The micro level of economic democracy

The micro-level of economic democracy addresses the democratisation of corporate policy issues, e.g. employee participation in the workplace and in work organisation, as well as in strategic orientation and product policy, through to participation in ownership and profits. As this concerns companies and organisations, we also speak of organisational democracy.

The micro level asks about the degree of participation, the scope of participation and the frequency of participation of the various stakeholder groups. This means the way in which stakeholder groups are involved in decisions - are they only informed or are they allowed to have a say - what type of decision they are involved in - only operational or also tactical or strategic - and how regularly they are involved - in all decisions or only in a few.

It is also about the form of ownership of an organisation, on which the decision-making structures often depend, and also about new ways of relating within organisations that reduce hierarchies and promote collaboration. Finally, as with the sectors, the question remains as to how much self-determination organisations have with regard to overall economic development.

At the micro level, we identify various strands, or varieties, of organisational democracy, some of which have already been put into practice.