Concept in Definition ABC
Miscellanea / / July 04, 2021
By Florencia Ucha, on Feb. 2013
The term self-management It is widely used in our language and therefore it is possible that we meet it in various fields, while in the economic field it is This is what he calls the management system of a company characterized by the fact that it is the workers who make the decisions inherent to production.
Economy: management system of a company in which employees make decisions
As we know, the usual thing is that those resolutions are made by the owners who are not the employees.
Now, before referring to specific situations, we must mention that it is a concept made up of two words that also have commonly used references.
Car is a prefix that refers to that which is its own or, failing that, by itself, as long as management will imply the address or the administration of a company or a business.
In the field economic, the word that concerns us is used to name the particular management system that a company presents and that is characterized by its employees or workers who have the authority and decision on its production and operation.
Cooperatives, the emblem of self-management
Cooperatives are the emblematic example of this mentioned system.
The cooperative in the economic plane represents a solidarity organization, formed by the union of several people who work together to achieve an end or goal.
Its members, formally known as cooperative members, have as their objective an economic plan that it is only plausible to be achieved with the union of all, leaving aside the purposes individual.
They are all the same, there are no bosses
One of the characteristic features is that in the cooperative everyone is equal, there is no boss, nor someone who have more power than the other, all have the same value and the same importance, that is, they are partners, classmates.
There may be a differentiation in terms of functions to ensure efficient activity, but whoever occupy each position is decided by the majority of the group and the occupation of these positions is for a time determined.
Cooperative versus company
As can be seen, the cooperative faces the concept of a company that prevails in the capitalist system and in which there is an owner who is the one who has the means of production, and the employees who are the ones who offer their force labor in exchange for the perception of a salary; the owners are the ones who take all the profits, while in the cooperative the profits are divided equally among all.
It is worth mentioning that cooperatives prevail in political contexts where there is a predominance of Marxist and anarchist ideas, which are opposed against private property.
On the other hand, it is usual that beyond the dominant political ideology in a place, the cooperative can arise as a consequence of the bankruptcy of the company.
In order not to lose their source of work, the employees decide to continue operating the company per se.
Politics: government carried out by those bodies directly elected by their members
On the other hand, in matters politics, self-management implies that type of government that functions in a country or community in which the bodies directly elected by its members are responsible for the public administration and politics.
Regarding business or business administration in general, self-management involves a series of methodologies, strategies, among other issues, that are put into practice and that allow that individuals can direct and make decisions in their activities in order to meet the objectives that have been proposed.
Mainly, this proposal's mission is that it is the people themselves who can fulfill their objectives thanks to their own efforts and decisions.
Basically, this action is put into action by setting goals, tasks, plans, self-evaluations, which serve as support and help on this path of self-management.
Although it is a method that has been implemented primarily in the context of companies and businesses, today, it has already been extended to other fields such as psychology, also in education, on the computing, area so popular these days, in medicine, in cooperatives, among so many contexts in which this proposition is of enormous help for the achievement of goals and development in general.
Topics in Self-Management