Citation:
Martin Clarke, David Butcher, Reconciling Hierarchy and Democracy: The Value of Management Learning, Management Learning, Vol. 37, Iss. 3; Sept 2006, pp313-333
Abstract:
Pluralistic organizations are often argued to have become an indisputable reality
for senior managers. In consequence, the role of hierarchy has come under close scrutiny.
How can organizations balance the need for congruence, provided through hierarchy, with
the need for greater organizational democracy? As yet, the potential for management
education and learning to impact on this debate, at either an organizational or a societal
level, has been largely unfulfilled. This article argues that the aspirational values of
liberal adult educationalists have a significant contribution to make to the management of
contemporary organizations. It positions these values alongside the business requisites that
shape organizations and examine the motivations of senior managers to apply these ideas
in practice. The concept of voluntarism, derived from the field of political philosophy, is
proposed as an alternative organizational binding mechanism that alters the rationale for
the role of hierarchy. The implications for senior executives and management educationalists
are considered.
