In the political sphere of modern governments, Ombudsmen have been developed to protect citizens from unfair treatment at the hands of the bureaucracy that serves them. Ombudsmen are typically appointed or elected officials that allow citizens to have their grievances reviewed when all other avenues of complaint have been exhausted. These offices are respected for their commitment to defending fairness in society and improving the efficiency of the government. While the needs authority structure of a private company are distinctly different from that of a democratic government, Zanzibar Holdings has recognized the benefits of creating a method of protecting the fair treatment of all its employees and using worker input for the betterment of company operations.
Other Information
While the Zanzibar Ombudsmen system is inspired by the idea of supplying a voice to the worker, it is distinctly different from the Ombudsmen typically recognized within our governments. However, information on the benefits and philosophy of Ombudsmen can be explored at the following web-sites.
http://www.ombud.gov.bc.ca/ : this is the site for the British Columbia Ombudsman and contains reports on how the government has handled complaints from its citizens and how to contact the office of the Ombudsman.
http://www.worksafebc.com/about_us/how_we_support_you/ombudsman/default.asp : Here is the page for the ombudsman of the Workers Compensation Board