Category: In the Workplace

The last place we can expect equal and humane treatment is in the workplace.  In difficult situations, equality and fairness disappear and the autocratic order returns. The workers at the top overrule decisions made by workers below. Sociocracy, however, developed in workplaces. Its principles and practices are designed to guarantee democracy in the most competitive businesses and associations. These entries discuss how sociocratic democracy ensures democracy in the workplace.

Hertzler Systems Inc – a case study

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Hertzler Systems Inc - a case study Case study of Hertzler Systems Inc. The primary source of the information in this case study came from a 2021 interview with Byron Shetler, CEO of Hertzler Systems Inc.   HERTZLER QUICK FACTS Location: Goshen, IN Size: 17 Employees Field: Manufacturing Data Analytics   ORIGINS Since its inception in the 1980s, Hertzler Systems Inc. has been making tools for data collection and analysis that optimize clients’ performance, production, and profit. Their primary offering is the… Read More . . . “Hertzler Systems Inc – a case study”

Structural Issues in Government

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Structural Issues in Government In my neighborhood we have a large email list designed for neighbor to neighbor conversation and requests for help. A frequent request is a phone number for help with city services. The current problem is needing the city to enforce parking regulations when a life may be at risk because a driveway is blocked. The lack of response from city governments reveals structural issues that as in other bureaucracies will be hard to fix. The… Read More . . . “Structural Issues in Government”

Misconceptions about Sociocracy

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Georges Romme In an excellent article in the 10 September 2015 issue of the Harvard Business Review Georges Romme analyzes the misconceptions in the press about Holacracy and about sociocracy, “The Big Misconceptions Holding Holacracy Back.” Romme has been centrally involved with Gerard Endenburg and sociocracy for decades. The following is a summary and commentary on Romme’s article, which I also encourage you to read. A key management practices is concentrating leadership in top management and suppressing… Read More . . . “Misconceptions about Sociocracy”

Who Stole the American Dream

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Crushing Middle-Class  Prosperity The American Dream is of obtaining middle-class prosperity and socio-economic mobility. Hedrick Smith analyzes how it was lost in America. The American middle class in the 1960s was the largest and most prosperous in the world. Now, the disparity between top and bottom is huge. Even the wealthiest 5% are falling behind the super-rich 1% that controls 2/3 of the nation’s wealth—trillions of dollars. The remaining 99% earn the remaining 1/3. America… Read More . . . “Who Stole the American Dream”

Sociocratic Bylaws

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Sociocratic Bylaws These example rules were written in 2015 by Sharon Villiers and John Buck. This website is having minimal maintenance done by SoFA, so, rather than updating these rules, we suggest interested readers go to www.sociocracyforall.org/bylaws. Examples of Sociocratic Bylaws Both two examples of sociocratic bylaws posted on Sociocracy.info are based on legally filed documents. They that sociocratic principles and practices can be specified and legally approved. The Bylaws for a Sociocratic Business are based on… Read More . . . “Sociocratic Bylaws”

Self-Management at Zappos

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Self-Management at Zappos Several articles have appeared in the last month or so on the implementation of self-management at Zappos. After having adopted Holacracy, which is based on the principles of sociocracy, Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos, sent a memo on 24 March 2015 to employees offering three months of salary to any employee who would read a book on Holacracy and quit if they were still not happy in an organization based on self-management. It was a… Read More . . . “Self-Management at Zappos”