International Journal of Entrepreneurial Knowledge

Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Subscription Access

Principles of Workplace Democracy:Cases from the Czech Republic


Affiliations
1 University of Business and Law, Vltavská 585/14, 150 00 Praha 5, Czech Republic
2 Institute of Management and Marketing, Paneuropean University, Tomášikova 20, 821 02 Bratislava, Slovakia
 

The article is about the concept of management of democratic companies in the Czech Republic with a focus on the principles of workplace democracy. The analysis is based on four case studies of democratic companies. The case studies have been drawn up on the basis of a questionnaire survey among the workers of companies and interviews with their executives. The research has shown the importance of even a high rate of implementation of the various principles in all surveyed companies. The best rated principle is "dialogue and listening". In the case of the principle of "reflection and assessment", it will show certain deficiencies in the provision of feedback. Principles of workplace democracy identified in interviews mostly agree with the principles referred to in the literature. Resulting from the research, it proposes recommendations and suggestions for further research.

Keywords

Democratic Company, Workplace Democracy, Freedom-Based Principles, Management.
User
Notifications
Font Size


  • Bernstein, E., Bunch, J., Canner, N., Lee, M. (2016) Beyond the holacracy hype. Harvard Business Review, vol. 94, no. 7/8, pp. 38-49.

  • Birkinshaw, J. (2014) Beware the next big thing. Harvard Business Review, vol. 92, no. 5, pp. 50-57.

  • Boes, A., Sattelberger, T., Welpe, I. M. (2015) Digitalization facilitates greater employee participation – but can also mean more control. TUMstudinews. The Newsletter for student of TUM, Issue 4. Available from Consulted: 1. 2. 2017.

  • Brafman, O., Beckstrom, R. A. (2006) The Starfish and the Spider: the Unstoppable power of Leaderless Organizations. New York: Portfolio. ISBN 9781591841432.

  • Carney, B. M., Getz, I. (2013) Svoboda v práci: jak nechat zaměstnance dělat, co chtějí, a tím zvýšit produktivitu, zisk a růst. Praha: PeopleComm. ISBN 978-80-904890-7-3.

  • Ducasse, P. (2016) Democracy at Work: Happier and More Productive Workplaces Are Within Reach, CCPA Monitor, vol. 22, no. 5, pp. 32-33.

  • Dul, J., Hak, T. (2008) Case Study Methodology in Business Research. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann. ISBN: 978-0-7506-8196-4.

  • Fenton, T. L. (2006) Democracy in the Workplace. Inside Tucson Business, vol. 16, no. 11, pp. 6.

  • Fenton, T. L. (2012) Inspiring Democracy in the Workplace: From Fear-based to Freedom-centered Organizations, Leader To Leader, no. 64, pp. 57-63.

  • Getz, I. (2009) Liberating Leadership: How the Initiative-Freeing Radical Organizational Form Has Been Successfully Adopted. California Management Review, vol. 51, no. 4, pp. 31-58.

  • Gratton, L. (2004) The Democratic Enterprise. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited. ISBN: 0-273-67528-1.

  • Hajzler, T. (2017) Svobodná a zodpovědná firma: Jak pře/vy-budovat firmu na principech svobody a zodpovědnosti. Available from www: Consulted: 1. 2. 2017.

  • Hamel, G. (2013) Na čem dnes záleží: jak vyhrát ve světě neustálých změn, dravé konkurence a nezastavitelné inovace. Praha: PeopleComm. ISBN 978-80-904890-6-6.

  • Hamel, G., Breen, B. (2008) Budoucnost managementu. Praha: Management Press. ISBN 978-80-7261-188-1.

  • Handy, Ch. (2015) The Second Curve: Thoughts on Reinventing Society. London: Random House. ISBN-10: 1847941346.

  • Harrison, J. S., Freeman, R. E. (2004) Special Topic - Democracy in and Around Organizations. Academy of Management Executive, vol. 18, no. 3, pp. 49-53.

  • Hsieh, T. (2013) Štěstí doručeno: pohled do budoucnosti firem, které vytvářejí štěstí, pak peníze. Praha: PeopleComm. ISBN 978-80-87917-05-3.

  • Kejhová, H. (2015) Spolupodnikání ve firmě: tahounů je málo. Moderní řízení, vol. 50, no. 3, pp. 28-29.

  • Laloux, F. (2014) Reinventing Organizations. Brussels: Nelson Parker. ISBN-10: 2960133501.

  • Maravelias, Ch. (2007) Freedom at Work in the Age of Postbureaucratic Organization. Ephemera: Theory & Politics in Organization, vol. 7, no. 4, pp. 555-574.

