The Feasibility of Workplace Democracy in Large, Publicly Traded Corporations in the United States

Download or read book The Feasibility of Workplace Democracy in Large, Publicly Traded Corporations in the United States written by Brian Fontaine Snowden and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 201 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This dissertation deals with the feasibility of having large publicly traded corporations in the United States organized and operated on the principles and practices of workplace democracy. While the United States appears to be a model of democratic society, there seems to be widespread acceptance that democracy is limited to the civic lives of citizens. the research problem involves the interpretation of the term democracy and the legitimacy of expanding the term to include workplace democracy. There are reasons that the ideal of workplace democracy has not been embraced in the United States, which is a primary theme in this dissertation, and includes the issue of the primacy of the corporation as the avatar of capitalism and the reluctance of people to interfere with this economic system. Three methodologies were utilized: a philosophical inquiry was undertaken into the meaning of democracy and how this concept is translated into the everyday lives of people; discussion groups were organized to gather data about the ideas of people who work in large publicly traded corporations and their beliefs about workplace democracy; a case study was done of the world's largest worker cooperative, Mondragon CC of Spain. the key findings demonstrate that people do not understand the concept of workplace democracy, primarily because they have not been raised in institutions that practice democracy. Second, the economic system of capitalism is considered to be a highly effective one for economic growth, and people appear to believe that workplace democracy would not contribute to this success. Finally, the case study of Mondragon CC, the world's largest worker cooperative, demonstrates that a large democratic business can compete and prosper in a capitalist environment. the theoretical implication of this research is that workplace democracy can satisfy the need for the attainment of higher levels of participation and self-determination for all organizational members. Then there is the practical implication that the for-profit business organization be profitable and viable for the long term. Further research is required to reinforce the findings reached in this dissertation.