The Democratic Corporation: A Radical Prescription for Recreating Corporate America and Rediscovering Success

by Russell L. Ackoff

Book Overview

We all know that American business needs fixing, and there is no shortage of prescriptions: imitate the Japanese, or follow the example of successful firms, or practice right-sizing. But these approaches do not work very well, says Russell Ackoff, because they only attack the problem piecemeal--and it is the entire system of American business that is flawed. In this revolutionary new book by a widely respected business thinker and pioneer in the fields...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0195087275
• ISBN13: 9780195087277
• Release Date: June 1994
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.8" x 8.6"

Customer Reviews

Are democracy and free market good organization principles?

Ackoff presents his organization design based on democracy and free market as organization principles. Most people generally believe democracy and free market are good principles for societies, while most business and government organizations have internal organizations based on autocratic authority and monopoly of services, resources and markets. Why does this happen? Ackoff is very objective in his view of the corporations as social systems, which must satisfy their stakeholders. He presents very objective solutions for the problems of quality of working life, power and authority distribution, performance evaluation and control and structure design. The title of this book promises a radical prescription, and that is a very good description of the contents. The book is dense with well thought, well developed ideas, with examples of their successful application! If you have a position about democracy and free market you should carefully read this book, even if you don't agree with everything Ackoff proposes.