Reconciling Hierarchy and Democracy: The Value of Management Learning.

Pluralistic organizations are often argued to have become an indisputable realityfor senior managers. In consequence, the role of hierarchy has come under close scrutiny.How can organizations balance the need for congruence, provided through hierarchy, withthe need for greater organizational democracy? As yet, the potential for managementeducation and learning to impact on this debate, at either an organizational or a societallevel, has been largely unfulfilled. This article argues that the aspirational values ofliberal adult educationalists have a significant contribution to make to the management ofcontemporary organizations. It positions these values alongside the business requisites thatshape organizations and examine the motivations of senior managers to apply these ideasin practice. The concept of voluntarism, derived from the field of political philosophy, isproposed as an alternative organizational binding mechanism that alters the rationale forthe role of hierarchy. The implications for senior executives and management educationalistsare considered.