Potential Changes at Bethel...

by TheListener 28 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  TheListener

  I posted this on another thread but it really got me thinking about how the WTS could really do this:

  What if:

  The WTS needs to stop spending so much cash.

  They have real estate but once sold and the proceeds used it offers no more value.

  They need to simplify, simplify, simplify (and isn't that the mantra they recite each time they make an organizational change?)

  They could: push more and more printing to the individual publishers in order to cut down on printing costs (this may only apply to developed countries but it still would result in significant savings). By having each publisher or congregation print it's own literature on a regular color printer major savings could be had. This would be in conjunction with offering more tracts and brochures in the ministry and less books.

  With less printing being done by the WTS they could have less facilities, manpower, expenses. However, there is more to this.

  As they decentralize the printing work they could focus on the work of management. Management work doesn't necessarily have to be done by in-house live in help. By expanding the commuter bethelite program they could have tons of qualified dubs (many would move from all over the country if necessary) who would live in their own home and care for their own expenses (like a pioneer) but would work full-time (or part-time) for the WTS.

  Imagine the savings the WTS would have! Less live-in help means less laundry, food, cleaning, utilities, etc etc.

  This could all be done by selling off the remaining Brooklyn properties and relocating to Patterson. Cheaper housing can be found near Patterson for the commuter bethelite program that would be expanded.
• 

  insearchoftruth

  With the use of the internet, there are a lot of opportunities for folks to 'work from home', whether that home be a persons house or even a section of a kingdom hall. This would allow for a huge reduction in the overhead costs, especially associated with the facilities in Brooklyn.

  Local printing is also quite an interesting concept, though the per unit cost would go up due to the cost of ink being higher in a small printer, one would be able to print tracts on demand, reducing excess items being printed. Two other huge benefits are reduced transportation costs (let the wires do the shipping, not trucks) and also pushing the costs out to the field, rather than centralized at hq.
• 

  TJ - iAmCleared2Land

  I don't see this "print at home" happening... cost of ink cartridges is too high.

  I can see them doing more digital printing (PDFs to supplement the MP3s), and distributing electronic digitally signed documents.
• 

  TheListener

  I think they'll eventually push down as much printing as possible to the individual publishers or congregations.

  This would include KMs and study articles of the WT.

  Loyal dubs will spend whatever it takes to stay in the loop with the WTS.

  Although they they won't contribute much to a faceless WTS they will pay to visit bethel or give the CO money directly or pay for food to help a local family out or pay for gasoline to attend meetings/service - they'll pay for ink cartridges.

  It's all tied to salvation. Having literature is tied to salvation - anonymous contributions is not.
• 

  james_woods

  Well, I see one problem with this. (self publishing on the part of individuals -) Computers come with keyboards, right?

  Now, with everybody able to print a tract a thousand times more easily than Ben Franklin could - who is going to say what is the real thing?

  The WTS is notoriously paranoid about such going on.
• 

  hillbilly

  I don't see this "print at home" happening... cost of ink cartridges is too high.

  Ahem...smacks of the ideal JW cottage industry..."Kingdom Refill's LLC"......Your color cartridge source"

  Hell.. if they can lease cars to circuits and rebind books you dont think someone could get a mail order ink service going?

  ~Jeff
• 

  M.J.

  I'm not sure how good self printing thing would be from a practical standpoint. The quality of the lit would take a nose-dive and relegated to the level of cheap looking 'handouts'. Like the crappy class notes you pick up (and pay for) at the copy center in college. Especially in the case of lit for recruitment distribution, this won't contribute to a slick-presentation at all.
  
  Otherwise to go the full publish-on-demand route, there would have to be a lot of specialized expertise and equipment distributed between every congregation...to handle binding, etc. I just don't see that happening.
  
  
  The International Church of Christ had a good way around this. Their "study" method for new recruits involved members MEMORIZING and INTERNALIZING all the "study" material, so that it appears to the "bible study" that you are using the Bible alone. So you don't need the fancy publications. Two study conductors were involved. One already knew the material, conducting the study while the other one was in-training. I know this couldn't be done either since the WTS presentation is just TOO strategic to be done by memory (and very few JWs could pull off 1/10 of the memorization required in the first place), but it's an interesting side-note.
• 

  daniel-p

  note: the commuter Bethelite program no longer exists, phased out around 2000-2002.
• 

  sir82

  I don't see this "print at home" happening... cost of ink cartridges is too high.

  Dude, what color is the sky in your world?

  When has the Society ever given a flying fig about the cost of their "simplifications" to the rank & file? They don't care how much you have to spend!

  They will almost certainly do this within the next 5-10 years, at least for the "study" Watchtowers and the Kingdom Ministries. Actual literature to be placed may still be printed by them for a bit longer -- but I fully expect for the WT and Awake to be combined into a single magazine sometime soon, as well as an increased emphaisis on using far-cheaper-to-produce tracts and "special invitiations".

  I strongly suspect the current "download the magazines in MP3 from JW.org" system is the pilot program for local download and printing.
• 

  M.J.

  Interesting point about stuff strictly for dubs going the print-on-demand route. One hurdle is that many dubs have no PC and/or no internet connection.
  
  Rather than have to set up a print station at the KH that requires a lot of maintenance and time, maybe they could start using a service where the dubs would just have to go to, say, FedEx Kinko's and request a copy of a publication which is already available in the system.
  
  Something along these lines:
  
  FedEx Kinko's DocStore
  http://www.fedex.com/us/officeprint/commsols/solutions/docstore.html