Sociocracy is a system of governance which seeks to achieve solutions that create harmonious social environments as well as productive organizations and businesses. It is distinguished by the use of consent rather than majority voting in decision-making, and decision-making after discussion by people who know each other.
The Sociocratic Circle-Organization Method (SCM) was developed in the Netherlands by electrical engineer and entrepreneur Gerard Endenburg and is based on the work of peace activists and educators Betty Cadbury and Kees Boeke and is a recent instantiation of the approach.
This seminal work gives the overall blueprint for sociocracy: the next evolutionary step beyond democracy. Developed in the rough and tumble of real Dutch businesses, the sociocratic circle organization uses the principles of the new science of cybernetics to empower everyone in the organization through consent-based decision-making.
This book makes the original 1981 Dutch-language edition available to English language readers. Unlike other new approaches to management of the past two decades, sociocracy makes fundamental changes in the organization’s power structure, including visionary yet practical changes in the articles of incorporation. It is “must reading” for all serious students of management science.
