Democratic Organization Research Articles

Leader selection in Italian parties. Intraparty democracy in weak organisations, 1946–2020

This study is an analysis of the methods Italian parties used to select their leaders from 1946 to 2020. Using an extended database originally based on the Comparative Study of Party Leaders (Cospal) project and collected through a content analysis of the statutes, the study deals with three topics. First, the individual requirements for candidacy are examined; second, the different types of selectorates are reported; third, a cursory test of the conformity between statutes’ provisions and actual leader selections is proposed. The analyses show that both candidacy requirements and se-lectorates have become more inclusive through time; that the diffusion of inclusive—and cumbersome—selectorates has been followed by the adoption of alternative quick methods of selection based on some type of party council to be used under pressure; and that there is a large overlapping between formal and actual selectorates. A result of this work is a quantification so far unavailable of intraparty democracy in Italy on a long period.

Job Control and Employee Innovative Behavior: A Moderated Mediation Model.

The revolution of self-management and organizational democracy is gaining momentum with the development of new technologies. How to stimulate high employee innovation behavior is critical to an organization’s success. In this study, we built and verified a theoretical model to explore the effect of job control (JC) on employee innovative behavior (EIB), the mediating effect of creative self-efficacy (CSE), and the moderating effect of mindfulness (MF), based on the self-determination theory (SDT). For this quantitative study, a 31-item questionnaire was used to collect data from five Internet companies with 329 Chinese employees. AMOS 24.0 software was used to calculate CFA. SPSS26.0 software was used to calculate means, standard deviations, correlations, and regression analysis. The results indicate that a moderated mediation model among JC, CSE, EIB, and MF is supported. Further, JC was positively related to EIB via CSE. Moreover, MF moderated the relationship between JC and EIB and the mediating role of CSE.

The rationale and development of organizational democracy scale

AbstractThe idea of bringing democratization at the workplace has been present in management literature for decades. Literature has witnessed an increased interest of researchers on this topic, especially after the 2003 Academy of Management Annual Meeting conference having the theme “Democracy in a Knowledge Economy,” and August 2004 special issue of the Academy of Management Executive: “Democracy in and around Organizations.” To further explore this underpinned concept, the present study aims to refine and develop the organizational democracy construct. Using in-depth literature analysis published in last three decades on organizational democracy, ten dimensions (freedom, fairness, integrity, tolerance, shared responsibility, structure, transparency, knowledge sharing, accountability, and learning environment) were identified, leading to the development of its conceptual framework. By deploying established scale development procedures, the organizational democracy scale was developed, refined, and validated. The new organizational democracy scale consists of forty-five items consistent with theory and practice. The scale will assist future researchers and industrial practitioners in a deeper exploration of this construct and organizational managers for establishing, assessing, and improving democratic practices at their workplaces.

ÖRGÜTSEL DEMOKRASİ’NİN ÖRGÜTSEL PERFORMANSA ETKİSİNDE ÖRGÜTSEL SESLİLİĞİN ARACI ROLÜ: VİYANA ÖRNEĞİ

The concepts of organizational democracy, organizational voice, and organizational performance have recently attracted the attention of businesses. In this study, the mediating role of organizational polyphony in the effect of organizational democracy on organizational performance was examined. The universe of the research consists of 390 employees working in a company operating in the food sector in Vienna. As a result of the research, it was determined that there is a significant and directly proportional relationship between organizational democracy and organizational performance. In addition, it has been determined from the research that organizational voice has a mediating role between organizational democracy and organizational performance

Review: Bloody Bay: Grassroots Policing in Nineteenth-Century San Francisco, by Darren A. Raspa

Review: <i>Bloody Bay: Grassroots Policing in Nineteenth-Century San Francisco</i>, by Darren A. Raspa

Политические взгляды и позиции российских военных в Финляндии на заключительном этапе Первой мировой войны (весна – лето 1917 г.)

