Conference paper
The Self-Management Work Organization – The Ideal and Reality in the Light of an Organization Theory
Josip Županov
; Fakultet političkih nauka, Zagreb, Lepusićeva 6
Abstract
The empirical studies in participation and power structure within the Yugoslav work organization show a tremendous discrepancy between the institutional-ideological blueprint (»what ought to be«) and reality of organizational life (»what is«). While a gap between the »though-of order« and »lived-in order« is an universal feature of human societies, there are still good reasons to ask: why such a gap seems to be much wider in the Yugoslav society than in most other contemporary societies?
Two different approaches to the relationship between the ideal and reality are possible: (1) the »structuralist approach« in terms of C. Levy-Strauss structural anthropology, and (2) the »planned social change approach« (»blueprint« — »realization «). While the author considers both approaches legitimate from the scientific point of view (keeping in mind that different questions are asked), in this paper he has adopted the blueprint-realization approach traditionally used by the Yugoslav social scientists. However, he has made a further step in the analysis of the subject within the perspective of blueprint-realization. Instead of blaming, in general terms, the environmental (economic, social, cultural etc.) conditions as unfavorable for the implementation of Self-management in practice he suggests that, in addition to those conditions, an appropriate organizational model capable of linking the Self-management ideal and reality was also lacking. The rest of the paper is devoted to this point.
In reviewing briefly the 25 year development of the Self-management work organization the author employs the conceptual models of organization proposed by George H. Rice and Dean W. Bishoprick. Using their concepts the author shows that the Yugoslav work organization has traveled a long way on the level of the »thought-of order«: from an almost pure autocracy in the early postwar period to an entirely egalitarian pattern prescribed by the new 1973 Constitution. However, on the level of the »lived-in order« changes were much more modest: some essential features of the autocratic pattern have survived within the new institutional set up.
In an attempt to explain the lag he demonstrates that the Public Administration Model (representative government) introduced to democratize the authoritarian organization was a failure; that a premature switch to the Federation Model without an effort to explore the possibilities of the Decentralization Model also failed to produce the results in line with the Workers Self-management: in the absence of conditions necessary for the effective functioning of the federation model, the loose federation between the organizational units combined with the »representative government within the units served, more often than not, as a window dressing for a de facto centralized structure and authoritarian management.
The new constitutional provisions stipulating a combination of the federation and egalitarian models seem to provide an appropriate structure for the mediation between the Self-management ideal and reality of everyday organizational life. However, it is far from certain whether and to what an extent these mediating structures will be successful in bringing the reality closer to the ideal. It depends on too many things to make safe predictions. Undoubtedly it depends on the future environmental conditions, i.e. whether the economic, political and social developments will provide more or less favorable environment for the development of the Yugoslav work organization along the lines of federalis mand egalitarianism. However, granted the environmental conditions, much will depend on the understanding and interpretation of the egalitarian model by managers and workers, and by political leaders. It will also depend on the extent to which a spontaneous growth of the egalitarian pattern will be allowed and on the degree of its formalization in the future.
Keywords
Hrčak ID:
156422
URI
Publication date:
31.12.1974.
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