For Prof. Moses 1

Many people view democracy solely through the lens of political institutions and governance structures and processes. They often do not consider the application of democratic principles and processes within the workplace to be relevant or feasible. Given various factors, public and private work environments within a democratic society may not be democratic in nature. Workers may have limited participatory involvement and may not have the opportunity to engage in their workplace through the decision-making process. Furthermore, hierarchical structures with clearly defined rules determine control and the placement of power. Challenging such a structure to enable bottom-up participation or to protect the needs of underrepresented groups can be difficult given the prevailing organizational policies and culture. Democracy, as it is applied in the workplace, may offer a different and even, some may argue, beneficial type of workplace experience. However, while advantages to a democratic workplace culture can be experienced by employees and the organizational as a whole, certainly many challenges are also present.