Introduction. In the spring and summer of 1917 changes in the former autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland determined the history of relations between Russia and Finland for decades to come. The purpose of the article is to show changes in the political views and positions of the Baltic sailors and the army servicemen, who were elected to democratic organizations of the Russian military at the final stage of the First World War. Methods and materials. The article is based on the results of long standing study of issues, dealing with the stay of the Russian armed forces in the Grand Duchy of Finland, and follows the theoretical developments of V.D. Zimina, B.I. Kolonitsky, E. Mawdsley, A. Wildman on the problems of the Russian revolution of 1917. It uses a historical and anthropological approach to the research of the role of the military factor in the history of Russia and Finland in the 20th Century. Analysis. Reviewed archival documents and published sources indicate that immediately after the February Revolution active party organizations in the units were either a rare exception or experienced a stage of formation, which affected the actions of the primary personnel of the Soviets, as well as soldier’s and sailor’s committees. During the spring months voters’ political sympathies were closely associated with the Socialist Revolutionaries as the most popular party in Russia. However, by the summer of 1917 the readiness of the socialist leaders of the Socialist-Revolutionary Party and the Mensheviks to continue the war increasingly contradicted the interests of ordinary servicemen. The question of how the activities of the Soviets and committees of this period fit into the rope of events that became the “prologue” of the Civil War in Russia has been investigated. It is pointed out, that such measures include the abolition of the old apparatus of power, the refusal to comply with the orders of the military authorities, not agreed with soldier and sailor organizations, assistance in the deployment and strengthening of the political union of the Bolsheviks and left-wing groups of socialist parties, support provided to the radical wing of the Finnish social-democracy. Results. The study of socio-political transformations that took place in the Russian military community during the period under review and predetermined changes in the views and positions of the Russian servicemen in Finland allows us to conclude the following. In the spring and summer of 1917 leaders of the Soviets and committees still managed to accumulate a certain experience of “inter-party” interaction. It was first noted that that in the course of the revolution development representative organizations of sailors and the army men just during these months were prepared for an independent line of behavior and sometimes outpaced the protest actions of military personnel in the Russian capital. Key words: Russian revolution of 1917, Finland, servicemen, Soviets, committees, political views and positions, socio-political transformations.

Beyond Foreign Policy? EU Sanctions at the Intersection of Development, Trade, and CFSP

In the wake of unsettling conflicts and democratic backsliding, states and organisations increasingly respond with sanctions. The European Union (EU) is one of them: Brussels makes use of the entire toolbox in its foreign policy, and its sanctions appear in different forms—diplomatic measures, travel bans, financial bans, or various forms of economic restrictions. Yet, there is little debate between different strands in the literature on EU sanctions, in particular concerning measures under the Common Foreign and Security Policy and those pertaining to the development and trade policy fields. Our thematic issue addresses this research gap by assembling a collection of articles investigating the design, impact, and implementation of EU sanctions used in different realms of its external affairs. Expanding the definition of EU sanctions to measures produced under different guises in the development, trade, and foreign policy fields, the collection overcomes the compartmentalised approach characterising EU scholarship.

Kształtowanie się lokalnej administracji terenowej w Polsce w latach 1945-1952

The shaping of the local administration system in Poland in the years 1945-1952 is one of the most interesting issues in the post-war history. On the one hand, there is a formally existing local government system, but on the other hand, there appears a Soviet administrative model of national councils, previously unknown in Poland. The combination of the systems of local government and national councils authorities confused the administrative situation in Poland. The hierarchical arrangement of councils, i.e. the subordination of lower-level councils to higher-level ones, meant a departure from one of the basic features of local government, i.e. the independence of a given level of the administrative structure in relation to the level located above it. The composition of national councils was not determined by way of elections, but only by a process of delegation by so-called democratic organisations closely linked to the communist movement.

Social Regulation and the Digital Public Space in Cameroon

The concept of public space, which had its letter of nobility with Habermas, is at the center of democratic organization. It defines an intermediary space between civil society and the State. However, we cannot speak about such a space today without taking into account the complexity of the digital reality that characterizes it. The development of digital technology has redefined the physical borders between States as well as the relationship between citizenship and territory. The use of digital media has also transformed the modalities of collective action by making new forms of intersubjectivity possible, and more spontaneous and direct forms of participation have also emerged. Through the digital effect, the transformation of public space into digital public space reflects big problems of impoverishment of living together and collective action in Cameroon. This paper goes through the different modes of regulation, not without defining its role as a framework that would make public space a place based on communicative action and ethics. It also attempts to organize new forms of digital sociability and to rebuild living together. A moral education focused on redefining the bases of the social contract extended to all virtual spheres is presented as a way of reintegrating the fundamental principles of living.

