A participatory organization: The Mondragon group

Abstract

Purpose: Focusing on the objectives that have emerged participatory organizations, is intended to show the similarities and differences with participatory development applicable in Mondragon. Changes in the traditional rules of the Group in order to access internationalization processes and competitiveness in the global market, are considered in some studies as a lost of its essence, and in others ones as a sign of its success.

Methodology: The work has been carried out upon bibliographical sources and public information of the Group. There have also been two semi-structured interviews with a Professor and a Manager of  Mondragon University.

Findings: The results of this work focus on the role that participation in the Mondragon Group holds. On the one hand, as a right which doesn’t need to be recognized by anyone because it is one of the rights concerning partner position, and it is at all participatory critical levels: property, management and results. Moreover, as the participatory model of the University concerns, we find a model characterized by the integration of workers, students and partner companies, and the design of voting rights by combination of democratic rules and equitable representation.

Value: Taking as a basis for the research the different participatory models in companies, comparison with Mondragon participatory system results very interesting. The different positions about the effects on the participatory dynamics in Mondragon management, as a result of the new ways of business rely on globalization and competitiveness, invite reflection on the survival of alternative models in our economic system.