Ch. 8: Explain the concept of “workplace democracy.” What are its strengths and weaknesses? In reference to the case at the end of the chapter, is workplace democracy being practiced by the faculty? Is a democratic approach the best way to solve this problem? Why or why not?
Workplace democracy is interesting for scholar to look at because management recognizes the need to involve teams of subordinates to participate in decision making processes. It reflects a belief “based on humanistic ideals about how individuals should be treated in society” (Miller, 153).
Specifically, workplace democracy involves stakeholders in the decision making process, allowing employees, investors, consumers, and suppliers to participate together. Democracy in the workplace also allows employers to recognize the opinions of individuals in the
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Similarly, the roles of power are confused. As I mentioned before, the hierarchy of command is thrown off when they become involved in decision making. Management wants them to feel like they have a commanding role in the company and simultaneously they are being ordered.
Based on the enrollment management case study presented in Chapter 8 of the Miller textbook, it’s clear that workplace democracy is at play. Committees are weighing in on an issue that may or may not directly affect each individual member, and so management respects that they should all contribute their opinions in memos prior to the general meeting. In terms of effectiveness, I think that democracy has to potential to get the university to a solution in a timely manner.
One could assume that it would be simpler if one person made the decision that overshadowed all other faculty, but that would disregard the happiness of the whole. And so, I think democracy is the right
Faculty Senate at Truman State University is one small peg in the tradition and history that is representative government and democracy. The term ‘democracy’ is a Greek term that means rule of the people . The earliest democracy and representative government began in Greece, Athens specifically. When representatives were chosen they were selected from wealthy, white males. Usually the men who were chosen were the richest of the possible selection .
1. Janda, Kenneth. The Challenge of Democracy. Houghton Mifflin Co. Boston, MA. 1999. (Chapter 3 & 4).
Janda, Kenneth. Berry, Jeffrey. Goldman, Jerry (2008). The Challenge of Democracy (9th ed.). Boston; New York: Houghton Mifflin Company.
Democracy is designed to concentrate the power of government in the hands of the people and protect against autocracy and oligarchy. It presupposes societies need a modicum of rule, as they cannot function if there is anarchy. In this way, democracy is a virtue, or a mean between two vices. However, democracy has a sliding scale, the metric of which is the citizens who rule it. Citizens ultimately dictate the laws to be agreed upon, codified and enacted. These laws not only govern behavior and maintain order, but also provide citizens with a mechanism to seek relief through the courts should they be aggrieved.
This Journal entry by Plattner, just like Fukuyama’s, He defines the meaning of Democracy and explores its relationship with the democratic system. But unlike Fukuyama’s entry where he is not in favor of democracy, Plattner in his defined both democracy and governance in an unbiased point of view. Although he adds on his personal views, his unbiased statement is prevalent which makes his entry a good source of reference because he not only provides information but because of his purely formal way of studying democracy and its relationship towards governance and which serves as a guide to an unbiased
Democracy is control by the people. On the surface, this appears to be a superior form, but as Plato warned it is slow to react, oppresses of the minority, and lacks skilled leaders (Perry,
Continuously, there is the affiliative style which means that a leader creates a positive harmony for his employees (Six leadership styles: selecting the right leader, 2016). In other words, that leader put people first and tasks second. The Democratic leader focuses on the decision making, also, the employees in this organisation have the skills, knowledge require. Therefore, the leader trust them in their
Participative (Democratic) leadership is, as its name implies, a participation of the group. The participants all collaborate in the decisions the group must make. “Researchers have found that this learning style is usually one of the most effective and lead to higher productivity, better contributions from the group members, and increased moral.”
“We have had the habit of thinking of democracy as a kind of political mechanism that will work as long faithful as citizens were reasonably in performing their duties” (Dewey 1939, 2).
Democracy is not a contemporary phenomenon. It did not originate here in North America. Rather, its practice began---more than 2,000 years ago---in Athens, a city-state, in the Greek Mediterranean. The philosophers Aristotle and Plato attested to that fact in their writings. It is in Plato’s Republic that one finds the earliest definition of democracy, which is briefly, “the rule of the governed.” Plato compares democracy to monarchy, or rule of the one, oligarchy, or rule of the elite, and lastly, timocracy, or rule by property owners. Interestingly enough, the Republic’s author believed the rule of a philosopher-king was preferable to that of the masses. The Politics, written by Aristotle, provided a very robust explanation and justification of democracy, which will be detailed later in this paper. Nevertheless, democracy is synonymous with popular sovereignty or the notion that all within a human community have a say in the matters that affect them all.
A democracy promotes equal rights for all its citizens and the equal opportunity to represent and choose for themselves in matters that affect their lives (Liddell, Robert Scott). The advent of democracy brought the opportunity of choice and the freedom of choosing according to ones wants and desires. This was considered as a stepping stone to a modern free world, and still holds true.
As far back as history can be told mankind has struggled between balancing culture, power and politics. Many wars have been fought and many people have placed their lives on the line in order to stand up for what they believe in. The combinations of culture, power and politics have spilled over into the workplace. In today’s business environment individuals have much more to worry about than just completing their assigned tasks. Organizational culture, power and office politics influence day to day operations as well as govern the atmosphere within the organization. The amount of impact that power and politics have in the workplace, directly reflect the organization’s culture formally as well as informally.
Empowerment is another feature of post bureaucracy. It represents organizations awarding power and authority to those lower in the organizational hierarchy (Knights & Willmott, 2007). To some extent empowerment could be beneficial to a organization because empowerment would allow the workers to work...
In today’s world, democracy faces everyday challenges. These challenges affect each and every country. Each country has a particular way of encountering these challenges in order for the citizens to have some type of voice. The voice of the people makes a stronger impact on using democracy as a means to challenge the government of their country. As we take a look at the countries in the world today, we will see the path towards the challenges to democracy.
Democracy, in its truest sense, does not exist. There is no political authority currently existing where every person contributes an equal amount to the decision-making process of the authority’s directives. The election of officials and representatives by the populace does not, in itself, automatically result in the most democratic and widely accepted directives being enacted. However, this does not decrease the political power of the authorities, nor does it limit their practical power over their jurisdictions.