Assessing What Organizational Democracy Means? A Qualitative Approach

Assessing What Organizational Democracy Means? A Qualitative Approach

Underground Press of Social Democratic Organizations in Šiauliai in 1904–1914

This article deals with propaganda activities, such as publishing proclamations (20 publications), revolutionary songs (1), and underground periodicals (1), by local organizations of the Bund, LSDDP, LSDP and RSDDP in Šiauliai in 1904–1914. Political changes in Russia in 1904–1907 created favorable conditions for social democratic organizations to actively carry out propaganda activities, but the intensity at which they were carried out was not uniform across Lithuania. The proletarian profile of Šiauliai and the particularly active activity of the LSDP allowed to mobilize propagandists in a short time, to prepare the necessary proclamations on the spot, and to provide the necessary press equipment. During the years of the revolution (1905–1907), Šiauliai had to emerge as the second center of the social democratic movement in Lithuania. After the defeat of the revolution in Russia, due to the increased persecution of social democratic forces, the underground organizations failed to mobilize their press capacity or develop more active propaganda events; therefore, the political parties even had to suspend the activities of local organizations in Šiauliai. The integration of social democratic youth into the social democratic organizations of Šiauliai took place in c. 1912 and gave hope for a stronger revival of propaganda. The resumption of activities ceased in the first years of the First World War. The large-scale underground press developed in underground conditions expressed the expectations of the local population, reflected the involvement of parties in the formation of political views of the urban population, and was a counterweight to official information. Therefore, its assessment is inseparable from the realities of the political context of that time.

Seeking traces of democracy in the workplace: effects on knowledge sharing

Purpose This study aims to examine the role of organisational democracy (OD) in facilitating the knowledge sharing (KS) process within companies, thus considering the effect of different OD principles. Design/methodology/approach The authors used data collected through a questionnaire on a sample of 254 employees at private universities and colleges to test the relationship between OD and KS. Data were analysed using the structural equation modelling technique. Findings Overall, OD has a direct and significant effect on facilitating KS in organisations. Also, the results showed that there are different degrees and intensities among the individual principles (sub-concepts) of OD and KS. Practical implications The findings highlight the important role of democracy in an organisation to enhance the organisational climate and employees’ behaviours, thus leading to higher KS outcomes. Also, results, provide an opportunity for managers to consider enhancing democracy in an organisation for improving internal collaboration effectiveness in KS. Originality/value This paper sheds light and adds new knowledge to embryonic studies that are directed towards the integration of democracy within the main concept of knowledge management (KM). This emphasises the need to use and stimulate OD and its principles for improving the effectiveness of KM practices with specific attention to KS.

Learning to Live the Paradox in a Democratic Organization: A Deliberative Approach to Paradox Mindsets

Paradox mindsets have been proposed as a way of increasing capacity to deal with the competing tensions that present themselves in organizational life. It has been argued that having a paradox mindset can help individuals to work creatively and productively with tensions to produce solutions. Increasingly paradox scholars have also began to highlight the relational element of paradox mindsets, how we work through paradoxes with others. Less explored, however, is how individuals explore paradoxes through collective processes that help them to understand the tensions that they are experiencing. This paper offers a deliberative approach to paradox mindsets that integrates individual development with the novel forms of collective deliberation that are a feature of democratic organizations (those that use collective and deliberative decision-making procedures). Based on the learning processes involved in our own experiences, in setting up a democratic organization, we consider how paradoxes became more salient through collective collaboration with experienced practitioners within the field. We offer suggestions to how management education can be developed to help practitioners begin the process of learning to live with and indeed thrive, collectively, in paradoxical situations.

Students for Freedom and Equality: The Inevitable Return of the Left in Post-Revolutionary Iran

The emergence and rapid but short-lived presence of Students for Freedom and Equality (SFE; in Persian: Daneshjuyan-e Azadikhah va Barabaritalab or DAB) across major Iranian campuses and their fateful 4 December 2007 protest rally on the campus of the University of Tehran speaks of the return of leftist student activism to Iranian campuses after almost two decades of absence or invisibility within the context of post-revolutionary Iran. SFE was an umbrella democratic organization: its activists came from a plurality of social and political backgrounds and adhered to diverse leftist ideas. But in the context of pro-Reform Movement student activism in Iranian post-secondary institutions in the late 1990s and in 2000s, for a short time the SFE tried to hegemonize student activism and challenge the various pro-government tendencies in university campuses. Before state repression forced the SFE out of operation in 2007, Students for Freedom and Equality brought to campuses candid discussions of social justice issues, critique of Iran’s neoliberal economic policies, and challenges to censorship and lack of freedom.

