What does a democratic workplace look like..and who benefits?
The workplace has meaningful work, conversations, decentralized networks, strategy, leadership, personal relationships, principles and more. See the chart at http://www.worldblu.com/orgdemo/whatis.php
Characteristics of a democratic organization
(These are really good.)
• You're paid for the value you bring to the organization, not your job title.
• Everyone knows to whom and for what they're accountable.
• The employee manual can be summed up in one sentence: "Use common sense!"
• You look forward to meetings where you can collaborate and share ideas.
• There's a spirit of ownership in every project in which you're involved.
• Communication is ever present, informative and responsible.
More at http://www.worldblu.com/orgdemo/characteristics.php
The benefits
Workers are empowered, involved, passionate, creative and productive. Not only do the workers benefit but obviously so does the company.
All inspired by WorldBlu, which I found while writing about fair trade coffee from Equal Exchange, one of 25 organizations on the WorldBlu List of Most Democratic Workplaces™ 2008.
Command and control workplaces are left over from the industrial age.
Think about this not only in your workplace but in the organizations where you volunteer. Advocate and push for democratic work environments because they equal civility.
Happy Independence Day.