Do you agree or disagree with the following statement.Employees who always follow their supervisor’s instructions are more valuable to their companies than employees who try to find new or better ways?

　　While have obedient employees that support their supervisors in all projects, having employees that always do exactly what their boss’s say does not necessarily make them valuable assets to the company. Employees that are not afraid to go beyond the requirements of their job, and in doing so stray from the direct instructions of their supervisors, are the most valuable type of employee.

　　If we think of an employee’s value in terms of the money each employee earns for their company in relation to their salary, then an employee who only does what his or her supervisor does is not helping the company earn money. In essence, the company is paying many people for one idea. However if employees take their own initiative and come up with new ideas in addition to their supervisors, then the company is paying many people for several ideas. Employees who only do what their bosses tell them to do are basically “yes men”. They do not bring any new ideas to the table and they do not try very hard to help improve their company. In this way a company pays a lot of money for people who do not improve and will not help their company succeed.

　　Google is a good example of a company whose employees are encouraged to be individual and not just toe the line of their bosses. Every one of their employees is given time to come up with their own projects and plans. Innovations in technology like Google Earth have been developed this way. The programs developed from encouraging employees to not always follow their boss’s instructions have generated millions of dollars for Google.

　　Encouraging employees to have individual ideas and goals is also a way that companies can save money. If a company just hires a bunch of “yes men,” then the responsibility for coming up with a successful business plan all falls on the supervisor’s shoulders. What if the supervisor has a really terrible plan that causes the company to lose millions? Employees who willingly give their constructive opinion are much more valuable in this case. By speaking up and not just following their supervisor’s lead, these employees help save the company from losing a lot of money. You can see this kind of successful business model applied when companies expand abroad. Take for example KFC. Most people in China joke that KFC is basically Chinese. I have some American friends and they say that KFC is nothing like KFC in the U.S. If the leaders of KFC had just simply followed the U.S. business plan, then this restaurant chain would not be as successful as it is in China.

　　Employees who think individually and do not just follow their supervisor’s advice are more valuable to a company because they help create products and give innovative ideas that help bring in more money. They also keep the company from losing money by helping to build more perfect business plans by giving advice and criticism when necessary.