Mediated Democracy – Linking Digital Technology to Political Agency

Although the relationship between digitalisation and democracy is subject of growing public attention, the nature of this relationship is rarely addressed in a systematic manner. The common understanding is that digital media are the driver of the political change we are facing today. This paper argues against such a causal approach und proposes a co-evolutionary perspective instead. Inspired by Benedict Anderson's “Imagined Communities” and recent research on mediatisation, it introduces the concept of mediated democracy. This concept reflects the simple idea that representative democracy requires technical mediation, and that the rise of modern democracy and of communication media are therefore closely intertwined. Hence, mediated democracy denotes a research perspective, not a type of democracy. It explores the changing interplay of democratic organisation and communication media as a contingent constellation, which could have evolved differently. Specific forms of communication media emerge in tandem with larger societal formations and mutually enable each other. Following this argument, the current constellation reflects a transformation of representative democracy and the spread of digital media. The latter is interpreted as a “training ground” for experimenting with new forms of democratic agency.

Proportional Representation System Whether Significance for Bangladesh: An Analysis

The purpose of this article is to ensure free, fair and credible election by adopting electoral reformation, switch from `Winner Take All” (WTA) to Proportional Representation (PR) system. In Bangladesh the election process and election result both have been questioned. Nevertheless, election is one of the key components in ensuring democracy. Particularly the free, fair and credible election is one of the basic and crucial prerequisites and elements of democratic government and governance. Bangladesh, we found an under developed political culture, lack of democratic political organizations, institutions and practices in true sense. All these indicators have been almost failed to institutionalize democracy in Bangladesh. In this backdrop, this paper attempts to explain that, a switch from the current Winner Takes All (WTA) system to Proportional Representation (PR) system can reshape the election system by keeping consistency, because of the fact that the democracy means the rule of the majority but the minority can't be uprooted as well as Proportional Representation (PR) method can help stabilize democracy in Bangladesh.

Democratic Administration and Commitment of Members of Agricultural Cooperatives: A Case Study from a Prefecture in Greece

Cooperatives are democratic organizations, governed and controlled by their members, who are actively involved in their policy-making and decision-making process. The aim of this paper is to investigate the correlation between cooperative culture and the way that cooperatives are governed. To this end, a probability sampling method is used in the agricultural cooperatives of the Greek prefecture of Larissa, which is one of the most powerful and dynamic in the agricultural economy. The data collection was carried out to 100 members of agricultural cooperatives through the use of a closed-ended questionnaire. The findings highlighted that agricultural cooperatives are distinguished for their increased level of cooperative culture and commitment, provided that the conditions for the democratic governance of cooperatives are met. The role played by the level of education of the members of the agricultural cooperatives was also important, thus confirming the main purpose of the research, which was none other than to prove this correlation. Finally, this correlation can lead to the improvement of certain elements which contribute to the optimization of agricultural governance.

Internal democracy in populist right parties: the process of party policy development in the Alternative for Germany

AbstractFor the past decade, populist left- and right-wing parties have been on the rise in Europe. Yet, there are only a few studies on the internal organizational dynamics of these parties. Drawing on a new and unique data from fieldwork observations and interviews with party members from the Alternative for Germany (AfD), this article examines the internal democratic mechanisms in policy formation. The AfD displays a high degree of internal participation – an important but contrasting addition to the comparative research on radical right parties, which fail to sustain a democratic internal organization and consistently adopt mechanisms to centralize power in the leadership. The findings from this field research suggest that populist parties may actually engage in meaningful intra-party democracy and internal deliberative practices to invigorate the connections between citizens and their party representatives.

The Increasing Importance of Democratic Organizations in the 21st Century: An Explorative Essay

The Increasing Importance of Democratic Organizations in the 21st Century: An Explorative Essay

종교의 세속화와 선(禪) 명상의 방향성 모색

Seon 禪, a traditional practice of East Asian Buddhism, has undergone many changes in terms of content and appearance since the modern era. The core of the pattern of change was secularization. This pattern is in line with the phenomenon of secularization in the whole religious culture in modern society. The agenda of secularization was raised in earnest from the mid-20th century in the field of religious studies. The representative example is that meditation and happiness have emerged in Christianity to the extent that soteriology is replaced. Seon was introduced to the West in the form of modern Japanese New Buddhism, and combined with meditation or psychotherapy techniques, it rapidly spread to the public. In the West, Seon showed secularization patterns such as active social participation and democratic organization. This popular feature made happiness be accepted as no less than liberation or nirvana, or as a substitute for it. Korean Buddhists also show the secularization of Seon, as follows: the formation of political ties with secular powers, depends on secular law for much of the management of the temple, rapid and full acceptance of modern meditation, spread of Seon practice among the general public, and ‘happiness' rapidly emerged as the purpose of Seon meditation. In the era of secularization of religion, it became an important issue to recheck and establish the direction of Seon. It is important to positively accept the secularization of religion, but not to lose the value and orientation that Seon originally pursued.