in large scale expansion of branch facilities, development of regional translation offices and the idea of a global approach to KH construction. The new halls would portray a different corporate feel and (reading between the lines) offer a more attractive proposition to commercial buyers in the event of resale.

The big problem was that the RBC was full of chiefs and a whole bunch of keen but essentially low skilled workers. Quality control was variable. Congregations would go off plan or local purchasing decisions would reduce the benefit of economies of scale. Some of the branch construction works were showing the value of having full time senior team members and employing outside contractors for part of the works.

Bringing the whole thing to the WDC/RDC/LDC hierarchy has forced a centralisation of ALL construction globally. In conjunction with this the WT made a money grab to not only generate cash assets but also force what should be autonomous congregations into a relationship where it is impossible for them to go off plan and do something themselves. It also brings economies of scale into the operation, which was already there to an extent, but is much more centrally managed now and undertaken by a small procurement team.

The change to the RBC was done under the fanfare of a massive building programme but this was then dealt a blow by the concurrent change to financial approach of the organisation. Literally overnight hundreds of projects were cancelled. Hundreds, if not thousands, of full and part time workers were told they were surplus to requirements. Entire teams both in the field and at Bethels disappeared in a day or two.

The upshot of that is that the scale of the work can now be easily hidden since far fewer people have the inside track.

The RBC went because the GB wanted the US to have control of construction worldwide. It happened prior to the construction downturn but the organisational change suits the way things are now so the GB ain't complaining.

xjwsrock

Consolidation of power, control, and money. Easier to keep secrets.

New plan has everyone essentially sending in lease payments on their property. Ray Kroc / McDonalds business model.

Funny that Jehovah and Jesus needed business consultants. Lol.

Real reasons why rbc was disolved?