It looks like Woolworths is abut to die, or at least be dramatically restructured (source http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/nov/22/woolworths-retail-mk-one ).

woolworths

I can't remember the last time I shopped at Woolworths, so whoever their market is, it's clearly not me. Or if it is, they really are in deep trouble...

It's a desperate situation for their staff though. Woolworths employ 30,000 people, amny of whom are likely to get laid off in the run up to Christmas, or at best, in the new year. It's bad news for a lot of small towns too: take away Woolies, and basically you have a street of charity shops with the odd baker and shoe shop if you're lucky.

And that's just one company. The same article says MK One has gone back into receivership, and Argos has cut staff hours by 20%.

Looking at Woolworths in particular, I do wonder how much better it would have fared if staff had had more direct input into the running of the shops; industrial democracy it used to be called, where the staff have some say in the strategic direction of the company, hiring of executive officers, and the salaries, and the bonus plans of executives and directors. Particularly the bonus plans. Not in day-to-day decisions, but in the strategic stuff. When you look at the cynical short-term, self-serving, management teams Woolworths has had over the last 20 years or so, it's certainly an interesting question.