A new concept of management

Abstract

This paper deals with management dilemmas on the example of Semco company. This paper examines two organizational models, i.e. military and participatory model. The aim of the paper has been to determine what management practices lead to the formation of a natural management system, i.e., a system that adapts its working environment to people and create the right conditions to develop their potential. To achieve this objective, the case study methodology was used. The reason, why Semco has been selected as a study case, is its unusual management model that reveals some limits of current managerial thinking. While analysing and describing the company, it was found that this company creates a working environment that is based on the values of trust, participation, cooperation, freedom and dialogue. Due to the presence of these values, a part of participative management model is amorphous structure that eliminates formal hierarchy, orders and regulations (bureaucracy), control and short-term goals. These elements of traditional management are replaced by flexible working environment which can be adjusted by employees according to their individual needs. For this model, there is a typical characteristic that changes emerge where needed, which means that the changes are not pushed from top to bottom. Participative management model is based on such values as freedom, meritocracy, partnership, information sharing and profit sharing.