Alternatives to Bureaucracy: Democratic Participation In The Economy

This article critically reviews and integrates the social science literature on alternatives to bureaucracy, focusing particularly on democratic participation in the economy. First, it looks at the social forces and public attitudes that support worker ownership and worker control efforts the contemporary United States, and it examines the state's involvement in those reforms. It summarizes the research with respect to four challenges to democracy that these alternative organizations face in their dual need to get work tasks accomplished and to still retain their democratic form. First, how do size, technology, and the division of labor affect an organization's ability to maintain active participation and democracy? Second, how does organizational democracy affect individual participants' satisfaction with their work? Third, how does democratization of work processes affect the economic performance of these firms? Finally, obstacles to the stability, retention, and spread of these organizational inno­ vations are discussed.