Democratic Organizing in the Corporate Sphere: A Case Study

As a result of the Great Recession and the sluggish recovery, a downturn in the economy led to mass layoffs, leaving employees in various industries in the for-profit sector feeling hopeless and marginalized. Those employees were left voiceless as companies made autocratic decisions to cut wages and jobs to remain economically viable. This period of uncertainty for employee led to questions of whether or not space for participation, voice, and democracy could exist in the for-profit sector. Little research has focused on alternative, democratic organizing in the for-profit sector; hence, this research posed the central question: Under what conditions can a for-profit organization create a democratic, participatory culture that thrives in a capitalist society? To answer this question, a critical ethnography case study was conducted on a small for-profit telecommunications business that claims to be democratic. Ten individuals from the company and an expert on democratic corporations were interviewed. Results suggest multiple strategies enable democratic practices in a corporate for-profit environment that can flourish in a downturn economy. These strategies consist of a shared democratic narrative among employees, scalable practices, and practicing transparency while holding employees accountable in the face of a downturn.

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Level thesis:degree_level

doctoral

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Communication Studies (Communication)

Grantor dc:publisher

Ohio University

Year dc:date

2013

Author dc:creator

• Bonine, Brent A.

Contributors dc:contributor

• James, Anita

• Communication
• democratic organizing
• participatory workplace
• democratic workplace
• democracy and bureaucracy
• democratic practices
• democracy and capitalism

Statement dc:rights

• unrestricted
• This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws.

Language dc:language

English

Repository record dc:identifier

http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1357664971

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:etd.ohiolink.edu:ohiou1357664971