  • McAuley, J., Duberley, J., Johnson, P. (2006) Organization Theory: Challenges and Perspectives. Harlow: Prentice Hall. ISBN-10: 0273687743.

  • Petersen, C. J. (2012) Mixing it Up. Available from www . Consulted: 28. 2. 2017.

  • Pfeffer, J. (2013) You're Still the Same: Why Theories of Power Hold over Time and across Contexts. Academy of Management Perspectives, vol. 27, no. 4, pp. 269-280.

  • Proenca, T. (2010) Self-Managed Work Teams: An Enabling or Coercive Nature. International Journal of Human Resource Management, vol. 21, no. 3, pp. 337-354.

  • Reingold, J. (2016) The Zappos Experiment. Fortune, vol. 173, no. 4, pp. 206-214.

  • Robertson, B. J. (2015) Holacracy: The New Management System for a Rapidly Changing World. New York: Henry Holt and Co. ISBN 978-1-62779-428-2.

  • Schaufeli, W. B., Salanova, M., González-Romá, V., Bakker, A. B. (2002) The Measurement of Engagement and Burnout: a Two Sample Confirmatory Factor Analytic Approach. Journal of Happiness Studies, vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 71-92.

  • Semler, R. (2011) Podivín: příběh nejneobvyklejšího pracoviště světa. Praha: PeopleComm. ISBN 978-80-904890-0-4.

  • Senge, P. M. (2006) The Fifth Discipline: The art and practice of the learning organization: Second edition. London: Random House. ISBN-10: 1905211201.

  • Slinták, K. (2015) Cultural reversal: Why does obedience lose with the initiative? International Journal of Entrepreneurial Knowledge, vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 59-75.

  • Slintak, K. (2016) Proces formování poslání na základě hlubšího pochopení firemního účelu. Scientific Papers of the University of Pardubice. Series D, Faculty of Economics & Administration, vol. 23, issue 38, pp. 129-141.

  • Slinták, K., Tučková, Z. (2016) Citizen corporation as a form of social enterprise. Economic Annals-XXI, 162, 11/12, pp. 62-67.

  • Strach, P. (2007) Tvorba výukových a výzkumných případových studií. Acta Oeconomica Pragensia, vol. 15, no. 3, pp. 22-36.

  • Useem, J. (2015) Are bosses necessary? Atlantic, vol. 316, no. 3, pp. 28-32.

  • Verdorfer, A. P., Weber, W. G. (2016) Examining the link between organizational democracy and employees’ moral development. Journal of Moral Education, vol. 45 , no. 1, pp. 59-73.

  • Viggain, F. A. (2011) Phoenix Trucking – „I believe in Democracy Up to a Point“: Democratizing Management Hierarchies. International Journal of Management and Innovation, vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 1-31.

  • Weber, W., Unterrainer, C., Schmid, B. (2009) The influence of organizational democracy on employees' socio-moral climate and prosocial behavioral orientations. Journal of Organizational Behavior, vol. 30, no. 8, pp. 1127-1149.

  • Wilson, J. H. (2011) Freedom at Work: Psychological Empowerment and Self-Leadership. International Journal of Business and Public Administration, vol. 8, no. 1, pp. 106-124.

  • Yazdani, N. (2010) Organizational Democracy and Organization Structure Link: Role of Strategic Leadership & Environmental Uncertainty, IBA Business Review, vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 51-74.

  • Yin, R. K. (1994), Case study research. Design and methods. 2nd edition, Vol. 5, London: SAGE Publications.


Abstract Views: 244

PDF Views: 109




  • Principles of Workplace Democracy:Cases from the Czech Republic

Abstract Views: 244  |  PDF Views: 109

Authors

Andy Vopalecky
University of Business and Law, Vltavská 585/14, 150 00 Praha 5, Czech Republic
Lukas Durda
Institute of Management and Marketing, Paneuropean University, Tomášikova 20, 821 02 Bratislava, Slovakia

Abstract


The article is about the concept of management of democratic companies in the Czech Republic with a focus on the principles of workplace democracy. The analysis is based on four case studies of democratic companies. The case studies have been drawn up on the basis of a questionnaire survey among the workers of companies and interviews with their executives. The research has shown the importance of even a high rate of implementation of the various principles in all surveyed companies. The best rated principle is "dialogue and listening". In the case of the principle of "reflection and assessment", it will show certain deficiencies in the provision of feedback. Principles of workplace democracy identified in interviews mostly agree with the principles referred to in the literature. Resulting from the research, it proposes recommendations and suggestions for further research.

Keywords


Democratic Company, Workplace Democracy, Freedom-Based Principles, Management.

References





DOI: https://doi.org/10.15759/ijek%2F2017%2Fv5i1%2F190282