How do you see democracy working in an organisation?

Leif asked in a comment: "So what kind of things do you need to change to become more democratic? How do you see democracy working in an organisation?"

Organisational democracy is all about the principles underpinning how the organisation is run. Here are the key democratic principles together with some practical examples of how you can see them working in an organisation.

Transparency/openness: Open seats for employees to attend board meetings; open book accounting (financial information including salaries made public); decisions made in the open; distaste for secrets.

Individual freedom: Very flexible working arrangements; no dress code; self-management.

Decentralisation: Individuals and groups empowered to set goals and make decisions without formal authority; lack of hierarchy.

Accountability: Individuals take responsibility for their actions and are held to account by their peers; a culture of giving and receiving feedback.

Participation: Voting on important company decisions and issues that affect individuals; everyone has a voice.

Comments

[George Tziralis]

I'd also add prediction markets, it's a direct way to put all these principles into actual use (and we're launching our enterprise product in the days to come, you may check our blog.askmarkets.com for more :)

[Leif Kendall]

Hi Tom,

Thanks for the explanation. I think if my former employers ran their organisations along democratic principles, I might have been less eager to become self-employed!