Political Metaphors and Workplace Governance
Sharing Ownership, Profits, and Decision-Making in the 21st Century
ISBN: 978-1-78190-750-4
Publication date: 9 December 2013
Abstract
Purpose
Political institutions and contemporary workplaces operate according to different rules. The seeming contradiction between these two spheres, one democratic and the other something else, presents an opportunity for productive speculation about the possibilities for reconciliation. The purpose of this paper is to provide a guide for future research investigation of this perennial topic.
Design/methodology/approach
The discussion of whether the workplace can catch up with the democratic achievements of political life requires an understanding of the status quo, the prevailing frames or metaphors that govern our understanding of organizational life. Four metaphors are put forward to describe the prevailing spectrum of thought. In addition to metaphors, analogies are introduced as an interpretive tool to help guide the imaginative transition between political and workplace domains.
Practical implications
Democratic political cultures are supported by structures and institutions which encourage the expression of individual and collective voice. Workplaces, comprised of the same citizens who participate in the governance of communities, do not, with some important exceptions, offer the same opportunities for democratic participation. If a general analogy between political and workplace sphere is found persuasive, it should be possible to import and adapt democratic traditions from the former to the latter.
Originality/value
Discussions of workplace democracy often suffer from a certain naiveté, a bias against structure and toward informal consensus. Insofar as democratic workplaces are by definition smaller scale than political communities, this bias is defensible. This paper concludes however by asserting certain minimal “acid test” challenges to those who would promote the goal of workplace democracy.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
Acknowledgement
This paper was originally presented in July 2012 at a meeting of the International Association for the Economics of Participation, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ.
Citation
Mackin, C. (2013), "Political Metaphors and Workplace Governance", Sharing Ownership, Profits, and Decision-Making in the 21st Century (Advances in the Economic Analysis of Participatory & Labor-Managed Firms, Vol. 14), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 355-379. https://doi.org/10.1108/S0885-3339(2013)0000014013
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2013 Emerald Group Publishing Limited